Sierra Leone

Isaiah Washington Explains How He Played the D.C. Sniper

Exclusive: Levitt Pavilions Announce Summer Line-ups

In an exclusive to West Coast Sound, the Levitt Pavilions in Pasadena and MacArthur Park have revealed the lineups to their massive, free summer concert series -- almost 100 shows between the two venues. This year features everything from Latin alternative to folk, indie and world music. Highlights ... More >>

African Rebel Soldiers and Their Eerie Obsession With Tupac Shakur

Haitian 2pac, a leader of an armed Port-au-Prince gang called Chimères, recruited by Haiti's former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide​Editor's Note: Tomorrow, September 13, 2011, marks the 15th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death. To commemorate, West Coast Sound will feature Tupac stories all ... More >>

Rock & Drool!

We Are the Mods, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead

Also, Inception, Predators, Kisses

Movie Revews: Predators, [REC] 2, Great Directors, Cropsey

Also, Despicable Me, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Kids Are All Right

Live in L.A.: Ben Folds, Diane Birch, V.V. Brown

Ben Folds​There's no Five with Ben Folds on his current tour -- it's just the 43-year-old singer-songwriter, his musical weapon of choice and his current fascination with Chatroulette. His "Ben Folds and a Piano" tour has featured stripped-down versions of songs from his deep catalog (yes, he' ... More >>

Music Picks: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, VoicesVoices, Peter Gabriel, Jakob Dylan

Also, Ane Brun, the Melodians, Kate Miller-Heidke, Ian Whitcomb and others

Stage Raw: The Female of the Species

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSTHIS WEEK'S STAGE FEATURE on Palestine, New MexicoFEMALE OF THE SPECIES The Geffen Playhouse just announced that Anette Bening will star in Joanna Murray-Smith's comedy, The Female of the Species along with David Arquette, Mirielle Enos, Merritt Weve ... More >>

Stage Raw: New Golden Age of British Theater?

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Bill Cain's Equivocation and Burglars of Hamm's Land of the Tigers NEW GOLDEN AGE OF BRITISH THEATRE In today's The Guardian, Mark Lawson writes at some length on a new Golden Age of British theater. Among the more salient quotatio ... More >>

Stage Raw: ZAR

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSTHEATER NEW REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on producer Sir Cameron MackintoshStage Raw: ZAR Theatre ZAR from Wroclaw, Poland has been in Southern California for over a week, conducting workshops of their choral-physical technique at UC Irvine and UCLA. Their Tryptich opens next w ... More >>

Stage Raw: Impacted Wednesday

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSTHEATER NEW REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Charles Duncombe's The Trojan Women and Julie Hebert's TreeIMPACTED WEDNESDAY​ Equivocation: Photo by Michael Lamont Three big openings on Wednesday: The  U.S. premiere of TR Warszawa's T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. (Polish director Grzego ... More >>

Rotten Families

Theater Reviews: Nibbler, Polyester the Musical, The Ghost Building

Stage Raw: Does Your Acting Career Have That Sinking Feeling?

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Rachel Rosenthal at 83DOES YOUR ACTING CAREER HAVE THAT SINKING FEELING?​Captain Smith looks out over oceans of opportunity There's still hope of a rescue! Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, seeks an actor to play the Titani ... More >>

Stage Raw: The Browning Version

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Rachel Rosenthal at 83NEW REVIEW THEATER PICK THE BROWNING VERSION​Photo by Victor MartinsThough not as widely known or acclaimed as his contemporary British playwrights, Terence Rattigan was a superb dramatist and chronicler of hum ... More >>

Twentieth Century Boy: T. Rex Through the Eyes of Artist Masakatsu Sashie

​ A few years ago, Darren Romanelli (Dr. Romanelli) was in Japan having dinner with up-and-coming artist Masakatsu Sashie when they began talking about favorite bands. Sashie mentioned that he loved T. Rex. Turns out that Romanelli was a fan too. Back in Los Angeles, he met up with Rolan Bolan ... More >>

Brick's Picks: Bobby Matos at Pershing Square, Palm Wine Boys at Cerritos Center

Jazz in L.A., January 2-8

Kanye West goes to space, sees weird lady mannequin there

Kanye West with Rihanna and N.E.R.D., April 21, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live If you're going see Kanye West's second of two shows at the Nokia tonight, you should bone up on the narrative, because like all big ticket stage spectacles – Cats, Stomp, “Oh, Streetcar!” – there’s kinda sorta a half ... More >>

Pan African Film Festival: Homeless Rappers, Freedom Fighters

Sixteenth annual event circles the globe

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2007 (#25-20)

25. Chamillionaire ft. Slick Rick: "Hip Hop Police" Chamillionaire's a good rapper. His flow kind of reminds me of Krayzie Bone had he grown up chugging syrup through humid Houston summers. And unlike a lot of his Southern brethren, Chamillionaire has interesting ideas, even if he doesn't always ... More >>

Mixed Messages

The mixtape scene slowly rebounds nearly a year after DJ Drama�s bust

Rock Picks: The Slits, Squiddo, Electrocute

For the week of August 2 - 9

Rock Picks: Lee ''Scratch'' Perry, The Swell Season, Maximo Park and More

For the week of July 26 � August 2

Rock Picks: The Humpers, Secretary Bird, Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow

For the week of June 21�28

Jodi Picoult, Ishmael Beah

Picoult�s Nineteen Minutes and Beah�s A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Blood Diamond and The Empire in Africa: Diamonds Are Forever

Ed Zwick romances the stone, while a new documentary speaks (relative) truth to power

Rock Picks

For the week of Nov. 16 - 23

Rock Picks

For the week of November 10�16

People Who Need People

What to do in LA this week

Blood From Stones

The diamond cartel's campaign against Leo's upcoming movie gets dirty

Not-So-Innocent Abroad

Rediscovering Graham Greene�s lawless roads and mapless journeys

Out of Africa

The Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone are here to party

How Am I Not Myself

Welcome to AFI Fest 2005 � all of them

Week of the Living Dead

Foghat Does Quaaludes, Wille Does Reggae

Is the Saint of South L.A. for Real?

Jeffrey Anderson investigates the turbulent world of L.A.'s flagship refugee agency and its mysterious director, Nikki Tesfai

Saddam�s Last Days

Today, on a Vicious Blue Planet

Katie Couric, Britney Spears, Lou Reed and Alastair Fothergill. Alastair Fothergill?

The Back Story

Reading list: Week 8

Next Time, It Might Kill You

The coming flu pandemic