This week, instead of my usual ramblings on things that get on my nerves, you get something different. The dB Magazine editors and everyone in the music section submitted their top ten albums of the year lists, and an overall top ten was created using some crazy formula involving a lot of numbers that I could never hope to understand. Read more...

For their annual December concert, the UCLA choral groups are ditching their usual program of formal, classical pieces for a more accessible and festive one. On Dec. Read more...

To a fan who has only encountered Animal Collective’s harmonious, mellowed-out studio recordings, the group’s raucous live show is overwhelming. Unlike merely listening to the brilliantly layered mellifluous sounds on their albums, the group’s live incarnation incorporates head-spinning visual and audio elements, as well as an unfettered tribal energy. Read more...

Jimi Hendrix jammed with the in-house bands. Janis Joplin downed her last bottle of Southern Comfort there before she died. It’s where The Doors had their monumental beginning. Read more...

As a array of contemporary films and TV shows like “Desperate Housewives” point out, nearly every family has its own secrets and lies meant to keep up appearances ““ a fact Tennessee Williams was all too familiar with when he wrote his play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955. Read more...

A slightly demented cheerleader takes the stage. Heavy-metal wannabes, in a fit of inspiration, prop up lights, speakers and fog machines. And a woman, dressed in a gorilla suit, pantomimes as if she’s part of a children’s performance. Read more...

DJ Muggs vs. GZA/The Genius “Grandmasters” Angeles Records The Wu-Tang Clan has never really been considered an inclusive group. From its ruthless hip-hop oligarchy to its unmitigated disdain for other MCs, the Clan has long isolated itself. Read more...