Olympia (Washington)

The Ten Most Unreadable Metal Band Logos

By Alee Karim Once upon a time, extreme metal bands opted to contort their logos into the most stylized mutations possible as a way to visually represent their music, and as a proud testament to the obscurity of their appeal. But by now it's all become a bad joke, and you're likelier to find the s ... 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 >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, July 23 The xx FONDA THEATRE These U.K. goth-soul ghouls haven't played in the United States since 2010, when The xx wrapped up support of their self-titled semi-hit debut and subsequently went into studio-hibernation mode. This summer, they're back on the road ahead of the Sept. 11 release ... More >>

Music Picks: Rome, The xx, Aretha Franklin

Also, Cannibal Corpse, I See Hawks in L.A., Smokey Robinson and others

Rollins Announces "Capitalism" Tour, Will Hit Each State Capital

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday.] Henry Rollins doesn't keep his political opinions quiet; in a column last fall about the Occupy protesters he recounted how senator Rand Paul "made a fool of himself trying to compare them ... More >>

Music Picks: Smokeout Festival, Mike Miller Group, Zola Jesus, Saul Williams

Also, New Multitudes, Cool Moms, Alpha & Omega, Cloud Nothings and others

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

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

Music Picks: Shelby Lynne, Marsha Ambrosius, John Scofield Quartet, Wiz Khalifa

Also, Leon Russell, Chris Brown, Azar Lawrence Quintet and others

Reviews of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity; Jolson at the Winter Garden; Laurel and Hardy; and more . . .

Courtesy of the Getty VillaThe Helen and Hecuba Show, in "Trojan Women (After Euripides)"​​SITI Company's Trojan Women (After Euripides) at the Getty Villa is a regal and passionate affair about despair, oddly floating in its own world. See Theater feature on Wednesday.  Also check out this ... More >>

Miranda July's New Film The Future and MOCA Exhibit "Eleven Heavy Things"

With her talking cat, T-shirt dance, interactive pink thought balloons and unicorn fans, the filmmaker-artist just wants us all to connect

From the Archives: Jonathan Gold's "13 Ways of Looking at Nirvana" (Kurt Cobain, RIP 17 Years Ago Today)

Kurt Cobain, RIP (1967-1994)​Today, on the 17th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's untimely death, we reprint the following reflections from Jonathan Gold, originally written seven years ago. 1. A friend's East Village studio somewhere in July 1989. Nirvana, who had slept on the floor, are pissed, ... More >>

Music Picks: Physical Forms, Kimya Dawson, Madame Recamier, Young Hunting

Also, Lizz Wright, Wanda Jackson, Iron and Wine, Wallpaper. and others

Welcome to Mi Pueblito: The Small-Town, Family-Farm Lifestyle That We Cherish Is Being Preserved Thanks to Mexican Immigrants

The Melvins Attack the West Coast on New Tour

The Melvins Attack the West Coast on New Tour

Legendary L.A. Post-Metal Band Isis Breaks Up, Announces Final Tour

Legendary Los Angeles Post-Metal band Isis Breaks Up, Announces Final Tour

Interview: Nikki McClure on Illustrating with an X-Acto Knife

Based in Olympia, Washington, Nikki McClure is an artist with roots in the Pacific Northwest indie music scene of the 1990s, having worked with both K Records and Kill Rock Stars. Her medium of choice is cut-paper illustration, which she creates using an X-acto knife. McClure's latest project is Mam ... More >>

Music Picks: Gary Numan, Ana Moura, Mark Sultan, XBXRX

Also, California E.A.R. Unit, Bonobo, Mr. Gnome, Grouper and others

Rock Picks: Al Kooper, Year Long Disaster, Steven Severin, the Phenomenal Handclap Band

Also, Kimya Dawson, the Cigarette Bums, Willi Williams and others

Rock Picks: Broken Nobles, Anny Celsi, Seu Jorge, the Killers

Rock Picks: Broken Nobles, Anny Celsi, Seu Jorge, the Killers

Also, Destroy L.A., Sunset Strip Music Festival, the Drones and others

Rock Picks: Os Mutantes, Hall and Oates, Bat for Lashes, Davila 666, Maia Sharp

Also, the Mars Volta, Nine Inch Nails, Gun Outfit, the Pretenders and others

Rock Picks: The Kills, Lady Sovereign, Fischerspooner, the Dears

Also, Sun Kil Moon, St. Vincent, Alexandra Hope and others

The Beginning of a No Age: Nouns

Simply put, the best punk album of the 21st century

Rock Picks: Stevie Wonder, Lucinda Williams, The Frames

For the week of Aug 31 – Sept. 6

No Sympathy for You

Splitting town was one thing, but now, is indie icon Long Gone John really swapping his label for some llamas?

Matt Groening: Life Is Swell

The possible Nobel laureate on his dreams, his alt-weekly past and, oh yeah, The Simpsons Movie

Rock Out. Get Sprung. Reconsider K-Fed.Say Goodbye to Love Monkey.

A Well-Worn T

Sleepwalker

Elliott Smith’s unhappy dream life

Mr. Spray

Queer As Rock

Edited by Kateri Butler

Undead Band Talking

Slice-and-Dice Aesthetics

Comix degenerate Mike Diana and plundering mixmaster John Oswald

Letters

This Note’s for You

Neil Young, beyond the fringe and back again

Anonymity, Misery, Softness

Can Elliott Smith save pop music?