Ian MacKaye

Joe Vex Speaks! Our Interview With the Mysterious Vex Club Proprietor

Historic East L.A. punk venue The Vex is famous for epic shows in the '80s, featuring killer L.A. and Orange County lineups, everyone from the Adolescents and TSOL to Social Distortion. The club opened in 1976, and proprietor, Joe "Vex" Suquette brought the two counties' scenes together for the firs ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: An Ian MacKaye Wrap-Up and Loads of Great, New Music

KCRW BROADCAST #211 04-13-13   See also: Henry Rollins: Joe Cole and American Gun Violence Fanatics! I hope you had a chance to listen to last week's show by now. Ian MacKaye was our guest and like last year, it was a great night that went by all too quickly. I didn't want to spoil the fun by putt ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: It's Ian MacKaye!

KCRW BROADCAST #210 04-06-13 See also: Henry Rollins: Bored In Hawaii Fanatics! I have the basic play list for tonight but will not post the songs as it's Ian MacKaye's choices and I thought it better to make the whole thing a discovery as we go. You read that right, Fanatic, Ian MacKaye will be ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Marnie Stern, Hendrix, Bowie and a Very Special Guest

KCRW BROADCAST #209 03-30-13 Fanatics! I am well aware that you might be getting tired of reading that "tonight's show is amazing" week after week, but what can I say, tonight is a great one. For instance, look at our first track. That's right, Fanatic, thirty years ago, the Birthday Party live at ... More >>

The Crucial Mistake Most Bands Are Making With Facebook

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Henry Rollins: Hardcore Nostalgia in Washington D.C.

[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.] It is now March. Begrudgingly, the winter is unlocking its jaws and giving way to the thaw. Co ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Punk Rock Straight from Washington DC

KCRW BROADCAST #204 02-23-13   See also: Henry Rollins: Embrace Your Homophobia, Boy Scouts of America Fanatics! Tonight is one of our concept shows and has everything to do with why I am in Washington DC tonight. I'm here presenting a documentary about a spray paint artist and cultural force in D ... More >>

Converge and Torche - Echoplex - 10/28/2012

Converge with Torche, Nails, Kvelertak and Dangers The Echoplex 10-29-12 On a night where most people were recovering from the sugar shock (or hangover) of a pre-Halloween Saturday, the metal kids came out in droves to see a fearsome line-up of bone-rattling bands at the Echoplex. From locals Nai ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Being a Local, Temporarily

[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.] We are in beautiful Olympia, Wash. My shows in Hawaii and Alaska are behind me, and a few hour ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Subterranean 
Homesick Blues

[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.] Perhaps this has happened to you in the last few weeks. Your living environment is hot enough ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! In a Rut

[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.] A few Saturdays ago, I paid tribute on my radio show to a band called The Ruts. The band's voc ... More >>

The 20 Best Albums Not in the Canon: The Complete List

*Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre *Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time *Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All Time A few months back Rolling Stone put out their updated 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. (Here's a quickly-scannable version; Sgt. P ... More >>

The 20 Best Albums Not in the Canon: 10-1

See also: The 20 Best Albums Not in the Canon: 20-11 *Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre *Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time *Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All Time 10. Built To Spill Perfect From Now On (1997) Not really grunge but not springy ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Obamacare vs. the American Death Machine

[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.] The fallout from SCOTUS upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act has been a ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Some of the Best Times of My Life

[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.] Several nights ago, I was standing in the parking lot behind the Art & Culture Centre in Corne ... More >>

Top Five Best Post-Hardcore Records

See also: At the Drive-In Speaks At the Drive-In Interview Outtakes Refused and At The Drive-In reunited for Coachella. Now Quicksand is getting into the act, reuniting to play FYF Fest. People are nostalgic for the post-hardcore bands of yesteryear? Apparently. For those not in the know, post-ha ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: The Near Death Experience, Felt Letters

KCRW Broadcast #167 for Saturday, June 2, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Globetrotting Blues Fanatics! Hello from Vancouver, Canada. The Canadian dates have started and I am glad to be back on the road. Tonight's show is a great one all the way through. A great warm weather mix tape tha ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Ian MacKaye's Wild Card Mix

KCRW Broadcast #159 for Saturday, April 7, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! We Are the Aliens, Everyone Else Is Earthling Fanatics! I must say, I don't have much of a clue as to what songs Ian has chosen to bring with him. As you know, tonight, we are live with Ian MacKaye, who happens t ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: California Love

KCRW Broadcast #158 for Saturday, March 31, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! The Ugly World of eBay Hustling Fanatics! Tomorrow night we have a bit of a concept show for your enjoyment. Since I write this ahead of a show in San Diego, I thought it would be a great idea to play bands from ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Cramps, Andy Warhol References

KCRW Broadcast #156 for Saturday, March 17, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Rebelling in Sweet Home Alabama Fanatics! I am writing you from what's left of a night off in Washington DC. I had a good day driving around town with Ian MacKaye. A few hours ago, we drove by the house where Min ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday

KCRW Broadcast #155 for Saturday, March 10, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Justice, Texas Style Fanatics! I am writing you from the backstage area of the House of Blues down here in Orlando FL. The next four shows are in the Sunshine State. So far, the US leg of the tour has been going ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Masochism Has Its Benefits

​[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 am in Bristol, England. The cold outside has permeated the walls of the utilitarian bac ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! The Time I Made a Punk Rocker Cry

[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.] Weeks ago, my L.A. Weekly super editor Ben Westhoff asked me about my plans for 2012. I told h ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Three for the Price of One -- Engineer X, the Young Will Bentley, and Henry

KCRW Broadcast #147 for Saturday, January 7, 2012 Fanatics! Just so you know, this set was specifically engineered and put together with great care in order to bring you the maximum enjoyment as we gather together live for the first time this year. 2012 promises to be interesting to say the least ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Henry Speaks On His Consciousness-Expanding Trip to the Library of Congress With Ian MacKaye

[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.] See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Copping MP3s For 
Free Is Not Cool I have just wrapped o ... More >>

Toad Toxins or Transcendent Music: Whatever Gets You Through The Night

​[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 Thursday and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday evening, or on ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Now It's Dark, and I Am Real

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! Suicide: Henry on Appreciating Challenging Music

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 >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Saturday Night: Happy Birthday, Ian MacKaye

Timothy Norris​KCRW BROADCAST #110 for Saturday, April 16. Fanatics! It is Record Store Day. It is also Ian MacKaye's birthday. Today, Ian hits the deck at forty-nine years of age. I believe he will be at the Coachella Festival this weekend so we send our greetings and congrats from here. To ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Saturday Night: Ludos, Buzzcocks, Joy Division

Timothy Norris​KCRW BROADCAST #109 for Saturday, April 9. Fanatics! If you notice, our show tonight does all it can to evade all classification. Perhaps the single song that embodies the idea behind the overall is track two, our Ludus. Check that arrangement! That's what tonight's show is all ... More >>

"Hardcore Is a Complete, Legitimate California-born Music Form": An Interview with "American Hardcore" Author Steven Blush, Who Speaks Today at Book Soup with Keith Morris and Others

​ In his 2001 compendium, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, New York writer and former promoter Steven Blush all but dispensed with your dad's glamorized spit-scabs-and-safety-pin punk, instead focusing on hundreds of DIY, anarchic hardcore bands from the scene's peak between 1980 and 198 ... More >>

Mullen on Music

Coachella Day 2: Tinariwen's Sunset Convergence is the Talk of the Festival

Timothy NorrisTinariwen: Nomads who now roam the earth delivering Tuareg music of Saharan North Africa. This is the 2009 show that's likely to build into a Coachella legend. Tinariwen's sunset set at the Gobi tent. Standing on the stage, the sextet, dressed in traditional Tuareg robes and headwear ... More >>

Ian MacKaye Talks with LA Weekly in Anticipation of this Weekend's Q&A at Hollywood High

In addition to being one of the easiest and most pleasurable interview experiences you're ever likely to have, Ian MacKaye is a goldmine in so many ways. There's his record label, Dischord, which transformed the very way that small punk and non-punk labels conducted their business. It's a pretty b ... More >>

Ian MacKaye to Visit Hollywood High for "Public Interview" with Students on Eve of Election

Few community activists have transformed thought and ideal into action and results like Ian MacKaye, founder of Washington, D.C.'s punk label Dischord Records and lead singer of (chronologically) Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, and The Evens. The thoughtful, outspoken screamer will be in Southern C ... More >>

Grab The Believer's Music Issue While It's Still on the Racks -- It's Totally Worth It

Though it's been out for the past month or so, I'd highly recommend that you race to your nearest newstand to grab the recent music issue of The Believer, which is still on the newstands this week (or so we've been told) but on the verge of vanishing. There are a number of sublime highlights in ... More >>

John Loder, the "ninth" member of Crass

With The National, I traveled to the never fashionable north London district of Wood Green to visit the home and studio of Southern’s founder John Loder, Crass's "ninth member," a producer when no one else would record them and a business partner when no one else would touch the results.

When Bad Meals Happen at Good Places

Alternatives to arson

Blackouts, Sellouts and Freakouts

We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen

Satire, Punk and Politics

Or, black people don’t like George Bush

Insurgency Insipience

Flip-floppin’ again

This Band Could Be His Life

Standing at the load-out with Flea, Rollins and the Evens

13 Great CD Reissues You May Have Never Heard Of

Sweat, Semen and a Scream

With the Lights Out takes us through the past, starkly

Miracle in the Desert

A Thousand Teens Bloom

Dischord's moments in grace

How Clean Was My Valley

Edited by Kateri Butler

The Ghosts of Dogtown

A quarter-century later, the Zephyr Competition Skate Team still rules