Scott T. Sterling

Detail from the cover of Prefab Sprout's 1985 album Steve McQueen

10 More Underrated ’80s Bands You Need to Hear Now

Scott T. Sterling
Music of the ‘80s is forever remembered for mega-stars, all neon everything and a cavalcade of one-hit wonders. But beneath the glossy surface lies a wealth of great bands producing a panorama of sounds incorporating unexpected elements of the past with an eye on the future. L.A. Weekly recently explored......
Steve Jones

Jonesy's Jukebox, as Irreverent as Ever, Returns to Daytime Radio

Scott T. Sterling
It's a whirlwind of activity around the broadcast studio of 95.5 KLOS FM, as Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and producer Mark Sovel make last-minute preparations for the second episode of Jonesy's Jukebox on the venerable classic-rock radio station. They get everything situated just as the clock strikes noon, and......
(Photo by Kevin Scanlon)

Rolling With Big Boy

Scott T. Sterling
“ ‘If you fucking niggers got any problems with us, we’ll be sitting right over there.’ ” Big Boy, DJ of Power 106 FM’s wildly popularBig Boy’s Neighborhood morning show, is in the station’s lounge, recalling words directed his way back in the early ’90s, when he was the Pharcyde’s bodyguard. The......

The Imus Factor

Scott T. Sterling
Big Boy is most radio stations’ dream — a funny, gregarious morning-show jock with a Rolodex loaded with A-list stars and a wealth of energy and ideas that keeps listeners (and advertisers) entertained and coming back for more. Don Imus is something else entirely. His politically driven brand of in-your-face......
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Love in the Time of Xanax

Scott T. Sterling
“I’m surprised that I’m not still working at Kinko’s, especially making our weirdo music,” deadpans TV on the Radio guitarist-producer David Sitek in his Brooklyn studio. He’s working on a remix for an upcoming Beck single at the moment, but in just a few days, TV on the Radio will......
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The Teddybears' Picnic

Scott T. Sterling
Few can crank out the guilty/not guilty pop pleasures like the Scandinavians: ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base, teen-pop impresario Max Martin, Junior Senior. The Scandy-pop tribes simply have an uncanny knack for sating the world’s musical sweet tooth. The latest in a proud tradition: The Teddybears, a former hard-rock band......
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Everybody Do the Pigeon!

Scott T. Sterling
Pigeon John looks almost nervous. But not for long. A slight guy dressed simply in jeans and a plaid button-down shirt, the longtime L.A. rapper steps to the microphone on a balmy summer night. The venue, Safari Sam’s, is a converted strip club, and it kind of shows: Red velvet......
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Rippin' & Dippin'

Scott T. Sterling
In 2006, everyone’s a DJ — even you! — thanks to MP3s and the iTunes playlist function. But nobody celebrates sonic egalitarianism, or takes it to such frantic extremes, as does DJ Girl Talk (a.k.a. Pittsburgh DJ Greg Gillis), whose highly actionable new mashup CD Night Ripper (Illegal Art) is......
Wait is that Tyra? (Photos by Wild Don Lewis)

Celebrated

Scott T. Sterling
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE at House of Blues, August 11 Measured by the celebrities in attendance at this crazy exclusive club date, Justin Timberlake is one of pop’s brightest lights — Ellen DeGeneres, the Hilton sisters, Tyra Banks and Pharrell Williams were some of the fan favorites eliciting shrieks from below whenever......
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Have Fun, F*ck Sh*t Up

Scott T. Sterling
The No. 1 enemy to any teenager in the world is boredom. Kids will do anything to avoid the B word, from wanton sex to trading prescription pharmaceuticals to forming a rock band (for the luckier parents out there). And despite what Chuck Klosterman may say in the June issue......