Just walk around campus, and it’s clear that many students are literally hooked to their iPods, yet Turkish musician Latif Bolat sees them as an evil that is killing off musical tradition. Read more...

Charles Bissell is a natural born rock singer. His chords don’t have an effortless cool like Lou Reed’s, but instead a kind of natural brashness, an every-word-counts urgency that can turn even the most pedestrian lines into a keening credo. Read more...

WILL Win: Tim Robbins, “Mystic River” SHOULD Win: Tim Robbins, “Mystic River” While Robbins may at times be a controversial figure due to his anti-war activism, one thing there is no fighting about is this UCLA alum’s chance of coming home a winner. Read more...

As illogical as it may sound at the outset, Los Angeles-based band My Barbarian is in fact the logical result of the combination of an actor, a filmmaker, a video director, a playwright and a trained artist. Read more...

WILL Win: “Finding Nemo” SHOULD Win: “The Triplets of Belleville” If the Oscars were decided by a Magic 8-ball ““ and let’s face it, sometimes it seems like they are ““ “Finding Nemo” would get an “All signs point to yes” in this category. Read more...

When casting for his company, Stephen Petronio looks for dancers who have a fearless attitude toward dancing awkwardly and probably even looking stupid. Luckily for the eight dancers who performed at Royce Hall last Friday, only the fearless energy shone through. Read more...

WILL Win: Bill Murray, “Lost in Translation” SHOULD Win: Johnny Depp, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” This is a two-man race. Sean Penn’s fierce portrayal in “Mystic River” of a father grieving his daughter’s murder while being forced to face the sins of his past is considered the front runner. Read more...