Your afternoon palate cleanser today -- "Everything With You" by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- comes along with a GIVEAWAY!! Yes, these spunky kids with an ear for late 80s jangle pop are coming to play a sold-out show at the Rickshaw tomorrow evening. You can bet they're going to be huge by next year, so this is a haiku contest worth pondering: please compose a haiku (that's 5-7-5 syllable lines, people) using the words "pains" and "pure" and put it in the comments. A panel of SFist judges will decide on the winner of 2 tickets. We are going to limit entries to 2 PER PERSON, since a lot of you poets out there just can't help yourselves, and we will announce the winner and inform them by email by tomorrow morning (7/21) at 9AM. more ›

It's time for another haiku contest, dear and loyal readers! You so consistently impress us with your poetic prowess and wit, so we look forward to rewarding one of you with a pair of VIP passes to our very own MicroChella, The Treasure Island Music festival (the amazing lineup of which was just announced today). The festival promises to be a glorious and mellow time, and will feature headliners MGMT, Girl Talk, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, and new indie darlings Grizzly Bear. more ›

Before growing into the acclaimed DJ and electronic music producer that he is today, Tiga got his first exposure to music touring the Goa region of India with his DJ father in the 80s. Now based in Montreal, he's now released four albums, including 2001's acclaimed Mixed Emotions, and the popular 2006 disc Sexor. He has a new album, Ciao, which bridges the gap between IDM (intelligent dance music) and more heady, heavy electronica (hear some here). more ›

It's kind of an odd double bill, but not as much once you know the connection: Michael J. Fox is making an appearance tomorrow night at City Arts & Lectures in conversation with author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemna, The Botany of Desire), who also happens to be Fox's brother-in-law. Pollan's sister, Tracy Pollan, is Fox's wife and former co-star on Family Ties. And we're giving away a pair of tickets! Write a haiku in the Comments section with the words, "omnivore" and "fox" and enter to win a pair of tickets to the SOLD OUT 8 p.m. event at the Herbst Theater on Friday. The winner will be notified by 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Proceeds from regular premium ticket sales go to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's disease research. more ›