He was raised in the church. As a child, he played in the parking lot with his friends. His dad led the music program. As he grew, he tried to be a good person. Then, it changed. David Bazan questioned...

When thinking of aesthetic pleasure, one seldom considers a book. Michelle Huneven was hooked from the moment she was first read to. The love for the crafting of a written piece, inside and out, has driven...

Innerpartysystem has its band name emblazoned on sneakers available at Hot Topic UK — though the members can’t afford to buy a pair for themselves. “My parents don’t get it. They’re like, wait...

Nine years ago, Hope Edelman didn’t quite know where her life was heading. In the midst of marriage difficulties, she came to find that her daughter’s imaginary friend was becoming an unsettling force...

Lijia Zhang used to feel like a frog trapped in a well. But the frustration of her circumstances compelled her to leap out of the confines of industrial China toward cross-cultural consciousness. At age...

A 24-hour plane trip would exhaust anyone. For Israeli poet and essayist Efrat Mishori, however, her first experience in the United States was anything but jetlagged. “I was told that I shouldn’t...

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Iowa City. Here are some pumpkin carving tips. • There’s no need to pumpkin hunt like Linus and Lucy this Halloween. The best pumpkins can usually be found at the local...

Among the greatest of Halloween traditions is the horror-movie marathon. Rather than sticking to the classics, try these alternatives this weekend. • REC Begin with this 2007 Spanish film, which follows...

It’s that time of year again. Time for pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and totally inappropriate costumes. But who can forget Halloween music? Sure, traditional Halloween songs are great, but sometimes...

Halloween is a magical time of year. With all the monsters, costumes, and copious amounts of candy, the entire night gives you the visceral experience of sitting in a movie theater watching a slasher flick. One...

Firehouse: Firehouse Grunge rock exploded on the popular-music scene in the 1990s. Inadvertently, this new musical trend spelled out the death of many ’80s hair bands that were just starting to come...

Ryan Walsh makes collages. Not with craft scissors, construction paper and magazine cutouts but with music. He takes a guitar, a trumpet, a cello, a keyboard, a bass, a sampler, and glues it all together...