With so many bands and so little time, making decisions on which sets to check out at Lollapalooza, Chicago’s biggest music festival of the year, and which to miss out on can be a bit stressful. Of course, headliners like Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Wilco, Nine Inch Nails and Kanye West are givens, but with so many promising smaller acts performing in different areas at the same times—in forecasted temperatures of above 90 degrees, nonetheless—pre-planning is absolutely necessary.

With so many bands and so little time, making decisions on which sets to check out at Lollapalooza, Chicago’s biggest music festival of the year, and which to miss out on can be a bit stressful. Of course, headliners like Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Wilco, Nine Inch Nails and Kanye West are givens, but with so many promising smaller acts performing in different areas at the same times—in forecasted temperatures of above 90 degrees, nonetheless—pre-planning is absolutely necessary.

His shows draw upward of 3,000 fans in his hometown of Minneapolis, though according to singer-songwriter Mason Jennings, he doesn’t have a favorite city when he performs live. The only thing that matters, he said, is that the audience enjoys the moment. Jennings is known for his voice, which is one of the most unique in folk rock music. It has a honey-thick, meandering tone that dodges in and out of the foreground, awkward and effortless all at once. His music is sweet and simple, resonating with the use of his acoustic guitar, and sometimes a piano and drums.

Nearly 15 years after its release, Liz Phair’s Exile In Guyville, an album often touted by music buffs, critics and ranked as one of the top 500 albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine—is back. Chicago native, Liz Phair, the ingenue behind the classic lo-fi album, is re-issuing the record for its 15th anniversary on indie label ATO Records on June 24.

After Damian Kulash and Tim Nordwind met over a game of ping-pong at a summer camp in Michigan when they were 11 and 12, they quickly formed a friendship that would last for years to come. After attending the same summer camp for several summers and keeping in touch during their college years, Kulash and Nordwind began sending music recordings to each other, starting a habit that would lead to the formation of a band.

As millions of fans clamored to get a copy of Grand Theft Auto 4 during the week of April 29, the biggest question facing the new game is how it will stand next to its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rockstar North, the developer of Grand Theft Auto 4, has implemented more multiplayer options to accommodate the online capabilities of next generation consoles, and the game’s setting, Liberty City, also has been updated. With top-notch graphics, gameplay and sound, Grand Theft Auto 4 is a fantastic video game with a few missing pieces to its criminally-engaging puzzle.

Fifty years ago, a lesbian nightlife scene in Chicago seemed like a fantasy. Now, as society has become more accepting of the GLBT community, more bars, clubs and events are springing up around the city to make up for lost time, said Ken Mallwitz, the general manager at Spin Nightclub, 800 W. Belmont Ave.

Weather fanatics armed with cameras capture massive tornadoes enveloping small Midwestern towns every day and plaster their footage all over the Internet. Even mainstream movies like Twister have tapped into the phenomenon of high-speed chases to catch sight of severe thunderstorms and the damage they create.

The sweet scent of muffins, scones and other assorted pastries waft through the oven doors and into the sitting lounge as they are placed behind glass cases and rested upon trays and dishes. Fresh coffee is brewed and the employees are busy at work, cooking more pastries. Yet these baked goods were not put into the oven by seasoned confectioners. They were baked by previously unemployed homeless youth.

Though the Jammy Awards were able to bring together the members of Phish for the first time since they broke up four years ago, the reunion may not have been everything Phish-heads had hoped for. While all members of the beloved jam-band appeared—and two of them grooved onstage (Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell)—they didn’t perform together on May 7. And as they accepted their lifetime achievement award, there was no hint of another reunion, dashing rumbling hopes that Phish might become the latest act to get back together for a blockbuster tour.

When was the last time a superhero was overshadowed by his alter ego? It’s difficult to imagine an audience preferring to see a film solely about boorish billionaire Bruce Wayne or squeaky-clean geek Peter Parker. But in the case of Iron Man, the real hero is the man behind the mask, Tony Stark. With his bitingly brusque wit, whimsically carefree demeanor and spectacular self-assurance, he is the single most engaging alter-ego ever brought to the screen.

Last year, Steven Rosengard, a former Columbia student, competed briefly on the hit fashion design show. This year, Columbia alumni Terri Stevens, a 39-year-old fashion designer and visual stylist, will duke it out with 15 other designers to fight to be the winner of “Project Runway.”

Last weekend, while I was eating my dad’s homemade meatloaf, I had a revelation: I need to pack up my belongings, move out on my own and finally learn how to cook.

Bob Krause served 13 years in the military without anyone ever realizing his “secret.” Though he managed to hide his picky eating habit from his fellow soldiers and still lives with it today, it’s an everyday struggle to get through certain social situations involving food.

There’s no literary quote I can steal to sum up how I feel about college now that it’s at the end. No famous poet has ever worked at The Chronicle—let’s just say that. Our office was much more colorful than most. Perhaps the better word is “crude.” A little thing called “decency standards” were implemented a semester after I started, if that gives any inkling of how the managers tried to curb this manifestation of poor behavior. But it was, unapologetically, the most entertaining time of my life.

Stephanie Kuehnert has been busy. She hosted her first book signing at Chicago’s Women and Children First bookstore, 5233 N. Clark St., and the young author has been scheduling press interviews back-to-back all summer. “It’s kind of getting overwhelming, to be honest,” Kuehnert said. “I’ve got a lot to do in very little time. It’s been great; I can’t be happier about it.”