Black Flag (Band)

Henry Rollins: Remembering Ray Manzerek

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Sunday KCRW broadcast.] After a month of living in Virginia and the D.C. area, we (myself, cameraman, producer and assist ... More >>

Henry Rollins: Joe Cole and American Gun Violence

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] Editor's note: Joe Cole was a friend and roommate of Henry Rollins' as well as a roadie for Bla ... More >>

Five Unsung Punk Rock Guitarists

You can't please everyone. No sooner had my list of the five best punk rock guitarists gone up than the complaining started. Folks were annoyed that there was a tie for first, yes, but that was only one of the things they found to complain about. Mostly it was about how their no-talent low-life favo ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: David Bowie's "Scary Monsters"

KCRW BROADCAST #196 12-29-12 See Also: Henry Rollins: Led Zeppelin, All Powerful Fanatics! Tonight we bravely launch into our last week in December, the last installment of our David Bowie marathon and as well, the last show for 2012. We are already gearing up for our first show of 2013. Always ... More >>

Music Picks: Tame Impala, Deftones, DJ Quik

Top 20 L.A. Metal Albums: The Complete List

When it comes to discussion of the top metal scenes, Los Angeles never gets its due. Maybe it's because we're not known for being pioneers of a single subgenre (Bay Area thrash and Florida death metal for example), but there's still no doubt that the city has been vital in the evolution of metal. ... More >>

Hydra Head Records: A Personal Recollection

This week, Hydra Head Records founder Aaron Turner announced the label's closing. The L.A. metal imprint -- by way of Boston and New Mexico -- is home to first-rate acts including Torche, Botch, Cave In, Harvey Milk and, occasionally, Converge. Co-founder Aaron Turner says that they'll stop putting ... More >>

X - The Roxy - Sunset Strip Music Festival - 8/17/12

X The Roxy 8/17/12 See also: Top 20 Greatest L.A. Punk Albums of All Time: The Complete List The Sunset Strip Music Festival shuts down the boulevard today for its centerpiece event, but parties and performances in conjunction with the annual fest have been going on since Thursday. This year there ... More >>

We Ask A Designer Why No Doubt's New Record Cover Sucks So Hard

Orange County ska group No Doubt just released their first new single in a decade, "Settle Down." We couldn't help but notice the cover of the record looks like dog shit. So we asked Dann Miller, a renowned graphic designer responsible for one of the year's best album covers, a few questions about ... More >>

Redd Kross Have a New Record After 15 Years

See also: Still a Malcontent: A midlife crisis spawns Keith Morris' new band Off! The McDonald Brothers, the driving force behind punk legends Redd Kross, stand well over six feet tall and have awkward gaits. Ahead of their new album -- Researching the Blues, our today -- they're sitting together ... More >>

The Dirty Projectors' David Longstreth on Wearing a Haz-Mat Suit in the Largest Landfill in the Country

To listen to Swing Lo Magellan is to hear David Longstreth holding something back. Released on July 10 on Domino Records, Magellan is the seventh full-length album Longstreth has recorded as the Dirty Projectors, and the third since 2007's Rise Above, an idiosyncratic interpretation of a Black Fla ... More >>

The Shrine Skate Pools, Play "Psychedelic Violence"

Top 20 Greatest L.A. Punk Albums of All Time Top Ten Metal Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Metal Josh Landau has just eaten shit while skateboarding in the deep end of an empty pool somewhere in Burbank. His bandmates, bassist Court Murphy and drummer Jeff Murray, sit watching from the ... More >>

Punk Legends Pennywise Have a New Singer, But You Shouldn't Write Them Off

Perhaps Pennywise's forthcoming album, All or Nothing, due out May 1, is aptly titled: It's the South Bay punk legends' first release since 2008 and their first ever without longtime lead singer Jim Lindberg. "Working with Jim was no longer amicable," says guitarist Fletcher Dragge. "He was unhapp ... More >>

Top Ten Sexiest Fat Chicks in Music

See also: Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time: The Complete List I'm into fat chicks. I run a blog about this subject because, even though I'm not alone (oh, not even close) it's still rare for dudes to come out and say it. Last year, LA Weekly's sister paper Village Voice did a whole story ... More >>

Brouwerij West, an L.A. Microbrewery That's Turning Its Bottles Into an Art Gallery

Beer talk runs the gamut from the frat boy refrain "beer is beer" to craft beer enthusiasts sparring in fermentation terminology. If there is any "art" to the drink, it lies within the bottle, and rarely will the conversation veer to what's outside it: the label. "It's not like you can open up the ... More >>

The Vex and Chicano Punk: A Very Brief History

See also: The Five Best East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands Chicanos have played a defining role in punk rock since its inception. In fact, Michigan's ? and the Mysterians are a strong contender for the first band to be labeled "punk rock." A little closer to home, East Los's Cannibal and the Headhunter ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Justice, Texas Style

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] I was just in Texas for a show. Since 1981 I've done a lot of shows in Texas. Whenever I am the ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! The Time a Religious 
Swiss Guy Beat Me Up

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] In Switzerland at the moment. Ah, the memories! This is from a journal entry from this day, 2 ... More >>

X, Dead Kennedys, the Avengers - MOCA at the Geffen - 1/28/12

X, Dead Kennedys, the Avengers MOCA at the Geffen 1-28-12 (Much) Better Than ... hearing many of these same songs butchered on punk rock karaoke night at the local sports bar. Of course there's something oddly oxymoronic about a museum inviting punk rock bands over to play (albeit safely outside o ... More >>

Music Picks: M83, Club Cheval, Chuck Inglish, Meshell Ndegeocello

Also, Elvis Birthday Bash, Barbara Morrison, Phonte and 9th Wonder, and others

Henry Rollins, Scott Ian, Mike Watt, Corey Taylor, Dave Navarro - Avalon - 11/30/11

See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! The Time I Drank The Sweat From My Socks Onstage Drop in the Bucket benefit Henry Rollins, Scott Ian, Mike Watt, Corey Taylor, Dave Navarro and others Avalon 11/30/11 Last night handfuls of heavy musicians took the stage for a worthy cause, Drop In The Bucket, ... More >>

50 Reasons Los Angeles Is the Best Effing City in America

Timothy Norris​John Lennon once said of Los Angeles, "That's just a big parking lot where you buy a hamburger for the trip to San Francisco." Pretty rough stuff from a supposedly nice guy. Clearly, the Eggman (or was he the Walrus?) missed the endless taco stands, the pupusas, the pho, the don ... More >>

The Misfits - House of Blues - 10-04-2011

Javier Cabral​The Misfits and The Dickies House of Blues 10-05-2011 More than three decades in, The Misfits are still doing it, with or without Glenn Danzig. To the orthodox practitioner of punk rock, watching these guys play power chords is as big as watching Black Sabbath or Metallica. It ... More >>

East L.A. Backyard Punk Scene Rages On

As uninhibited and intoxicated as ever

Henry Rollins: The Column! Postcards From the Edge of the Stage

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Henry's Thoughts on When It's Alright to Download Music (Yes, Even His Own)

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Henry on What Makes a Great Band Frontman

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Songs in the Key of Tour

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every week and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday eveni ... More >>

You are the punk-rock lion Christ of Human Resources: 3 motivational business books based on deeply stupid metaphors

​Each Thursday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets. I do this for one reason: Knowledge is power. For years the most popular method of getting through the workday for America's busines ... More >>

Music Picks: Dum Dum Girls, Tricky, Leon Russell, OFF!

Also, Peaches, Killing Joke, Albert Lee and others

Henry Rollins' 'Rare Cuts And Conversation': Records And Stories You've Never Ever Heard ... Live!

Maura Lanahan​ Just announced: KCRW DJ, L.A. WEEKLY columnist (and soon-to-be-published interviewer) and all-round musicologist Henry Rollins will host a KCRW-sponsored night at the Echoplex on Thur., Dec. 9, where he'll share stories and--most crucially--play the records he says are too rare ... More >>

In Honor of the Walkman: Ten Must-Have Cassette Classics, From 'Da Da Da' to Deathrock to 'Do Me!'

Turns out the Walkman isn't dead yet, but let's face it (those of us who weren't surprised to find that the outmoded portable was still being manufactured): The writing's on the wall. As a sort of premature eulogy for the player, West Coast Sound revisits some of the Walkman's finer moments through ... More >>

Exclusive Interview: Megadeth's David Ellefson on Thrash Metal, his Favorite Bible Story and the Status of That Elusive American "Big Four" Tour (Yes You, Metallica. We're Waiting.)

Valerie McRobertsDavid Ellefson enjoying a stiff Starbucks before Megadeth's set​Megadeth are undoubtedly one of the biggest thrash metal bands of all time. Fronted by Dave Mustaine, founder, guitarist and vocalist, the band was formed in the early '80s after Mustaine was kicked out of Metalli ... More >>

Fixing Coachella

Goldenvoice plans to regain the fans' love after a chaotic 2010 festival. Two words: fewer people

UPDATED: Wavves to Play Historic L.A. Punk/New Wave Venue Madame Wong's Before it Closes for Good

"Madame" Esther Wong, founder of the former restaurant and eventual punk venue in Chinatown​UPDATE: L.A.-based noise-pop artist Wavves, a.k.a. Nathan Williams, will be playing one of Madame Wong's' final shows on Wednesday, August 3. Commenters have pointed out that the venue never officially ... More >>

Music Picks: Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Bad Religion, Non

Also, The Wedding Present, Phil Alvin and others

Dirty Projectors to Perform at Disney Hall Alongside the LA Philharmonic in February

Those of you lucky enough to have been at either of the two Dirty Projectors shows last night will understand, perhaps. Or maybe you saw the Brooklyn band at the Troubadour in the summer, when they did a lot of the music from their totally magnetic new Bitte Orca; or at the Echoplex two years ago, w ... More >>

A Tale of Two Movies

When things go miraculously right — or horribly wrong

Rock Picks: Future of the Left, Deerhoof, Ronnie Mack's Barndance, The Urinals

Also, Torche, Alejandro Escovedo, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, and others

Dirty Projectors: Balls Deep in the R&B

A scheduled “interview” with Dave Longstreth turns into a game of text-message cat-and-mouse

GO LA: The Man Who Sold the Brangelina Air

Plus lots more to do, see and inhale in L.A., May 15-21

SXSW Overview: Where We Were, What We Saw, What We Missed

View the SXSW archives for complete coverage . Randall RobertsStrange Boys drummer Matt Hammer at the Beauty Bar It's all a blur, but a few snapshots remain. Many who follow the fest, of course, were there and damn sure weren't anywhere near the Internets. We were. We were blogging. Over the past ... More >>

Screw Metallica: Southern Lord Showcase Kills at SXSW

Randall RobertsPelican rips it at the Southern Lord Records showcase I'm sure Metallica was great. They were good when I saw them at the LA Forum a few months back, where the dudes in the pit were in their typical testostero-frenzied state. And the indulgent 45-minute soundcheck that preceded their ... More >>

SxSW Scene: Metallica Sets Up Shop at Four Seasons

View live photos in the "Metallica Thrashes Stubb's" slideshow. On Friday afternoon, the four members of arguably the world's most famous heavy metal band flew into Austin, Texas, from San Francisco to promote a new music video game called "Guitar Hero Metallica." For the press conference, they set ... More >>

Raymond Pettibon at Regen Projects II

Paranoid Park: The Soundtrack of Their Lives

Skate movie dispenses with the angst, surrounds itself with Nino Rota and Elliott Smith

Rock Picks: Ruins, Beirut, Turbonegro, Metric

Also, Bill Callahan, Emmylou Harris and more picks for the week of October 4 –11

Sam Lanni

It's a jungle out there

Rock & Pop Listings

For January 27 - February 2, 2006 Country listings follow.

A Man Out of Time

Rodney Bingenheimer on life as the erstwhile Mayor of the Sunset Strip