A studio visit with composer Marvin Hamlisch.  A retirement home for former entertainers. A debate about race in the theater. Those were some of the top stories from Kurt Andersen, and Studio 360, this year.

Year-end lists are not just about remembering the best. Where there's the good, there's always the bad. Here are some "worst of the worst" lists that remind us of what we loved to hate in 2009.

The holiday season is no longer around the corner, it's here. However, the perfect gift for the classical music lover may not be. Good thing there's still a time to purchase something a little more personal than an Amazon.com gift card or another recording of a Beethoven symphony.

Julian Lennon says he wants his own Revolution. Along with digital pioneers Michael Birch and Todd Meagher, he just opened an artist-centric music company called theRevolution. One word. The group helps musicians take back control of their work from big timey labels and distribute directly to fans via the Internet.

The buzzy beach band Real Estate continues to make proverbial waves across the indie rock scene. The New Jersey natives just released their self-titled debut on Woodsist and plan to go on a European tour next month.

A selection of events for the weekend of Dec. 18 to 20.

Like David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Judas Priest before her, Tori Amos now joins the ranks of unlikely musicians to take the leap into the holiday music market. These albums can walk a fine line between festive and cheesy. But her new release, Midwinter Graces, overhauls traditional carols in a way only Tori Amos knows how. [Note that we haven't come down on the festive v. cheesy debate. That's up to you!]

A selection of cultural events to populate the weekend.

Singer/songwriter Erin McKeown has had a busy 2009.  She plays about 200 live shows a year and just released her eighth album, Hundreds of Lions. But it was going to someone else's concert that made a mark on her personally.

Watching Janelle Monae perform live is like watching a frenzied minister at a Baptist revival. The funk singer works herself into a trance-like state. High-pitched screaming, flailing and jerking are all part of her repertoire.

Ladies in pasties take the stage at the Met for its new production of  Les Contes d'Hoffmann. In this thoroughly modern version of the 19th Century tale, Jacques Offenbach's psychodrama about three failed love affairs is part-Kafka, part-Fellini. Watch the video.

Let’s be honest. It’s not just you. We noticed it, too. They Might Be Giants appear on public radio a lot. Like, a lot a lot. And not just at WNYC.

Photographer Matthew Neiderhauser first discovered Beijing’s underground music scene two years ago as a student. He noticed young artists flocking there and live music venues popping up all over town — all under the radar of government-controlled media outlets. So Neiderhauser picked up a camera and got to work.

Cucu Diamantes joined us to talk about the release of her solo debut, ''CuCuLand." (June 26, 2009)

The classically-trained violinist tells us which musicians he would love to work with in the future. The answer may surprise you.

David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Little Match Girl Passion made its U.S. debut at the Jerome L. Greene Space. The New York Virtuoso Singers performed the choral version Sunday night.