Whitney Houston

Rendition of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' Diverts LAX Flight (VIDEO)

If you sang Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" on a shrill, nonstop loop during a flight from LAX to New York we'd beg for an emergency landing and then dial up the nearest SWAT team. Fortunately for this crooner, the weekend flight was merely diverted to Kansas City, where the woman in que ... More >>

Rihanna - Staples Center - 4/8/13

Rihanna Staples Center 4/8/13 It was a lot of sequins and gyrating last night as pop-star, media provocateur and good girl gone bad Rihanna hit the Staples Center as part of her Diamonds World Tour. RiRi was all hair, lips and hips as she brought an unabashedly sexual swagger. Although a lot of cri ... More >>

Getty's Pacific Standard Time Series on L.A. Architecture: A Preview

See also: *Thom Mayne, Frank Gehry & the L.A. Architects Who Changed Everything *Schindler House's Exhibit About How We Travel *Moby: L.A. Architecture's New Mascot Neutra, Gehry, Schindler, Eames -- they're all included in the Getty Institute's initiative Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Arc ... More >>

Baristas Prepare for This Weekend's Southwest Regional Barista Competition

Starting today and going through the weekend, over 30 baristas -- including a good number from Los Angeles -- will be in Santa Cruz to compete in the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Southwest Regional Barista Competition. This would be one of six such regional competitions; the top 6 from ... More >>

The Shrine Used to Host the Oscars. Now it Hosts Steve Aoki Parties

The Shrine Auditorium, once home to the Academy Awards, hosted countless landmark concerts in its prime, but now is less in the spotlight than its rival up Figueroa -- LA Live. Still, the Shrine has found a second life as a hub for L.A,'s rave scene. See also: *Jack White at The Shrine, 8/10/12 *St ... More >>

The Best Concerts To See in L.A. This Weekend: Nov 2-4

Friday, November 2 Grace Potter & the Nocturnals THE WILTERN If anyone should be a star, it's Grace Potter. Commercial enough to sing duets with Kenny Chesney, she's also freaky enough to trip out occasionally with folks like Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, who produced part ... More >>

Life of Whitney

Seven L.A. Comics Report From the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a festival unlike any other. The 65-year-old whirlwind event lasts the entire month of August and is essentially a free-for-all: interested performers merely have to book their own venue, travel, and accommodation, then show up, self-promote like mad, and pray you ge ... More >>

Josh Androsky, L.A. Comedian, Comes Forward as Shroomed-Out 'Skateboard Rabbi' on The Price Is Right

The only thing funnier than an L.A. comedian on shrooms has to be an L.A. bank executive on bath salts -- and, unfortunately, we don't have video of the latter. So we'll have to settle for this retarded-hilarious clip from an early May episode of The Price Is Right, which makes a lot more sense now ... More >>

American Moves

Rapper Takes On Chick-Fil-A Launches a New Genre: The Recipe Rap

Sick of talking about Chick-fil-A? Me too. Sick of very fast recipe rapping? Uuuhh, no, me neither. The recent controversy over Chick-fil-A's involvement in the anti-same-sex marriage movement has inspired Mac Lethal, a Kansas City rapper, to perhaps start a new trend: the recipe rap. Check it out ( ... More >>

Whitney Houston's Sparkle: A Guide to the Diva's Checkered Film Career

In anticipation of the remake of the 1976 girl-group melodrama Sparkle -- Whitney Houston's posthumous film appearance and her return to movies after a 15-year absence -- we look back at the handful of celluloid performances by the woman once known as "the Voice." Houston's pipes certainly get a w ... More >>

Goapele, Yuna - El Rey Theatre - 8/2/12

Goapele with Yuna El Rey Theatre 8/2/12 Better than... Autotune The El Rey Theatre is one of those venues that inspires artists to bring something special to the stage. Last night, Goapele and Yuna did just that, proving that classic soul music will never go out of style. Opening the night was M ... More >>

Old Records Are Outselling New for the First Time

By Chris Kornelis In the two decades since Nielsen Soundscan started to keep track of U.S. album sales in 1991, the company has seen the industry fold in half, digital sales catch up to physical, and vinyl mount a resurgence. But until last week, they'd never seen old records outsell new ones. The ... More >>

Robert and Barbra Egan, Couple Living at Beverly Hilton, Commit 'Double Suicide' in Their Room

One week after a middle-aged couple died mysteriously in their room at the Beverly Hilton -- the same fancy hotel where Whitney Houston recently OD'ed and drowned, and where President Obama stays whenever he's in town -- Beverly Hills police have finally determined their cause of death. Robert Egan ... More >>

Cassette Tapes Are Awesome Until You Actually Have To Listen To Them

See also: Here Are the Songs They Play at a Middle School Dance About a decade ago I crashed my car. Bad. I still remember it pretty clearly. I had a bad haircut and was driving on the feeder next to a highway and listening to music (maybe Missy Elliott's "Work It" or maybe Jimmy Eat World's "The ... More >>

Elite Troupes

Whitney Houston Drowned, But Cocaine Played Role in Her Death: Heart Attack Likely

Updated at the bottom: She likely had a heart attack. First posted at 2:28 p.m. L.A. County coroner's investigators say Whitney Houston drowned when she died at the Beverly Hilton hotel last month. LA Weekly was the first outlet to report that she might have been found in a bathtub, which she was. ... More >>

Kevin Barnes: Of Montreal's Front Man Is Depressed

It's no secret that some of the most creative and talented artists have also harbored intense feelings of anxiety and depression. (See Whitney Houston.) Kevin Barnes, lead singer of Athens-based indie rock group Of Montreal, has managed to channel his depression in to spontaneous whirlwhinds of cr ... More >>

John & Ken's Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark Inspires L.A. Council to Act

Update at 11:39 p.m: According to Daily News columnist Doug McIntyre the council approved the resolution. First posted at 4:15 p.m. The rantings of conservative talk show hosts John & Ken and their colleagues at KFI 640 AM have caught the attention of the L.A. City Council, which is considering a r ... More >>

Rush Limbaugh's Appearances on KFI in L.A. Targeted by Local Media Group That Wants Him Suspended

KFI 640 AM, the radio station criticized by some minority groups after its "John & Ken" called the late Whitney Houston a "crack ho" on air is under fire again: The outlet happens to be the local home of nationally syndicated talker Rush Limbaugh, who apologized recently after calling law student S ... More >>

After Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark, John & Ken Still Not Back On-Air at KTLA News

It's not a good week for conservative talk show hosts at L.A.'s KFI AM 640. After John & Ken called the late Whitney Houston a "crack ho" a few weeks back, the nationally syndicated talker Rush Limbaugh called a birth control proponent a slut and a prostitute. As such, John & Ken were suspended, an ... More >>

John & Ken Should be Kept Off Air at KTLA News? Hispanic Media Coalition Pushes For Ban After Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark

We thought the Whitney Houston-was-a-crack ho remark by controversial radio talkers John & Ken was behind us. A coalition of African Americans in media, who met with the duo and KFI AM 640 management this week, seemed to be willing to move on even as they pressed for more diversity at the station. ... More >>

In Wake of John & Ken's Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Comment, KFI Radio Vows to Diversify Shows

Following ongoing criticism of talk radio hosts John & Ken, KFI and its parent, Clear Channel Communications, have vowed to diversify the L.A. station's workforce and programming. In fact the station is taking pitches for shows. John & Ken were lambasted (and suspended) two weeks ago after they ca ... More >>

Following Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark, John & Ken Have Been Absent From Regular KTLA TV Duties

Looks like their home station KFI AM 640 wasn't the only one that dropped controversial talk radio hosts John & Ken following their remark that Whitney Houston was a "crack ho." The pair have been missing from nightly hot-topic segments on KTLA News. Hmm. A spokesman for the duo told the Weekly to ... More >>

Whitney Houston 'Crack Ho' Remark: Should Angry White Men Like 'John & Ken' Be Allowed to Have A Radio Station to Themselves in L.A?

Conservative talk radio hosts John & Ken are back on the air this week following a week-and-a-half suspension for calling the late Whitney Houston a "crack ho." A group of African Americans in broadcasting met with the duo yesterday and seem cool with the outcome, but in a statement the coalition s ... More >>

Whitney Houston Auction Will Put Vest From 'The Bodyguard,' Other Items up Sale: Free Exhibition in Beverly Hills

Warner Bros.​Prized items once owned by Whitney Houston will be offered for sale at auction in Beverly Hills next month. But even if you can't afford the clothing expected to sell for between $400 and $2,000, you can take a look. Julien's Auctions will put the fashion on public display in the ... More >>

KFI Radio Suspends John & Ken for Calling Whitney Houston a 'Crack Ho'

Update: The KFI boys apologize. See below. John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, inflammatory KFI radio hosts with a reported audience of over 1 million, have finally gotten themselves suspended, reports Talkers. (If only for a week-and-a-half.) After years of pissing off every shade of leftist and minori ... More >>

Whitney Houston: Regrettable Punditry And 'Too Soon' Reactions on Video

Bill O'Reilly​When a celebrity dies in L.A., it's a somber moment. But it's also an opportunity for competition among journalists and pundits. Members of the media can make mistakes, over-reach, and downright go too far. That was the case for some of the coverage of Whitney Houston's untimel ... More >>

Why the Grammys Stink

See also: *2012 Grammys: The Best, the Worst and the Weirdest *Deadmau5, Rihanna - House of Blues - 2/13/12 *Dan Wilson: From "Closing Time" to Adele's "Someone Like You" So, our Grammy credentials were fairly limited last night. In fact, we were trapped in a room for eight hours, with journalists ... More >>

Whitney Houston Found 'Underwater and Apparently Unconscious:' No Comment From Police on Prescription Drugs

L.A. Weekly was the first news organization to report that it appeared Whitney Houston was discovered in a hotel room bathtub. That was confirmed today by the Beverly Hills Police Department. The department issued a statement saying that " ... information relayed to first responders was that Ms. Ho ... More >>

Whitney Houston Found Dead in Beverly Hills: Police Investigating, But No Foul Play Suspected So Far

​Updated at the bottom: Reports indicate Houston might have been found underwater in a tub. First posted at 6:02 p.m. Saturday. Pop music icon Whitney Houston was found dead in a room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was to appear tonight at a Grammy pre-party with music industry execut ... More >>

9/11 Changed Everything For The Music Industry

​By Chaz Kangas September 11th brought irrevocable change to our society, and the music industry was no exception. It was also a very strange time; both rap group The Coup and metal band Dream Theater released album covers with the World Trade Center in flames. Radio DJs across the country, m ... More >>

Whitney Houston Enters Rehab, Again

Earlier this year at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party​Everything that glitters is not ... Though this year Whitney Houston seemed to be basking in the glow of at least a physical comeback, her representative told CNN this morning that the singer has entered rehab yet again. "I can confirm that ... More >>

Top 10 Wine And Band Pairings: Or, How About Some Air Supply With That $2 Chuck?

Flickr user 1808wineThe Vintage Cadillac Essentials​Heavy metal drinking is really the only excuse for naming a wine Sledgehammer. Either that, or you're a mega-millions corporate exec type trying to hook us on cheap inexpensive wine (see #2 when you turn the page). And so begets a Top Ten lis ... More >>

Did ABC Brass Allow Whitney Houston's Voice to be 'Corrected' Before Airing?

Gawker is reporting that ABC producers in Los Angeles allowed Good Morning, America to digitally correct singer Whitney Houston's vocal track during her performance in Central Park this morning. Relying on an unnamed source, Gawker's Andrew Belonsky writes that GMA post-production "went to extreme m ... More >>

Psst: Grammy Week Parties with MGMT, Black Eyed Peas, New York Dolls, Chelsea Girls, DJ AM and (maybe) Whitney Houston

The Grammy telecast might be a snooze, but during awards week its host city is anything but. Surprise stage jams and DJ sets, official and unofficial shindigs and a overall anything-can- happen/anyone-might-show vibe and excitement takes over LA's clubs and events... You don't need to be Jay-Z and B ... More >>

Movie Reviews: Beautiful Losers, Death Note

Also, Another Gay Sequel, Red and more

Steve Smith

Dr. Comfort

The World According to Björk, Aoki, Tweedy and a Gaggle of Teenage Guitar Girls

How Shit Be

Freestyle riffs & ruminations on black music and pop culture at the dawn of 2007

Black Fag Is a Cover Band

Diana Ross: O.G. Diva Sings the Blues

A long-lost ’71 jazz album smashes imitators, from Madonna to Beyoncé

Reality Without Apologies

A Small New Future

ALEC HANLEY BEMIS on the casualties and survivors in the war between the Cynics and the True Believers

The Diva in Ms. Houston

Saving It

Silver Screams

Music mutilates the movies

Justice

Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, Dorothy Dandridge and lawman Bill Tilghman

You Gotta Believe

Whitney wearies of whitebread