Sonic Youth

Let's Be Honest: Sonic Youth Are Really Boring

In the annals of rock there are many bands that people pretend to like, bands with fandoms consisting entirely of people desperately wanting to appear interesting by proxy. Royal Trux is a good example, as are Ween. Basically any Burzum fan who isn't a corpse paint-wearing, basement-dwelling Nazi fr ... More >>

RIP Spin Print Edition (Probably): Why We Loved the Magazine

After being purchased by Buzzmedia last week, Spin Magazine looks to be on its last legs -- the magazine part of it, anyway. Though Buzzmedia representatives haven't said it's going digital-only, they haven't committed to maintaining the print edition, either. It seems likely that we won't see much ... More >>

Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard Call It Quits: The Year's Five Biggest Music Couples to Hit Splitsville

See also: Wherein We Hilariously Predict Katy Perry's 2012 It was a sad day in indieville yesterday as actress/singer Zooey Deschanel officially filed for divorce from Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard. Though the two had been rumored to be on the rocks for some time, fans held out hope that the du ... More >>

1991: Nirvana Documentary Captures the Band Moments Before They Broke

RIP: Influential Guitar Maker Travis Bean Is Dead

Guitarmaker Travis Bean died earlier this week at his home in Burbank. His guitars were played by everyone from Jerry Garcia to Steve Albini to Slash, and were known for their sustain and durability. You just can't break one of them. Born in San Fernando, his eponymous Valley-based company was fo ... More >>

Countdown to Record Store Day: Neil from Origami Vinyl in Echo Park

​You have seen the storefront of Origami Vinyl if you have ever gone to the Echo or had a slice of pizza at Two Boots. The store is packed with an impressive mix of local (and not-so-local) releases in a variety of genres, and host some amazing all-ages in-stores on a pretty regular basis. T ... More >>

Page Two: Music Roundup

In Honor of the Walkman: Ten Must-Have Cassette Classics, From 'Da Da Da' to Deathrock to 'Do Me!'

Turns out the Walkman isn't dead yet, but let's face it (those of us who weren't surprised to find that the outmoded portable was still being manufactured): The writing's on the wall. As a sort of premature eulogy for the player, West Coast Sound revisits some of the Walkman's finer moments through ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Pavement, Sonic Youth, No Age at the Hollywood Bowl, reviewed by Pulitzer-Prize winner Jonathan Gold!

Timothy NorrisSonic Youth's Kim Gordon at the Hollywood Bowl​ [For more exclusive photographs of this show, see Timothy Norris' slideshow "Pavement, Sonic Youth, No Age @ Hollywood Bowl"] Do the gods of programming have a sense of humor? Because Thursday night, three massive shows split the a ... More >>

Tonight: Pavement, Sonic Youth, Spoon, John Cale, Jamie Lidell, Rob Zombie, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Sebastien Tellier

Marcus RothPavement, 1999​Pavement's year-long victory lap has been exhilarating for the band and fans alike -- we know people who haven't stopped grinning since Coachella. But the faithful who have it in the back of their heads that the pride of Stockton might keep the wheels turning and mak ... More >>

Stream the Entire New No Age Album, Everything in Between, Out Now on Sub Pop

Hometown heroes No Age play the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday with Sonic Youth and Pavement.​No Age's stunner of a new album, Everything in Between, is out today on Sub Pop, and in honor of that occasion -- plus the band's Thursday Bowl gig with Pavement and Sonic Youth -- you can listen to the e ... More >>

Music Picks: Ooh La La Fest, Pavement, Beach House

Also, Kris Kristofferson, the Black Keys, Bettye Lavette and others

Coming of No Age

The Smell darlings graduate to the Hollywood Bowl (with a Craigslist amp)

Music Picks: The Chapin Sisters, Pink Martini, Freestyle Fellowship, Mark Kozelek

Also Shonen Knife, the Vibrators, Karnivool and others

Gemma Ray: Under the Covers

U.K. chanteuse on musical remakes, dim-witted dinosaurs and missing her sauerkraut

Top Tape: Dublab DJs 'Spin' Cassettes at Calling All Kids Friday

The record will be sitting this one out.​Despite at least one spirited argument to the contrary, the audio cassette revival soldiers on, and this Friday, it has a home at the Hyperion Tavern in Silver Lake. One of LA Weekly's favorite clubs, Calling All Kids, will be teaming up with one of ou ... More >>

Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo to Perform Alongside Stan Brakhage Films at Cinefamily

Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo will perform along with the films of genius experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage at the Silent Movie Theater on March 10, Cinefamily announced this morning. Guitarist Ranaldo will play as part of Text of Light, a trio also featuring amazing guitarist (and one of the world's ... More >>

Burger Records and the Lo-Fi Cassette Revival

We at West Coast Sound get a ton of mail, most of it consisting of CDs, press kits, and the occasional piece of vinyl. It arrives by the mound in those postal service bins, and though we love free stuff as much as the next music geek, all those plastic squares containing plastic circles pile high on ... More >>

Tonight in NYC: Sebastian Meissner and Kwartludium Adapt SST Records Output

This struck us as a potentially fascinating exercise that we would love to see tonight --except it's in New York. German electronic producer Sebastian Meissner (aka Klimek) is teaming up with Polish avant-classical group Kwartludium to present "Solid State Transmitters," an homage to great LA label ... More >>

Sonic Youth at the Wiltern: Killing the Kalifornia Girls

View more photos in Timothy Norris' Sonic Youth slideshow. There was Kim in sequins and Thurston in a conservative plaid button-down, same as always, give or take. He in jeans and basketball high-tops like he was on the way to a bookstore or something; she moaning, strumming and swinging and headed ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Star Wars Burlesque, X Japan, Sonic Youth and He-Man

It was one of those weekends where there was almost too much to do. Sometime in between darting back and forth across Los Angeles, we had the chance to take in the scene, whether we were at an X Japan video shoot, He-Man art show, Sonic Youth concert or Star Wars Burlesque. Behind-the-Scenes of X ... More >>

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

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

Tonight at the Silent Movie Theater: LA Premiere of 'All Tomorrow's Parties' Documentary

Tonight Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater will host the Los Angeles premiere of what looks to be a pretty amazing movie on the All Tomorrow's Parties festival -- at least judging by the trailer below. Those featured in the film, in case your eyes can't register all that stuff so quickly, in ... More >>

Math-Rockers Polvo Crunch the Numbers at Spaceland MP3

Nineties Math-Rockers Polvo Crunch the Numbers at Spaceland

SMMoA on Sunday: Mike Watt, Lee Ranaldo, Raymond Pettibon, others Celebrate Rock, Paper, Scissors Opening

FROM FRIDAY: Seriously. Take John Payne's advice below. Go to this. First of all, Animal Collective is sold out, and all your friends who will be there will be bragging in tomorrow about the AMAZING SHOW they saw at the Troubadour. You, however, will have a trump card. Background: Mike Watt, Ray ... More >>

Starbucks Learns Bitter Lesson About Music. (Coffee Also Still Bitter)

Sonic Youth Powerless to Blend Over-Priced Coffee with Lame CD Compilations for the Masses Yet another supposed savior of the recorded music business has spectacularly failed, not that it was ever a very good bet to begin with. Starbucks, which had ramped up their Hear Music imprint to sell CDs, si ... More >>

Young@Heart Screening

Sonic Youth: They Are Not Rock. They Curate Rock.

Marc Jacobs asked Sonic Youth to leap. Their response was "How high?"

Rock Picks: Detroit Cobras, Gore Gore Girls, MF Doom, Squeeze

For the week of August 9 – 16

Moon Men

Echo Park psych-rockers feel connected to it all

Rather Ripping

Urban Outfitters in Santa Monica, July 21

Rock Picks: Bob Dylan, Martin Rev, The Saints

For the week of July 19-26

Sonic Youth Rides its Masterpiece

Don't Daydream it's over

Yowza

Qui welcomes Uncle David to the fold

Coachella And the Cure for the Common Festivalitis

American Art Core: Behind the Orange Curtain

Few museums – particularly those located in Newport Beach – ever see lines of hundreds of hipsters, all dressed to the nines and desperate for admission. But then, most museums don't feature Sonic Youth performances at their parties. Even with a $30 ticket price, Saturday night's Calif ... More >>

Rock Picks

For Sept. 28 – Oct. 5

Rock Picks

For September 21–28

Moca Brings the Noise!

Cut Shorts

Satire, Punk and Politics

Or, black people don’t like George Bush

Sail Away

All Tomorrow’s Parties Today

Matt Groening talks outsider music and party planning with a fellow gearhead

Viva la Revoluçion

Sound and sedition at the LAMC

Street Action

Bring the Noise

All Tomorrow's Parties feeds back to the future

Serious Racket

The intersection of art and decibels

Freedom Fighters

Great Walls

Chinatown revisited

Starters Alternators