The Hold Steady “Boys and Girls in America” VAGRANT RECORDS (Out of 5) When The Hold Steady played at UCLA last year, frontman Craig Finn took advantage of the university setting to remind the crowd of his college major ““ English. Read more...

In years past, a new wave crooner such as Baby Dayliner on his first national tour might have been sponsored by left-leaning radio stations such as KCRW. Read more...

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The Marvelous Wonderettes Saturday, Oct. 7 EL PORTAL THEATER Prom night is usually accompanied by a mix of anticipation and worry: Are my dance skills up to par? Read more...

I’m a big fan of wretched excess. Seriously now, I own a 60 gigabyte iPod. Who needs 60 gigs of music? The only thing anyone ever needs 60 gigs for is porn, and that might not even be enough. Read more...

In 1964, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, seven child actors and a bunch of people dressed as nuns and Nazis all came to Salzburg, Austria to film “The Sound of Music.” And when you go there today, you can still feel the history spraying out of every fountain, shining from every raindrop on every rose, and singing from every hill. Read more...

“The Departed” Director Martin Scorsese Warner Bros. Pictures Some of Martin Scorsese’s greatest work (see: “Mean Streets,” “Goodfellas” and “Gangs of New York”) revolves around mobs, violence and the constant striving for the American dream on dark city streets. Read more...