Sam's Kid (811 S. Broadway) boasts an intriguing pan-Asian menu in a brightly lit Fells Point storefront. Tapas Adela (814 S. Broadway, [410] 534-6262), part of the Kali's Restaurant Group, brings Spanish tapas to the former Southern Accents space by the Admiral Fell Inn. Look for "'Americana' fare influenced by immigrating cultures and sustainable philosophies"—or so says the web site—at Mr. Rain's Fun House (800 Key Highway, [443] 524-7379) in the American Visionary Arts Museum. La ... [MORE]

The Hartford Courant, a Tribune-owned newspaper covering the capital city and suburbs of Connecticut, is being sued by a smaller paper over a discontinued policy of news "aggregation." The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Conn., filed the suit in state court, which alleges violation of copyright law and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, according to a story in the Journal Inquirer. Massive layoffs at the Courant (and other Tribune papers) before and since last year's bankruptcy filing ... [MORE]

Chicago's venerable Thrill Jockey label continues its march toward a Baltimore music monopoly: Future Islands are the latest signing. The synth-pop trio is also finally getting some good national buzz--with a little help from beatscaper Jones and Beach House's Victoria LeGrand. [Pitchfork] Sonar holds a benefit show for the family of Kevin Hannigan, the drummer of Baltimore sludge band Wake Up on Fire, who passed away last week. Participating bands include Magrudergrind, Vincent Black Shadow, Pi ... [MORE]

Compilation mixtapes that attempt to give an overview of Baltimore hip-hop, or even simply summarize what's happening at the moment, rarely come even close to getting it right. But if there's anybody who has a fighting chance, it's Architects Recording Studio, who record a huge percentage of the city's best known rappers, and began teaming with DJ Radio for the Street Radio series in 2005. After a few dormant years with no new installments, the creation of Architects' new download web site AllB ... [MORE]

Of Teen Dreams' 10 tracks, due this January on Sub Pop, this song feels like one of the more Beach House-we-know: soft maybe-programmed percussion; Victoria LeGrande singing somehow always facing away from you in that sweet, just-woke-up voice; organ; glissando, dream-state guitar. Add in some backing vocals and bring the production somewhat up from the duo's resolute underwater aesthetic, and you have the newer, more-polished Beach House that may surprise some people. Also: this is the song th ... [MORE]

Today the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit, non-partisan research organization focusing on government taxation and spending, released a new report called Who Pays?, which analyzes the tax systems of each of the 50 states. Not surprisingly, the report determined that the tax policies of most states are regressive in nature: Nearly every state and local system the report looked at takes a greater share of income from lower- and middle-income families than from wealthy familie ... [MORE]

Marlow Bates' stint in prison, where he's been detained since his April arrest for aiding an alleged drug-dealing conspiracy by the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) prison gang ("Black-Booked"), appears to have improved his health and outlook. As he stands before U.S. District Court judge William Quarles in court on Nov. 17, preparing to hear his sentence after entering a guilty plea in August, Bates' neatly cropped hair, smiling face, and alert bearing stand in stark contrast to his booking photo, ... [MORE]

The introduction to the 1999 edition of City Paper's Holiday Guide advises readers to "exercise your freedom of choice to do what we tell you." The cover art—Shepard Fairey's "Obey Santa"—sets an appropriate tone. Suggested gifts include East German guard hats, items being auctioned from the recently closed Haussner's Restaurant (such as a giant ball of string), shrunken heads from the American Dime Museum, boxes of Millenios cereal, mistletoe belt-buckles, bookbinding classes, and ... [MORE]

At a rave, typically, the dancers move in place and the lights and smoke move around them to produce the trippy, disorienting feeling. At a polka hall such as Maryland's Blob's Park, there's no smoke and the lights are stationary, but the dancers spin round and round to produce a very similar sensation. Last Saturday night, after an especially vigorous version of "The You're Gonna Cry Polka," my dance partner had to lean over, hands on knees, to stop the lights inside her head from spinning. But ... [MORE]

Dena DeRose opened her show at the Baltimore Museum of Art Sunday with two finger-snapping songs recorded by the late, great Shirley Horn: "Travelin' Light" and "Don't Be on the Outside." The implication was obvious: Washington D.C. native Horn always had to fight for respect as a jazz pianist, because most people couldn't see past the fact that she was also a gifted, attractive female singer—and DeRose is fighting the same battle. She made some more headway this weekend. She began "How ... [MORE]

The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson was once quoted as saying his most ambitious, idiosyncratic arrangements were intended as a "teenage symphony to God." Michigan's Randy Chabot could perhaps be said to have attempted something similar, but with harmonic synths instead of singers and a backdrop of outer space instead of surf and sand. His Deastro project first gained acclaim with 2008's Keepers—a collection of home dream-synth-pop recordings, some from 10 years ago when he was barely 13--then re ... [MORE]

According to a Pitchfork post, Baltimore's pop magician has been hospitalized for the painful back condition acute sciatica. All dates on his current tour, including several in New York and next Wednesday's Baltimore show, have been canceled. We wish him the best. ... [MORE]