Correction appended In the world of art, like many professions, being a woman isn’t always easy. Most paintings by female artists fetch lower prices than those of their male counterparts, and female artists’ work represents only a small fraction of art being sold at prestigious auctions, according to a 2005 New York Times article. Read more...

Built to Spill has been in hiatus since its last release in 2001, at work on arguably its most serious compositional work yet, “You in Reverse.” Singer/guitarist Doug Martsch takes a guitar-heavy path on this album, his voice muted and musical abstractions asked to speak for themselves with tiny sparks of illumination by the words. Read more...

Calexico is one of the few bands still around that writes “folk music” in its original sense ““ the Arizona-based group absorbs the character of the culture around it and, with an eye on both local and national tradition, makes music that is not intended for commercial success, but is rather a portrait of a unique place and time. Read more...

This is “The Animal Years”: folky, affecting and simple, but with all the individual pieces merging together to form something greater, something better. It does not pretend to be groundbreaking in style, but instead focuses on reinforcing the groundwork of folk music with its own personality. Read more...

While DJing for Berkeley college radio station KALX for over a decade, music journalist Oliver Wang took satisfaction in knowing that he was sharing music with a mass audience. Read more...

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today on the Arts & Entertainment page to mourn the passing of a dear friend. This friend’s life only lasted two and a half years. Read more...

From the triumph of love in the Antarctic to the tragic fall of Enron, documentary films have lately proved they can be just as dramatic and successful as Hollywood fare. Read more...