Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Emancipation Proclamations

Ingmar Bergman's Nora and two plays by Horton Foote at Open Fist Theatre present defiant women, in ways that feel almost nostalgic

Shepard Fairey Street Art Mural Defaced on La Brea -- and This Goes on Globally

Everyone is a critic. Even taggers. Shepard Fairey, a widely known street artist who often garners mixed reviews, has been panned with graffiti spray-painted over a fifty-foot wall piece on 2nd Street and La Brea Boulevard. At the scene, a property manager was noticeably disturbed by the tagging ov ... More >>

Our Ten Most Anticipated Indie Albums For 2013

With the anticipated return of big-name indie bands like Phoenix, Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend this year, 2013 is shaping up to be big. But aside from the usual suspects, there are also some newcomers and reunited acts expected to make noise this year. Here are some albums we speculate may end up ... More >>

$ellebrity: Photographer Kevin Mazur Discusses His New Film About Gossip, Paparazzi and the Cost of Fame

See also: *More L.A. Weekly Film Coverage It's possible that the price of fame has never been higher -- and not just in the tried-and-true Hollywood storylines of fame, fortune and the tragic falls from grace. In his new documentary $ellebrity, seasoned celebrity and event photographer Kevin Mazur ... More >>

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Turns 10 This Year. Here's Why the Sci-Fi Anime Series Is Still Important

It's 2030. War has left its mark on the world, with newly powerful nations rising in the place of the old guard, but terrorism is still a threat and governments can still be corrupt. In the midst of this is Public Security Section 9, Japan's elite group of crime solvers now set with the task of trac ... More >>

This Is What It Feels Like In My Stomach Right Now

There is an evil inside of me. It is brooding and malevolent and vicious. It is absolute darkness. It is rotting my body on a cellular level. And it is there because I thought a bad idea (getting a burrito at the mall right before it closed) was a good idea ("HEY, LET'S GET A BURRITO FROM THE MALL B ... More >>

Hip-Hop Albums We're Excited For in 2013

The world didn't end, the new year is upon us, and it's time to get pumped about 2013. While we've all but given up hope that 2013 will be the year we see Detox, there's still plenty of releases either officially announced or highly likely to land that have us excited. It's with the boom-bap baby ne ... More >>

Quit Hating on Kings of Leon, Even If You Disliked "Sex On Fire"

[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.] I have several friends who should ostensibly like everything about Kings of Leon, but they strongly dislike the Nashville ... More >>

The Ten Best Country Albums of 2012

By Alan Scherstuhl This list of the year's best country albums is assembled with two important premises in mind: First: If the people who record and listen to these records consider them country, than they're damn well country. Purists who argue that country should still sound like '68, '76, '84 o ... More >>

Here's What Didn't Suck About B.E.T.'s Top 100 Videos Of 2012

On December 31, BET showed their Top 100 videos of the year. It was a block of television that ended at 10 p.m. and began, if I'm remembering accurately, around 48 BC. I'd planned on watching all of it, absorbing the videos and then using that information to reach some grand, great point about rap ... More >>

The Best L.A. Metal Concerts to See in January

Fri, Jan 4 Neurosis Fonda Theatre Oakland's Neurosis have spent 25 years crafting haunting eight-to-ten minute opuses; their tracks slowly build until they explodes in an emotional crescendo. Band leaders Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till tell harrowing tales of apocalyptic plagues and other disasters. ... More >>

Random Notebook Dump: The Year In Metal 2012

A lot of monumental things in metal this year. Some of them involved actual music. Many did not. In honor of the year's end, we gave our notebook a good shaking to help us remember the most important stuff. Top 20 L.A. Metal Albums of All Time -Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe was jailed for a mo ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, December 28 Fishbone, Quinto Sol KEY CLUB Fishbone have gone through a lot of changes since emerging from South Central L.A. in 1979, but the group can always be counted on for a funky good time. Lead singer/saxist Angelo Moore, bassist Norwood Fisher and crew have evolved from a ska-reggae ... More >>

L.A. Theater 2013: A Preview

Five Dance Events to See in L.A. this Week including a Kwanzaa Fest and a Viennese New Year

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our New Theater Reviews *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. This week's events offer a waltz or a samba to greet the new year, a Kwanzaa celebration, Russian jazz dance and the last Nutcracker until 2013. 5. Waltzing ... More >>

The Five Best Los Angeles Rap Albums of 2012

As Max Bell noted in his round-up of L.A. rap earlier this month, it was a very good year for hip-hop in our city, with all corners of the varied scene -- from Open Mike Eagle's smart 4NML HSPTL to Odd Future's rambunctious The OF Tape Vol. 2 to Ty$ and Joe Moses' raunchy Whoop! -- well represented ... More >>

A Look Back at Norway's Nuart Festival, a Gathering of Street Artists From L.A. and Around the World

In Stavanger, Norway, every September for the past 12 years, Nuart, one of the largest street art festivals in the world, transpires. Closeted in the beautiful Fijords, Stavanger is a quaint, oil-rich community with a high standard of living, sometimes making the list as most expensive in all of Eur ... More >>

Why Are There so Few African-Americans in Metal?

Long Beach-based metal band Hirax has a unique sound, blending the galloping beats of the new wave of British heavy metal with the intensity of thrash. Katon W. De Pena's operatic and aggressive vocals lead the way. Since 1984 De Pena, who is 49, has fronted the legendary thrashers. See also: Top 2 ... More >>

The Power of the Riff - Fonda Theater - 12/20/12

The Power of the Riff Fonda Theater 12/20/12 Better Than... counting down your Mayan advent calendar at home alone. Despite the US Government's attempt to convince us otherwise, we attended metal festival The Power of the Riff last night hoping that the end was, to quote 28 Days Later, "extremely ... More >>

Music Picks: Chino XL, Marissa Nadler, As Blood Runs Black

Jeremy Radin Works as an Actor to Support His True Passion -- Poetry

"Why is no one laughing?" the actor asks. He's sitting under stage lights, wearing a robe and a pair of pajama bottoms. "Have you earned it?" the teacher responds, sipping from a fast-food coffee. The audience murmurs with understanding. This is the scene Thursday night at the Beverly Hills Playhous ... More >>

5 Dance Events to See in L.A. This Week Including Christmas Eve at the Music Center

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 include a quintet of L.A. dance companies coming to the Music Center on Christm ... More >>

It Paid the Bills

We Love You, Music Center!

Down Around Brown Town

Monsters, Inc. 3D

Which White Entertainers Have a "Hood Pass" to Say the N-Word?

The late aughts saw a debate in the hip-hop community about the use of the n-word, sparked in part by Nas' plan to name his 2008 album Nigger (he ended up calling it Untitled), as well as Russell Simmons' call for industry self-censorship of the word. In 2007 the city of Detroit even hosted a "symbo ... More >>

Why This Songs Sucks: The Worst Rap Tracks of 2012

Welcome to another installment of the worst rap songs of the year, brought to you by Why This Song Sucks. See also: Why This Song Sucks: The Worst Rap Tracks of 2011 They are all here this year: The all-the-way aged king, the suddenly mortal demigod, the former darling, the current darling, the m ... More >>

The Best Rap Singles of 2012

Let's be honest: It's been a great year for hip-hop. Mainstream and underground MCs made some of the most refreshing and innovative work in years. It's been a good year for albums, for sure, but also a dynamite one for singles. Here are our picks for the five best five, from artists around the count ... More >>

Power 106 Cali Christmas Concert - Gibson Amphitheatre - 12/14/12

Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar Power 106 Cali Christmas Gibson Amphitheatre 12/14/12 Ah, the holiday season in L.A. -- a crisp chill is in the air, every twinkly light installment and bit of tinsel available has been vomited onto that particular property on Los Feliz Blvd. ... More >>

Jon Robin Baitz's Play Other Desert Cities at the Mark Taper Forum, Reviewed

Cinefamily's Telethon Will Include Robert Downey, Jr. Digging Up a Time Capsule, and More

Top Ten Los Angeles Metal Albums of 2012

Twenty twelve was another strong year for Los Angeles metal bands. What's especially cool is that we're not just kicking ass in one kind of metal -- L.A.'s got it going on in just about every metal sub-genre. Without further ado, then, here are our top ten Los Angeles metal albums of 2012. See also ... More >>

Five Dance Shows to See This Week, Including John Pennington's Musings on the Viral World

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 shows include John Pennington's latest and a Shakespeare rock concert, plus three noteworthy Nut ... More >>

Quentin Tarantino Wants a Second Oscar. Will Django Give It to Him?

Quentin Tarantino emerges from a chaotic couple of years with his most ambitious film to date, Django Unchained. Will the Academy really, really like it?

Life After Lewitsky

2012: A Landmark Year in L.A. Hip-Hop

L.A. hip-hop hasn't seen a year like this one since 1992, when the word G-Funk was (re)defined and art-rap was steadily making noise in and around Leimert Park. Twenty years ago saw, of course, the release of The Chronic, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, The Predator, Spice 1, and Way 2 Fonky, among ot ... More >>

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced: N.W.A Was Fucking Slighted

The craptastic rock and roll hall of fame inductees were just announced. Here's who was nominated: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Chic Deep Purple Heart Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Albert King Kraftwerk The Marvelettes The Meters Randy Newman N.W.A Procol Harum Public Enemy Rush Donna Summer ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, December 10 Lamps PEHRSPACE Lamps are punk (like Chrome? Or Suicide?). They're from space (like Hawkwind?) but also from hell (like Electric Eels!), where everything melts together into a big hot white ball of confusion that's bright enough to give off some sick kind of light but which will ... More >>

The Five Most Annoyingly Overplayed Songs at Greystone Manor

Greystone Manor is the trendy WeHo nightclub usually filled to capacity with A-listers, desperate housewives, Arabian sheiks, ball players, dot-com CEOs and others who have something to do with reality television. Any given Sunday night you might witness Drake buying twenty bottles or Rihanna and Ch ... More >>

Eloise Klein Healy Is the First-Ever L.A. Poet Laureate -- And She Wants to Bring Poetry to Dodger Stadium

See also: *Best L.A. Novel Ever: The Tournament *In Defense of the Future L.A. Poet Laureate *Celebrating Poet Robert Burns With Whisky and Sheep Innards *Los Angeles Limerick Fest: Sex and Sheep and the Man from Nantucket Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is set to announce that Eloise Klein Healy will ... More >>

Shoplifting from American Apparel Director Pirooz Kalayeh Discusses His New Meta-Film and Its Unique Distribution Process

Pirooz M. Kalayeh is an energetic and loquacious multi-hyphenate who directed and wrote the film adaptation of Tao Lin's novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel, which has its world premiere tonight at the Los Feliz 3 theater. Combining absurdist documentary and cinematic realism, the dramedy ble ... More >>

Chris Robinson: Rock Star Revisionist

Once a rock and roll cliché, the former Black Crowes frontman re-writes his character

Clyde Carson Finally Has a Big Hit with "Slow Down"

Last December, Bay Area rapper Clyde Carson recorded "Slow Down." Within a couple months, a DJ named J-12 had invented a dance specifically for the song, inspiring dozens of kids to upload their own versions to YouTube. A year later, it's inescapable, with Power 106 playing it every hour on the hour ... More >>

The 20 Greatest EDM DJs: The Complete List

Electronic dance music's recent resurgence has made the genre more popular than ever before, but it's still often not taken seriously as an art form. World's Douchiest DJs: The Top Five The 20 Worst Hipster Bands Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre And yeah, many goofily-dressed ravers are ... More >>

5 Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week, Including a Nutcracker With Audience Participation

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 list includes flamenco, new choreography and, of course, more Nutcrackers. 5. The fury of flame ... More >>

Betty White and Her Wild Life

The 20 Greatest EDM DJs: 10-1

See also: The 20 Greatest EDM DJs: 20-11 Electronic dance music's recent resurgence has made the genre more popular than ever before, but it's still often not taken seriously as an art form. And yeah, many goofily-dressed ravers are so high they'll literally dance to anything. But below we've highl ... More >>

I Gave My Grandma Master P's 1995 Album Ice Cream Man. It Didn't End How I'd Hoped

First there was this, the video of DMX, a man who built a career being scarier than nuclear war, charming everyone's pants off with a Christmas carol about a reindeer with a nose that is both excellent (Kids: "Yay! Red nose! You're adorable, Rudolph!") and terrible (Doctors: "Oh no. Red nose. You're ... More >>

Baby Elephant Headed to SoCal Movie-Animal Company Accused of Abuse? VIDEO

Animal rights activists are concerned that a baby elephant born at the Portland zoo could end up in the hands of Hollywood animal trainers accused of past abuse (video after the jump). The Seattle Times reported this week that the Riverside County company Have Trunk Will Travel has rights to the 30 ... More >>