Britney Spears

The Nether, Jennifer Haley's New Play at Kirk Douglas Theatre, Takes Place in a Virtual Reality of Sexual Fantasies

Madonna - Staples Center - 10/11/12

Madonna Staples Center 10/11/12 Better than: Pop music's current Madonna-wannabe starlets. Madonna's MDNA tour is a mostly-dark assault to the senses, and many have focused on its controversial themes, words and antics. At Staples Center last night, we were looking at the bigger picture: No one in ... More >>

Bel Air Bar & Grill to Reopen After 18-Month Closure

After an 18-month hiatus, Bel Air Bar & Grill will unveil its completely remodeled space in early November. Purchased by Susan Disney Lord (Walt's niece and Roy's daughter) in 2007, the restaurant will have 50% more space, a new kitchen, a three-story building next door which houses the Roy Disney F ... More >>

James Franco Vanessa Hudgens Ashley Benson vs. Asia Argento Charlotte Gainsbourg François Cluzet : Threesomes at the Toronto Film Festival

This is a blog post about two movies that were screened for the press within the first 24 hours of the Toronto Film Festival, both of which feature three-way sex scenes. In Spring Breakers, characters played by James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson "do it" in a swimming pool; in Do Not Dis ... More >>

Nicki Minaj - Nokia Theatre - 8/8/12

Nicki Minaj Nokia Theatre 8/8/12 Plenty at Nicki Minaj's show last night proved to be distractions -- lackluster choreography, tacky costumes that looked straight out of Target and no thematic cohesion. But it was more than that; she's clearly not ready to headline her own show. Last year, Minaj ... More >>

Tween Art: OHWOW Gallery's New Show Explores the Disney Channel Demo

To understand the new exhibition of tween-influenced art Alex Gartenfeld curated at West Hollywood's OHWOW gallery, it's best to rewind half a century. Billie Jo Spears, a tame Texas country singer, was 13 in 1950. That year, she cut her first single, "Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys," a "chil ... More >>

Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass," featuring Pharrell: 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: Mystikal's "Shake Dat Ass," featuring Pharrell History: "Shake Ya Ass," or "Shake It Fast" for the simps, is a song from Mystikal's Let's Get Ready album ... More >>

Maná - Staples Center - 4/19/12

Maná Staples Center 4/19/12 Better than ... Britney Spears at selling out Staples Center. Seriously, though. With this round of concert dates Maná has now surpassed Brit's record. Staples even held an official press conference about it Thursday afternoon. But let's talk about the show. Ultra hu ... More >>

Herb Ritts

Moguai: Deadmau5's Associate Leads a Big Beat Comeback

Veteran DJ Moguai was born Andre Tegeler; he's been playing parties and putting out music since the mid-'90s. Jams like "U Know Why" (2002) picked up on the Big Beat sound popularized by artists like Fatboy Slim, while 2007's "Freaks" is a guitar-inflected electro track. He's even got his own label, ... More >>

Fuck Guilty Pleasures: Dannii Minogue Is The Superior Minogue

​[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilt Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] It was the wee hours of the morning about ten years ago when I first saw Dannii Minogue, on Top of the Pops. Chains ... More >>

The Five Best Cover Songs Ever Covered, Rediscovered!

​ Sometimes the artist who authored a song does a bang-up job in the recording and you never need hear from the song again, except to hear it over and over and enjoy its overwhelming awesomeness. And sometimes an artist writes an incredible song and does an amazing job, and later on, some oth ... More >>

Top 10 Gratuitous Acoustic Pop Covers

​Watching Katy Perry's cover of Lady Gaga's "Born this Way" reminded us: In college, roughly 68% of undergraduates (a figure we made up for purposes of sounding researched) take up the acoustic guitar. Think of it as a rite of passage marred by awful covers of Neil Young and the inevitable Bla ... More >>

Music Picks: SWANS, Sebadoh, Arbouretum, Cass McCombs

Also Meshell Ndegeocello, Kaki King, Local Natives and others

Too Soon? Disney Now Marketing to Newborns and Their Moms (Really)

Disney BabyCan you say, 'Buy it now?'​We could hardly blame Disney for creating tween-demo sensations like Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez (not to mention Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney before them): Kids represent a merchandise bonanza for a stuffed-bauble marketing enterprise ... More >>

10 Tips For Holiday Entertaining

Flickr/burningkarmaholiday buffet​ That glass of bubbly got you in an ebullient mood, so you invited 20 people to your place for a little holiday party. Don't panic, experts are here to help. Just think of your gathering like a theatrical production -- plus food -- and you'll have a better go ... More >>

Big Wangs, Little Wangs: Bieber, Glambert, Ke$ha and more at Wango Tango

No matter how indier than thou you think you are music-wise, uber pop hits can make it into your consciousness, whether you like it or not. Unless you make an adamant point of blocking them, these ubiquitous confections need not be heard on mainstream radio like KIIS FM, either. They will seep in vi ... More >>

Former UCLA Health Worker Pleads Guilty To Accessing Celebrities' Medical Records

UCLAUCLA Medical Center.​Fomer UCLA Healthcare System researcher Huping Zhou has pleaded guilty to violating parts of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and could be one of the first people in the country convicted under the law, federal authorities announced Friday. Afte ... More >>

Rock Picks: Ozomatli, Harper Simon, Spain

Also, Tenacious D, Lady Gaga, Local Natives and others

Southern Comfort

Keeping Up With the Times

Fairwell to World of Wonder, Hello Bettie Page Clothing Store

Coachella Day 2: The Power of Pulchritude and Paper Planes

Timothy NorrisM.I.A.'s dancers: Working it harder than Maya As I wriggled out of the teeming crowd that clotted for M.I.A, I eavesdropped on the Spalding basketball-bronzed sorority sisters speaking behind me: "If I was like a dude, I would totally want to do M.I.A." Personally, M.I.A. doesn't real ... More >>

Allred v. Pugno: Post-Proposition 8 Smackdown!

Because of the spectacular, train-wreck-in-the-making aspect of this event, we are giving you, gentle reader, an extra day's notice about Wednesday's gay-marriage debate between Gloria Allred and Andy Pugno. Were any two combatants so different and yet so thoroughly matched in their steely determina ... More >>

Pacific Heights: L.A. Weekly's Top 10 L.A. Recordings of 2008

No Age, Chapin Sisters, Mia Doi Todd, the Knux, Flying Lotus, Madlib and more

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were dem ... More >>

Best Hollywood Trash Collectors: World of Wonder Storefront Gallery

Mark McGurl

Noisemaker

Record cover design finally catches up with "the new ugly"?

Race to the bottom: Lil Wayne vs. Weezer. Worstest record cover wins.

Neil Hamburger, Spaceland, 3/30

Neil Hamburger Spaceland, March 30 Walking on stage cradling three drinks in his arms, Neil Hamburger makes his first impression on the audience by spilling them slowly onto his own tuxedo while setting up his notes on the monitors in front of him. Much of the booze in his glasses ends up soaked in ... More >>

¡Ask a Mexican! Mextremities

"I recently learned the meaning of güero, which until that point I only knew as a Beck album. I started calling some of my whitish Mexican friends güero/a, and they seemed displeased."

Naked Pasta

Where to find gnudi

Totally Buzzed

The Bird and the Bee The Troubadour

Weekend Theater Reviews

Reviews of What to Wear, Tonight at 11! and Sides: The Fear is Real

Behind the Blue Door

Legs McNeil gatecrashes the Other Hollywood

Strange Love

What happens when Hollywood stops worrying and embraces the GOP

Dare To Be Square

Recombinators

N*E*R*D moves on from hip-hop and rock

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Nirvana

It’s Too Funky in Here

Rockers invade Groovetown

Kellerwood

The New York Times’ new editor, Bill Keller, is more at ease talking about Shakespeare than pop culture. What does it mean for Hollywood?

It Ain’t Cool

The Face of Pirate Cat Radio

Screwing the Airwaves Since 1997

Letters

Freddie Gets Fingered

Notes on the Prinze of Hollywood

Wish Upon a Popstar

Slush

Edited by Kateri Butler

Rolling Clones

Schmooze Dot Com

My season on the Internet party circuit

bLAnd LAnd

Sitegeist’s semiannual scene column (with special guest editor Rita Elkbrute)