The Chemical Brothers

Jason Bentley Influences the Country's Indie Musical Taste, but His Heart Still Beats to the Electronic Underground

"When you're music director at KCRW," Jason Bentley says, "you're kind of music director of Los Angeles." This may sound a bit presumptuous on its face, but it's basically correct. For many listeners, KCRW is a community as real as any actual physical location in the city, its personalities the fir ... More >>

The Five Greatest Showmen in EDM

This week's cover story on Steve Aoki attributes much of his rise to the EDM shift from wallflower DJs to over-the-top showmen. World's Douchiest DJs: The Top Five Aoki is not the only DJ to elevate the dance floor from the collective trance of rave's past to the kind of fist-pumping festivals rep ... More >>

Gustavo Santaolalla's Band Bajofondo Rocks Both Sides of the River

Nestled up in the Echo Park hills just north of Sunset Boulevard lies La Casa Studios, where we wait on 14-time Grammy winning producer Gustavo Santaolalla, an Argentine. The walls in the studio lounge are decorated with album artwork for acts he produced like Maldita Vecindad, Juanes and Café Tacu ... More >>

Top Ten EDM Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Dance Music

*World's Douchiest DJs: The Top Five *Ask a Teen Raver *Interview With a Raver Who Wears Electrical Tape on Her Boobs *Top Ten Jazz Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Jazz *Top Ten Metal Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Metal Electronic dance music (you know, EDM) is the hottest ... More >>

Day 3: Coachella's GOODs, BADs and UGLYs (feat. Kanye West, Duran Duran, PJ Harvey and the Hilton Sisters)

Timothy Norris​ We came, we saw, we sweated off four pounds of water. Kudos to the Coachella organizers for turning the Empire Polo Grounds into a people-organizing machine. Lines were long, but everything kept moving. Let's look at Sunday's GOODs, BADs and UGLYs...

Day 2: Coachella's GOODs, BADs and UGLYs (feat. The Kills, Animal Collective, Paul Van Dyk, Arcade Fire and Mariachi El Bronx)

Without road trips lingering or looming, and with just the right amount of hangover, the Coachella crowd attacked the grounds on Saturday, and the bands fought along heroically. The only real loser was the grass, which is starting to get sticky, but more on that in a little bit. Let's take a look a ... More >>

Day 1: Coachella's GOODs, BADs and UGLYs (featuring Paul McCartney, Black Keys, Chemical Brothers and Craigslist)

Colin Young-Wolff​ Compared to last year's problems with wristbands and overcrowding, the first day of Coachella 2011 was smooth sailing. Greasy even. Let's take a look at yesterday's GOODs, BADs and UGLYs.

Music Picks: Coachella, Girls in Trouble, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Paul Simon

Also, Mary Anne Hobbs, Yoni Wolf, Emmylou Harris and others

Dance at Coachella: Where (and How)

Your best dance choices if you are ...

Girl Talk vs. Deadmau5: Which Non-DJ Rocks the Party Harder?

Timothy NorrisThe dance floor at the Palladium for Girl Talk.​Read more in Ali Trachta's story "Mash-Up Party in the USA: The LA Weekly Interview with Girl Talk." Over the course of the past week, both Deadmau5 and Girl Talk, two of the biggest names in dance-oriented music, have played Los A ... More >>

Coachella Lineup Announced: We Told You Odd Future Was in There!

​This is the official press release: Coachella 2011. Music. Art. Culture. Community. With the Coachella line-up announcement serving as the official kick-off to the annual U.S. festival season, festival organizers Goldenvoice can now reveal details for the 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Art ... More >>

10 2011 Films We're Psyched About

Terrence Malick, Tintin and a killer psychokinetic tire

Michel Gondry's Top Ten Music Videos Ever (In Honor Of His Book Signing Tonight)

​ Tonight Michel Gondry's coming to Family Books on Fairfax to sign copies of his new book/DVD My New New York Diary, a collaborative project with cartoonist Julie Doucet that merges autobiographical illustrations and cinematic storytelling. My New New York Diary is a hardcover volume from Pi ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Chemical Brothers at the Hollywood Bowl

Timothy NorrisWine, cheese and blockrockin' beats: The Chemical Brothers at the Hollywood Bowl​ LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Klaxons and all other dance-rockers currently carving a profitable niche owe a debt of gratitude to electronica's "Born Slippy"-era--namely the holy trinity of stadium DJs ... More >>

This weekend: Sunset Strip Music Festival, Boris, Cyndi Lauper, the Antlers, Morris Day, Cap'N Jazz, Something Corporate, Chemical Brothers

Christina M. FeliceVanaprasta​By now, we're sure you have your strategy mapped out for Saturday's street festival portion of the Sunset Strip Music Festival. You're hitting the Sunset Strip early for Semi Precious Weapons; you're darting between outdoor stages for the likes of Travie McCoy, ... More >>

Music Picks: Dr. John, Herbie Hancock, Sunset Strip Music Festival

Also, Funkfest, Chromeo, Slayer and others

Exclusive Stream: Boyz Noize Remixes the Chemical Brothers on 'Swoon'

Boyz Noize remixes "Swoon" by the Chemical Brothers, appearing at the Hollywood Bowl Sunday​On Sunday, reining champs of the big beat sound, the Chemical Brothers touch down at the Hollywood Bowl accompanied by the funky fresh faces of Chromeo's P-Thugg and Dave 1 and the considerably more art ... More >>

Nightranger: Gamer Gauche

WE LOVE YOU HOLLYWOOD BOWL!

The Hollywood Bowl Announces Its 2010 Schedule

​Is it that time already? Yes, for the 89th time, it is. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association just announced the line-up for the 2010 Hollywood Bowl season, and despite its age, the outdoor beauty will stage a few firsts: Gustavo Dudamel's first Bowl subscription concerts as music direct ... More >>

West Coast Sound: A Stroke Chokes (And Nearly Goes Broke)

Beth Orton Plays Rare Solo Show at Largo, and Gillian Welch Joins Her for Onstage Lullaby

"I'm handsome," Beth Orton announced onstage at the Largo last night, reaching into her mouth to pull out a cough drop which she shamelessly deposited on the stool beside her. "Walking pneumonia with the boogie-woogie blues" is how the British-born singer songwriter explained the persistent cough th ... More >>

Jason Reitman's Concert Highlights: David Crosby's Live Gig at Rob Lowe's House (And More)

Editor's note: This week director Jason Reitman is guest blogging at West Coast Sound. Reitman, whose new film, Up in the Air, was nominated for six Golden Globes earlier in the week (including Best Director and Best Screenplay nominations for Reitman ... congrats!), is also a pretty big music head, ... More >>

Guest Blogger Jason Reitman on 14 Perfect Musical Moments

​Editor's note. This week director Jason Reitman is guest blogging at West Coast Sound. Reitman, whose new film, Up in the Air, was nominated for five Golden Globes this morning (including Best Director and Best Screenplay nominations for Reitman ... congrats!), is also a pretty big music head ... More >>

Interview: 2020Soundsystem's Ralph Lawson "Ready To Rock Huge Gigs"

Ralph Lawson is a British mainstay in the DJ world, a spinner known for his refined house music that contains a touch of electronic progressivism. In the mid-1990s he held down the Back To Basics club night in Leeds that helped inspire his 2020Vision record label and put him on the international spi ... More >>

Mullen on Music

Coachella Day 2: Glass Candy's Unitard Dance Routine Is Infectious -- and Tight

Timothy NorrisGlass Candy's Ida No, sleek and form-fitting disco futurism Glass Candy's Ida No and Johnny Jewel have one thing going against them: it's hard to get a crowd moving when you're a behind a lot of gear, and your singing is less about showing off as it is getting the crowd moving. The so ... More >>

Coachella Saturday: Off-site Parties, On-site Tripping, M.I.A's Dayglo Circus & Do-Lab Love

Almost as soon as it began, sponsors and magazines have tried to find ways to promote themselves to Coachella's massive audience (as well as its performers), and there's no better way to do that than a party. Booze, food, DJs and other amusements are laid out at some swank Palm Springs/Indio pad, an ... More >>

Coachella Rumor Mill Works Overtime, but the Confirmations Continue to Trickle In

(Michel Gondry's video for the Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be.") Here's a list of "confirmed" (so far) acts to appear at Coachella 2009, according to the very reliable Monklish blog. His guarantee: "I've been told that these have been making arrangements to attend the festival as contractuall ... More >>

Booka Shade, Avalon Hollywood, July 26

Booka Shade, July 26, at Avalon Hollywood Text and photos by Dennis Romero It’s a relatively new medium boxed in by opposing conventions: rocking out versus remaining faithful to the linear, lockstep groove of the modern dance floor. Few – perhaps Kraftwerk, the Chemical Brothers and the firs ... More >>

Mix and Mash

Neighborhood Music Fest and Nocturnal Festival

Rock Picks

For the week of Oct. 5–12

Eraserhead

Thom Yorke’s solo LP: Radiohead without the radio?

Kill Them All. Kill Them All!

Music and video games: an endless, wretched love affair

Lady Madonna, Festival at Your Feet

"I've never performed at a festival," says Madonna, "and I'm especially excited about playing at Coachella before I start my own tour." Well la-dee-da. What Madonna wants. Madonna gets. But Madonna at Coachella? I don't even know what to think. I love Madonna, but... but... Coachella? I like to w ... More >>

The Mayor of Metropolis

Resistance Is Futile

The Chemical Brothers push the button and you surrender

Letters

Reach for the Sun

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, April 27-28

You Can’t Do That — It’ll Make the Record Skip!

Waylon Jennings, 1937–2002

Is the Corpse Smelly Yet?

Independent music in 2001

New Music

SuperDJ!

The mild-mannered world of Simply Jeff

Beat Freaks

Dance clubs L.A.: a forbidden world beckons

Not Fade Away

Oasis, three bridges shy

Up Your Culture

John Seabrook’s furrowed Nobrow

Pop the Cork

Jay-Z beyond reasonable doubt

More Is More

Loved-up in Indio

Tribal Gathering

Coachella festival: It's all in the mix

Time After Time

Dance clubs L.A.: In one era and out another