Kings of Leon

No Age Makes a Record for an Era When Records Don't Matter

The Economics of Music Festivals: Who's Getting Rich, Who's Going Broke?

By Chris Parker It's as though the sad, lamentable death of recorded music was accompanied by a kick-ass wake. Sure, label executives have had to sell their fancy homes and put their kids in public schools, but the rest of us have been feasting on a musical smorgasbord. Nothing better exemplifies ... More >>

Dawes Is a Modern Band, Up to a Point

"We're still a small band," Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith insists. "We've still got a long way to go before we are, like, 'This is a secure position for us.' " He's sitting outside the tiny Sqirl cafe on the seedy border between Silver Lake and East Hollywood, hunched over a wooden box that dou ... More >>

How Can You Be Relevant When You Grew Up in a Religious Cult?

With the recent release of his solo album Lysandre, much is being made (again) of former Girls singer Christopher Owens' uncommon upbringing in the Children of God cult, which disallows exposure to mainstream culture. Owens still seems a little bitter about it. "Show me any American movie about the ... More >>

Quit Hating on Kings of Leon, Even If You Disliked "Sex On Fire"

[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilty Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] I have several friends who should ostensibly like everything about Kings of Leon, but they strongly dislike the Nashville ... More >>

Murs and Fashawn On Their Kinship and Their New Album

California-bred rappers Murs and Fashawn have much in common. They're both former graffiti writers, skateboarders and independent-minded rappers who have affinities for collaborating with one specific producer per album. But they're also more than a decade apart in age -- Murs is 34, Fashawn 23. *M ... More >>

Conan O'Brien's Workout Mixtape: Stuff White People Like

Last week, we received the following press release: "Curious on how Conan O'Brien maintains his lean physique? It takes hours and hours in the gym -- and to keep his energy up, Conan needs the right kind of music. We we cornered Coco and got him to reveal what's thumping in his headphones while he ... More >>

Fuck SXSW: 10 Ways to Re-Create It in Los Angeles

South by Southwest (or just "South by" if you're cool and/or in a fake hurry) is well under way, with the interactive and film portions kicking off last weekend and the biggest draw, the music, just beginning. Couldn't make it all the way to Texas? Fuck it. For those of us left behind, we bring you ... More >>

White Fence's Tim Presley Moves Retro Rock Forward

[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: Top 5 L.A. Garage Rock Bands Not everything needs to sound like the future. Not everyone wants to dwell in the present. In fact, some aim to a ... More >>

Music Picks: X, Lucinda Williams, Jackie DeShannon, Fujiya & Miyagi

Also, Dengue Fever, Jessie Baylin, Reigning Sound, Black Bananas and others

M83 - The Music Box - 11/9/11

Ian Cohen​See also: M83's Anthony Gonzalez Makes Soundtracks, Without The Movie M83 The Music Box 11-9-11 Better than: Having to actually be 16 again. At the risk of completely disavowing any claims of critical distance, this was the concert event of 2011 for yours truly and I don't care wh ... More >>

M83's Anthony Gonzalez Makes Soundtracks, Without the Movie

The Surreal World of ASCAP's Pop Awards: Where Adam Lambert and Ke$ha Honor the Guys Who Made Them Famous (and Train is the Best Rock Band)

Lina LecaroKe$ha and Adam Lambert hold Luke and Martin's plaques.​Haters might say that Dr. Luke and Max Martin are responsible for the downfall of music. After all, manufactured pop has killed it for other genres, especially harder and more experimental ones. But at ASCAP's Pop Music Awards ... More >>

Coachella 2011: 5 Reasons Nosaj Thing May Be the Next Flying Lotus

Coachella 2011: 5 Reasons Nosaj Thing is the Next Flying Lotus

Coachella 2011: Top Ten Pick-Up Lines (So Far)

By Daniel HernandezThe Line Worked!​ Yeah right, everyone goes to Coachella for the music. Who's kidding? Inevitable hook-ups are a major bonus and with all the skin, sweat, heat and booze, its hard to resist waltzing right up to that smoldering dude or delicious lady and laying it all on th ... More >>

Music Picks: Coachella, Girls in Trouble, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Paul Simon

Also, Mary Anne Hobbs, Yoni Wolf, Emmylou Harris and others

8 Things You Need to Know About Music in the Cloud

cloud music...​ The future is almost here. Except for the part with jet packs and holographic television. The part that is here? Cloud based music storage. WTF is that, you might be wondering, and why should I care? Herewith we will tell you what it is, why it's important, and how it affects ... More >>

New Coachella Passes Go On Sale! (If You Got $975 to Spare for VIP Service)

We're in the money! We're in the money! We're in the money and we got what it takes to get to Indiooooo!​While for you, me, and everyone we know Coachella has been sold-out for months, for members of an exclusive VIP website called GiltCity, this might not be the case. A tipster pointed us to ... More >>

Foo Fighters To Glee Creator: "F**k That Guy!"

GQ MagazineDave Grohl doesn't want this twentysomething lady who plays a teenager on TV to belt out "Everlong" (twentysomething lady who plays a teenager on TV pictured here being secsy for GQ Magazine)​ According to a Hollywood Reporter interview at SXSW, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and dru ... More >>

Grammy Party Report #3: Relentless Rhythms at Roots Jam and The Black Keys on Deck at Hemingways

Lina LecaroRoots' Capt. Kirk Douglas and Jimmy Fallon- less talkin,' more rockin.'​ You never know who might pop up on stage at the Roots Jam, which was, with the exception of Clive Davis' A(ss)-list kiss/croon-a-thon, the most buzzed about bash Saturday night. It was wishful thinking of cour ... More >>

Coachella Lineup Announced: We Told You Odd Future Was in There!

​This is the official press release: Coachella 2011. Music. Art. Culture. Community. With the Coachella line-up announcement serving as the official kick-off to the annual U.S. festival season, festival organizers Goldenvoice can now reveal details for the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Art ... More >>

Nightranger: It's a Mad, Mad World

Music Picks: Haroula Rose, Jimmy Webb, Adler's Appetite, Nikka Costa

Also, The Melvins, Graf Orlock, Dudamel/Mahler 9th, Lissie and others

Teenage Flan-club? Sebadohnut? Fat & Kim? The Wacky World of #fatindiebands

#FatIndieBands Exposes the Genius of Fat & Kim, Teenage Flan-club & Sebadohnut

Music Picks: Amanda Jo Williams, Usher, Masaki Batoh, Procol Harum

Also, Dustin Wong, Greg Dulli, Ghostface Killah

Tonight: The Guggenheim Grotto, Smokey Robinson, Kings of Leon, Sweethead

The Guggenheim Grotto​The Guggenheim Grotto has been making friends and influencing coffee-drinkers ever since 2008, when their song "Told You So" appeared on Across the Pond, a sampler CD issued by a certain beverage company with a twin-tailed siren as its log. Now the Irish folk-pop duo are ... More >>

Live Review: Kings of Leon at the Hollywood Bowl

Timothy NorrisThe Kings of Lion at the Hollywood "Fucking" Bowl​[For more photos of the Kings of Leon show and audience, make sure to check out Timothy Norris' slideshow.] Last night, a gigantic family affair took place at the legendary Hollywood Bowl when three brothers and a cousin from Nas ... More >>

Tonight: Kings of Leon, Mississippi Man, Summer Darling, the Outline, Active Child

Dean ChalkleyKings of Leon​We suppose it would be fashionable, this being a blog after all and an alternative publication's one at that, to play music snob and put Kings of Leon in the crosshairs this morning. But why, really? Somebody you know will be fighting traffic and crowds to hit the H ... More >>

Music Picks: Stagecoach Festival, Yoshitake Expe, Hole, Chicha Libre

Also, Aquaserge, Norah Jones, Dr. Dog and others

Day 3: Hannibal Moncrief, Class Warfare, & The Hollow Earth

​ A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses are likewise small, it satisfies all social requirements for a residence. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and the little house shrinks to a hut. The little house now makes it clear that its inmate has no ... More >>

Southern Comfort

And The Nominees For The 52nd Grammy Awards Are ...

Grammy Awards​Here's a running count of some of the more interesting nominees for the 52nd Grammy Awards, which were being announced Wednesday night at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Song of the Year: "Poker Face," Lady Gaga. "Pretty Wings," Maxwell "Single Ladies," Beyonce "You ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Sunset Junction, Girls Gone Graff, Kings of Leon

This weekend marked the annual Sunset Junction festival in Silver Lake, the last big summer street bash that signals a fast approaching fall and, for many, a return to school. Despite ongoing conflicts between festival promoters, local residents and business owners, Sunset Junction went off in full ... More >>

Bug Music's Commercial Zone

Helping to fill the pockets of indie bands now that CD sales have dried up

Two Worlds Collide: M83 Meets L.A. Phil at Disney Hall

Musical entities team up for electronics, acoustics, Arvo Pärt and Claude Debussy

Rock Picks: Thurston Moore, James Blackshaw, Lisa Hannigan, Modest Mouse

Plus, Scott Walker Night, Dead Confederate, A.C. Newman

Coachella Rumor Mill Works Overtime, but the Confirmations Continue to Trickle In

(Michel Gondry's video for the Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be.") Here's a list of "confirmed" (so far) acts to appear at Coachella 2009, according to the very reliable Monklish blog. His guarantee: "I've been told that these have been making arrangements to attend the festival as contractuall ... More >>

Rock Picks: Antony & the Johnsons, Kings of Leon, Jay-Z

Also, Joan Osborne, Earl Zero, Petra Haden and more

Why My Morning Jacket Is the Best Live Band in the World

In an age when certified rock stars are a dying breed, a Kentucky band stakes its claim

Once Bitten

Viper Room still has bite; the music underground; punk books rock

Shout Out Louds: Loud, Proud 'n' Unbowed

With their upcoming performance at Detour festival around the corner, the band's singer talks about their new album, songwriting and their fellow Swedish musicians

Kings of Leon, Greek Theatre, 9/7

Kings of Leon The Greek Theatre, September 7, 2007 By Jonah Flicker When did the Kings of Leon hire a rock stylist? As they took the stage at the Greek Theatre this past Friday night, the once long-haired, Southern-fried throwback-rockers were sporting a look straight from the boy-band handbook. Ma ... More >>

The Kidz Are Alright, Mate!

    There was an Aussie Assault at the Troubadour earlier this week, and I got hit, hard! The night started smashingly with a literal rock star parking space: none other than Seal was sitting in a Ferrari convertible outside Dan Tana's, so my uber rock chick friend Laurel chatted up the si ... More >>

Snakebites

Live in LA

Letters

It’s No Shame About Ray

Ray LaMontagne’s hard past fuels startling songs and an anxious cult following

They Don’t Make 'Em Like That Anymore

The Kids Aren’t Alright . . . They’re Amazing

Why what was old and lost and a bit odd is young and new — and exciting — again