The hardcore punk scene has seen better days, but genre-defining band DOA (local to Vancouver) brought raw punk roots back to the stage for their 30th anniversary show at the Commodore Ballroom on Sept. 19. Featuring guests the Tranzmitors and late-70s, early-80s thrashers Dayglo Abortions, the Commodore had its floors glazed with sweat and beer by the end of the night. But no punches were thrown; in fact, hardcore punk fans of all ages like to help each other out – like by trying to boost a kid up on stage.

Lately, as I get dressed in the mornings and as I walk around campus, I’ve come to the realization that, in many ways, fashion is reverting back to the old school.

Beirut’s music is created mostly by Zac Condon, a 22 year-old from Santa Fe, who could have easily come straight out of early 20th century Europe. Condon was a straight-A student who wrote electronic music until he dropped out of school at 16 to ramble drunkenly across Europe. There, he heard Balkan gypsy music and fell in love with European folk, country by country.

Filmed over four years in 18 countries and paid for out of the pocket of its co-writer and producer Tarsem Singh, The Fall is a true labour of love – and I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it.

The film begins like all fantastical adventures do, with a child listening to a story. She is Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a five year-old Romanian girl with a broken arm. The place is a picturesque Los Angeles hospital, 1915; the narrator is Roy Walker (Lee Pace), an injured silent movie stuntman with a busted leg and a broken heart.

In 2007, Joel and Ethan Coen released No Country for Old Men, a grim tale of greed and evil revolving around a cat-and-mouse manhunt and a briefcase filled with drug money. The film was haunting, tense and immersive; it won Picture of the Year, among three other Oscar victories.

Here’s a little known fact: life is hard on everyone. Writers, philosophers and painters experience some dismal failures and hardships too. In fact, critics can feel participation in these hardships—even relate their own—by reading a book or studying a painting. Below is a list of artists who have created new genres and molded new mediums with their suffering. After I finished this list, I wondered where an artist’s drive comes from in tough situations. Does great art stem from the artists’ own suffering? Is human suffering the cause of great art? Regardless, consider this a collection of the more unknown parts of these artists’ lives.

What do Soundgarden, The Eagles and DCTalk all have in common? No, it’s not just vocalists with disappointing solo careers; each band has also been included in some version of a Guitar Hero-style video game. Toby McKeehan and company make their game debut alongside groups like 12 Stones and Reliant K in a new edition that features only Christian music.

The release of Guitar Praise: Solid Rock, Digital Praise (no affiliation to the actual Guitar Hero or its developers) retunes GH’s proven game play and style into a more religiously-appropriate experience. From the entirely Christian-based song list to the inclusion of on-screen lyrics that the crowd is encouraged to “sing along with,” Guitar Praise tries hard to attract the Christian music fan demographic that may not be content with GH’s “unsavoury” lyrics and “questionable” graphic choices.

Comic-Con International is an all-in-one multimedia industry expo and multigenre fan convention that has made San Diego, California its home since 1972. As its name implies, the central industry represented at Comic-Con is that of comic book.

Comic-Con’s rank in the world of conventions is the most popular multimedia convention in North America. Comic-Con is the launching pad for TV shows, movies, novels, and of course, comic books. Aside from being an important advertising event, Comic-Con is the home of the Eisner awards, which is the comic book equivalent of the Oscars. Comic-Con is a place for professionals, amateurs, and fans to make connections to the from across the globe.