Phoenix is hip and not a fluke

UNDERRATEDPhoenix: The Parisians in this band are hipsters to the core -- frontman Thomas Mars’ baby momma is Sofia Coppola, for Pete’s sake -- but their latest album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” proves the clever pop of 2006’s “It’s Never Been Like That” wasn’t a fluke. We recommend the Classixx remix of the new single “Liztomania” -- pure disco cotton candy.

Woody Allen vs. Dov Charney: It’s the kind of lawsuit we would have loved to have seen on Court TV. Allen sued American Apparel for using his image on billboards without permission. Last week, American Apparel settled but founder Charney said his insurance company made the choice. And he offered this anti-mea culpa: “I’m not sorry for expressing myself.”

OVERRATED

Wine bars: If 2008 was the year of the gastropub, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of the wine bar -- at least in Los Angeles. Combining all the aesthetic annoyances of yuppiedom with all the snobbery of vinophilia, the ever-expanding cadre of “chic, intimate, delightfully priced” wine bars just makes us want to grab a 40 of malt liquor and drink it from a paper bag.

Kid fashionistas: We’re all for precocious children, but is asking for an ascot well before one’s bar mitzvah a good thing? We don’t want to scar any preadolescents who might get misty about the Rodarte sisters or dress like a Victorian-era dandy, but we gotta say: There’s something charming about kids in hot-cocoa-stained T-shirts, not Coco Chanel.