Jorge Furtado's Porto Alegre Harvard Film Archive Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge Friday, March 7 -- Saturday, March 8 More information Brazilian director Jorge Furtado's work should be better known among American film audiences. His movies are hilarious, thoughtful and unpretentious -- they aim to entertain above all else. The Man Who Copied (O Homem Que Copiava) (2003, screening Friday) is a case in point. It's the story of André (Lázaro Ramos), whose humdrum......

Say hello to new columnist Ol' Scratch, who is posting on all things retro in Boston. Here's how he describes "Retroville" to us: "Amongst Boston's many underground scenes and small, quirky social groups, a segment who are passionate about the 'classic' lifestyle has arisen. Whether it's the greasers who love rockabilly, the classy cabaret kids, the swing dancers, or the bodacious burlesquers, they've all got one thing in common: They all live in Retroville." With......

Daft Punk's Electroma Gus Van Sant, Isaac Asimov, and a French-loving raver walk into the desert... Not a joke, but the vibe of Daft Punk's art-house film debut that debuted at Cannes in '06. In what could either be called a long-form music video or a 74-minute silent movie, it's a beautifully-filmed story that touches on some classic human themes, but in a really twisted way starring robots. (It better have been filmed beautifully......

Dancing Hipsters Probably most famous for dating producing transatlantic hipster heartthrob MIA, Diplo made his name DJing. He's a dance music polymath who introduced the world to Brazilian Funk Carioca and Baltimore Club while inspiring a legion of white guys in skinny jeans to invest in Serato Scratch Live. He spins in Allston tonight. Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave, Allston. 9:00 pm. $15. Music --Darkbuster's Hometown Throwup continues with Hub City Stompers, The Allstonians,......

--A Brazilian doctor pled guilty today of manslaughter after allegedly killing a woman in a botched liposuction surgery that took place in a Framingham house in 2006. However, the judge has rejected the guilty plea. [WBZ] --The elderly and disabled are understandably unhappy that the Rolling Rally will be held the same day as Super Tuesday should the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. During a Rolling Rally, it is impossible to cross......

--The man shot yesterday on Harvard Street in Dorchester was leaving a funeral when he was hit. The man, 17, is in critical condition. According to the Globe, the funeral was for Charles Bunch, who died on October 14, possibly as a result of gang activity. Michele McPhee's sources ID'd the victim as David Johnson. She also noted that Johnson and the person who shot him were both wearing memorial buttons for Charles Bunch. --On......

Celebrate the origins of the Native American genocide by going to see some European art! Bostonist couldn't miss that irony. But the truth is, if you've got this rainy Columbus Day off anyway, you could do worse than to check out the Fenway Cultural District's "Opening Our Doors." All the museums in the area are free today, from the MFA to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (The reaction of one Bostonian: "The Gardner's free?! That......

--Police picked up Mark Leaston because, according to the DA's office, "Evidence suggests that Leaston forced a 22-year-old woman into his U-Haul, drove her to nearby Kineo Street, and touched her against her will before ordering her out of the truck." Leaston's lawyer is saying that it wasn't kidnapping but that the woman was a prostitute, and Leaston was fighting with her. According to the Globe, the lawyer, Richard Doyle, dropped the words "pounding the......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

The April rain is seemingly behind us, the flowers are springing, but we're not yet upon summer festival season. Soon enough we won't be able to go a weekend without a sleepless night with ringing in our ears as we spent too many hours in the heat a little too close to a bank of speakers broadcasting to the masses. Well, that or a sweet show at Harbor Lights The Pavilion. Tuesday, 5/8 Grant-Lee......

This Sunday Project Bread's Walk for Hunger takes over the streets of Boston, Newton, Watertown…oh, you get the picture. The walk starts in the morning and thousands of people will be walking to raise money to support food banks, soup kitchens, and other initiatives across the Commonwealth. There are lots of good shows going on this week – and it's capped off with a weekend extravaganza that includes both Arts First and Harvard Square's......

A weekend stand of winning baseball at home when the Sox take it to the Angels followed by the all day boozy spectator sport that is the Boston Marathon it's going to be a long week. Lucky for music fans there's a lot to look forward to and keep you up all night with that lovely ringing in your ears that only comes from live music. Tuesday, 4/17 Sammy Miami's Southern Alternative Acoustic Jamboree......

The state of the sidewalks around Boston kept us on our asses this weekend. Not so much of the figurative kind where we sat at home and skipped a show because it was too hard to get around. No, more the literal kind where we kept falling down because of that damn 2" layer of ice that was pretty much everywhere. This week they tell us that the temperature is rising by week's end.......

People who double-park can be a royal pain, especially if they're dropping off a passenger who is taking a little too long to get out of the car. But double-parking is not grounds for vehicular homicide! The BPD reports on a 60-year-old guy who, fed up with a woman who double-parked in front of him to let out a passenger, lost his mind, honked his horn, and then took it to the limit: The victim......

A new café reminiscent of one of those you'd find tucked away off a small stone street in Barecelona’s Zona Antigua, artistic, unique, relaxed, has just opened. The afro-cuban music in the background is at a volume that allows easy conversation; as a gallery, the walls are covered with vibrant art. It has recently opened in the North End, architecturally, the most European neighborhood. “Flamepoeira” serves first-rate espresso drinks, delicious Euro/Asian-flavored dishes, and wonderful desserts.......

We're thinking of format. No, not like the formatting changes that WERS just made to their programming. More like readability of the weekly picks. It's fall now, and since we never really get around to spring cleaning in the spring, maybe we'll get to it in the fall. If you've got suggestions drop them in an email to music at bostonist.com or just right in the comments. But be on the lookout – this......

Why ramble? We've got shows to get out and see. We could put up a whole narrative about the state we were left in after NEMO and BeanTown Jazz swept through this weekend. But not now. Monday 10/2 Built to Spill with Helvetia Built to Spill delivers Indie Rock from when they first hit our radar on college radio and they actually were an indie band. They've been with Warner Bros. for what seems......

Fall seems to have set in, at least for now. the temperatures are dropping and people all over the metro have been forced to put their flip-flops away for some more sensible footwear. At least until it gets warm again in another week. Or so we hope. Music abounds again this week and we're listening. Tuesday, 9/12 Branford Marsalis Quartet Braggtown CD Release Concert Berklee alum Branford Marsalis created Cambridge-based (and Rounder distributed) Marsalis......

The temperature heats up a little this week. There will be a bit more humidity in the air. But unlike last week we're not going to be engaged in the same mad-dash around the city every night to catch all the good music. This week we can take our pick, settle in with a pint, and catch the good tunes at a single venue. Fantastic line-ups mark this weeks picks. From the opening band......

The debacle that was Hot Stove, Cool Music last week has made us ready for a week of good music. The debacle in that it poured so hard they had to move the whole thing under the bleachers (inside). The sound quality was poor and James Taylor pulled a rock star move and only made the stage for a single song because he didn't have enough space. This week we're looking forward to cooler......

Apparently we're supposed to go to work this week. It's the first full week in July. We're not counting last week – there was enough time spent on various roof decks that it can't be called anything but lazy. This week the grind is back, but the music isn't taking a break. An eclectic mix make up this week's picks from indie rock to Elvis Costello to the Boston Typewriter Orchestra, they're not playing......

It's a good week to take the whole week off. Well, is there such a thing as a bad week to take off? Grilled meats will be invading your pores for the first time in such a heavy dose since Memorial Day, which was only about a month ago. In addition to this weeks picks for some of the great shows creeping up on us in Boston we'd like to point you over to......

The Globe ran a piece in today's edition about tensions in Framingham with some of the locals and their ire towards all the Brazilians making Framingham the spot for those immigrating from Samba-land. These days the Brazilians as a whole are much more conspicuous around Boston thanks to the World Cup. Green and yellow can be seen everywhere as the people from Brazil celebrate their Seleção in hopes that they bring home their record......

Though Bostonist is but a minor deity in the pantheon of the ist-a-verse, Gothamist LLC continues to rule Mount Olympus with its ever-growing might, and like Zeus, Gothamist's children periodically spring fully formed from its head, clad in full armor. So it is with Sampaist, São Paulo, Brazil's ist, which launches officially today, but emerges into the world in the full swing of things, chock full o' posts. In Portuguese. Conscious of Boston's status as......

The papers report today that an inmate in a Massachusetts state prison, doing a life term for the murder of his wife, is suing the Department of Corrections to force it to provide a sex change operation as part of his medical care. Naturally, this is not the first case of this kind to reach the federal courts. Nevertheless, there seems to be no sure answer as to whether the inmate, Robert/Michelle Kosilek, will prevail.......

We’re working for the weekend and it's only Monday. Rainy day outside and the sun is reported MIA until Wednesday. Despite the current gloom, things are looking mighty green outside - a good sign of spring. Flowering trees have done their thing and soon we’ll be smelling the lilacs. For now we’re settling for another cup of Stella while we soak up the tunes and the increasing temperatures. Monday 4/24: John Vanderslice mk Ultra......

We'll call it hit or miss. Some weeks are totally on and our agenda's are filled to the brim with great stuff. Some weeks we're pulling together a bunch of shows and thinking that the list of "go see" music is surprisingly spare. Just like the weather is wonderful an warm some weeks and gloomy others. This week we've collected a number of selections that will bring some sunshine to your gloomy day - or......