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Arts & Entertainment

Penn's Own Musicians On The Rise

This campus is full of alarmingly qualified individuals, so it comes as no surprise that a number of accomplished musicians and potential stars walk among us.

by ELENA GOORAY

This Is The Afterparty

In 2008, Made in the Dark catapulted Hot Chip to the forefront of electropop, capturing the attention of hipsters across the country.

by NICK STERGIOPOULOS

Sundance Shoutouts

Last weekend, after 10 days and 200 films, Sundance concluded another exciting indie film festival.

by 34TH STREET

Guilty Pleasure: Troop Beverley Hills (1989)

With its celebration of ’80s-style overindulgence and superficial consumerism, Troop Beverly Hills is just the film to combat those recessionista blues. Following her husband’s request for a divorce, materialistic socialite Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) plunges into her role as the leader of her daughter Hannah’s (Jenny Lewis long before Rilo Kiley) Wilderness Girls troop.

by MICHAEL GOLD

Sparks Fly

Nicholas Sparks should be proud of himself. Not only has he carved out a second home atop the New York Times bestseller list, but he has also practically monopolized the cinematic genre of tear-jerking romance.

by ,

Dear Channing

Street: Dear John letters must be extremely painful to receive. Did you speak with any soldiers who received them while overseas Channing Tatum: I never actually ran into one that got an actual “Dear John” letter, but my whole unit, except for maybe four actors, were actual special forces, and I did get to talk to them about what it is to be away from somebody for that long, and how they communicate.

by ,

This Week In...

MUSIC Thursday, 2/4: Telepathe with Prowler, Kung Fu Necktie, $10, 21+ Telepathe (it’s pronounced “telepathy,” guys) are a couple of New York girls just trying to make some fun music.

by 34TH STREET

First Friday

The first Friday of every month, Philadelphia comes alive with gallery openings, performances, talks and copious free booze.

by 34TH STREET

Finding Themselves

Spoon has never paid much heed to consistency. The band’s first four full-length albums were grab bags of indie-pop sounds, as if they weren’t quite ready to settle down with a style of their own.

by DANIEL FELSENTHAL

Understanding GaGa

Whether you love or hate GaGa, take a listen to some of these influential tracks to discover what she's all about. 1.

by ,

Puntal/ Contrapuntal: Lady GaGa

LADY GAGA IS USHERING IN A NEW, FAR MORE REFRESHING, ERA OF POP I am an outsider to pop.

by SEBASTIAN MODAK

One Track Mind

With their new single, “Good Morning,” Rogue Wave have taken all of the things they had going for them — beautifully layered guitars, mellifluous vocals, a healthy sense of introspection — and completely obliterated them, opting instead for the same sort of sugary pop their original music seemed to be a reaction against.

by JOE PINSKER

Major (-Label) Flop

We’ve really tried to understand the acclaim surrounding Motion City Soundtrack’s major-label debut.

by ELENA GOORAY

Guilty Pleasures: Rascall Flatts

There are a lot of reasons I hate myself for loving Rascal Flatts. It really bothers me that the lead singer, the appropriately named Gary LeVox, is fat, spikes his hair and doesn’t play an instrument.

by SARAH BETH MCKAY

On The Edge

2010 may just be Mel Gibson’s comeback year. Since his little outburst a few years ago he has been entirely absent.

by MICHAEL RUBIN

Spotlight On: Romanian New Wave

An unlikely nation has captured the attention of cinephiles across the globe.

by NICK STERGIOPOULOS

Defibrillator: “Werckmeister Harmonies”

As director Bela Tarr points out, Werckmeister Harmonies explores the “boundaries between civilization and barbarism.” While cryptic, his experimental allegory about encroaching fascism is visually stunning and endlessly rewarding. The film begins in a pub.

by NICK STERGIOPOULOS

Point/Counterpoint: AVATAR

After winning Best Picture and Best Director at the Golden Globes, Avatar is a front-runner for the Oscar’s top prize.

by SCOTT DZIALO

Don't Panic

Fish that steal walls, horses that drive trucks and a neighbor who always SPEAKS LIKE THIS are some of the many characters inhabiting the bizarrely funny world of A Town Called Panic. Based on a Belgian puppet series originally distributed via five minute episodes, this stop-motion animated film follows the lives of three individuals — Horse, Cowboy and Indian — after Cowboy and Indian forget to give Horse a gift for his birthday.

by PRATIMA BHATTACHARYYA

Heart of Gold

One would think writer-director Scott Cooper would deserve most of the credit for Crazy Heart's heartbreaking portrayal of a washed-up country singer.

by TUCKER JOHNS

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