Isaac Hayes

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

Friday, April 5 Vum, Esben and the Witch THE BOOTLEG There's plenty of the spirit of New York synth-punk pioneers Suicide in minimal L.A. synth-wave trio Vum on their new single "I Will Return" -- and is that song title a promise or a threat? This is menacing stuff, built on bare-bones electronic b ... More >>

Veteran Producer Sir Jinx is the Missing Link

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] See also: Edward "Apple" Nelson Is a Legendary L.A. Drummer and 70-Year-Old Yoga Enthusiast Sir Jinx is the missing link. He is a vital nerve. Remove th ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Memphis on My Mind

[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.] Sitting on the tour bus, the Bon Jovi Mobile-Def Leppard Express (no offense to either corpora ... More >>

5 Revelations About L.A. Music History at the Grammy Museum's Show 'Trouble In Paradise'

Becky Sapp​ For some, Los Angeles' musical history fits nicely into categories; there was bouncing beach pop, Laurel Canyon folk, West Coast rap and Sunset Strip rock. But behind this shroud of notable names and iconic acts, there is a richer, more diverse portrait of music in Los Angeles. Th ... More >>

Christian McBride: A Veteran at 40

​Since the late '80s Philly-bred bassist Christian McBride has been a low end powerhouse for artists including Milt Jackson, Diana Krall and Questlove. He spent the most time in our fair city between 2006 and 2010 when he was the "Creative Chair for Jazz" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and ... More >>

Top 5 Music Documentaries the Academy Should Consider This Year

Tomorrow the Academy will announce the nominees for the 2012 Oscars. Best documentary has always been one of the most controversial categories, from the snubbing of Hoop Dreams to Michael Moore's loudmouth acceptance speeches to Banksy's denial a year ago. In hopes that they get things right this ye ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Walking Alone
 at Night

​[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 have many traditions and rituals. None of them is based in reality, but none of them is ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! Songs in the Key of Tour

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!

Plastic fantastic: why vinyl still matters

Henry Rollins: The Column! Is Here: Preview of the First Henry Rollins Column, Exclusive for the Print Edition of the LA Weekly

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 Wednesday and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday ... More >>

Music Picks: Nicole Eva Emery, Hard NYE, Peter and the Wolf,

Also, Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, Octavius, Cosmologic and others

Is This The Real Life?: Henry Rollins on Feeling Lonely in LA, His Utilitarian Hovel and the Respective Geniuses of Fela Kuti, Marnie Stern and Keiji Heino

Maura LanahanOur eminent columnist, Mr. Henry Rollins!​[The one and only Henry Rollins will be contributing 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 Friday and make sure to tune ... More >>

Down in a Hole: Chilean Miner Mix Tape 2010

Down in a Hole: Chilean Miner Mix Tape 2010

Rock Out With Your Doc Out

Top 10 Fictional T.V. Food and Drink

Previously, we gave you our Top 10 Fictional Movie Food and Drink list. Now we're taking on the T.V. version. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of options to choose from and some of you, we're sure, will feel that a few of your favorites are missing (feel free to let us know). So with apologies in ... More >>

Soundtrack to Our Lives? Arcade Fire Richard Kelly Team Up for the Box

Arcade Fire Richard Kelly Team Up for the Box

This Weekend in Los Angeles Music: So Many Dynamos, Sleepy Brown, Amadou & Miriam, Cage

This weekend in LA: music. FRIDAY Three Mile Pilot was one of the oddest avant-punk bands of the 1990s, a San Diego outift whose members went on to gig with Pinback and the Black Heart Procession. They've reunited, and are performing at the Echoplex with Optigonally Yours, which features Rob Cr ... More >>

Life of the Party: Sunset Junction Street Fair Hits Dead End

The fate of the yearly Silver Lake music fete is far from assured. But that’s nothing new

The 50 Best Albums of the Year (#20-11) (Sponsored By Teen Wolf Too)

Some might say this was the finest work Jason Bateman would ever do. 20. Al Green-Lay It Down (Blue Note) What more did you want from Al Green? Did you want him to wear Levar Burton sunglasses and use auto-tune? Did you want him to do a ladies only tour? Did you want him to employ interplanet ... More >>

Soul Men: Blues Brothers

R&B comedy pays fitting tribute to the late Bernie Mac

10 Uniquely Noteworthy Posthumous Performances on Film

Sunset Junction: Germs, Sparks and Blood

Sam and Dave's Living Half Holds Back at Sunset Junction

Less is Moore for this soul man

We've Been Defamed!

After catching Sam Moore's tribute to Isaac Hayes at the Sunset Junction Street Fair, we raced over to The Echo Saturday night to see The (New) Germs, squeezing into a prime viewing location to the left of the stage, where apparently, we caught the attention of the blog bitches at Defamer! (Scroll ... More >>

Getting the Shaft at the Sunset Junction Street Fair

Black Moses mojo was conjured all over this year's Sunset Junction Street Fair, from the beauteous Isaac Hayes painting done by local artist Kofie (live and to the beats of the nearby I&I Sound System reggae ice cream truck), to the numerous Hayes shout-outs at the Sanborn stage (which was a non-sto ... More >>

Rock Picks: Sunset Junction Street Festival, El Vez, Café Tacuba

Also, Veruca Salt, Mike Einziger, Kings X and Junior Brown

Word on the Street

Flyers of the Week: Dirty Sailor / Sunset Junction

This flyer is just a thing of beauty. MJ's has been hopping lately. Thumping bass bleeds through the walls, and I catch glimpses of glistening shirtless man-flesh dancing on a tiny stage as I walk to Trader Joe's for bread and cat food like the 80 year-old lady that I am. Still, I thought it was j ... More >>

Sunset Junction Schedule: Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Antibalas, !!!

Ahh, Sunset Junction. Leather daddies and 100 degree heat. Crappy carnival rides and an ever-increasing admission price that pisses off the locals. Still it's usually prettygood music. Here's this year's line-up: They've posted the schedule at their site and it's got some good stuff. Entranc ... More >>

Truckin’ Down the ‘Vard with Papa Joe

"Dante's Inferno": Hollywood Boulevard & Truck Turner The New Beverly Cinema, April 11 The New Beverly Cinema’s runaway-hit series of director-programmed festivals has proved a rousing success so far, with slates lovingly prepared by the likes of Edgar Wright and Eli Roth. It was only a matter ... More >>

Green Party, RIP

McKinney’s shenanigans sent the party further into irrelevance

Why Don't We Do It in the Dirt?

Top 10 e-mail responses to the question, �Where would you have your last lay in apocalyptic L.A.?�

Amazing Grace

Deniece Williams, Emotions at Sunset Junction, Saturday, August 18

Deniece Williams, Emotions / Sunset Junction; Saturday, August 18, 2007

It was the bitterest of ironies. Deniece Williams’ opened her Sunset Junction set with an a cappella version of “God is Amazing,” punctuated with sista girl testifying (“If you woke up in your right mind this morning, God did you a favor,”) only to tumble from the stage in a fall that left ... More >>

Good Night, Sweet Chef

Rock & Pop Listings

For Feb 17 - 23

Jason Seward: The Big Mo

Guilt by Association

Dandyland

Polaroids from Silver Lake

How Sweet It (Still) Is

Standing in the Shadows of Motown and Pleasure and Pain

Relax

Zero 7 spin it down

Can�t Go to Sleep

American Inventions

Swing! and Heather Woodbury imagine our nation

Existential Funk

A summer guide to solipsistic Sartre rock

The Steamy Muse

Rhapsodies of light and heat and hope

Black Steel

Common in commotion

Darkness Audible

An interview with Me'Shell Ndeg�ocello

Sound + Vision

Music and the movies

Home of the Brave

Alone together with P.M. Dawn

As the World Turns

Timbaland, Magoo and Ma$e: These are the daze of our lives