Sass

Fifteen minutes before Santogold started her set, a DJ stepped onstage and sounded an alarm on his laptop, the kind you hear in movies when there's been a prison break or a tornado is about to touch down on some unassuming town. How fitting, then, that it was a bit of foreshadowing Saturday night as the MySpace Tour rolled into the Paradise Rock Club. Santogold, the stage name of Brooklyn sass master Santi White, headlined the event, and it was clear that it's the last time audiences will see her in a mid-size club setting.

Ask not what Willem Dafoe is doing tracking down the elusive Tasmanian tiger in "The Hunter. " Just be thankful this wiry, wily actor — battle-scarred from experiences in avant-garde theater, mainstream blockbusters, and everything in between — has landed a rare lead role, even if he literally had to go to the other side of the planet to find it. Does it matter that the movie, a sort of romantic hit man eco-drama, becomes increasingly unglued...

Ask not what Willem Dafoe is doing tracking down the elusive Tasmanian tiger in "The Hunter. " Just be thankful this wiry, wily actor — battle-scarred from experiences in avant-garde theater, mainstream blockbusters, and everything in between — has landed a rare lead role, even if he literally had to go to the other side of the planet to find it. Does it matter that the movie, a sort of romantic hit man eco-drama, becomes increasingly unglued...

THICK SHAKES “WHY BUY THE COW’’ 7-INCH This gem is up for grabs online, but the actual records don’t hit the street for another month. That might be a good thing — the longer this muck has to ferment on vinyl, the better. The nastiest fuzz to creep out from a practice space in years made its way onto these three tracks from Thick Shakes, Boston-resident garage rock preservationists. Like remains from a midnight drag strip wreck, these organ-pounding rave-ups are torched beyond recognition with blown-out tape distortion and AM-radio sizzle.

Solange Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (Geffen) ESSENTIAL "I Decided Part 1" When she made her tepid debut five years ago, Solange Knowles clearly wasn't ready for the big leagues. But Beyonce's sister sure is now. This is such a smartly executed, classy set of songs that's miles away from the hoochie pop being turned out by young female R&B vocalists these days. Solange is confident and in command throughout, and she sings with commitment and sass on "Valentine's Day" and the Mark Ronson-produced "Six o'clock Blues.

THICK SHAKES “WHY BUY THE COW’’ 7-INCH This gem is up for grabs online, but the actual records don’t hit the street for another month. That might be a good thing — the longer this muck has to ferment on vinyl, the better. The nastiest fuzz to creep out from a practice space in years made its way onto these three tracks from Thick Shakes, Boston-resident garage rock preservationists. Like remains from a midnight drag strip wreck, these organ-pounding rave-ups are torched beyond recognition with blown-out tape distortion and AM-radio sizzle.

The New England Conservatory’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute’’ demonstrates how far conceptual flair can carry an opera: not far enough. It looked good; and, with some fine singing and polished sounds from the orchestra (conducted by John Greer), it also sounded good. But the dramatic whole was frustratingly inert. Director Greg Smucker threw the story into a video-game, science-fiction setting. Jon Savage’s circuit-board sets and John Cuff’s nifty light effects channeled “Tron’’; Seth Bodie’s costumes ranged from a flamboyantly...

TAMPA - Kari Lennon gently circled the head of 6-week-old Brooks with a blue ribbon, then stretched it along a measuring tape. Upstairs, her husband Steve was putting the older three children to bed, and Kari felt foolish, even furtive, doing something that she knew would seem crazy to him. But she could not help herself; she measured again. Since the day Brooks was born two days after Christmas in 2007, Kari had received nothing but assurances that the littlest Lennon was a healthy, blue-eyed boy. But the first time she and Steve had a moment alone...

While many eyes in the high school football world are focusing on players such as Everett's Jonathan DiBiaso, as he chases Tom Colombo's coveted state passing touchdowns record, or BC High's Preston Cooper, as he leads the charge for a resurgent Eagles team, other spectators have their sights on a Division 4A team and its prolific, young runner, Vincent Burton. Burton, the Globe's Division 4 Player of the Year last season, ran for 1,549 yards a year ago for Blue Hills, scoring 30 touchdowns and 202 points, for first place in the division by far (runner-up Laquane Bradham of West Roxbury...

Apart from "Mad Men" in its 1960s setting, most TV dramas shy from showing anyone with cigarettes. But that doesn't mean Kalinda Sharma isn't constantly smoking on "The Good Wife. " No cigarettes are involved, mind you, nor are they needed by this steamy in-house investigator at the Chicago law firm of Lockhart Gardner. With her implacable shrewdness, sass and sexuality, Kalinda heats up every scene she's in. No wonder she has emerged as a viewer favorite among the many colorful characters populating this CBS drama.

The New England Conservatory’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute’’ demonstrates how far conceptual flair can carry an opera: not far enough. It looked good; and, with some fine singing and polished sounds from the orchestra (conducted by John Greer), it also sounded good. But the dramatic whole was frustratingly inert. Director Greg Smucker threw the story into a video-game, science-fiction setting. Jon Savage’s circuit-board sets and John Cuff’s nifty light effects channeled “Tron’’; Seth Bodie’s costumes ranged from a flamboyantly cyberpunk Queen of the Night to...

Fifteen minutes before Santogold started her set, a DJ stepped onstage and sounded an alarm on his laptop, the kind you hear in movies when there's been a prison break or a tornado is about to touch down on some unassuming town. How fitting, then, that it was a bit of foreshadowing Saturday night as the MySpace Tour rolled into the Paradise Rock Club. Santogold, the stage name of Brooklyn sass master Santi White, headlined the event, and it was clear that it's the last time audiences will see her in a mid-size club setting.

Solange Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (Geffen) ESSENTIAL "I Decided Part 1" When she made her tepid debut five years ago, Solange Knowles clearly wasn't ready for the big leagues. But Beyonce's sister sure is now. This is such a smartly executed, classy set of songs that's miles away from the hoochie pop being turned out by young female R&B vocalists these days. Solange is confident and in command throughout, and she sings with commitment and sass on "Valentine's Day" and the Mark Ronson-produced "Six o'clock Blues.

Heart On Downtown Records ESSENTIAL "(I Used to Couldn't Dance) Tight Pants" Jesse Hughes is Boots Electric. Josh Homme is Baby Duck. Together they are the misleadingly named Eagles of Death Metal, a band that's more glam sass than brutal thrash on the recently released "Heart On. " Hughes and Homme traffic in vintage dude-rock, though EODM leavens its guitar fury with protean grooves and sloppy funk. The sleazy "High Voltage" and libidinous ("I Used to Couldn't Dance)