Although the oud is traditionally played with an eagle’s feather, eclectic multi-instrumentalist David Lindley prefers finger picking the Middle Eastern lute instead. For Lindley, who performs tomorrow night at Royce Hall in the Global Guitars concert, an unusual approach to music is his typical key to success. Read more...

Most major record labels could learn a thing or two from British singer Jem about how to make a great album and save quite a bit of money in the process. Read more...

Even a sore back won’t keep this woman down. Ruth Price, UCLA jazz vocal instructor and owner of Los Angeles’s only seven-night-a-week non-profit jazz club, The Jazz Bakery, mentioned offhandedly that she is going in for back surgery soon. Read more...

In the time-honored tradition of busting windmills and head spins on sheets of cardboard spread over sidewalk pavement, the Hollywood Palladium will host this weekend’s Los Angeles Urban Dance Festival, showcasing brand spanking new styles by international and home-grown talent. Read more...

A mountain of a songwriter came to UCLA last Thursday. Phil Elvrum, playing under the new moniker Mt. Eerie, strummed and sang his way through a warm, intimate performance at Kerckhoff Grand Salon in the early afternoon. Read more...

“21 Grams” Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu Focus Features Following his critically acclaimed 2000 release “Amores Perros,” Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu has seamlessly translated his unique, multilinear narrative technique into an astonishing English-language film starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. Read more...

Anytime anyone invites me over to a new apartment for a little housewarming soiree, I pray to the ancient Chinese door gods to spare me of the following exchange: Guest: Hey, did you get that at IKEA? Read more...