Phil Spector

Miguel Gomes on His Film Tabu, Featuring 'Melodramas, Forbidden Love Affairs, Melancholic Crocodiles, Bands Playing Phil Spector Songs'

The Miracle That Is 
A Charlie Brown Christmas

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] If you look outside while reading this, the odds are that it's sunny and mild. You might see green and red lights and tinseled pine trees glowing through ... More >>

Casey Anthony: Rumors Abound That She Has Come to Southern California

YfrogCasey and friend.​Updated after the jump with one local reporter saying Anthony wasn't on the plane to SoCal. First posted at 1:08 p.m. Southern California is home to the celebrity who gets off. And we're not just talking about Charlie Sheen. You know: OJ Simpson. Lindsay Lohan. Phil S ... More >>

Five Awesome Things to Do This Weekend in L.A.: Make Music Pasadena, Swervedriver And More!

​ It's summer and yet it's temperate out, so we get to enjoy all the shows and fests that come with the season without melting in 100 degree temperatures. Who said that global climate change had no upside? Not us! Anyway, this weekend there are fests, free shows, cheap shows, all ages shows. ... More >>

Cuteness Overload in Southern California: Young Father and Daughter Duet on "Be My Baby"

​Donning a sunshine yellow t-shirt with primary-colored balloons saying "laugh," "dance," and "play," six-year-old Alexa Narvaez is just one-half of the devastatingly cute duo (and local heroes) that shot to viral video fame with a tear-jerking rendition of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroe ... More >>

Top Ten Musicians Who Cannot Tour Arizona Without Proving They're "Legal"

Carlos Santana: Papers please!​We don't know if you're aware of this, but Arizona has recently passed a little law demanding that every cop, security guard or random person in some kind of uniform and in possession of a Tazer stop anyone "suspected" of being an illegal immigrant and demand tha ... More >>

Phil Spector's 'A Christmas Gift to You': A Seasonal Word Cloud

​This week's musical word cloud is more festive and positive than last week's stunning explication of N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton -- that is, if you ignore the fact that its creator is currently sitting in prison after having been convicted of murder earlier in the year. If you're new to th ... More >>

Lieber & Stoller Sign Copies of Their Autobiography at Book Soup: Five Essential Songs

Tonight at Book Soup legendary LA born songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller will sign copies of their new book, Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography. In this week's print edition, writer David Cotner runs down the deal: Responsible for some of the truly great pop songs of the 20th ce ... More >>

Tiger's Wife Is A Hero: We Look At Other Maligned Acts Of Bravery In Recent History

Tiger Woods Foundation​Tiger Woods' wife is a hero for rescuing the legendary golf pro after he crashed his SUV outside his Florida driveway early Friday morning. Standing over him, perhaps with golf club in-hand, Elin Nordegren was an image of selfless giving. She busted out a window with the ... More >>

THEY WROTE THE SONGS

Halloween Costume Ideas for LA Music Fans

You are running out of time. YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. You're running out of time. Halloween is a little over a week away, and you haven't done jack to prepare. It's not too late. You've got this weekend to shop, and the entire next week to finesse. If you're looking for some ideas for you and/or ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

School Board to Cut $1.6B The LAUSD has voted to make deep cuts in a three-year budget, almost guaranteeing further layoffs and the elimination of summer school. L.A. TimesHollywood Denies Murder Former pot dealer and fugitive Jesse James Hollywood told a Santa Barbara jury he did not order the murd ... More >>

Phil Spector's Wigstock

The only time the Washington Post has sought my opinion was on the subject of Phil Spector's AP/Cal DoChair. Was it real? the Capitol's paper of record wanted to know. What was its effect on the courtroom? Spector, of course, arrived at his post-arrest hearings and subsequent two murder trials in an ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Budget Dilemma Health officials tell Sacramento that state budget cuts in medical coverage could have unwanted long-term results: deaths and higher costs. L.A. Times'Grim Sleeper' Reward Renewed The L.A. City Council has extended the $550,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest of a ... More >>

Easy Rider: Dennis Hopper’s Prophetic Biker Trip, 40 Years Later

Phil Spector’s Deadly Ways: Does Leonard Cohen’s Death of a Ladies' Man Foresee Lana Clarkson’s Murder?

Leonard Cohen's Prophecy of the Phil Spector/Lana Clarkson Incident: 'Death of a Ladies' Man'

Note: for best results, listen to the above song while you read this. As we prepared for this April's "Leonard Cohen Week," which commences this evening at the Nokia Theater, continues there tomorrow night, and concludes with next Friday's twilight performance at Coachella, one of Leonard Cohen' ... More >>

Rock Picks: Leonard Cohen, Wavves, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Britney Spears

Also, The Henry Clay People, Vetiver, Mad Professor and others

Phil Spector Trial Jurors Get the Case

Today jurors in Phil Spector's murder trial got the case and began deliberations, after six months of testimony. Actually, for a while this week it seemed as though closing arguments were going to go on for another half year. This morning co-prosecutor Alan Jackson finished his rebuttal argument tha ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Helmet Rule Ignored? A police officers' union is suing the LAPD and its chief, Bill Bratton, accusing both of violating the department's own safety policies. The case is part of the spreading controversy over orders that kept cops from donning riot helmets before a January 10 protest in Westwood. L. ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Emptier Than a Hummer Showroom When polling stations closed Tuesday night only 18.59 percent of L.A. County's eligible voters had "filled" them. At stake were critical state ballot measures and the City Attorney's race. Turnout was higher in the San Gabriel Valley's 32nd District Congressional race. ... More >>

All Kinds of Nasty Shit Happened in the SanGabVal, Apparently

Capitol's Vinyl Series: A Storied Label Digs in its Crates, Uncovers Some Gems

Yeah, it's easy to pile on the major labels these days for all their foul-ups and foibles, for their lawsuits and their protectionism, for single-minded focus on money at the expense of dignity (see below blurry photo of Coldplay banner sullying the roof of the majestic Capitol Building of this su ... More >>

The Wrecking Crew: Behind the Music

Movie retrieves rock history from the cutout bin

Alan Jackson

The juror whisperer

9 L.A. Flashpoints

Phil Noir Bulletin: Deadlock

On the scene as the Phil Spector jury reaches an impasse

Phil Noir: Killing Time

Hanging a jury, listening to Phil Spector’s basement tapes

Phil Noir: Murder of an Anatomy

Spector’s surreal surrebuttal. Updated Wednesday, August 30.

Phil Noir: Avenue of the Scars

The jurors see Lana Unleashed

Theater of Pain

What made Lana run?

Phil Noir: Doc Day Afternoon

Cross-examination holds DiMaio

God, Politics and That Man

A Spector appears before Sam Harris and Chris Hedges

Phil Noir: Like Watching Blood Dry

A slow trial suddenly goes ballistic

Phil Noir: The Tooth of Crime

A coroner gets examined and cross-examined

Phil Noir: Doth the Doc Protest Too Much?

Criminalist Henry Lee lashes out at critics

Phil Noir: Murder As a Second Language

As questions about defense attorney Bruce Cutler’s effectiveness circulate, immigrant witnesses place new accents on shooting timeline

Must See Art

Rebecca Morris at Karyn Lovegrove Gallery and Jack Pierson at Regen Projects

Super Fun Music Hour

Little Radio podcast

He Can Hear Music

Pop genius Jeff Barry on love, songwriting, Phil Spector and the art of just doing

Nightranger

Time of the Session

When the music was fast, and the players anonymous

Boppadoppadoppadoppadang!

The Lady at the Bottom of the Groove

Strange Memes and Nascent Trends

Get Back

Yoko Ono in an exclusive interview on the new Let It Be . . . Naked

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

King of the Hill

Endless Vacation

Dee Dee Ramone, 1952–2002

Puffy Stuff