[Music] 
The last time Scottish rockers Glasvegas tried to play here, singer James Allan nearly got deported. "We missed Boston last time because James didn't have his visa," bassist Paul Donoghue recalled. "The night before the appointment [to renew his visa], he went out and didn't get there.
[CD Reviews] 
Our writers pick their favorites from the year in music
This year was retro in many ways, but its music was carried out in a thoroughly modern way. Much of our top 10 (wish it was 100!) draws from the '80s, yet remains totally fresh. Things not included: Beck (aka Blech), Coldplay and, for the love of music and Jesus and Mom, Girl Talk.
Santogold | S/T
Moe Pope and Headnodic | Are Megaphone
[music] 
Mark Robinson doesn't drink coffee, but he's meeting me for one today. "This is strong!" he says. Robinson founded the seminal D.C. indie label Teenbeat in the mid '80s, primarily as a vehicle for Unrest, the legendary band he fronted into the mid '90s.
[Music] 
Dead Cats Dead Rats is not only the best-named band in the city, they're also the creators of a gloriously rockin' and rambling S/T debut.
[CD Reviews] 
LOCAL PICK | X-MASHUP VARIOUS ARTISTS | SANTASTIC FOUR
DJ BC has been doing the mashup thing for as long as we remember.
[Movies] 
On the authenticity of artwork
For the opening address for the 2008 Berliner Lektionen (Berlin Lectures) series, Vivienne Westwood delivered a spirited manifesto against consumerism
[DVD Reviews] 
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS | 12.21.08
Inspired by the cult classic Death Race 2000 from 1975, this is much worse than that ridiculously campy original.
[Movies] 
Better left to the history books
'Tis the season of candy canes, Santa Claus, Christmas carols and ... Nazi flicks.
[Words] 
With all due respect, John Hodgman's second installment of "complete world knowledge" was written strictly for bathroom consumption. Considered on its own, the book's musings on all things philosophical and practical are too ridiculous to be seriously considered.
[Video Games] 
KONAMI | 9.30.08
So here it is: my first crack at the Silent Hill series. I avoid these "survival horror" games because they're never scary and usually constricted by odd and unnecessary genre hallmarks like horrible controls, embarrassing imagery and storytelling—and ridiculous difficulty spikes.
