Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?: We were first introduced to British Sea Power when we were checking out the bands that are coming to the Noise Pop Festival (which we remind you is in two weeks). It's being heralded as the "...first contender for Album of 2008." Not bad, for this indie-rock band from Brighton,......

Bashing Gavin's plans to pay for his staff members (and lobbyists) from the MTA budget isn't just something us local folks can do. It's something everyone can do! Like a U.S. Senator. A Republican Senator. From Oklahoma. Wha?...

-Sharks beat the Avalanche 3-1 after a stellar first period in which they scored two goals and had 21 shots on goal. ...

So it's looking like the Schwarzenegger taping story (Hotgate?) is actually a big story. That's because it turns out the tape was leaked to the LA Times by the Angelides campaign, probably the only clever thing they've done so far. Or maybe not. ...

One of our favorite things about baseball is the 7th Inning Stretch. There's something about a stadium full of people standing up and singing a completely quaint, nearly 100 year-old-song in our jaded, post-post punk, post-post modern, post-post-ironic age that gives us the warm fuzzies. But at last Sunday's Giants game, the Giants continued on with a new tradition that is slowly and quickly ruining the 7th Inning Stretch-- the playing of "God Bless America" right before "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." And yes, we do hate America, why do you ask? ...

We're shipping off to SXSW on Saturday, and even though we're in for a ton of music in Austin we're really sad about what we'll be missing here in San Francisco. For instance, this weekend we're missing some of our favorite bands including Silversun Pickups, Virgil Shaw, and Electric Six at the Independent (say hello to our buddy John R. Dequindre for us). We're sending one of you to a show we wish we could......

This week offers up many new releases that we know you've all been waiting for with great anticipation. Well friends, the wait is over. Exhale and read on. In the we're-so-sick-of-that-song, we're-shocked-the-album's-not-out-already category, we have Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby and U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Fantasia's Free Yourself is the debut album from this year's "American Idol" winner. You can pick it up with a copy of last year's "AI" winner......

'Tis the season, already, for record companies to inundate the shelves of Target and Wal-mart with gift-worthy releases of greatest hits, Christmas collections, and repackaged favorites. You already know about the huge releases by Destiny's Child and Eminem, and we're betting that critics' darling Rufus Wainwright will be covered extensively elsewhere. Here are some of the releases that intrigued and amused us for the week of November 16th. In the "Best Of"s category, we recommend......