Coldplay

After reading Robert Hilburn's article on Coldplay ("Sincerely Yours," June 29), I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to you for pointing the spotlight on the most pressing existential issue facing pop music today -- the absence of real, unpackaged honesty and feeling. It is Coldplay's unabashed sincerity that makes it worth following, worth listening to. The band has something to say and it really means it. I grew up watching edgy, alternative rock videos on MTV (yes, it was truly Music TeleVision at one time, but that was before Carson Daly and Britney Spears moved into the beach house)

Pete Townshend, the Who guitarist famous for his windmill strums and battles with hearing loss, was apparently worried about the latter issue during the kickoff night of his band's latest tour. At the end of his set in Sunrise, Fla., Townshend reportedly walked offstage during an encore performance of "You Better You Bet," gesturing to sound engineers that the on-stage monitors were too loud. Townshend, 67, failed to return, even when the band played live staple "Baba O'Reilly" which closed the night.

If you are going up against a giant, it helps if you too are a giant. And scrappy. That appears to be Amazon.com's strategy as its MP3 store takes on Apple's iTunes in digital music. Today, the British alternative rock group Coldplay is releasing its new album, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends." Amazon is using the occasion to wave in more customers with huge discounts. Amazon said it would begin selling digital versions of past Coldplay albums for bargain-basement prices.

Surrendering to Acetone's droning melodiousness, the listeners ringing the low stage at the Fold in the Silverlake Lounge on Thursday often closed their eyes and leaned into the music, swaying slightly as the band's alt-roots-rock took them on some private trip. At times, singer-bassist Richie Lee did the same thing. The L.A. trio of Lee, guitarist Mark Lightcap and drummer Steve Hadley found its tiny cult niche in the mid-'90s.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Monday. Dennis Quaid on troubled Randy Quaid: "I miss my brother. " ( People ) This weekend's Reality Rocks convention was kind of a bust. ( Los Angeles Times ) Nick Cannon bolted from Reality Rocks this weekend to be with Mariah Carey. Are the twins on the way? ( Radar Online ) The prolific director Sidney Lumet has died. ( Los Angeles Times ) The Canadian sitcom "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is popular in 83 countries but can't be seen in the U.S., making it sort of the anti-"Baywatch.

An authorized biography of Steve Jobs was high on bestseller lists within hours of Apple's announcement of his death. And publisher Simon & Schuster said Thursday that the release date has been moved up from Nov. 21 to Oct. 24. As of Thursday morning, Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" was No.1 on Amazon.com and No.3 on Barnes & Noble.com. Fittingly, the book also topped Apple's own list: the iTunes books bestseller list. Isaacson's book includes extensive interviews with the Apple co-founder, who rarely discussed his private life.

Perhaps you've just emerged from a Christmas food coma or have serious time management issues, but now you've arrived at New Year's Eve without plans. We've got you covered. From top-ticket bashes to fun stops with friends, here are a few quick points of navigation before your party ship sails. Pony up: If you love a good train wreck, get over your crowd complex and hit Hollywood. The mess of traffic, mile-long lines and drunken scenes is really what New Year's Eve is all about.

Brit­ish roots mu­sic band Mum­ford & Sons took the top hon­or for its album "Ba­bel" at the 55th Grammy Awards ce­re­mony Sunday. The night mostly dis­trib­uted hon­ors broadly to an ar­ray of young­er gen­er­a­tion acts in­clud­ing New York in­die trio Fun., Aus­trali­an elec­tron­ic pop artist Gotye, rap­per-R&B sing­er Frank Ocean and Ak­ron, Ohio, rock group the Black Keys. See the complete list of 2013 Grammy winners and nominees below. #story-body-text h2 { font-weight: bold !

In its glory days, the Forum was Southern California's preeminent entertainment venue, a behemoth with Roman columns where adoring fans came to see the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Wayne Gretzky and Bob Dylan. But the famous round building fell on hard times. The Los Angeles Lakers and Kings moved downtown. Other venues in up-and-coming neighborhoods came along to nab the concert business. And, in the end, the Forum was bought by the Faithful Central Bible Church and all but forgotten.