Super Mario Bros.

iam8bit's Art Show About Retro Video Games, From DuckTales to E.T.

See also: *Entertainment System at iam8bit (Pics) Were you the type of kid who raced home from school to catch DuckTales? Did you have the theme song memorized? Did you spend hours playing the video game? Then maybe you should head down to iam8bit's Echo Park headquarters and go for a swim through ... More >>

Django Unchained: The Most Moving Scene Quentin Tarantino Has Yet Filmed

Django is Like "Accidental Racist," Except Not Godawful.

8 L.A. Stores for Alternative Valentine's Day Gifts

"You always buy me the same shit." If you haven't heard that before, consider yourself amongst the lucky lovers whose significant others keep their thoughts to themselves. That one year your girlfriend ooh-ed and aww-ed over the flowers and cleverly-packaged chocolates you gave her? She might have ... More >>

Step Brothers

The Avengers Art: 12 Awesome Artworks of the Legendary Marvel Characters at Gallery 1988

Joss Whedon's take on Marvel's dream team, The Avengers, hits U.S. theaters at midnight. With anticipation for the movie swelling, a host of hot artists brought their own renditions of the famed superheroes to Gallery 1988 on Melrose Avenue for "Assemble." The show, which actually takes place at a ... More >>

Boba Fett as a Girl: N.C. Winters Mashes Up Star Wars and My Little Pony in 'Abandoned Menagerie'

In "Abandoned Menagerie," open at Gallery 1988 through April 7, artist N.C. Winters delves deep into his childhood memory for a series of pieces based on pop culture figures of the 1980s. The Carlsbad-based artist paints characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gremlins, The Muppets, Super Mari ... More >>

The Problem Solverz Creator Ben Jones: Using Video Games 'Like Religion'

Ben Jones doesn't like nostalgia. "I hate those wedding DJs who have mash-ups of two songs from your childhood and it's totally wrong," says Jones. "However, I do want to be like the Geto Boys, using a loop from some awesome Detroit soul record and then it transcends the sample." Jones is a multi ... More >>

Kreayshawn Has a Video Game, In Which She Shoots Down "Basic Bitches"

Beth Maher​See also: Van Halen Assteroidz Is Back! She ain't no Princess Peach, but Kreayshawn now has her very own video game. Kreayshawn: The Game bowed earlier this month, courtesy of Toronto-based illustrator-cum-game-designer Beth Maher. The 8-bit creation places the L.A. rapper alongsid ... More >>

Gears of War 3: We Played It

​What do you do when you come into possession of a copy of Gears of War 3 and your taste in games is decidedly more Super Mario Brothers? You find someone with an Xbox 360 who is down to play and can, hopefully, show you the ropes. I'm not a gamer. I like what I played as a child-- arcade sta ... More >>

For the Record: The Coen Bros.: a Cabaret Show About Big Lebowski Filmmakers, and Other Reviews

​Anti-Semitic graffiti found on a market wall in central Houston last month is just one symptom of why The Merchant of Venice belongs on our shores. The Porters of Hellgate have their version running at the Whitmore Theatre in North Hollywood. See Theater feature on Wednesday​Capsule reviews of ... More >>

8-Bit Video Games and Mash-Up Art: "SUPER iam8bit" Opens in Echo Park

Shannon CottrellLeonardo da Vinci, by way of Aled Lewis​See more of Shannon Cottrell's photos in "SUPER iam8bit in Echo Park: Video Games and Art." Part of pop art's appeal comes in instantly recognizing icons from contemporary life. Andy Warhol's soup cans might've been ridiculously mundane, ... More >>

Super Mario Brothers in the Style of Norman Rockwell? Five Works that Modernize the American Master

Courtesy of the Muckenthaler Cultural CenterAaron Jasinski's Super Mario Brothers​ If Norman Rockwell were alive today, would he be painting kids playing Super Mario Brothers? The show "American Nostalgia," currently running at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, shows new artists ... More >>

Live Review: Video Games Live's E3 Performance at Nokia Theatre

Shannon Cottrell​See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshows, "E3 2011: Day 1" and "E3 2011: Day 2," and read more about Video Games Live in Liz Ohanesian's post, "Video Games Live: The E3 Event That's Open to the Public." Video Games Live, which performed its 200th show at Nokia Theatre ... More >>

Music to Pick Up/Download

Precious Little Life

Scott Pilgrim and Michael Cera get soul

'Adventure Time' Creator Pendleton Ward on Video Games, Zombies and Comic-Con

In Adventure Time, Finn, a young boy who uses exclamation like "algebraic!" and "mathematical!" even though he isn't very good with numbers, and his sharp canine pal Jake traverse the Land of Ooo, where they fight zombies, save princesses from the Ice King and embark a variety of other quests that ... More >>

Top 10 Video Game Food References

It takes a powerhouse blend of stamina and strength to plant yourself on the couch and nudge a thumbstick back and forth for hours at a time. Why else would gamers require a dedicated line of "performance snacks?" Ok, every collaboration between gamer and grub doesn't need to be farcical and insulti ... More >>

Star Wars in Concert: How Many Ways Can You Interpret "The Imperial March"?

​The appeal of a piece of music can be measured by how well it can be covered. If you can change not just the musicians, but the instruments, and still come out with something solid, then it's a winner. Take "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" as an example. Ever since its first appeara ... More >>

Black Moth Super Rainbow's Kaleidoscopic Surgery

Meet the Musicians: Tobacco, Graveface, the Seven Fields of Aphelion, Power Pill Fist, Iffernaut and (of course) Father Hummingbird.

Over the Weekend: Oprah/KFC Backlash, Lebowski Fest, Video Game Girls Burlesque, Anthony Kiedis Gets Iggy Pop's Sweat in His Eye

Mother's Day may already be a Hallmark holiday but that didn't stop Oprah, KFC and El Pollo Loco from turning it into a full-blown, corporate flame (grilled chicken) war over the weekend. Is nothing sacred? As Gendy Alimurung reported on Saturday, "The latest installment in our continuing coverage o ... More >>

Geek Night: Video Game Burlesque with Members of Nitzer Ebb at Bordello

View more photos in the "Video Game Girls Burlesque @ Bordello" slideshow. Erin BroadleyLucy Fur as The Legend of Zelda's Link and Princess ZeldaIt was geek night at Bordello last Saturday when burlesque troupe Devil's Playground hosted its first Video Game Girls event. Combining arcade-inspired t ... More >>

Mario's Furniture – Version 2

Music Picks

For the week of May 4 - 11

State Of Emergence

Undiscovered cracks in the art-world infrastructure: a catalog

Lying in State

This bier’s for you, Gipper

Random Acts of Satire

Harry Shearer’s search for truth