Sigmund Freud held steadfast to the notion that inside all human psyches is a sexual animal ready to get freaky.

Packaged as an action film, the grossly inaccurate marketing campaign of “The Grey” actually works in its favor, masking its thematically deep content and more crafted thrills.

There was a lot of positive energy at Chapel Hill’s Nightlight on Tuesday. Whether you’re into thrillingly energetic live shows, avant-garde vocals or joyful Beatles covers, VIRGINS hit all the stops.

If anyone can make a compilation of traditional hymns and rework them into folk songs, Jeff Crawford is the right man to do it. As music director of The Gathering Church in Durham, Crawford combines his experience as church music director with his presence in the local music scene as a producer and musician to render a new album that seamlessly combines tradition with variation, the old with the new.

Seldom do a banjo and a synthesizer find parallel roles throughout an album, but that is the case with North Elementary frontman John Harrison’s debut as Jphono1 with Living Is Easy. He blends harmonica, acoustic guitar and banjo with whirring synths, droning organs and programmed beats to create mellow tunes that could complement a sunny drive or a rainy day indoors. Jphono1 allows Harrison to add a bit more experimentation to his sound while giving his music a more intimate feel.

Tomorrow, WKNC, N.C. State University’s radio station, kicks off its two-night Double Barrel Benefit.

Any spy film that shies away from Bond and Bourne and takes a more realistic approach to espionage always faces the problem of building excitement. How does a director make secret meetings and sifting through documents as exciting as gun battles and one-liners? “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” does just that, and makes the world of intelligence work during the height of the Cold War come to life.

A wise prophet named Tyler Durden once said, “I want you to hit me as hard as you can.” Moviegoers want just the same from action films.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” begins as a balancing act between the emotional and the thoughtful in its approach of September 11, but ultimately teters into melodrama.

Acclaimed artists are often known to create a certain chronic style — a recognizable feeling or attitude that their work cultivates.

For former Carolina Chocolate Drops founding member Justin Robinson, it’s the intersection of various instruments, a bluegrass background and a bit of Gothic-sounding folk that makes it hard to define his latest endeavor of Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes.

Exciting things are happening for Wilmington’s alt-country Onward, Soldiers, who recently put the finishing touches on its second album, Monsters.

Performing under the name Tycho, Scott Hansen creates thick, swirling electronic music with his many synthesizers.

If you remember the ‘90s as a better time when pop punk bands like Green Day and blink-182 ruled the Billboard charts, then consider immersing yourself in a world of nostalgia with Almost People’s Demo #2. But be warned: its shrill, headache-inducing vocals will have the band’s own audience calling the cops.

On Normal, Charleston trio Run Dan Run creates an album that embodies elements of indie rock with a vengeance. The group’s sophomore release may draw heavy comparisons to the work of Broken Social Scene, but it manages to harness some of its own creativity.

Consider this a guide to surviving the cultural tsunami currently brewing in the North Pacific. The Korean Wave is coming, and if you have any hopes of navigating an American cultural landscape inundated with robotically synchronized choreography and perfectly teased hair, read carefully. The term “Hallyu,” which roughly translates as “Korean wave,” was first coined to describe the surge in popularity of Korean music, television, and fashion in Japan and China in the early 2000s.

“The Artist” is not a cool or interesting movie. In fact, it resents such accusations.

Mark Wahlberg has always been something of a conflicted actor, alternating between being a tough guy action hero and a more restrained, dramatic actor.

Dive may have only had five favorite local records, but the truth is, 2011 was a great year for music in the Triangle.

Fans of post-hardcore outfit The Receiving End of Sirens are no strangers to the name Casey Crescenzo. But since 2006, Crescenzo has pursued his own musical turf as The Dear Hunter. His projects are ambitious: the most recent has been a string of nine EPs, each of which takes a different color as its name and explores genres from shoegaze to mild tones of folk.