Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Grasping At The Past Through Pandora's Blackstreet Station

I sent shirtless cell phone shots of myself to, like, I'd guess 300 people in 2010. I was 29, and in the best shape I'd ever been in. In the morning, I would literally roll out of bed and onto the floor into push-up position. I could do more than 100 without stopping. I installed a pull-up bar in ... More >>

Death-Metal Band The Faceless Draws Criticism for Becoming Less Death-Metal

By Jason Roche When music from Los Angeles metal group The Faceless' newest album, Autotheism, began to leak out into the blogosphere last summer, fans were divided, and so were critics. "A botched experiment of sorts," opined SputnikMusic.com; "razor sharp," countered ThePRP.com. The group's prev ... More >>

Mark Kozelek - First Unitarian Church - 2/23/13

Mark Kozelek First Unitarian Church 2/23/13 There are few unforgettable shows I can recall that don't also take in to account more insubstantial factors like lighting, stage presence and the people you happened to see them with. Performers like Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters ma ... More >>

Ryan Quincy Talks About Transforming From Reluctant Voiceover Actor to Creator of the New IFC Show Out There

Emmy-winning animator Ryan Quincy has always dreamed of having his own show. During the decade and a half he spent working his way up to animation director for South Park, he spent his hiatuses creating a world entirely his own, inhabited by hairy but harmless creatures just trying to sort out the d ... More >>

The 2013 Oscars Drinking Game

The Oscars are on Sunday, and if you plan on sitting through the entire show -- all 3 hours of it, with Seth MacFarland as host -- well, you might need a little help. Which is why we put together a little drinking game: This, hopefully, will give you something to do while the awards are doled out, ... More >>

Music Picks: Lloyd Price, Leni Stern, Amon Tobin and The Residents

In Defense of New Girl (Hear Us Out...)

Five Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week, Including Pilobolus Meets SpongeBob SquarePants

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our Latest Theater Reviews *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. 5. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring goes solo In 1913, Nijinsky's Rite of Spring for the Ballet Russes evoked foot stomping primitives. In the 1970's, Maurice Be ... More >>

Producer Khalief Brown: Beats for a Space Brawl

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] It's rare that you hear a rap song on the radio and your only thought is, "Who produced this?" That's what happened last summer when I first heard Kid In ... More >>

Converting from Christian Rock to Indie Rock

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Metallica: A Tale of Squandered Potential

No band has ever failed to live up to its own potential quite like Metallica. While the other three quarters of thrash metal's "big four" (Testament, Megadeth and Slayer) still cut records and tour for receptive audiences, Metallica moved on to Kid Rock and Nickelback territory. We're used to it now ... More >>

Battle on Beverly: What Happens When One L.A. Street Artist Takes Another's Painting and Puts It Into His Own Creation?

Drama from Beverly Boulevard spilled onto the Internet on Sunday when CHOD, a street artist who has been working locally for about two years, remixed a painting created by Annie Preece and posted it on the building that once housed the Regency Fairfax Cinemas. Preece, herself a street artist who als ... More >>

Sorry, But Kanye Is the GOAT

Kanye West is the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. He's made the best albums and changed the game the most, and his music is the most likely to endure. One thing before we get going: This isn't one of those arguments meant to piss people off or "start a conversation." We really mean it. And, c ... More >>

Quit Disrespecting the Taste of Teenage Girls and Start Appreciating Justin Bieber

By Brittany Spanos At what point did teen girls suddenly just become wrong? "Serious" music fans have little patience for any artist who willingly sells to the rabid teen girl market. It's why we non-teen-girls only divulge our love for Justin Bieber and One Direction with a "self-aware" laugh. Se ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: FIDLAR, Pissed Jeans and Lamp

KCRW BROADCAST #202 02-16-13 See also: Henry Rollins: Football, Violence, and America Fanatics! Tonight's show is a great one from top to bottom. I am listening to it right now and I am excited to roll it all out for you. I just got the Fidlar and Pissed Jeans records last week and am digging the ... More >>

When John McClane Lost His Family, the Die Hard Movies Lost Much of John McClane

Two L.A. Musicals Poke Fun at Religious Groups While Celebrating Them at the Same Time

Reviews of When You're in Love, the Whole World Is Jewish and Paradise: A Divine Bluegrass Musical Comedy

This One Was a Keeper

Who's the All-Time Champion of Rap Beef on Twitter?

Twenty years ago, rap animosity was expressed via diss songs. Like, if someone pissed you off you went home, thought about it, went to a recording studio, pressed up your album, and sent it around. The object of your diss might not find out until six months later. More recently the rise of the mix ... More >>

Country Songs That Should Be Covered By Metal Bands

By Lauren Wise I was always one of those metal heads who claimed to listen to all musical genres -- except for country. But in the past year, I've realized that classic country songs, with their imagery and energy, are pretty hard to dislike. Take David Allan Coe's "If That Ain't Country," for exam ... More >>

Deadmau5, Kylie Minogue, and Timbaland - House of Blues - 2/10/13

Nero, Deadmau5, Kylie Minogue, and Timbaland House of Blues 2/10/13 A crew of electronic artists and pop stars performed last night as part of a Grammy afterparty that was also a benefit for Children's Hospital of Los Angeles Orthopedic Center. (Tickets started at $250.) But the cost didn't deter ... More >>

The Delirians Lead An East L.A. Rocksteady Renaissance

East Los Angeles is enjoying a rocksteady renaissance, thanks largely to a group called The Delirians. They formed as teenagers and have made the traditional Jamaican music their own, blending the slower-than-ska-but-faster-than-reggae riffs with signature East L.A. sounds of soul, funk and R&B. The ... More >>

Graffiti House L.A. Looks to Be a Hub for the City's Graffiti and Street Artists

Graffiti. Mostly on the streets, sometimes in galleries and always in heated art conversations, this spray-can form of expression remains a huge part of Los Angeles' identity. Looking to create a supportive, communal space for experienced and budding artists, the recently-established Graffiti House ... More >>

Man Alleges Lil Wayne Entourage Member Smashed His Head With Skateboard

Last year Downey, California-based bill poster Alfredo Marino saw Lil Wayne on Fairfax Avenue. He approached him hoping to get a photo, but says the encounter ended with a member of the rapper's entourage smashing him in the back of the head with a skateboard and sending him to the hospital. Marino ... More >>

Five Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week, Including The Little Mermaid, But Not the Disney Kind

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our Latest Theater Reviews *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. 5. She Swims! She Walks! She Dances! Those who know The Little Mermaid mainly from the Disney film may want to touch base with the Hans Christian Andersen ... More >>

Fuck Guilty Pleasures: Critics Need to Lay Off Macklemore

[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilty Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] The number one song in the country, as you probably know, is a Seattle-based white independent hip-hop artist's ode to sh ... More >>

Top 10 "You Can't Tell Me Nothing" Rappers

In Macklemore's forthcoming single, "Can't Hold Us," he raps, "Nah they can't tell me nothing," thus continuing a long line of rappers to whom one can not tell nothing. It makes one wonder: Why are people always trying to tell rappers something? Why do the rappers refuse to listen? Why all the doub ... More >>

Dave Grohl - Hollywood Palladium - 1/31/13

Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against the Machine, and others Hollywood Palladium 1/31/13 When Dave Grohl announced late last year that the Foo Fighters were going on an indefinite hiatus, folks weren't quite sure how to interpret the news. The band had just ... More >>

Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2013: From a Simpsons Segment to a Woman Who Lives on the Ceiling

The Best L.A. Metal Concerts To See In February

Sat, Feb 2 Testament House of Blues Hollywood Many metal fans think that the Bay Area's Testament belong next to metal's "Big Four" (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax). Indeed, classic albums like The Legacy and newer output like 2012's Dark Roots of Earth provide strong evidence for this arg ... More >>

Ol' Blue Eyes is Back

There's This Amazing Kid Rapper at the School Where I Teach

Within The Kid's peer group -- the children at the school where I teach junior high ESL -- he stands out. He is generally the same age as them, and he's generally of the same intelligence academically. However: He's white. He's definitely that. Where he lives, most of the kids around him, are ... More >>

The 20 Greatest Metal Albums in History: 20-11

If you count Black Sabbath's 1970 self-titled debut as heavy metal's birth, the genre is now over 40. It can no longer be called a fad. It can have adult children, and it can run for president. (Insert "presidental metal of freedom" joke here). See also: Top 20 L.A. Metal Albums: The Complete List ... More >>

Dave Grohl On His Film Tribute to the Studio That Gave the World Nevermind

By Whitney Friedlander The lobby of Dave Grohl's Northridge-based 606 Studios has a Joan Jett book on the coffee table and a row of classic arcade games like Donkey Kong Jr. against one wall. On top of a photo booth sits an iconic "Moonman" MTV Video Music Award, festooned with a roll of toilet pap ... More >>

In Defense of Jam Bands

[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilty Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] On a warm August night in 2011, roughly 18,000 Angelenos converged on the Hollywood Bowl, to partake in the swirl of cosm ... More >>

Country Star Brad Paisley's Veiled Liberalism

By Alan Scherstuhl Editor's note: Alan Scherstuhl sometimes writes about country music for our sister blog at the Village Voice. Brad Paisley, "Southern Comfort Zone" Current Billboard Country Singles Chart Position: 10 The Verdict: Holy shit, songs on the radio can still be important! In this ... More >>

Mike Atta Benefit - The Echo & Echoplex - 1/25/13

The Adolescents, Mike Watt, and others Mike Atta Benefit The Echo and Echoplex 1/25/13 It's time to "pogo and stomp the shit out of cancer," said Alice Bag at Friday's benefit concert to support punk forerunner Mike Atta. See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Alice Bag's 
Punk Rock Legacy Diagn ... More >>

Black Flag Are Back Together

Black Flag is back together, and are almost done with a new album, according to an SST press release. See also: Black Flag's Damaged Changed Punk, and L.A.: 30 Years Later, Its Impact Is Still Felt The lineup is Greg Ginn on guitar, Ron Reyes on vocals, Gregory Moore on drums and Dale Nixon on bas ... More >>

Inside the World of L.A.'s Puppet Filmmakers

A movie must be completed before its screened, right? Not according to Graphation. Last night, in Downtown Los Angeles' Hive Gallery, the independent film group kickstarted their first installment of Works In Progress by presenting three unfinished films to an audience. The focus of the WIP seri ... More >>

A Series on the Japanese Animation of Studio Ghibli Returns to L.A.

Bad Religion's Greg Graffin Challenges Authority Through Fucking Science

For over 30 years, Bad Religion have carved out a niche as the thinking man's punk rock band. When they formed in Los Angeles in 1980, the inspiration for their lyrics came from the topic of corporate greed and the conflicts between philosophy, science, and religion. The band's 16th full-length albu ... More >>

Lil B Is the Most Important Rapper of the Decade So Far

Lil B, the heavily tattooed Berkeley, California rapper with a gleaming grill and oversized earrings, entered the hip-hop game in 2006 as part of Bay Area rap group The Pack. Over the last three years he's garnered a tremendous Internet following, popularizing the words "swag" and "based," the lat ... More >>

Openly Gay Rapper Rob B Draws From Influences Far and Wide

On a recent cool Friday afternoon, 25-year-old Mexican-American, openly gay rapper Rob B sits in one of the many cafés peppering Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. He's tan and toned, a 6-foot-1 part-time model who has done everything from runway to hand modeling, and today he's fitted in al ... More >>

How Pink Floyd Financed Artist Clare Brown's Move to L.A.

Clare Brown says she might be the first artist ever to coordinate specific color hues into all of her paintings. It's a bold claim, but the Topanga transplant knows a thing or two about color. As a 10-year-old growing up in the late '60s, Brown spent her days immersed in giant plastic colored eggs. ... More >>

How Did Caravaggio Influence Movies?

A LACMA film series asks the question

Warm-Up Comics Have the Toughest Job in Comedy

Getting sitcom audiences laughing -- by hook or by crook

Classic Rock Is Actually Amazing, You Jerk

So, a certain editor of this blog think classic rock is totally bogus, huh? See also: Classic Rock Is a Cancer on Our Society The point of his argument is that folks from our generation need to have their own taste, not be stuck in the past. But one can't deny that the music which emerged from th ... More >>

5 Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week Including a New Festival, Awakenings and Beginnings

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *5 Best Comedy Shows to See in L.A. This Week *Our Latest Theater Reviews *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. This week's dance highlights includes the answer to the question, Does L.A. need another dance festival? 5. ... More >>

Smoking Wax Weed With Rapper Demrick

[Editor's note: Soon-to-be-award-winning gonzo music journalist Danielle Bacher prowls the late late night scene for West Coast Sound. For this installment, she hit the town with Demrick, aka Young De, a rapper and songwriter who has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Kurupt and Xzibit. Als ... More >>

Dance in L.A. Is Alive and Kicking