Maryann LoRusso

Meet the Jewelers •

MTJ Icon: Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani

Diamonds are a convicted killer’s best friend in House of Gucci From the time she donned a meat dress in the early days of her pop career, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (aka Lady Gaga) has shocked and amazed us. Her latest creative endeavor, portraying an Italian murderess in the epic biographical crime-drama House of Gucci, is no exception. In the Ridley Scott-directed film, the singer/songwriter/entrepreneur/actor plays Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci who
Meet the Jewelers •

MTJ Icon: Diana Ross

From her legendary turn as lead singer of the Supremes to a magnificent half-century-spanning solo career in music, film, TV and stage, the incomparable Diana Ross has had us in awe for, well, forever. While her style has fluctuated throughout the years, she has mostly favored classic accessories— allowing her body-hugging outfits (and enviable figure) to shine. In the 1960s, she paired matchy-matchy girl-band frocks with feminine brooches and chokers. The ’70s called for slender hoop earrings
Marina Times •

Lizzo, the Strokes to headline Outside Lands

For most of the past 18 months, San Francisco’s celebrated music scene went dark. A city that was, prepandemic, alive with concerts, bands, and nightlife was silent and rhythmless. And it was devastating, not only to musicians and venue owners whose livelihoods suffered, but to residents who treasure live entertainment. But music lovers are now rejoicing, not only as smaller venues start to open up, but as one of the country’s largest music festivals, Outside Lands, is braced for a comeback ove
Red Typewriter •

How Singing Lessons Can Change Your Life

When singer-songwriter Whitney Nichole isn’t composing music or performing in front of live audiences, you’ll find her in the San Francisco music studio she founded with her husband, photographer Niall David, doing one of her favorite things in the world: teaching students how to find their voice. Since launching her business, Songbird Studios, back in 2009, Nichole has not only released her first full-length album, 100 Strong, and performed her pop songs around the country. She’s also been gett
Red Typewriter •

Top 100 Love Songs of All Time

Yep, next week is Valentine’s Day, and like it or not, you’ll probably be hearing lots of love songs on the radio. (For those who recently broke up, thank God for digital music.) But even if you’re avoiding heart-shaped boxes and mushy greeting cards like the plague, you can’t deny the power of a good torch tune on this or any other day of the year. In light of the pending holiday, we were sweet enough to cull, just for you, our picks for the Top Valentine’s Day Love Songs. Is this list officia
Red Typewriter •

Purple Reigns on the Runway

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called wardrobe transition. And there’s no better way to shift into a new season than to channel the spotlight-grabbing layering style of Prince, who cloaked himself in shades of aubergine and goth-black for his big-screen debut, Purple Rain. The movie, now a rock-and-roll cult favorite, came out exactly 30 years ago, just as ’80s fashion reached its screeching guitar-solo climax. The film showcased Prince as a flamboyant, emo
Red Typewriter •

What Comes Around, Goes Around

The music industry got another sign last week that vinyl is staging a comeback when rocker Jack White sold 40,000 vinyl copies of his new album, Lazaretto—the largest sales week for any single record since 1991. This is a phenomenon that’s been building for a few years now, to the delight of record collectors everywhere. Last year, CD sales declined 15 percent and digital music took its first hit in a decade. But vinyl sales increased 32 percent, from 4.5 million units sold in 2012 to 6 million
Red Typewriter •

Get in My Bed! (And Other Hollywood Lessons)

Everyone finds themselves confused, at least once or twice in their lives, about matters of the heart. Over the course of the past few months, I’ve had around a dozen conversations with friends and acquaintances—whether they’re married or single, gay or straight, old or young—who suspect they are dating the wrong person, married to the wrong person, or coveting the wrong person. Or sometimes the problem is that they’re with a person at all, when they just want to be alone, or snuggling up to the
Red Typewriter •

Nicole Atkins Sounds Amazing

One of the things I admire about singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins, aside from her silky-yet-raspy-raw vocals, is the Everywoman appeal that manifests itself in her chameleon-like stage presence. One minute the New Jersey native is wearing a ladylike dress and pumps, belting out a torch song on Dave Letterman, or demurely answering Scott Simon’s civilized questions on NPR. The next, she’s flinging the F-bomb while dancing teasingly around a nightclub stage in a neo-hippie caftan. I had the pleasur
Marina Times •

Home Is Where McCartney Is

I moved to San Francisco a decade ago, and it’s taken me almost that long to start calling it my city. But after attending my first Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park last month, I finally embraced the fact that this is the place I now call home. It was an exhilarating weekend of music, food, art, wine, and community that sealed my sense of belonging to our gorgeous, passionate City by the Bay. Maybe what moved me was the fog, languorously rolling in from Ocean Beach and over the