Don't be fooled: Mandarin is a real Texas band. Its name is Chinese, and it certainly doesn't play straight country music or sport 10-gallon hats, but its music sounds just like Texas looks and feels--scorching, expansive, leisurely. Being a Texas...

It could be said that the Japanese have a better understanding of American culture than Americans do. Or, at least, that they're better at assimilating and restyling our culture. What else could explain the ultra-American, sensational pop music of...

It never works: Trying to pick a winner before the race is over, calling the election before every pencil mark and mouse click is accounted for, tabulated. (Insert your own Dan Rather/Peter Jennings/Tom Brokaw joke here, because we don't feel like...