*MUSIC: You know that song at the end of Juno, "Anyone Else But You"? The one Ellen Page and Michael Cera sing to one another? And it's all cute and sad? Well,it was co-written and originally recorded by Kimya Dawson, former half of the Moldy Peaches, and she's over in the East Bay tonight at 924 Gilman. She performs along with Angelo Spencer at this all-ages show. (No booze allowed, by the way.) .......

West Side Story turned 50 last year, and Leonard Bernstein would have turned 90 next August. Classical music is giving Hallmark a run for its money as an anniversary-driven industry. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, an orchestra near and dear to Bernstein's heart for over 40 years, will play a tribute to him this Saturday, 2/9, at the SF Conservatory of Music (8 p.m., 50 Oak Street), which will include SFCM alumni conductor and Bernstein protegé,......

This past Wednesday was New-Yorker night in Civic Center: the classical music critic, Alex Ross was promoting his new book at Herbst theater, and we attended the production of the Magic Flute designed by Gerald Scarfe, who regularly illustrates the magazine. Scarfe toned down his usually acidic satirical pen (see the sample from his website that we put after the jump) to cook up sets that are humorous, and respectful of Mozart’s intent. The set,......

We were super-excited when we got the chance to talk with Alex Ross, the New Yorker's resident classical music critic (and blogger). Ross's writing has profoundly affected the way we think about music and music writing in all its genres and forms, and his twin enthusiasm for new classical music of the 21st century along with his deep love of the profoundly musical Icelandic pixie that is Björk always liven up our weekly periodicals reading......

Someone told us a story of a famous pianist who believed in bringing culture to the people, and went to a factory in Italy to give a lecture in front of a piano. He started to talk about Schoenberg, and after a few minutes, a voice rose from the audience: "Shut up, and play!" Ok, he said, and sat down at the piano, playing the Schoenberg piece. The voice rose again: "Rather, talk!" András......

Last week's winner, the San Jose Metro. Alas! They haven't updated their site for this week yet, and we didn't manage to snag a hard copy of the paper, so they'll have to forfeit in the Weekly of the Week contest for the week. Next up, let's call it for the SF Weekly. Ephraim the Track Bike is back! And he mentions us! We love you, Ephraim the Track Bike! Did Ed Jew's people spearhead......

It's the Gay Pride Parade! Since you can't watch it on TV anymore anyways, just drag your sorry self out of bed and head anywhere on Market Street between the Embarcadero and Civic Center. Watching it on a webcast just won't be the same! The party goes on at Civic Center from noon to 6. $5 donation to get in. Other events (are there really any other events besides Pride today?): --Frameline's finishing up!......

A photo of San Francisco's new bandshell under construction in Golden Gate Park....

--Well, it's official -- Halloween in the Castro is done. We look forward to chaos this October 31 when people show up anyways and no one's expecting them. --No African-Americans in the Bay Area in either jazz or classical music today. Yoshi's apologizes, the SF Opera does not. --Good for Caltrain! They cited over 100 people who drove under the lowered railroad safety arms. --Personnel turmoil at the Oakland Animal Shelter. --You can follow......

We haven't done one of these columns in awhile! --Killer squirrels on the attack! A menacing critter stomped into an open classroom in a South San Jose school and bit a first-grader on the finger and two adults in the classroom. They called 911, but when animal control arrived, the squirrel had fled -- or in their words, "He high-tailed it outta there." Har! The school took pains to say that they don't usually have......

Last Wednesday, we told you our quick take on Juno Baby's line of educational entertainment products for kids (the long and short: cute, cool, and engaging). Adam Adleman, one of the founders of Juno Baby, took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to answer some questions: ...

We've been doing far too much reading about relevance and contemporary classical music as of late, so we're looking forward to the opportunity to hear it in a nice room with other people. The SF Tape Music Festival going on all weekend at ODC Theater (3153 17th St at Shotwell) features three distinct programs of audio art over a pristine 16-speaker surround sound system. We like the mix of legends (Brian Eno, with a world......

The death of classical music is dead. We see evidence of it right here in the challenging, modern programing of the SF Symphony which fills Davies nightly. MTT opens yet another world premiere next month with Robin Holloway's Fourth Concerto for Orchestra and we are getting ready for the US premiere of John Adams A Flowering Tree, his follow-up opera to the hugely successful Dr Atomic. We see proof of it in the downloads of......

Since SFist Ced's taking a little break from concerts, we're now on classical music duty around these parts. And we're very excited to say that our first Philistine classical concert review's going to be for violinist (and friend of Nicolas Cage) Hilary Hahn, who'll be performing the Korngold concerto this upcoming Wednesday through Friday with the SF Symphony. The Korngold incorporates various movie themes from 1930s Hollywood, and the symphony will also be performing Aaron......

It's been five years since SF Camerawork, a non-profit dedicated to photography and digital media, had its own gallery. Since 2001, Camerawork has shared exhibition space with New Langton Arts, but no longer. SF Camerawork has moved back to its old hood, and is celebrating its new location at 657 Mission St. (at 3rd) with a Grand Opening party from 5-9pm. Check out the inaugural exhibition at the new gallery, Ghosts in the Machine,......

We're pretty excited about the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, which opens tonight at the Castro. Featuring a great lineup of new films from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, the festival runs until Wednesday, the 18th. Tonight's opening features Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (watch out for Flash), a film about the German passive resistance movement during World War II. We hear it's pretty good, and the director, Marc Rothemund, is expected to attend the......

Big ups to SFist Eve for this week's Wednesdays post title! Wednesday: Get all in the Wednesday SFist Reads mood with a cavalcade of options: Barbara Ehrenreich at Clean Well-Lighted (7:00), a Dr. Atomic discussion at City Lights (7 p.m.), Caroline Kennedy at Grace Cathedral via Books Inc. (7:30, $25 tickets at Books Inc.), Terry Pratchett at Cody's on Telegraph (7:30), and Salman Rushdie at the Herbst Theater (8:00, buy tickets here). Thursday: our biggest local purveyors of hip classical music, the Kronos Quartet, kick off the first of two shows to support their new album of Bollywood standards at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The divine Asha Bhosle will be singing, and classical Chinese pipa-ist (that's the new Gothamist site, we know it!) Wu Man will play as well. Friday: You're going to our Webzine kickoff party, right? Right? SFist's hosting Webzine 2005's kickoff party at Cafe Du Nord, from 8-10 p.m.. Everyone's invited, even if you're not going to Webzine itself. Come by, check out our cool DJs, meet your favorite staffer, and see what SFist-themed toys we can scrounge up by then! (Contrary to rumors, we will not have a cardboard picture of Chris Daly for you to take pictures with. We will have Mrs. Chris Daly shirts for sale, though! Well, maybe we'll have them for sale. Hey, can we borrow your car to drive the Mrs. Chris Daly t-shirts over to Cafe Du Nord on Friday night?) Got an event you want to tell us about? Go right ahead!...

Last week's winner, the cybersquatting Metro! The only thing that looks more obscene than the term "Sfist" is "Sjist" -- we'll leave it at that. Meet the San Jose State contemporary classical music faculty. San Jose City Tow. Cover: The Metro continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary all year! A collection of essays about San Jose and the Valley throughout the years. A variety of arts events around SJSU. And the Straight Dope: does alcohol affect your period? (maybe). Next up: The SF Weekly! A dizzying array of political gossip from Matt Smith (Fifi Ma, SEIU, and Clint Reilly). Infiltrator protests for animals. (We totally saw that "Korea: Stop Killing Man's Best Friend" protestor the other week! Maybe the guy with her was Harmon!). Asian gang gets barber licenses. A play called "I'd Kill For a Parking Space" (heads up, Standing Room!). The Weekly's at the SFIFF, just like us. Cover article: New Order. And Savage Love: tips for 16 year old straight girls. The East Bay Express, the Guardian, and the pick of the week, after the jump. ...

MUNI's bad enough -- people laden with bags moshing their way onto teeny-tiny trolley cars, a mother holding an infant and frantically clutching at your head and jacket sleeves as she attempts to cling onto a small metal bar welded to the side of a seat as the bus banks sharply left, people dying of consumption and coughing in your face -- so you think, Fine, I'll drive. Gas prices are going down, MUNI passes are going up, save yourself the stress. Well, maybe not. In the continuing saga of Newsom's "you didn't vote for my tax increases" I-Told-You-Sos, the always-beloved DPT has proposed hefty fee hikes in an attempt to balance its budget. So meters will go up by 50 cents an hour (so $1.50-2.50, depending on where you are), garages will go up by 50 cents an hour too, all parking tickets will go up by $5 (so it'll be $40 if you forget to move your car on street-cleaning day). The biggest hike: parking in a red zone or blocking an intersection goes up 200%, from $25 to $75. That operatic shriek you hear in the background is from San Francisco's parking/classical music blogger, The Standing Room. We have to say, while we're not thrilled about this, it seems only fair that, given that we're not paying higher city taxes, to share the pain equally between public transportation takers and car drivers. But we also almost never park on the street anymore either. We predict an upsurge in social activities along the BART axis as a result -- meet you guys in Glen Park! ...

We get cultured by Monsieur C- of The Standing Room....