Finland

The Best Los Angeles Metal Shows to See in May

Tuesday, May 7 Cauldron Five Stars Bar Toronto bassist/vocalist Jason Decay was near the forefront of last decade's revival of classic metal sounds, with his previous band Goat Horn. With his current outfit Cauldron, the brand of thrash falls more on the melodic side, taking strong influence from t ... More >>

The Amalur Project: Sergio Perera and Company Pop-Up at Cortez (Vinegar Dust! Foragers!)

If you haven't been checking your Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram account, etc. lately, you may be sadly unaware of the latest temporary food-as-art installation, The Amalur Project, which last night debuted at Echo Park's Cortez. I'm sorry. But the happy news is that, as is often the case, t ... More >>

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 >>

RIP James Stone: Nightlife Innovator Is Dead

James Stone, the club and party promoter responsible for ground-breaking fetish-themed nightlife in Los Angeles, passed away Wednesday evening after a long battle with bladder cancer. He was 47. He is survived by his mother, sister, brother and countless friends in Los Angeles.

Americans are Commonly Dying Under Age 50: Blame Stupid Choices, Too Much Driving and Sitting, and Poverty, Study Says

Everyone wants to live forever. But a study from USC and the National Academies suggests that if you'd like to see 51, it's time a lot of people stopped acting stupid. Americans spend more on health care than anyone, but are less healthy, birth to death, than residents in other developed countries. ... More >>

The Best Los Angeles Metal Shows of 2012

A live heavy metal show can be one of the most visceral experiences a music fan can experience. Our top five L.A. metal shows of 2012 have made it really fucking hard to go back to watching some dude strumming an acoustic guitar while sitting on a bar stool. See also: Top Ten Los Angeles Metal Albu ... More >>

10 Places in L.A. to Draw Nude Models

See also: *5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week *Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A. *Top 10 Bars With the Hottest Women in L.A. Art, much like the naked body, has been known to take itself too seriously. The remedy? Sometimes they both can benefit from being in a relax ... More >>

Top 5 Gifts for Bread Bakers: Your Kitchen, My Boulangerie

For some of us, baking bread is something that we do without much thought, whenever it's cold enough to crank the oven, for giving to friends, when our kids demand it, or as a coping mechanism (see: the recent election, long distance relationships, Steve Nash). The smell of bread baking is a fundame ... More >>

'Duh' Study of the Week: Living Near Bars Increases Drinking

As you wait in line to cast your ballot, here's some food for thought about your tax dollars at work. Oh wait, make that Finnish tax dollars. Still, something to keep in mind as you consider which candidate might be more likely to fund silly studies. Researchers in Finland have discovered that liv ... More >>

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

Fri, Nov 9 Von The Black Castle On November 9 San Francisco's Von celebrates the release of their debut album Satanic Blood by headlining the Ritual of The Black Mass festival. The group was one of the earliest American bands to adopt a black metal sound in the early '90s. They broke up after recor ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: An All-Kill, No-Fill Show

KCRW Broadcast #186 for Saturday, October 20, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Noise Music Is the Real Thing Fanatics! Tonight we will enjoy an unbelievably cool mix of songs. The weather is cooling slightly and we will take advantage of that and unleash some deep heaviness. If you notic ... More >>

Five Attractive Strange People Working for Tips at SXSW

Paying homeless people $70 a day to serve as human wifi hotspots is a bizarre way to make a buck, but it's indicative of the hustler's spirit at South By Southwest this year. Folks are grinding hard and employing increasingly-gimmicky measures to make money. But there's more to it than that. Lik ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Alone in My Man Box, Listening to Al Green

[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 came back to Los Angeles a few days ago with 32 shows behind me on this tour, in England, Ir ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Henry's Ode to Winter

KCRW Broadcast #151 for Saturday, February 11, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! I'm Not Dead Yet Fanatics! Cold much? Scandinavia has all the cold you could ever want. I am sitting in the airport in Helsinki, Finland, waiting for a flight to Frankfurt. From there we will go to Linz, Austr ... More >>

10 Things I Learned From Working in a Porn Store

Before becoming a writer, I had many trades: Steelworker, warehouse clerk, advertising salesman, boutique manager. But the most educational job was clerking at a porn store across the street from a middle school in Portland, OR. It wasn't just a porn store. It also featured an arcade in the back - ... More >>

Music Picks: Amanda Palmer & Jason Webley, Tinariwen, Mastodon

Also: Wadada Leo Smith's Ten Freedom Summers, Danzig and others

L.A. Rising - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - 7/30/11

Torry PendergrassThis is for the people of the sun​L.A. Rising feat. Rage Against The Machine, Muse, Rise Against, Lauryn Hill Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 7/30/11 Better than...spending a Saturday at the beach. "Apathetic music with apathetic fans." "Do the fans even get it?" "Rage Agai ... More >>

Rasputina - Key Club - 7/29/11

Rasputina at Key Club​WHO: Rasputina
 WHERE: Key Club WHEN: 7/29/11 Better Than... Your kid sister's recital. Russian religious icon Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin has long been a great source of intrigue, fear and inspiration, and one of those inspirations is New York-based act Rasputina. B ... More >>

LA Gay Pride Music: Prince Poppycock, Estelle, Mya and Some Very Loud Queens

Lina Lecaro Prince Poppycock is pretty in Pride.​You can always expect a few things on the music stage during LA Pride weekend: powerhouse divas belting, audacious drag queens, lithe boys shaking it in something skimpy, highly danceable grooves throughout and in between it all, and signers int ... More >>

Music Picks: The Undertones, Prince, Eternal Summers, Check Yo Ponytail 2

Also, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tinie Tempah, Arctic Monkeys, Woodsman and others

Last Night: Muse at Staples Center

Timothy NorrisMuse, rising victorious after avenging Emerson Lake and Palmer's murder by the forces of Punk​ [For many more exclusive photos of the show, see Timothy Norris' slideshow "Muse @ Staples Center"] Walking into Staples Center right before the Brit trio Muse hit the stage, there was ... More >>

Klaxons, Sebastien Tellier, Black Lips, Tokyo Police Club Confirmed for Filter Mag's 'Culture Collide' Fest

Klaxons, Sebastien Tellier, Black Lips, Tokyo Police Club Confirmed for Filter Mag's 'Culture Collide' Fest

Rock Picks: Loudon Wainwright III & Richard Thompson, Miss Jilly, Mission of Burma, The Mountain Goats

Of Ukeleles, Tolkien, Garfunkel and Bond: A Chat With Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords

Brian TamborelloMcKenzie (front, with Clement) rides the folk train​ October is Folktober for fans of New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk parodists, the mighty Flight of the Conchords; following the second season of their acclaimed eponymous HBO show, which bagged several Emmy nominati ... More >>

Star Wars in Concert: How Many Ways Can You Interpret "The Imperial March"?

​The appeal of a piece of music can be measured by how well it can be covered. If you can change not just the musicians, but the instruments, and still come out with something solid, then it's a winner. Take "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" as an example. Ever since its first appeara ... More >>

TWEET THIS: GET A LIFE, TWITTER USERS!

Movie Reviews: The End of the Line, The Proposal, Whatever Works

Also, Daytime Drinking, Irene in Time and more

Dethklok at the Wiltern, June 6

Photos by Pandora Young Sweet blowjobby metal! Dethklok are legend. They are so metal they once played a show in an active volcano. It was so brutal the volcano erupted, slaughtering most of the band's fans. At a show in Finland they used an ancient Norse chant to summon a Godzilla sized, blood ... More >>

Beauty Mark(et)

They put Cahuenga on the clubber map, made manicures and martinis a classic combo (wish we could always sip a cocktail while getting clipped and dipped!) and continue to offer some of our favorite, off-beat DJ nights (Still Fucking Awesome on Mondays, Trans-Am on Fridays), and now, The Beauty Bar is ... More >>

The Year of Duda

The best classical events of 2007

Martha Argerich: Maximum Force

Pianist worth the wait

Umbrella Held High

Rock Picks: Lee ''Scratch'' Perry, The Swell Season, Maximo Park and More

For the week of July 26 – August 2

Film Reviews: Interview, My Best Friend and More

Also Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, Tekkonkinkreet

Rock Picks: The Humpers, Secretary Bird, Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow

For the week of June 21–28

Film Reviews: Meet the Robinsons, Blades of Glory

Also, The Hills Have Eyes II, Air Guitar Nation and After the Wedding

"Air Guitar Nation" Rocks L.A.

"Air Guitar Nation," a brand-new documentary about the real art of air guitar, winner of the audience award at SXSW this year, is premiering at the NuArt Cinema in Santa Monica this Friday. Later that night, air guitar virtuoso and "Air Guitar Nation" poster boy Bjorn Turoque (pictured above) will ... More >>

The 20th Century and Me: Beginnings

Excerpted from So I’ve Heard: Notes From a Migratory Music Critic

Fear of Music

South by Southwest 2005, as told by its survivors

Summer Songs

Music for changing seasons and future days

Joel Shapiro

Built-in Obsolescence

Low Tide

Magic Time at the Bowl

No Crystal Method

Edited by Kateri Butler

Who Wants To Be a Popsicle?

Truth or Derrière

Edited by Kateri Butler

Let It Drool

Films from Bobby and Peter Farrelly and Lars von Trier

Episode Zero

A Trivial Traviata