The Ramones

Five Unsung Punk Rock Guitarists

You can't please everyone. No sooner had my list of the five best punk rock guitarists gone up than the complaining started. Folks were annoyed that there was a tie for first, yes, but that was only one of the things they found to complain about. Mostly it was about how their no-talent low-life favo ... More >>

The Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, February 4 Gliss LOS GLOBOS Gliss is one of L.A.'s more unusual bands. All three members -- Martin Klingman, Victoria Cecilia and David Reiss -- switch off on instruments and vocals. Yet no matter who's on the mic, their sound is always dreamy, packed in cottony layers of shoegazer guitars ... More >>

Aquarium Drunkard Is a Cool, Weird Music Bar on the Internet

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Justin Gage's business card for Aquarium Drunkard bears a simple mantra: "Just the good shit." This might seem self-evident for the proprietor of a music ... More >>

The Five Best Shows in Los Angeles This Week: Grimes, Madonna

Monday, October 8 Superhumanoids THE ECHO L.A.'s Superhumanoids make pop songs out of star parts -- like the glow, the heat, the empty space and of course the wisps of fire that make NASA scientists curse every time a space probe gets singed by the stuff. This is heavenly stuff, with singer Sarah ... More >>

Surly Was a Punk Rocker

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Long-Awaited Unreleased Can Tracks

KCRW Broadcast #172 for Saturday, July 7, 2012 See also: Henry Rollins: The Column! Some of the Best Times of My Life Fanatics! I hope you are enjoying your holiday. Tonight, again, we have put together two hours of music that works well on ever level. I have played all the songs through three tim ... More >>

Oh, Look Out You Rock & Rollers

Who Is Superior, R.E.M. or Soul Asylum?

[Editor's note: Deathmatch pairs two artists who have something in common, and determines who is better. It's a concept we sort-of ripped off from MTV, except that instead of claymation it's the printed word!] See also: *The Talking Heads Were Way More Innovative Than The Ramones *Stravinsky vs. ... More >>

"She Gets a Free Abortion": The Five Dopiest Political Punk Songs

See also: *The Top Five L.A. Punk Albums of 2011 *Kelly Clarkson Endorses Ron Paul: The Five Most Baffling Political Pairings The Iowa caucuses are being held today, which means that Republican primary season is about to kick into high gear. Spoiler alert: The candidates all suck. But you knew tha ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: Brand New Track from The Mark of Cain

See also: *Henry Rollins: The Column! The Time I Drank The Sweat From My Socks Onstage *Henry Rollins, Scott Ian, Mike Watt, Corey Taylor, Dave Navarro - Avalon - 11/30/11 KCRW Broadcast #143 for Saturday, December 3, 2011 Fanatics! What a week. Finally. We have arrived at our meeting place, Satu ... More >>

The Five Most Underrated East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands Of All Time

Javier Cabral​See also: *East L.A. Backyard Punk Scene Rages On As Uninhibited and Intoxicated As Ever *The Five Best East L.A. Backyard Punk Bands *Reviewed: Stomp-Outz, The Lumberjacks, Who Gives A Fuck in a Backyard on West 79th St. Last week I wrote about movers and shakers on the curren ... More >>

The Michael Des Barres Band, Richie Ramone, Roar At Viper Room Leo Fest

Lina Lecaro Michael Des Barres and Steve Stevens get hot in the city.​We got a crash course in Booking 101 last week from recently-returned Viper Room booker Dayle Gloria, whom we joined in planning a duel birthday bash (we're both Aug. 6-ers) at the legendary Sunset Strip venue Saturday night ... More >>

Fanatics! Henry Rollins' KCRW Show Tomorrow Night: A Whole Lotta Hendrix

Timothy Norris​KCRW BROADCAST #122 for Saturday, July 9. Fanatics! Another week goes by and we find ourselves contemplating the sonic bounty of another Saturday get down. We approach this mountain of sound that awaits us, we must ponder this thought: what keeps bringing us back together ever ... More >>

The Column!: Postcard From NYC

Henry Rollins: The Column! Rollins on Being an Angeleno in New York (and Missing Joey Ramone)

Timothy Norris​[The one and only Henry Rollins contributes a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every Wednesday and make sure to tune in to Henry's KCRW radio show every Saturday ... More >>

Mick Rock

Renzoni: Best Jarred Tomato Sauce Ever?

I've never been a big fan of jarred tomato sauces. Even my love for The Ramones couldn't compel me to buy this jar of Marky Ramone's Brooklyn's Own Pasta Sauce, which I spotted in a Denver record store. (24, 24 hours to go/I wanna be tomatoed.) However, I'm no fancy-pants purist either. Sometimes ... More >>

Brick's Picks: Eye and Ear Control

Reznor Nails It One Last Time

Chavolot: Heavy Mariachi Parking-Lot Party

And fun at El Chavo, Rock 'n' Roll Au Go Go and HLNR boutique

ROCK & ROLLS OF FILM

I Wanna Be Elated: Meghan McCain's Ramones Connection

Meghan McCain, the daughter of Senator John McCain, has been emoting about her post-election blues lately on her blog and at the Daily Beast, from which CNN.com has been quoting at length this week. One of Meghan's pet peeves, we learn is other people -- not just those who "openly voted for Barack O ... More >>

Sparks Light Up Royce Hall with Performance of Classic Album and New Material

View more photos in the Sparks slideshow. All photos by Timothy Norris Sparks at UCLA Royce Hall, Sat., Feb. 14 To borrow the title from Sparks' 2000 album, it took balls for Ron and Russell Mael to stage their 21-night residency in London last summer, performing the entirety of each of their 21 a ... More >>

Rock Picks: Holly Golightly, Sergio Mendes, Wu-Tang Clan

Also, the Hanson Brothers, Oasis, Azure Ray and others

Preschool Confidential

Season two of seminal kids’ show Yo Gabba Gabba! has arrived. DJ Lance Rock and others attempt to explain its allure

Theater Reviews: Hamlet, Razorback, The Most Mediocre Story Never Told

Also, Earth Sucks, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Politico!

German Film Series at American Cinematheque Proves Cinema Is a Universal Language

But is it art?

Folking Around

Flight of the Conchords Amoeba Records in-store, April 24 Clement (left) and McKenzie There’s a lot of l’amour in this room tonight. The racks of CDs and LPs are sandwiched left and right with the faithful, who know every lyric and are toting signage of such desirous dedication as “Brit Br ... More >>

Get Off Your Rocker and Slam!!

What to do in Los Angeles this week

The Basement Photos

Lighting the Masque

Richie Ramone does West Side Story

Golly, Moses, naturally we're punks!

Go Fourth and Boomify!

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Manu Chao Sits Down with Falling James

Here's a link to an extended version of Falling James' interview with Manu Chao appears on L.A. Weekly's website this week.  They cover his first L.A. show playing with No Doubt in 1989, to his love of punk rock bands like the Ramones and MC5to the worries of turning into a rock star asshole. ... More >>

Rock Docs Are Go! Rockumentary Recommendations

As CDs wither, the low-budget rockumentary is born again

Best Place to Bang Your Head

Best Mask Since the Masque

Los Abandoned (Es Muy Nice)

L.A.’s bilingual poppers stake their claim to crossover fame with Mix Tape

Music Books We’ve Been Reading . . .

Farewell, Madame Wong

Artsters, Juggy D and the Last Bricktops

Live in LA

The Psychic Hipster’s Pop 10

Small Revolt

The Futureheads take over, one listener at a time

The Fuzz and the Fury

Paradise Perverted

Rock and Indeed Roll

Face Value

Rock savior Andrew W.K. is coming to our town to help us party down

New Music

American Beauty

Dead Phish taste the best

The Suck '90s and So You Do