Mary J. Blige

Gibson Amphitheatre To Shut Down

Gibson Amphitheatre, the mainstay mid-size concert venue at Universal City, will close its doors in September, according to its operator Live Nation Entertainment. As announced in December 2011, the 6,200-capacity amphitheatre is expected to be demolished to make way for The Wizarding World of Har ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, September 7 Fresh & Onlys THE ECHO San Francisco's Fresh & Onlys have always been a formidable little band, but sometimes it seems they get a little squished between local-to-them indie giants like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. However, let us tell you -- this new album Long Slow Dance has g ... More >>

Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together": Why This Song Sucks

[Editor's note: Why This Song Sucks determines why particular tracks blow using science. It appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday.] See also: Exclusive: A Disgruntled Label Exec Spills the Beans About Taylor Swift's Insane-Sounding New Album Song: Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Ba ... More >>

Nire Alldai Peers Into the Pop Abyss

"You know it is a machine, there are the same song writers, the same producers getting the bulk of the work," Niré Alldai says. She's a lifelong L.A. resident and recent Virgin Records signee, and sits across from me in a café in West Hollywood, attempting to explain the inner workings of the pop ... More >>

Drake Was Whispering Encouragement in My Ear While I Was Having Sex

The other night, my wife and I had sex. Now, this isn't an altogether rare occurrence. The odds are against us (we've been together more than 10 years; we work multiple jobs; two profoundly talented 4-year-old cockblockers patrol the house endlessly like goddamn sex sniffing dogs), but we're still ... More >>

Seven Ghostface Killah Songs Showing His Softer Side

​See also Ghostface Killah Changes Mind About Online Impersonator Ghostfase: 'Shout Out to My Mini Muse.... Funny Ass Ninja' Story by Reed Fischer Ghostface Killah has flirted with mainstream hip-hop, but has spent most of his career being the critics' favorite rapper -- for good reason. Tony St ... More >>

Drinkify: We Get Drunk To See If It Actually Works

We at West Coast Sound love little more than good tunes and good booze. So, when Drinkify dropped earlier this month -- an Internet app that suggests cocktails to sip while listening to your artist of choice -- we were intrigued. So much so that we bought a whole shopping bag of elixirs and got to d ... More >>

Mary J. Blige - Club Nokia - 11-17-11

Timothy Norris​Mary J. Blige Club Nokia 11/17/11 Better than ... eating ice cream after a breakup. Dressed in an aquamarine silk shirt, black leggings, lace-up knee-high boots and a fedora, Mary J. Blige belted the final chorus of a song from her upcoming album, the clumsily titled My Life ... More >>

Mary J. Blige, Larry Carlton, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Also, Peanut Butter Wolf, Lucy Woodward, Chromeo and others

Heavy D RIP: The Hip-Hop/R&B Pioneer Dies In Los Angeles

​By Dan Hyman See also: On the Eve of the Grammys, Heavy D Discusses His Nomination, Reggae, Diddy and More Heavy D, the iconic rapper and founder of hip-hop group Heavy D and the Boyz, died today in Los Angles. He was 44. The rapper was reportedly rushed to the hospital after being found un ... More >>

Tha Boogie -The Viper Room - 9/21/11

Daniel Kohn​Tha Boogie The Viper Room 9/21/11 Better than...waffles with butter. See Also: Meet Tha Boogie: "We Sent Raphael Saadiq Our Music, and He Sent Us His Phone Number" When you get the blessing of Raphael Saadiq, you must be doing something right. In the case of Tha Boogie, he conf ... More >>

Top Ten Rap Remixes Of '90s R&B Songs

Take that​This Friday, the Stokely Williams-fronted Mint Condition will be taking the stage at Club Nokia. The group came to prominence in the '90s with the huge hit ballad "What Kind Of Man Would I Be?" But beyond Mint Condition's slick soul moments, the band also embraced the mid-'90s trend ... More >>

Everyone Wants a Piece of Raphael Saadiq's (Neo) Soul: Go Get Yours Tonight

​You know you saw it this past soggy Sunday: Every time it storms in L.A., Twitter's flooded with references to singer and producer Raphael Saadiq's song with Tony! Toni! Toné!, "It Never Rains in Southern California." Not bad for a track that was released more than 20 years ago. But Saadiq's ... More >>

Page Two: Raphael Saadiq, Like a Rolling Stone

Everyone wants a piece of his neo-soul

Sunset Strip Follies

Turnovers & Turntables: Taking A Spin at The Redbury Hotel

Lina Lecaro At Redbury, turntables come with directions, iPod docks don't. ​Chocolates on the bed, fruit baskets, iPod docks, free porn... yada, yada. Special little touches like these are nice when staying in a hotel, but after our tour of grand new Redbury in Hollywood last week, we think it ... More >>

Tonight: Sleigh Bells, Ra Ra Riot, Villagers, Mary J. Blige, Blake Shelton, Women, Bell X1

Sleigh Bells​As they displayed at Coachella in April and again last week opening for LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl, Sleigh Bells have no problem making enough racket to fill a big space. The Brooklyn noise-pop duo's sharp guitar licks and ironically cheeseball/irresistably thunderous ... More >>

Mary J. Blige Comes Out of the Closet as Zeppelin Fan

Mary J. Blige has partnered up with American Idol's Randy Jackson (who plays bass), plus Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, Steve Vai, and Michael Jackson's former touring guitarist Orianthi, to record versions of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love." This strange project was pro ... More >>

Top Chef Contestant Brian Hill's Comfort Truck Rolls Out

Elina ShatkinChef Brian Hill poses in front of his Comfort Truck.​ When Mary J. Blige dubs your homemade tortilla chips "crack chips," (because they're so addictive they're like... well, you get it), you don't think twice about putting them on the menu. Chef Brian Hill's Comfort Truck (Twitte ... More >>

Mega-Telethon Broadcasting From L.A., Elsewhere

CNNAnderson Cooper.​A Friday telethon to raise money for the victims of last week's earthquake in Haiti will be broadcast from Los Angeles, New York, London and Haiti, organizers announced Thursday. It will be everywhere: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Show ... More >>

Mattel's African-American Dolls Not Black Enough For Some

Mattel​Some African-American parents aren't happy with Mattel and the El Segundo toy giant's "So in Style" toys, its first line of black dolls, which have the size and shape of its Barbie line. While parents of all backgrounds have debated about the anorexic shape of Barbie, some black parents ... More >>

Record with Legendary Producer Jimmy Jam -- For a Hefty Price

Got a hit, but need a boldface-named producer to take it to the next level? Here's your chance -- if you've got an American Express card and $1,250 to spare. You can buy time with legendary R&B producer Jimmy Jam at his Flyte Tyme Studio in Santa Monica. Jam, whose work with producing partner Ter ... More >>

Rock Picks: Meat Beat Manifesto, Jay-Z, Eels

Plus other music shows for April 10-17

SXSW Flashback: Interview With Del Tha Funky Homosapien

It was my third night in Austin. Devin had just blazed through an epic set that had been celebrated in the appropriate fashion , El-P was currently on-stage and I was wandering around the Def Jux party with four cups of Jack in my stomach, a head full of smoke and the strange desire to approach p ... More >>

Rock Picks: Puffy AmiYumi, the Dickies, the B-52's, Fear, Van Halen

For the week of November 16 - 22

Fall Harvest

While the media was examining a fake beef, a bounty of music dropped

Music

Fall Harvest While the media was examining a fake beef, a bounty of music dropped

Snooze City

By Lina Lecaro She had a lot of people rooting for her. But Britney Spears' opening performance at the MTV VMAs tonight -though not the trainwreck some said it might be- was just... blah. Talk about going through the motions. Her moves were robotic, her outfit unflattering, her lip-syncing ha ... More >>

Nightranger

Devil’s Haircut and B-Boys

(Powdered) Sugar Walls

The Grammy parties and the pod people

Grammy Shmammy

His Smile Looked Really Out of Place

Grammy notes from the Style Council

The Vest of the Grammys

Grammy fashion, supposedly, is "anything goes" – an opportunity to let your freak flag fly, get a little rock 'n' roll, show some skin, etc. But the looks on display last night - with the exceptions of a wonderfully courageous Imogen Heap who dressed, I think, as a tree? and OK Go, who perso ... More >>

2006 LA WEEKLY WINTER EDUCATION RESOURCE GUIDE

EDUCATION RESOURCE GUIDE

grammy diary

Tue., Feb. 7 LL Cool J at the House of Blues Wed., Feb. 8 The Grammys at the Staples Center Now, for my personal awards

Schmooze Operator

or, When Foxxes Attack

More Drama

On The Breakthrough, Sister Mary J. Blige of the Perpetual Survivorhood finds “happiness,” blonder wigs

Sista Act

When it comes to Sugar Water, Jill Scott knows how to share. (Props to Big Bird.)

Glam-rock Sunglasses

Missy cooks, Last Days annoys, Paul Williams rocks

Live in LA

Pose and Mean It

The Contemporaries

In Living Color

Hang Him on the Wall

Edited by Kateri Butler

Still Kicking Clinton Around

Don't l Look Like Myself?

Style and Substance

You've got some 'Splaining to do!

Edited by Kateri Butler & Libby Molyneaux

Bold as Love

Jimi: Still raining, still dreaming