It’s not an easy thing to do. Aerosmith pulled it off with 2004’s “Honkin’ on Bobo” by rockin’ out blues staples, but classic rockers covering a whole album of rock classics? Read more...

The balance between accessibility and inventiveness is a delicate one, especially in the world of music. It took the boys from Animal Collective four tries to make an album that could be deemed listenable, while The Mars Volta’s latest release, “Frances the Mute,” seemed, at times, to crumble under the weight of its own ambition. Read more...

As viewers tune in to watch the season finale of “American Idol” tonight, composer Vic Mizzy will be reminiscing about singers past. Mizzy and partner Irving Taylor appeared on a similar show called “Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour” almost 60 years ago. Read more...

The annual ritual of television networks announcing their prime-time line-ups reminds me of drafting my fantasy baseball team. There are many similarities: roundtable discussions, heated bidding wars, and most importantly, the smug grins everyone wears upon the completion of it all. Read more...

Shoveling horse manure in Los Feliz does not typically serve as a gateway into movie stardom, unless your name is Tab Hunter, the Warner Bros.’ strategically devised heartthrob of the 1950s. Read more...

Ska may be dead, but its fans are refusing to accept the fact. On Friday, the Aquabats and Streetlight Manifesto performed at the El Rey Theatre. Read more...

During the opening credits of Ron Howard’s by-the-book adaptation of “The Da Vinci Code,” words appear on the screen in a very simple manner. Instead of materializing the cryptic subject matter of Dan Brown’s thriller into an opening sequence that has words and numbers flashing everywhere to eventually reveal their hidden meanings, Howard simply offers the necessary information and crisply moves on. Read more...