Wilco (Band)

The Cult of Gram Parsons Lives on in Joshua Tree

Forty years after his sensational death, the country-rock pioneer remains beloved in the desert

Music Picks: Hard Summer, Sunset Strip Music Festival and Bob Dylan

The Best Concerts to See In L.A. This Week

Monday, March 25 Corima, Upsalon Acrux PEHRSPACE There are, in fact, thriving musical styles that have blessedly little to do with the latest pop trends. Roughly intersecting prog-rock and art-jazz is a thing called Zeuhl Music, a very heavy, propulsive sonic form whose roaring rhythm sections and ... More >>

Music Picks: Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge, and Anthrax

The Dazzling Story of the Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre has six floors of dressing rooms, a film projector, a world-class sound system and one of the only surviving Wurlitzer theater organs in the country. It's also one of the last independent venues in the city. Ninety years in, it continues to thrive after more than 85 years thanks ... More >>

What Makes the Hollywood Bowl So Perfect?

Is the Hollywood Bowl southern California's most beloved performance space? Quite possibly. Where else do folks brag not just about seeing an act, but about attending a venue itself? Seating 17,376 patrons, it hosts shows six-out-of-seven nights a week --Tuesdays and Thursdays are classical, Wednesd ... More >>

Wilco, Joanna Newsom - Hollywood Bowl - 9/30/12

Wilco and Joanna Newsom Hollywood Bowl 9-30-12 Better than...waiting for the Sepulveda Pass to re-open. Wilco's name has graced more marquees in Los Angeles this year than a majority of bands that actually live here. Last night, under a full moon and amid looming Santa Ana winds, Wilco wrapped up ... More >>

Beachwood Sparks Are One of L.A.'s Most Influential Bands You Don't Know

With folk music back in the mainstream consciousness via acts like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, the timing for Beachwood Sparks' reunion is right. "I think we were one of the bands that paved the way for that," founding member and bassist Brent Rademaker tells us. He's excited to talk about their new a ... More >>

The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All-Time: The Complete List

*Top 20 Worst Bands Ever: The Complete List *Top 20 Musicians of All-Time, in Any Genre: The Complete List *Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All-Time: The Complete List *Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All-Time: The Complete List Considering that most all of today's popular music -- be it roc ... More >>

The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All Time: 5-1

See also: *The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All-Time: 20-16 *The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All-Time: 15-11 *The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of All Time: 10-6 *Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time 5. Radiohead Go ahead and turn on VH1 right now. You know those bands playing in the background of your favor ... More >>

The Band Harriet Slept With All Your Mothers

"I knew it was a provocative title. But the song isn't as provocative as the title makes you think," says Alex Casnoff, singer-songwriter of Los Angeles indie rock quartet Harriet, referring to "I Slept With All Your Mothers." It's the first single off his band's debut EP Tell The Right Story. Seat ... More >>

Cassette Tapes Are Back. Ask Your Mom to Mail Your Old Jambox.

"I grew up collecting and listening to cassette tapes and records," said Phil Shaheen, drummer for Los Angeles indie band Tijuana Panthers. "I like the fact that cassettes are in again and that cool little labels are putting them out." The band released its album, Max Baker, as a limited-edition tap ... More >>

Music Picks: Smokeout Festival, Mike Miller Group, Zola Jesus, Saul Williams

Also, New Multitudes, Cool Moms, Alpha & Omega, Cloud Nothings and others

Wilco - Hollywood Palladium - 1/24/12

Wilco Hollywood Palladium 1-24-12 See also: Our Wilco slideshow Better than: A swimming pool full of Banana Split Dippin' Dots. Few contemporary American bands command Wilco's critical and fan adoration. Jeff Tweedy and Co. managed to sell out the Palladium in a flash, and they have two more sho ... More >>

Daniel Johnston's Perfect Day: "Either a Girl Comes Over, Or I Write a Good Song"

Peter JuhlDaniel Johnston in Copenhagen, April 2010​Interview by Drew Fortune A day before I get Daniel Johnston on the phone from his home in the small town of Waller, TX, I'm on the line with his 90-year-old father and manager Bill Johnston, arranging an interview time. Speaking with a worl ... More >>

Music to Pick Up/Download

Countdown to Record Store Day: An Interview with RSD Co-Founder Michael Kurtz

​We've been looking forward to Record Store Day (or RSD) for awhile now. For one, it provides a welcome diversion for those of us not going to Coachella. Also, we are looking forward to all of the limited-edition vinyl releases, in-stores, and sales that come along with RSD. We keep hearing a ... More >>

Universal Consciousness

Living legends gather to pay tribute to Alice Coltrane at UCLA

Music Picks: Amanda Jo Williams, Usher, Masaki Batoh, Procol Harum

Also, Dustin Wong, Greg Dulli, Ghostface Killah

MP3 Exclusive: Le Switch Rocks And Swaggers With 'Bad Decisions'

MP3 Exclusive: Le Switch Rocks and Swaggers on 'Bad Decisions'

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 >>

Aging With Delta Spirit

The Long Beach band channels old folk on its mature new LP

Music Picks: Stagecoach Festival, Yoshitake Expe, Hole, Chicha Libre

Also, Aquaserge, Norah Jones, Dr. Dog and others

The Living Sisters: Sibling Harmonies

The crystal-clear vocal world of Inara George, Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark

Lisa Germano to Tour with Radiohead's Phil Selway

Last week when Radiohead played their surprise Haiti benefit at the Henry Fonda Theater, those of us lucky enough to get onto the guest list (we still donated $$, for the record) received confirmation via email. In the email was a document containing the entire guest list, which for a Radiohead show ... More >>

Rock Picks: GZA, the Ettes, A.A. Bondy, Mose Allison

Also, the Kris Special, Jesse Sykes, Mamak Khadem and others

Beck and Co. Cover Skip Spence's "Weighted Down," featuring Leslie Feist and Some Wilcos

We've been slacking on Beck's consistently fascinating series of covers over at Beck.com, and have missed the fact that he and his band of crazies has been covering the entirety of Alexander "Skip" Spence's mope-rock classic, Oar. Our favorite track on the album is probably "Weighted Down," though w ... More >>

Rock Picks: Camper Van Beethoven, Cass McCombs, AC/DC

Also, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, Magda, Hedgehog, Mos Def and others

Sisters With Voices: The L.A. Ladies Choir

“I walked in and all these wonderful women were singing, and I just went, ‘Whew, I’m at home.’”

Billy Bragg to Perform Beethoven in Santa Monica??

West Coast Sound first stumbled across the information that respected British songwriter Billy Bragg would be covering Woody Guthr -- Ludwig van Beethoven when we were picking up an order of lentils at the Curious Palate restaurant and grocery in Mar Vista. A pile of fliers sat on a table next to a ... More >>

Phish to Take Over Coachella Site for Halloween Festival. Like, Whoa.

Whoa. This could be huge! Billboard is reporting that Phish has announced a three-day festival called "Festival 8" at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio. Writes Billboard's Michael Ayers: After several weeks of speculation and a shape-shifting "Save the Date" map decorating its homepage, Phish h ... More >>

MATT POPIELUCH ON FOREIGN BORN

Why his band's not pop, or rock, or anything predictable

Wilco at the Wiltern, Night One: Tweedy, Cline, Kotche and Company Offer Hoodoo Voodoo, Hummingbirds

View more photos in the "Wilco, Night One" slideshow. What, you're gonna ask a music writer to assess a Wilco show? That's like asking a cop to review a doughnut shop. "The sprinkles here are the best ever. The icing, creamy. The jelly filling? Drool-worthy." It was a fantastic first night of a thr ... More >>

Rock Picks: Daedelus, Peanut Butter Wolf, Femi Kuti, Isis

Also, The Choke, Nouvelle Vague, Wilco, Sunset Rubdown and others

Phish: An LA Fan's Defense in the Wake of the Hampton, Virginia Reunion Shows

By Jeff Miller Growing up in LA's rock scene means spending your formative years building hipster credibility; writing about music in LA, as I've been doing for the last decade or so, often means working to maintain it. So there's a certain implicit shame when I admit a couple things about myself ... More >>

Google's New Killer App? Why Are Music Bloggers' Posts Disappearing, and Who Is Deleting Them?

Photos That Defined 2008: Food, Music, Cobrasnake, Nightranger and Breaking News

Have some time to kill over the holidays while avoiding chit-chat with your second cousin twice removed? Well, why not peruse L.A. Weekly's favorite photos of 2008.  We've broken down this year's most unforgettable images into several categories: Year in Photos, Year in Food, Year in Music, Yea ... More >>

Weiss' 50 Best Albums of the Year (#50-41)

Not to be confused with the epic, Eric Roberts, Tae Kwon thriller. 50. Benoit Pioulard-Temper (Kranky) Have you ever been in one of those nutty meditation classes, where the crackpot instructor tells you to close your eyes and imagine that you're in the middle of a forest? Don't be surprised ... More >>

Let the Listing Begin: Ten Great Folk Records of the Past Decade

You're going to be seeing a lot of lists in the next few weeks. Lists of bests and worsts of year, lists of disappointments, lists of dance mixes and YouTube clips. We figured we'd begin our weeks of lists with one that captures not the year in music, but one aspect of the decade in music: new wei ... More >>

Extended Interview: Richard Swift Not a "Rock and Roll Romantic"

Richard Swift. Photograph from the album Richard Swift As Onasis. This is the extended interview from Rena Kosnett's article on prolific musician Richard Swift. L.A. Weekly: Was there a strategic purpose, or a goal, in releasing Ground Trouble Jaw for free? Richard Swift: I think it was void of ... More >>

Outside Lands Day 3-We Have a Winner

Ted DiBiase knows a winner when he sees one. That's how he earned the nickname "The Million Dollar Man" when those Cash Money clowns were still learning to ice their first teeth. And rest assured, Teddy B. would've inevitably proclaimed Day 3 of Outside Lands, the winner of the match, even if he wo ... More >>

Outside Lands Day 1-Don't Quote Me On It, But I Think This Radiohead Band Has a Chance to Get Big

(all photos by Christopher Victorio) Don't expect much. No one with an iota of common sense would attend a music festival after being struck by the snarling combination of African Sleeping Sickness/Mono/Ricketts/Gout/Scurvy that waylaid me for a full two weeks of misery and and continues to leave ... More >>

The Weekend Report: Widespread Panic, The Orpheum, Friday, June 20

Widespread Panic, the Orpheum Theatre, June 20 By Jeff Weiss (photos by Timothy Norris) Sometimes, I think music critics hate jam bands for the jokes. After all, on that endless litany of items capable of inspiring comedic rancor, nothing is easier to mock than hippies, save for maybe George Bush ... More >>

Josh White

Documenter

Part 1: Thoughts on Music Now. (The festival that is. You'll have to wait for my multi-volume treatise on the state of music today.)

The rise of classically informed indie music, one awesome photograph of MC 62 Foot Jesus, and my thoughts on "conflict of interest" in music criticism today. ALSO, a member of Grizzly Bear getting crunk in a Cincinnati, OH parking lot. It's kind of like US Weekly for obscure people.

Former Kraftwerk and Neu! percussionist Klaus Dinger dies

You've heard the Motorik beat, one of the seminal rhythms of the late 20ths century. Created in the early 1970s by Dusseldorf, Germany percussionist Klaus Dinger, the Motorik beat over the past thirty years has become of the essential rhythms of our time. Dinger died last week, though his thoroughly ... More >>

Wilco at the Greek, 8/29

Wilco Greek Theatre, August 29, 2007 by Jonah Flicker I’m sure there were plenty of celebrities peppered throughout the crowd at the Greek Theatre as perennial underdogs/yuppie-faves, Wilco, took the stage on a balmy Wednesday night. My celebrity sighting, however, was limited to one Mr. Fred Sav ... More >>

Britt Daniel Speaks the Truth

Spoon’s front man tackles rumors and Fiction

Repotted Palms

Hinterlander goes Hawaiian