Groove

Enough already. The Times has written two full-length articles on the new adult-alternative rock radio station Channel 103.1 ("For KACD and KBCD, Time Is on Their Side," Nov. 12). Neither of the articles mentioned the devastating loss many L.A. listeners felt for the demise of the former dance-oriented Groove 103.1 radio. I thought the premise of interesting news articles should be about something unique and extraordinary, which Groove 103.1 was, but definitely not Channel 103.1 The new format simply reshuffles many of the same rock songs heard on many other stations in Los Angeles.

Raise a Champagne flute to sparkly simplicity, for the notion that bliss can arrive from something so primitive as a groove, that sweat mopped up with Pharrell Williams' shirt may be only a dance move away.  That's the central theme to Daft Punk's new video for "Lose Yourself to Dance," the shimmering ode to the health benefits and human-spirit lifting qualities of coming alive on the dance floor. A clip that feels like a lost outtake from "The Midnight Special" circa 1975, it's pretty straightforward: The helmeted French duo play keyboard and bass, guitarist and "Random Access Memories" collaborator Nile Rodgers strums a clean rhythm and a sunglassed Williams croons front and center.

Injured slugger Albert Pujols was able to witness firsthand Monday night what he saw on television over the last week and a half: an Angels team that has nothing to play for acting like a team that has everything to play for. Shortstop Erick Aybar broke out of a nine-for-60 slump in a big way, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning and a two-run triple in the sixth to lead the Angels to their ninth victory in 10 games, an...

The worst bullpen in the major leagues could have an All-Star in its midst. Brian Fuentes has bounced back from a slow start in a big way, converting 15 of his last 16 save opportunities. The Angels' closer entered Wednesday leading the American League with 20 saves and had not given up a run in his last seven appearances. "He's found his groove and I think we're seeing the guy we thought we were going to see," pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "I'm happy with what he's doing."

Dogs and their owners will unleash their inner grooviness Saturday when the 7 th Annual Balboa Barks: A Day of Peace, Love & Canine Companions kicks off in San Diego . The '60s-themed festival, in Balboa Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include activities, contests and food. Proceeds will benefit Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit Oceanside organization that provides assistance dogs to people with disabilities. The event, formerly called "Woofstock,"  will take place at the corner of Park Boulevard and Presidents Way. The entrance fee is $7, with parking free.

Aaron Harang had been the laggard, the one pitcher in the rotation struggling to find his form. The other four starters in the rotation were a blistering 15-5 with a 2.61 ERA. Harang started Thursday 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA. But it is beginning to look like the right-hander wants to join the party, and already has as far as the Padres are concerned, after leading the Dodgers to an easy 8-1 victory in San Diego. While the Dodgers were peppering Edinson Volquez and the Padres bullpen for 12 hits, Harang was holding San Diego scoreless in his seven innings on only four hits.

"We've had people faint and fall on the ground; we've had people throw up . . . ," starts Sky Shivers, manager of the Big Red Barn at the Los Angeles County Fair. He is describing various Southern Californians' reactions to watching a live cow birth. "We've had mothers shield their children's eyes and drag them out of the pen," he recollects with a chuckle and an Oklahoma drawl. Starting Saturday and running through Oct. 4, the L.A. County Fair is expected to lure roughly 70,000 people a day to the Pomona Fairplex for carnival rides, funnel cakes, live music and acres of sawdusty attractions including pig races, chicken hatchings, mini ponies, mammoth donkeys, baby bunnies and a new exhibit dedicated to the goat meat industry.

Who is A-Trak? C'mon, you know him. He's the DJ studiously manning the decks amid hip-hop star Kanye West's intricate stage settings, scratching and cutting with skills so sharp, he conquered all comers in the world of one-on-one DJ-ing and retired from battling at the ripe old age of 18.

CHICAGO - Vernon Wells worked with former Chicago Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo last winter to fix a swing that didn't work in 2011, when he hit a career-low .218 with 25 homers and 66 runs batted in. Since coming off the disabled list in late July, the outfielder has worked with Angels hitting coach Jim Eppard to improve his rhythm and timing, which have been off in four starts in nine days, in which Wells went 0 for 15 with five...

One of the hottest tickets in Los Angeles this month was for a last-minute club show by Atoms for Peace, the high-profile side project built around an odd couple of alternative-rock superstars. The concert was in preparation for an extensive world tour that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers were to launch in the wake of their debut, the February release "Amok. " The idea was to try out some of the Atoms material in front of a small audience at a cozy West Adams performance space temporarily dubbed Club Amok.

As dreadful and frustrating as his season has been, Josh Hamilton has not snapped a bat in two over his knee after a strikeout, fired a helmet against a dugout wall after hitting into a double play or gone all Manny Pacquiao on a water cooler after a popout. To fans angered by Hamilton's feeble .213 average, 10 home runs, 24 runs batted in and 73 strikeouts entering Wednesday night's game against Seattle - numbers that are hardly commensurate with the five-year, $125-million contract he signed in December - that's a sign of indifference.

Peter Bourjos was leading the Angels in batting when he strained his left hamstring six weeks ago and landed on the disabled list. And though Bourjos was hitless in two of the first three games he played since being reactivated this week, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia doesn't think Bourjos will have to start over to rediscover his groove. "There's no doubt it's going to take a little bit of time," he said. "A normal spring training, you're talking about 60 to 70 at-bats. I don't think we're there.

Blake Shelton and Shakira's teams stepped out live for the first time on "The Voice" on Tuesday night, as Teams Adam and Usher had done the previous night, to compete for audience votes as well as their coach's favor and vie for a spot in the top 12. The evening brought some terrific performances, including a riveting duet by Shelton and Shakira on Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now. " Shakira may have a citified sound and style, right down to her...

The heaviest place to be at Coachella 2013, from a sound perspective, wasn't in the sweet spot of the Main Stage rig while Phoenix was preparing for the arrival of R. Kelly, or at the heart of the Sahara stage during Baauer's big, dumb, joyous set of beat music, heavy on the synth riffs and dirty beats. It was nestled away near the food court in the Yuma tent, where four bass cabinets the size of Jeeps were parked in each corner of the room. The tent is the sixth and newest venue at the festival, and because it's fully enclosed, the bass can't escape.

Like a secular shrine, the dining-room wall of Juan Diego Borda's West L.A. bungalow is decorated with dozens of classic record-album covers. "Abbey Road. " "Sticky Fingers. " "Dirty Dancing Machine. " "Lords of Acid vs. Detroit. " For Borda and Andres "Popa" Erazo, the personable and articulate two-man electronica collective known as Palenke Soultribe, the wall is both inspirational and aspirational. It's a visual nudge, as well as a testament, to their ambitions as DJ-producer-musicians focused on importing cumbia and other Afro-Caribbean rhythms into the hissing global stew that is electronic dance music.

Here in the bowels of AT&T Park sits Manny Ramirez's locker. It's nothing fancy: bare and Ikea-like. On Tuesday, it held a pair of designer jeans, a dress shirt, a brown purse, three bats and three bottles of cologne. It is also twice as wide as any other players' cubicle -- which is fitting given Ramirez's outsized importance to his team. Emotionally, psychically, Ramirez probably cuts the widest swath of any single player on a contending major league team. He plows through, everyone else on the Dodgers follows.

It all started with the Kingston Trio. One day in 1963, a San Diego kid and his friends got their hands on an album by the popular folk group. Greg Deering, 12 at the time, recalls studying the musicians on the cover and thinking, "I've got to get a banjo" - not out of love for the twangy instrument but mainly because his pal already had a guitar. Fifty years later, Greg, his wife, Janet, and daughter Jamie preside over the bestselling banjo-making business in the U.S. From a small Spring Valley factory, the Deering Banjo Co. is having its best year ever, defying the U.S. skills gap and California's manufacturing doldrums.

One particular moment stood out during Barack Obama's first four years as a musical-minded president, and he delivered it in sweet falsetto. Offered with casual confidence at the Apollo Theater in Harlem almost exactly a year ago at a fundraiser, the president of the United States cooed the melody from "Let's Stay Together" by the Rev. Al Green. It was a mere three words along with an introductory wail - "Heeey, let's stay together" - but within it lay a quote packed with subtext.