Few can deny that the Internet is changing the face of music. The unshaven kid who frequents coffee shops armed only with his acoustic guitar no longer has to post fliers all over the city to attract an audience, but can simply post an Internet bulletin to let hundreds of people know. Read more...

It’s the last call for drinks. The night is over. The horny crowd slowly leaves; the noise deflates to a series of routine, drunken good-byes, after-hours invitations and an occasional, forgettable argument. Read more...

Readers of this column already know that Philip Seymour Hoffman will win the Oscar for Best Actor on Sunday night. He’s in a tight race with Heath Ledger, and though you can’t have too much of a good thing when it comes to acting performances, you can pick a winner. Read more...

The walls are covered with character stills, fliers and movie posters. Large wooden drawing desks dating back to the 1930s border the large classroom in Melnitz Hall; sprawled in the middle are more tables, splotted in every known color of paint. Read more...

His contemporaries often mocked French painter Gustave Courbet as an uncouth country bumpkin. Courbet’s exaggerated provincial accent, physical robustness and unwillingness to conform to the Parisian art scene set him apart as an outspoken outsider. Read more...

Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness “Fear is on Our Side” Secretly Canadian Records I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness seems poised for success: The Austin-based quintet already has one of the most recognizable names in indie music, two years of extensive touring and an EP produced by Spoon’s Britt Daniel under its belt. Read more...

Simon Joyner “Beautiful Losers: Singles and Compilation Tracks 1994-1999″ Jagjaguwar Records Below the title “Beautiful Losers: Singles and Compilation Tracks 1994-1999″ on the latest Simon Joyner album is a picture of a grand, effeminate bedroom in which sits a young man, unshaven and with tousled hair. Read more...