Arts & Culture

Pretend it's the '80s. A stranger approaches you on the street and says "I record my music digitally." You would think to yourself, "Ah, this individual must be familiar binary code, aliasing, patching and has probably earned a degree in computer engineering or mathematics from a modest institution." Thankfully, technology has managed to catch up with the modern boob; whereas now, participating in the digital home-recording revolution is as simple as clicking the red circle on your screen and yelling toward the computer mic.

Of all the bands to have emerged from the now legendary Smell community, with the possible exception of No Age, none has gained so much hype and publicity as Health.

Last Friday's lingering humid haze brought about a warm and sluggish afternoon in downtown Davis. The strangely dreary weather and lack of people wandering the streets led a person to believe there wasn't much going on downtown.

It's hard to believe that this British punk band - who was once a teenage garage experiment -- turned to the guise of a darker follow-up to their previous album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. Undeniably, Arctic Monkeys seeped into a heavier style that is much of anextension from frontman Alex Turner's side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.

An art auction will take place at the Pence Art Gallery in downtown Davis at 212 D St., beginning on Tuesday Aug. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A month-long exhibition of artwork by selected artists will continue until the night of Sept. 19, where a gala event will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with silent and live bidding, live music and food from local venues.

The world of indie music is currently shifting toward electronically enhanced methods of music production. However, Portland-based duo Yacht has not made any significant changes - causing the band's music to fall into the snowballing genre of electro pop. Yacht, consisting of Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans (a fairly recent addition), released their second album See Mystery Lights on July 29.

MUSIC

Monsters of Accordion

Today, 8 p.m., $10

Luigi's Fun Garden in Sacramento

Their title is appropriately fitting - Monsters of Accordion is an eclectic group of accordion-playing musicians with a knack for low, almost spoken singing. Think Cake, with a soundtrack-like feeling and without the trumpet. As terrible as an accordion-based band might sound, their ironic waltzes and creative lyrics simply work. Check them out on Myspace if you don't believe me ("Dance While the Sky Crashes" is definitely worth a full-length listen).

Friday, 11:52 a.m.: as the sun begins its daily dose of punishment, I find myself on the Wyatt Deck, engulfed in shade. Surrounding me is a diverse crowd of mostly middle-aged strangers; some busy tuning their guitars or mandolins, others reenacting the Bob Dylan New Jersey incident. Thankfully, they think enough of me to assume that I know who Bob Dylan is. I am at the Arboretum Folk Music Jam Session.

Though it was an effortful attempt aimed to claim back their spot in this new era of musical territory, it was not enough for the band to carry on their legendary legacy as alt-rock gods who stole the charts with songs like "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's it Going to Be" and "Jumper."

The Time Traveler's Wife is a peculiar movie for its kind. The key phrase "time traveler" is right there in the title, yet this film is an outlier in the science fiction genre.

In past years, Pennsylvanian rapper Amanda Blank has collaborated with artists such as M.I.A., Spank Rock, Santigold (previously known as Santogold), Ghostface Killah and Aaron LaCrate. However, her latest hip-hop album I Love You, released on Aug. 4, has proven that she has lost most, if not all, of the talent that allowed her to rub musical shoulders with the previously mentioned musicians.