Funky yellow walls surround a living room, a crate full of vinyl records sits in the corner, and rabbit-adorned pillowcases lie across brightly colored couches. Children suddenly tear through the room...

Beer and bragging rights are at stake at the New Belgium/Minstrel Studios Battle of the Bands Finals. The showdown approaches as four Iowa City bands prepare for the final round of competition, hosted...

Earlier this year, rapper T.I., under house arrest and about to be sentenced to federal prison, filmed an MTV reality show titled “T.I.’s Road to Redemption,” centering on his meeting with youth...

This Is Spinal Tap The world of rock ’n’ roll is brimming with outrageous clichés. So much, in fact, that it needed to be made into a film. This Is Spinal Tap, originally released on March 2, 1984,...

Queens of the Stone Age The best driving music is hard, heavy, and fast. It gets you speeding tickets. It makes you drum on the steering wheel and cross the center line. While Josh Homme, Queens of the...

Imagine Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video paired with poodle skirts, prom dresses, and zombies. Is this a combination that is too good to be true? Not for the Iowa City Community Theatre....

The first thing Marina Franklin thinks of when someone brings up Iowa City is her ex-boyfriend. He was originally from Mount Ayr, Iowa, but he went to the UI. Franklin recalls going to Mount Ayr once...

Consumers may notice cans of pumpkin-pie mix are out of stock or that an average, ripe-for-carving pumpkin has become pricier. That seems to be the case on the East Coast and some parts of the Midwest,...

I remember the first time I had cheesecake like it was yesterday. I don’t really remember the cheesecake itself — it was probably some rather bland frozen thing. What I do remember, however, is the...

The Flaming Lips: Embryonic Be cautious, these lips are flaming and fueling the fire one masterpiece after the next. The Flaming Lips’ 12th album and first double LP, Embryonic, is a screaming symphony...

Today at 7 p.m., Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., will host a reading from award-winning author Cornelia Nixon. The Boston native has written two novels, a collection of several short stories,...

The Shaky Hands is not composed of jittery caffeine addicts. Nor are its members anxious, tightly wound, or generally unstable. Rather, the indie-rock band’s musicians are remarkably laid-back and even-keeled,...