Also I Like to Rock, the free, all-ages music series happening the next four Thursdays at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, kicks off tomorrow with performances from deliriously cinematic L.A. quartet Saint Motel and edgy young rockers Kitten and a set from KCRW DJ Dan Wilcox. Now the Hammer and KCRW are offering you a […]
It’s not just the news of the Vaselines’ return that has a smile on my face, it’s the squalid bite of their new single “I Hate the ’80s.” The Vaselines slipped away too quickly after releasing one album and a handful of singles in the late ’80s and early ’90s (famously compiled on Sub Pop’s […]
Here’s an encouraging note for the bands around town who try and try and try some more: Leslie & the Badgers’ self-released album “Roomful of Smoke” (which we loved when it came out last year) has been picked up by Nashville-based label Thirty Tiger (home to Elizabeth Cook, Justin Townes Earle, Jim Lauderdale and Those […]
[Happy birthday, Patrick Wolf.] Top 3 ways to send June packing: ‣ Damien Jurado plays Spaceland behind his excellent new release “Saint Bartlett,” and he’ll be backed by an orchestra composed of members of the Seattle band Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground. That’s Jurado’s video for “Arkansas,” above. [Download the track here.] ‣ With […]
So as a means of introducing you to Judson & Mary – whom you’ve probably met, if you’ve been to a show in Silver Lake or Echo Park recently – I thought I’d share the postscript from the June 15 Buzz Bands LA show at Spaceland. I’d initially planned to have a “special guest” play […]
[Birthday greetings to Phantom Planet bassist Sam Farrar. Meanwhile …] Top 5 reasons to brave the environs tonight: ‣ Portland sextet Blitzen Trapper hits the El Rey Theatre behind the release of its fifth album “Detroyer of the Void.” ‣ Australian sensations-in-the-making Tame Impala play two sold-out shows at the Silverlake Lounge the night after […]
“There are more wishes than stars,” Harper Simon sings plaintively in the new single off last fall’s self-titled debut album. No kidding. Simon’s lovely slice of pop-Americana – which was co-written by novelist Ben Okri – gets an equally gorgeous video treatment from actor/director Joshua Leonard, who gets cameos from the likes of Money Mark, […]
Line and Circle makes music with the arena-sized vision of the Verve, Oasis, the Smiths and R.E.M. – sweeping orchestral rock drawn with broad melodic strokes and detailed with intricate string and guitar arrangements. It’s an aesthetic that may have sounded cool in 1996, but amid today’s lo-fi hipster flavors of the month, it’s a […]
Favorite 5 T-shirts I saw at the Friday’s kickoff to the 16th annual Vans Warped Tour at the Home Depot Center in Carson: “Talk Nerdy To Me” “Tell Yr GF 2 Stop Texting Me” “Make Mosh Not War” “Free F*cking Hugs” “F*ck Free Hugs” Oh, and there was the kid walking around holding out a […]
The Heavy, the U.K. quartet whose gritty take on soul, funk, reggae and blues has captivated American audiences and earned them tour dates with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, will be announced today as the special guests for the July 15 installment of the Hammer Museum’s Also I Like to Rock series. Saint Motel and […]
