He's not in bands, but he makes them sound a hell of a lot better
[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Half of January has elapsed and we've survived. There was no collapse due to fiscal cliff, Central American apocalypse or dubstep deluge. A new year unfu ... More >>
As Max Bell noted in his round-up of L.A. rap earlier this month, it was a very good year for hip-hop in our city, with all corners of the varied scene -- from Open Mike Eagle's smart 4NML HSPTL to Odd Future's rambunctious The OF Tape Vol. 2 to Ty$ and Joe Moses' raunchy Whoop! -- well represented ... More >>
Die Antwoord Music Video Marathon Nerdist Showroom inside Meltdown Comics 11-13-12 Better Than...Shark Week hosted by Dr Dre. It's easy to dismiss South African rap group Die Antwoord as a novelty act, since at first glance, they come off as little more than an extended Ali G skit: silly hip-hop p ... More >>
The internet is broken again. It's telling us that first-week sales of Kreayshawn's debut Somethin' 'Bout Kreay -- released last week, it moved about 3,900 units -- are the weakest ever for a major label release. Thanks for the misinformation everyone, which has come fast and furious, often with th ... More >>
The rock and roll fairy tale has more to do with booze-fueled, groupie-filled nights than it does babies and happily-ever-after romances. But for Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman-Reynolds, the latter is proving to be true. At first glance the pair are a bit of an odd couple, Reynolds towering over Vol ... More >>
See also: Mickey Avalon's True Hollywood stories Mickey Avalon, party rapper extraordinaire, is set to drop his new solo album Loaded today. We last checked in with him for a 2006 cover story depicting his utterly-wild ways; plenty has happened for him in the ensuing years, including many shows and ... More >>
Paid Dues 2012 NOS Events Center, San Bernardino 4/7/2012 Posted by the Paid Dues media check-in, the announcement, "ATTENTION: Photo Pit Closed for Odd Future Performance," seemed an ominous sign. Though it likely was just to ward off further lawsuits, it felt a little pretentious -- and Murs' ind ... More >>
Also, Das Racist, Gonjasufi, Roky Erickson and others
See also: Meet Iggy Azalea, the Street Smart Blonde Bombshell Behind "Pu$$y" Iggy Azalea Dim Mak Studios 2/7/12 The rumbling began in September when Perez Hilton posted the video for Iggy Azalea's "Pu$$y." In a rainbow-striped tube top and lemon sorbet-colored leggings, the Australian glamazon rap ... More >>
Inside a white-walled room in Interscope Records' co-founder Ted Field's film production company, a relaxed Brody Brown leans back into his chair. "You know, I feel like it's coming true, the dream I have been fighting for my entire life," he says. "It's unfolding in front of my eyes." That will ne ... More >>
Timothy NorrisLana Del Rey The Troubadour December 7, 2011 See also: The Problem With Lana Del Rey (Is You) Better than...I ever even knew. Then again, what do I know? "I have my fingers crossed that LDR lives up to all this hype. Girl's got talent," said my friend after I told her I was s ... More >>
When 21-year-old Australian rapper Iggy Azalea was a preteen, she was obsessed with Tupac. She plastered her wall with his photos. She tried to recite his lyrics with his inflections. She visited the Seven Day Theory website religiously, but figured going to an Outlawz concert in Oz when she ... More >>
Will his old tricks still work?
Soula Boy on Main Street, America. Watch out, Palin, he's gunnin' for your turf.MC who? Odd Future fan (read on) and international swag ambassador Soulja Boy Tell'em has brought the word "hammer" back to hip-hop. In what might be the word's first non-derogatory use since the early '90s, he's ... More >>
Marguerite de BourgoingJust One of Those DaysYou don't really go to a Blu show to watch him perform. Fact is, he's not really much of a performer. Roaming the stage as if it's his bedroom and he's writing the rhyme as he paces, or standing still save an almost imperceptible nodding of his ... More >>
Thom Yorke and M.I.A. guestSo, you know, the cat's out of the bag on whether or not M.I.A.'s one-time lover and longtime producer Diplo has relocated to Los Angeles. And as Pitchfork and others have reported, that scorned pussy (sticking with the metaphor here, folks) is now taking shots at ... More >>
Of Hummus and Hip-Hop
YoLandi and Marshall Mathers: Separated at Bleach? We're big fans of Amoeba's "What's In My Bag" web video series, where the massive music and DVD retailer gives musicians a big gift certificate and encourages them to engage in acts of conspicuous consumption before a digital video camera. T ... More >>
YoLandi and Marshall Mathers: Separated at Bleach? We're big fans of Amoeba's "What's In My Bag" web video series, where the massive music and DVD retailer gives musicians a big gift certificate and encourages them to engage in acts of conspicuous consumption before a digital video camera. T ... More >>
Erin BroadleyStreet Drum CorpsThe last time we saw Bobby Alt, Adam Alt and Frank Zummo of Street Drum Corps, the trio of misfit drummers was holed up in a Hollywood recording studio in the fall of 2009 putting the finishing touches on its two-disc Interscope debut, produced by Howard Benson a ... More >>
The once-powerful executives have become an endangered species
In 2009, rap is no longer dangerous. Meet an MC wrestling with capital-letter issues: blood, dirt and death
In 2009, rap is no longer dangerous. Meet an MC wrestling with capital-letter issues: blood, dirt and death
L.A.'s most loved and feared music Web site is back, leading the never-ending quest for music that doesn't suck
Maybe we ought to blame Kanye--even though this trend started well before him, and will likely persist long after he retires to pursue French anime interior spaceship design. Like it or not, 'Ye's massive success re-removed a lot of barriers into the major label rap game. No longer did you need st ... More >>
Q: What was it like for you growing up in Los Angeles during the 80s? A: It was the LA of the Reagan administration. Drugs were really heavy in the streets at that time…more crack addicts…crack babies. It was a good time simultaneously because there was more creativity within the music and it ... More >>
Q: What was it like for you growing up in Los Angeles during the 80s? A: It was the LA of the Reagan administration. Drugs were really heavy in the streets at that time…more crack addicts…crack babies. It was a good time simultaneously because there was more creativity within the music and it ... More >>
Four on the floor
Also, James McMurtry, Barn Owl
The Hives, Donnas Wiltern, Feb. 19 Photos by Timothy Norris It's been eight years since the Hives started telling us they were going to take over the world. Back in those heady days of early 00's, rock bands were back out of the garage and into the spotlight big-time, scoring bonus points if they ... More >>
The buzz surrounding the 23-year old Washington DC rapper Wale has grown pretty loud in the last month or two. Everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Rolling Stone and XXL have profiled the guy. Hell, Urb even put him on the cover of their150th issue (Though I'll admit that when I saw Wale surround ... More >>
Fall Harvest While the media was examining a fake beef, a bounty of music dropped
No one understands the murky, download-rampaged world of major-label rap better
The Grammy parties and the pod people
TV on the Radio have message of peace, hope, harmony, possible werewolves
TV on the Radio have message of peace, hope, harmony, possible werewolves
TV on the Radio have message of peace, hope, harmony, possible werewolves
TV on the Radio have message of peace, hope, harmony, possible werewolves
Handpicked for Beck EP, local androids get drunk, stoked, bummed
As persona overtakes person, Love, Angel, Music, Baby shows Gwen Stefani still drives her own ambition
Campfire Girls return from the near-dead
Jurassic 5 reach higher ground
Jurassic 5 reach higher ground
The record industry sued Napster and has just inhaled MP3.com. Is there a future for music on the Internet? Analog Pussy thought so... Then they got a scary e-mail...
A year in music
A year in music
A Unified Revolution Called Jurassic 5
L.A.’s hip-hop underground keeps it . . . “real”
Thank the makers of Incubus
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