8. Amon Tobin "Out from Out Where" The lead-off track is called “Back from Space” but the album shows Tobin never really left. With melded assaulting drum ‘n’ bass and dark cinematic sweeps creating a dense soundscape, this isn’t Kubrick’s vision of the unknown; it’s menacing, anarchic and human. Read more...

8. Frank Gehry Conversation – UCLA Gehry’s brave new Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles (opening in the fall) demands equally adventurous music within. Read more...

8. "Punch-Drunk Love" Once again P. T. Anderson proves himself the most exciting filmmaker alive today. Here, the auteur of “Magnolia” and “Boogie Nights” plays into and defies generic conventions without making it feel forced. Read more...

I spent the last year writing columns about the fact that there wasn’t any leading voice in the arts world. There wasn’t anything for our generation to unite behind and call uniquely our own. Read more...

“Metroid Prime” Retro Studios Nintendo GameCube If you are a fan of the old “Metroid” games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Gameboy platforms, but think that the switch to a first-person shooter can only ruin the classic gameplay, consider yourself mistaken and go buy “Metroid Prime” for GameCube right now. Read more...

The Japanese word “kyodo” has two translations: “family” and “loud children.” UCLA Kyodo Taiko, a Japanese drumming group which will perform Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. Read more...

While my roommates were re-creating last Sunday’s thrilling playoff game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers on “Madden 2003,” it dawned on me that Monday Night Football had already wrapped up its season. Read more...