Animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama made its triumphant return last week in the form of a direct-to-DVD movie. Kevin Nguyen discusses the show’s brilliance and its critiques of our modern world.

Often called indie rock’s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, Nick Martens provides an in-depth guide on finding, experiencing, and surviving live underground music.

Major record labels are expanding their agreements with their artists. Instead of just making money on CD sales, labels want in on the touring and merchandising revenue as well. Nick Martens looks at the artistic impact of these deals in an attempt to divine their overall effect on the industry.

Indie socialite Caitlin Boersma chats up Thomas D’Arcy, frontman of the electronic pop group Small Sins. Topics discussed include the band’s new record Mood Swings, tire-changing, guns, and handclaps.

Musicians, it seems, are not like a fine wine. How often do they get better with age? Troubled by this distressing phenomenon, Jeff Merrion tries to make sense of the inevitable mediocrity that accompanies aging.

Wes Anderson has been paid to make the same movie over and over again for the past decade. His new movie, The Darjeeling Limited, is no exception. Perturbed by critics who view this similarity as a flaw, Caitlin Boersma offers a defense of the Anderson motif, which emphasizes beauty over reality.

It’s fun to be scared shitless, especially in October. When he wants to be terrified, lionhearted Jeff Merrion turns to music instead of movies.

Yesterday, Radiohead announced that they would self-distribute their upcoming album. With record labels, iTunes, and the future of music in mind, soothsayer Nick Martens analyzes the implications of this surprising but welcome attempt at subverting traditional methods of purchasing albums.

In theory, it’s great to listen to music while reading dry modernist criticism, but it rarely works so well in practice. It’s too easy to get distracted or fall asleep. Premier musicologist Nick Martens applies state-of-the-science research methods to combat this problem, and locates four albums that make studying a breeze.

Bumbershoot is Seattle’s largest outdoor music festival. Nick Martens, Jordan Barber, and Caitlin Boersma collectively attended all three days of this year’s festival, and all came away with varying degrees of satisfaction.