We’ve always had this weird love/hate relationship with instrumental music and the bands who play it. One the one hand, instrumentals are transcendentally personal, evoking a different image or concept in every listener. What’s sad to one person might be peaceful to another. There’s no singer telling us exactly what the piece is about. Also, instrumentals require a certain technical mastery on the part of the musicians that songs with vocalists can slide on, less......

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......

Brrrrlesque Saturday, December 15, midnight Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St., Brookline (T: Coolidge Corner) $12.50 in advance, $20 at the door Official Boston Babydolls site In the press release we got, Boston Babydolls impresario Scratch declares, "People hate the cold, the rising gas prices, and - of course - the snow. But there's a lot that's beautiful about new England in the winter, and we wanted to remind people of some of those things."......

Rack 'Em Up With the Boston Babydolls Sunday, November 11, 8:00 pm Flat Top Johnny's, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge America's Next Top Model competitor Sarah, of Heath, was eliminated from the show on Wednesday (check out our interview with her, which will appear this afternoon at 1:00)--and the Boston Babydolls are none too happy about it. Sarah is a member of the burlesque troupe and performs as Vita Lightly. The Boston Babydolls put out a......

--Beauty and the Geek: John, the MIT student Bostonist thinks is most likely to get some, received a "booty dance" from one of the beauties and admitted, "I didn’t know where to look." Romance was also on the minds of the other local contestants. Girl geek Nicole admitted that she had a crush on one of the boy geeks. Somerville LARPer Dave said of her revelation in his confessional, "I have to admit, my curiosity......

The Boston Babydolls will perform "Burlesque: By Women, For Women" on Tuesday, May 15, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12, and no men will be admitted. OK, men can read this to whet their appetite for burlesque, but they're not invited to the Boston Babydolls Ladies Only burlesque show at Coolidge Corner. The Babydolls are recreating the heyday of burlesque, when shows "for ladies without escorts" sold out. Bostonist asked Miss Mina some questions......