"Get your own fucking cab!"

March 7, 1998 (morning)
Glenn Frey is polishing his gold records in his Brentwood mansion. He has a collins glass of cheap vermouth on the rocks in one hand and a fistful of leopard-print chamois in the other. He chuckles, "Hey Henley, I just thought of the best idea. Don? Don...?" Henley's not there. The house is empty.

March 7, 1998 (evening)
Frey is seated in his local Loews Cineplex alone. He's got a full bag of popcorn. He's whistling "Life in the Fast Lane." He starts whistling louder and staring awkwardly at the couple next to him, but they are perplexed. No one recognizes him. As the previews are about to start his gigantic cell phone rings.

The Dude's identity is strongly informed by music. As a former Metallica roadie and free love-era denizen still trying to live the dream, The Big Lebowski's protagonist is known to draw lines in the sand: He loves Creedence Clearwater Revival, but he hates the fucking Eagles. In the film, his subconscious is filled with psychedelic anthems, and his bumbling waking efforts are soundtracked by vivid tracks from the '60s and '70s, both famous and obscure. Masterfully curated by roots-obsessed performer and producer T Bone Burnett -- who would later win a Grammy for his work on the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- the music in Lebowski is a second narrator of sorts, carrying the Dude along, sometimes against his will.

Below, the Weekly's music writers thoroughly dissect the most memorable and important songs from the movie. It's almost frightening how much forethought went into setting the film's mood. --Ben Westhoff

LebowskiFest.com

This is a giant toe cake

I saw The Big Lebowski when it came out in early 1998 and left feeling fairly indifferent. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it the way I do now. I certainly had no idea I'd see it more than 100 times, or that my friend Scott Shuffitt and I would start Lebowski Fest in 2002 in our hometown of Louisville, Ky. -- which we did as a joke, by the way. Much to our surprise, 150 people attended; when we did it again the next year, 10 times more showed up.

Lebowski Fest since has expanded to 25 cities around the globe, celebrating the film with screenings, costume contests, live music and appearances by the movie's stars, all for the amusement of fellow fans, known as Achievers. (Fun fact: At the New York fest last year, every time Steve Buscemi tried to talk, the Achievers shouted: "Shut the fuck up, Donnie!")

Here are my top five Lebowski Fest experiences.