Bob Marley

Inner Circle Inspired Bob Marley, Helped Pioneer Reggae

Inner Circle helped invent reggae. Now, 45 years after they started, the group is still on tour -- not even a bus crash in Baton Rouge can stop them. They perform at Los Globos on Sunday; we caught up with them at their recording studios in Miami the day they left.

New Survey Gives Beats By Dre Headphones Low Marks

Beat By Dre headphones helped buy Dr. Dre his dream home. They're also partly funding the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy at USC, as its benefactors, who founded Beats, chipped in $70 million. But are the headphones any good? Survey says no. In fact, according to a new report by FixYa, a crow ... More >>

Under-the-Radar Acts to See at Coachella

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Beware any tutorial about the "right way" to do Coachella. Stay sentient, steer clear of phosphorescent forms in spirit hoodies, drink water, and never m ... More >>

The Love Mob Is Saving the World With Group Singalongs

Albert Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." The Beatles said, "All you need is love." The Love Mob, in essence, combines these two concepts. The Los Angeles-based group performs a capella covers of classics. Their goal? Nothing s ... More >>

Rock Star Fashions, Without the Douchiness

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Almost everyone has once wanted to dress like a rock star, but most people realize how absurd they look in leather pants and sequins. Wisely, then, Holly ... More >>

Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff": Why This Song Sucks

[Editor's note: Why This Song Sucks determines why particular tracks blow using science. It appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday.] Song: Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff" History: "I Shot The Sheriff" was released in 1973. It's important for a number of reasons, but mostly because it made W ... More >>

Navarasa Dance Theater's Encounter

Bob Marley Day Comes to L.A. as Countdown to Marijuana Ban Begins (Irony?)

City Hall continues to ream you with parking tickets, rock you with the worst roads in America, and wow you with red ink. But the most important thing on the plate of the L.A. City Council today was ... Bob Marley. Yes. Your favorite, overpaid politicians earned their highest-in-the-nation salarie ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, July 13 Aesop Rock EL REY THEATRE A heavy hitter in the early-aughts' onslaught of brainy indie-rap word-slingers, Aesop Rock now is 15 years into a nearly blemishless career. This New York native and San Fran transplant is celebrated for his nearly unmatched ability to braid colorful verbi ... More >>

The Lions Give Roots Reggae New Life

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] Reggae was spawned during one broiling Kingston, Jamaica, summer, spread to the world via the mesmerism of Bob Marley, and now serves as a dorm-room rite of pas ... More >>

Top 10 Vintage and Second-Hand Boutiques in L.A.

Whether you're looking for 1960s Peggy Moffitt mod couture or 1980s stonewashed denim castaways from the Valley, Los Angeles has a vintage and second-hand shopping scene that's bursting at the old-school seams. In a city known for making old things look fresher than they really are, its no surprise ... More >>

Bob Marley's Birthday: Celebrate at Cana

In honor of what would have been the 67th birthday of reggae musician Robert Nesta Marley -- you may know him as Bob -- Cana Rum Bar is hosting a shindig tonight featuring music, good vibes and Jamaican rums. Sting Wrays, a combo of Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum, grapefruit soda and fresh citrus, wil ... More >>

Marijuana for the Taking (and the Toking) Found Floating in Ocean off Marina Del Rey

Yes, there is a god, said the surfer. Free marijuana floating in the ocean was just there for the taking. Unfortunately, Sheriff's deputies got to it before any of the guys at Venice Pier could. Damn it:

Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: The Complete List

Yeah, yeah, we know. The top 20 greatest musicians of all time, in any genre. Where do we get off? Well, we'll tell you where we get off -- at Accuracy Station. Our team of writers listened to thousands and thousands of hours of music for this list, digging deep into the annals of history and explor ... More >>

Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: #20-16

See also: *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #15-11 *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #10-6 *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, In Any Genre: #5-1 Yeah, yeah, we know. The top 20 greatest musicians of all time, in any genre. Where do we get off? Well, we'll tell you where we get of ... More >>

Miley Cyrus Is Hipper And More Liberal Than You. Oh, And She Hates Rick Santorum

She's just being Miley.​Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana is one of the easier Disney shows for adults to sit through. Her voice and wide eyes aren't totally unlike a young Lucille Ball. Still, that might not be enough to make an adult investigate her music. But her surprisingly not-overplayed cat ... More >>

It's a Kinky Reggae Party

I Spent Friday Night Drinking Beer and Seeing Bands at the Zoo

Ben WesthoffThe Steelwells​My wife and I went to "Brew at the Zoo" on Friday night. We and scads of beer aficionados -- which I call bullshit on, but more on that later -- sampled "craft" beers, peered at animals and saw some music. It wasn't Friday night jazz at LACMA, but it was something. ... More >>

The Five Most Hilariously Offensive Misuses of Classic Songs For Commercial Purposes

​ We were so excited when we saw the wooden box on our desk with the words "Bob Marley" branded into the top. A CD box set? Possibly--if we are very very lucky--a box set of 7"s? With little booklets that have liner notes full of interesting and amazing facts about one of the word's seminal p ... More >>

Ziggy Marley's Marijuanaman for Earth Day Mascot! Plus, Bob Marley's Last Words to His Sons

​Urban Nomad, the gregarious Jeremiah Alexis, shoots exclusive video for LA Weekly. Make sure you check out the previous installments here. The 4/20 "holiday" might be a joke, but to Ziggy Marley, marijuana is not. "The portrait most about marijuana is a stoner guy; it's a joke. But the pla ... More >>

In Like a Lion, Even in L.A.: Our Favorite Songs about Lions

​There is an old-wives/Farmer's Almanac weather adage that says March "comes in like a lion, out like a lamb." As residents of Southern California, we are pretty much disqualified from every saying about weather ever, although a few days ago we actually experienced gusting winds that fittingly ... More >>

PUNKY REGGAE BOOK PARTY

Tonight: Antibalas, La Roux, Ben Lee, Fitz & the Tantrums, the Heavy, KT Tunstall

Antibalas​Brooklyn-based ensemble Antibalas has been living an enviable double life, for the past two years doing duty at the backing band for the hit musical Fela! (which earned 11 Tony nominations) and, not that rave reviews would go to their head, squeezing in some NYC club dates to keep th ... More >>

Music Picks: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Bridget St. John, Bad Astronaut, Kings of Leon

Also, Lilith 2010, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Smokey Robinson, Antibalas and others

Terrorists Discover AutoTune, Make Kanye-Style Jams Praising Bin Laden

Gawker has been trolling the terrorist bulletin boards and websites and they've turned up comedy musical gold. Apparently international terrorism brand Al-Qaeda has been successful in expanding their fanbase to flawless English-speaking youngsters with a love of hip-hop and AutoTune. Gawker reposte ... More >>

Live in L.A.: Kate Nash, Del the Funky Homosapien, Roger Clyne

Kate Nash​For somebody with a pet rabbit named Fluffy, Kate Nash sounds a little bit ticked off on her new album, "My Best Friend Is You." She's 22 now, and maybe she's learned a few things since "Made of Bricks" made her everybody's darling in 2007, but there's as much snarl as coo in the gir ... More >>

MARLEY AND HIM

Rage Against the Machine DVD To be Released

Rage Against the Machine DVD To be Released

Hanukkah or Xmas? Who Cares -- Free Stuff Either Way from the Universal Music Truck & Fool's Gold

Fool's Gold, offering praise​We here at West Coast Sound like free stuff and assume you do too. And despite the fact that we have every reason to root for a well-fed music industry (well, at least the non-bloated part of it), we especially like pointing you in the direction of free (or near-fr ... More >>

Choice LA YouTube Clips: Stuff That You May Have Missed on the Internets

Lord knows we can't do and see it all. This is LA. Stuff falls through the cracks. All publicists are not created equal. A vast bounty of unrepresented musicians and artists roams the area looking for attention. We want to give it to them. Here are a few LA-based clips that you probably won't see an ... More >>

Inauguration Day: The View From Obama's So Cal Alma Mater

The swearing in at Occidental College, plus, trying to get the Spider-man comic book featuring our new superhero president

Barack and Bondage, Crafting and Camel Toes: Nightranger's Annual L.A. Style Survey

From Katy Perry and Shepard Fairey to handmade frocks and stretchy skinnies

Rock Picks: The Wailers, Thelonious Dub, Halfmonk, Mike Watt & the Secondmen

Plus, Good for the Jews, Legowelt, Resistant Culture, and others

The 10 Songs/Albums That No One Should Ever Have Sex to Again

Because playing these albums in flagrante delicto is the only romantic gesture lamer than offering a woman a fish sandwich. 10. Cornball Stevie Wonder Songs (I.E. "You are the Sunshine of My Life." "I Just Called to Say I Love You") I'm not going to tell you that these songs don't serve a ... More >>

Beards, Blazers, Bluntless: Lee Perry Defeats The El Rey's Draconian Droogs

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2007 Pt. 3 (#14-10)

Mental Note: Avoid guys with the nickname "Mad Dog." 14. Redman-"Blow Treez" Why did we have to wait until 2007 for Redman, the man who taught a generation of impressionable youths how to roll a blunt, to sample Bob Marley, the greatest blunt roller of them all? Flipping the halcyon palm-tree ... More >>

Rock Picks: The Slits, Squiddo, Electrocute

For the week of August 2 - 9

Revitalized Roots

Getting funké with Bob Marley

Girls, Girls, Girls

Rock Picks

For the week of December 28 - January 4

Music Picks

For the week of August 10–17

Desmond Dekker

1941–2006

The Sky Lit Up

Dub

The once and future music of revolution

Pink Flag Burning

New Music

The Steamy Muse

Rhapsodies of light and heat and hope

Naked Brunch

Packing light for Palm Springs

Groove Robbers

Version Therapy

From remix to revelation