NEWS & FEATURES

In a city as expensive as Boston, where clubs need to fund their overhead, Camille Dodero finds avant-garde rock musicians are heading underground - literally - to perform in a loose network of house-basement shows.

Adam Reilly thinks Tom Finneran's efforts to spin his departure from the House Speakership as his own choice just don't carry water.

Dan Kennedy on how Dan Rather and CBS handed the right wing a gift of incalculable value by flubbing the story on Bush's National Guard service.

The criminal-case backlog swamping the Suffolk County DA's Office is so bad that a special Superior Court session has convened to hear homicide cases that have been languishing for years. That's a good thing, but it's not going to solve the underlying problems. David Bernstein reports.

Orchid Thief author and former Boston Phoenix writer Susan Orlean talks to Tamara Wieder about her latest hard-to-classify work.

In "Savage Love," Dan is spreading the word.

In "Out There," Alan Olifson reports on an awesome holiday.

In "Urban Buy," Nina Schwartz says it's a bling thing.

In the Phoenix editorial, It's time for Boston University to hold WBUR accountable to the public that supports it. Plus, thoughts on Finneran's departure.

Letters to the editor

Moon Signs

Plus, this just in:

MUSIC

The Black Keys and half a dozen other picks for this weekend's NEMO festival, from Ted Drozdowski.

Sean Richardson hears the Von Bondies and Auf der Maur living out their own.

Mikael Wood sits down with Northern State, three white girls with a rap.

Franklin Bruno listens to Louis Jordan on DVD and Baby Dodds alone at the drums.

The Datsuns and the garage revival, as heard by Brett Milano.

Green Day take a big leap forward, Matt Ashare reports.

Michael Alan Goldberg talks to Supergrass as the band celebrates a decade of stargazing.

Also, short reviews of:

THEATER

Carolyn Clay says the new play Ballast puts a different spin on the Irish-American psyche.

Iris Fanger says Swing! don't (have to) mean a thing to entertain.

ART

Christopher Mills is wowed by the photographic fantasies of Robert ParkeHarrison.

BOOKS

Nina MacLaughlin meets fresh and familiar characters in Barbara Sutton's debut collection of stories, The Send-Away Girl.

TELEVISION

Joyce Millman says that Lost is the best para-normal series to hit television since Alias, but Cop Shop's not so great.

HOTDOTS: TUESDAY 5 9:00 (2, 7) Debates 2004: The Veeps Mouth Off. Gwen Ifill moderates this face-off in Cleveland between Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards and would-be fascist despot and current VP Dick Cheney. By Clif Garboden

FOOD

SPECIALS