Sasha Frere-Jones

Kendrick Lamar Flash Mob Near Staples Draws LAPD Response (PHOTOS)

Updated at the bottom with some info from the LAPD. First posted at 6:06 a.m. See also: *Skateboard Riot in Hollywood ... Another youth gathering gone out of control in L.A? Not entirely. It looks like this one was behaved. But a Compton rapper named Kendrick Lamar did appear to attract hundreds ... More >>

Prisencolinensinainciusol Means Universal Love, All Right!

Last week, several of your Facebook friends and the people who usually IM and email you odd links most likely pointed you in the direction of a Youtube video featuring a sorta grotesque looking middle-aged Italian dude who goes from a classroom skit in a variety show into the most amazing beat-heavy ... More >>

The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs

In 2009, rap is no longer dangerous. Meet an MC wrestling with capital-letter issues: blood, dirt and death

Ten Best LA Recordings 2009 (So Far)

​Last week as we were sorting through our piles of CDs and accumulated MP3 files, we started to notice how big the stack of recent excellent LA music was. It became apparent that we're in the middle of a pretty great year for Los Angeles releases, and decided to give mid-year props to our fave ... More >>

Top 10 Things You Don't Want Facebook to Own (About You, FOREVER)

On February 15 the user awareness blog Consumerist discovered that Facebook had discretely changed its Terms Of Service - slashing a couple of lines about the expiration of Facebook's ownership of your content after you delete your profile, as well as tacking on the following addendum: "The follow ... More >>

LA LA: Weiss' Top 10 Local Albums of 2008

How last month of me....However, since I sleep on the hometown scene all-too-frequently, consider this mild penance. 10. Dengue Fever-Venus on Earth (M80) Dreamy and druggy psychedelia built on a bedrock worship of 60s Cambodian pop, and the ethereal buoyancy of Chom Nmol's voice. Adorned w ... More >>

L.A. in the Glossies: The Laurel Canyon Scene and Flying Lotus Both Get Good Ink

Two east coast glossies recently shipped in to chime in on some LA sounds, both of which offer nice snapshots of LA music goings on. The first is Sasha Frere Jones' New Yorker piece on Flying Lotus, whose Los Angeles is popping up on a lot of year-end best of lists. The second is Jenny Eliscu's ... More >>

SXSW Round-Up: The Kills Put On The Best Show Of SXSW By A Band Not Named My Morning Jacket…And Why Jenny Lewis Isn't the Hottest Woman In Indie Rock

Unlike Sasha Frere-Jones, my main gripe with indie rock don't stem from it's lack of blackness. More than anything, I have trouble dealing with the idea that Jenny Lewis is indiedom's official pin-up girl. No joke, I think she won first in the 2006 Stereogum poll and came in second in 2007. The w ... More >>

Weiss' Top 50 Albums of 2007 (#10-6)

10. Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga [Merge] Sasha Frere-Jones is a joke and Spoon can prove it. I mean, if all I had to judge indie rock on was the Arcade Fire and the Decemberists and Sufjan Stevens (all acts I like), maybe I might come up with something as hackish as his risible blow-up, but the best R& ... More >>

Neko Case: Deep Red Belle

She's an auburn-haired Caucasian woman of Ukrainian descent. Is Case also the blackest woman in indie rock?

Vegoose: This is How they Dance

Random observations on dancing at Vegoose and elsewhere: photographs by Timothy Norris Shins fans don't dance. I know this because it was at the beginning of this show that I first discovered that my wristband was in fact MAGIC and offered me backstage access. And free food. And free cocktails. A ... More >>

The Pen and the Axe

The New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones attempts to rock

10 Great Profiles

and Tributes of 2004

Letters

Letters