With the tagline "Does for rock and roll what The Sound of Music did for hills", we wonder if you can possibly refuse this week´s SubCinema screening. The film in question is This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. That is, a fake documentary about a fake band - that became real in the process. Well, kind of real anyway. more ›

So, why do heavy bands employ the devilish double dot? To quote Spinal Tap guitarist David St. Hubbins (not to be confused with Shanghai-based English-language magazine freelancer, David Hubbins): "It’s like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you." Spinal Tap, incidentally, also rocks the umlaut, but it’s over the “n” -- and since that combination doesn’t exist in any language, it can’t be replicated on this page -- at least not using our version of Word. (Tap fans will also be aware that there is no dot over the “i” in the group’s name). more ›

The Hilton Shanghai looked less like a hotel and more like an airport when Shanghaiist visited last night. Set up in the foyer was an x-ray machine exactly like the ones you find at Pudong or any other international airport, and each guest who entered the hotel was asked to put their luggage on the conveyor belt for a security check. Unlike when we travel home from China for a holiday, Shanghaiist wasn’t harbouring 400 DVDs and 10 Xiangyang watches in our bag, so we had nothing to be nervous about. more ›

Aficionados of the "widdly widdly" school of guitaring, bend your whammy bars with joy. Paul Gilbert is coming to Shanghai next month! more ›