The new House of Blues Boston venue sits on Lansdowne Street snug between older clubs and taking up the space that once held the Axis and Avalon clubs. The HOB opens tonight, with a one-time reunion show of the J. Geils Band making the return of the House of Blues franchise after shutting the doors of the Harvard Square venue in 2003.

Just like real love, love songs are equally as complicated. As we approach the annual holiday of love, The MUSE has taken the liberty of dissecting the four major types of love songs to get you through your Valentine's Day, whether you're spending it with that special someone, or experiencing it vicariously through your roommate and her boyfriend on the other side of your bedroom wall.

Lily Allen's new CD 'It's Not Me, It's You,' released February 9, picks up where the British artist's hit debut 'Alright, Still' left off. The sassy Allen pairs light music and edgy lyrics with her bubble gum voice to produce a unique audio experience.

In the past few months, music award shows have come and gone. The Video Music Awards was once again The Britney Show. The American Music Awards telecast hasn't been the same since an inebriated Anna Nicole introduced Kanye West (damn, we miss her). The Country Music Awards are cool if you like country, I guess . . .

Glasgow's kings of rock, Franz Ferdinand, have been doing some soul searching. It's been four years since their last album and the boys are back with a sound that falls just short of a reinvention.

Walking into a music venue, the first thing that strikes you is the atmosphere. And as Trampled By Turtles, a five-piece string band from Duluth, MN, took the stage Monday night at The Middle East, the whirlwind of bluegrass and dancing that erupted in the room was electric.

BU students aren't an easy sell, so when Rapper Steph achieved a standing ovation at BU Central after her first open mic performance, Base Trip Records President Conor Loughman (COM '10) knew he'd struck musical gold in a lyrically charged five-foot-nothing rapper-girl from the North Shore.

When Fox News anchors erupted in a nearly six-minute debate Tuesday about the significance of the 'embedded messages' in Britney Spears' newest single, 'If U Seek Amy,' I sat perplexed.

When a famous band breaks up, fans have a field day choosing the odds of who will have the most successful solo career. Some go on and ascend to superstardom (one word: 'Imagine') while others end up on Dancing with the Stars.

On Merriweather Post Pavilion, the eighth studio album from Animal Collective, the band did something shocking: there's not one song that exceeds six minutes. Considering 'Visiting Friends' from earlier album Sung Tongs exceeded the 12-minute marker, this is quite a surprise.

I've never had the self control to keep a new year's resolution. Last year's commitment to get in shape left me in tears binge-eating Domino's by January 4th. So this year, rather than torture myself with the dieting, hours of studying and overall depression caused by the resolutions I choose, I decided, instead, to pick one I knew I could keep: go to more concerts (okay, and maybe go to FitRec, like, once this semester).

Growing up, I was raised to be vocal about the things I believe in. For me, that's good pop music, and good pop music, my friends, comes from across the pond, where people are passionate for pop.