Music

Mark Thompson started his radio career at 16, as a janitor at a station in his hometown, Florence, Ala. On Friday, in his white Mercedes convertible, he'll pull away from KLOS-FM (95.5) on his own terms, having finished his final stint as co-host of the "Mark & Brian" show. " "It's just time," said Thompson, now 56. "Guys my age, they're dropping dead. There are other things I want to do. " His departure will mark the end of what is the longest-running morning radio show in the Los Angeles-Orange County market - one that has consistently been among the most popular for more than two decades, a collection of comedy bits, banter and celebrity interviews.

In its heyday, World Famous VIP Records in Long Beach had a full-time disc jockey playing music for customers, and clerks learned their clients' tastes so well they knew what to put on as soon as customers walked in the store. Over the years, VIP became a family owned chain, with 14 locations across Los Angeles County, the Long Beach store eventually emerging as the flagship. Now owned by Kelvin Anderson, VIP in Long Beach midwifed the careers of some of America's best-known hip-hop stars.

Forgive Liz Phair andA.R. Rahman for being unfamiliar with each other. Her world was the American indie-rock scene of the '90s, whereas his continues to expand. He's a Bollywood megastar who is said to have sold more than 350 million albums globally, and she is currently without a label, having released her last album direct to the Web. Only Hollywood could unite them. "I was not familiar with her, no," Rahman says of his songwriting partner on the score to"People Like Us,"the directing debut from frequent J.J. Abrams collaborator and"Star Trek"screenwriter Alex Kurtzman.

If the new Cirque du Soleil tribute to Michael Jackson, "Immortal," confirms one thing, it's that the King of Pop's presence, even in death, sure can rile up a crowd. Every time the late singer's image popped on-screen during the show's Las Vegas premiere on Saturday night, whether as a tyke with a golden voice as part of the Jackson 5 or as a Thriller with a sequined glove and a miraculous body for dance, the sold-out venue erupted, if only for a snapshot moment. But clips of Jackson being MJ, however magnetic, can't sustain an hour-and-a-half show dedicated to his music, nor can a dancing Bubbles the chimpanzee, big-Afroed J5 impersonators, a baffling mid-show cello solo, a sexy contortionist act atop a children's book, groups of synchronized mummies in hoop skirts and, most curiously, a life-sized dancing glove that looked more like a half-dead starfish.

A square-jawed security man was posted at NRG Studios in North Hollywood this summer, acting as a friendly if imposing presence to stand guard over the recording sessions of Linkin Park. Inside on most days was rapper-producer Mike Shinoda, working at the big soundboard or bent over a computer monitor, tinkering obsessively into the night with new sounds and mixes, and determined that nothing leak out to the world. "We've had to take some extra precautions," explained Shinoda, bearded and casual in a dark blue work shirt, speaking in July of the extra protection.

Carlos Santana's song "Game of Love" with Michelle Branch was a huge hit and even won the pair a Grammy. Still, for years, Santana wished that fans could have heard the original version -- with Tina Turner as his duet partner. In October, the guitar god will get his wish. Included on the release of "Ultimate Santana," a greatest-hits disc, will be the "Game of Love" song -- one version featuring Branch, and one featuring Turner.

This is Beverly Hills?, I wondered, oh so many years ago when a friend took me to lunch in a sweet little house with a fireplace on South Beverly Drive. Chez Mimi later moved to Santa Monica, and Urth Caffé now dispenses soy lattes and iced green tea from that rose-covered cottage. Back then (and now), South Beverly Drive didn't seem fancy at all, more like a small-town Main Street where you'd find shops selling nightgowns and one-piece swimming suits, baseball cards and birthday gifts.

The Internet has already changed how people shop for books, music, cars and a host of other consumer goods. Next up: prescription drugs. Or so the founders of a Santa Monica start-up called GoodRx are hoping. "There's no other site like it that we know of," said Scott Marlette, a former Facebook employee who's hoping to hit it big again with his new company. "We wanted to create a product where people can find the best pharmacy to go to. " GoodRx, based in a modest office building shared with other tech and media companies, has already attracted some big-name investors, including former Disney President Michael Ovitz and a handful of heavyweight venture-capital funds.

You know that feeling you get when you listen to a favorite part of a favorite song?  Some scientists have a refreshingly unscientific word for it: They call it the "chills. " In the lab they can measure the chills, which correspond with a specific pattern of brain arousal and often are accompanied by increases in heart and breathing rates and other physical responses.   Now neurologists report that this human response to music -- which has existed for thousands of years, across cultures around the world -- involves dopamine, the same chemical in the brain that is associated with the intense pleasure people get from more tangible rewards such as food or addictive drugs.