Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Sizzle

Kahley Avalon Emerson

The EndUp in the early a.m.

Need 878 tracks of Lil B?

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More About

• Joshua Harrison
• Lana Del Rey
• Fillmore
• Justin Bieber
• Marilyn Monroe

• Lost in the Night ventured out to the EndUp in that strange dead zone between last call and 6 a.m. Amid a hypnotic techno set from Joshua Harrison, clubbers of all types and degrees of awakeness mingled among strobes, mirrors, a waterfall, and even a dim sum cart. One guy with huge pupils wandered around begging for a hug, and you know he got it.

• In a better world Liars would be revered. In the existing one, the Aussie trio played an elusive and wide-ranging set to a 60-percent-full Fillmore, mixing precious few guitars into its newly wonky electronic textures. Despite some yawning from the crowd, this band is more relevant than ever — few artists speak so eloquently to the modern condition.

• We spoke with Indian-born DJ Nihar, founder of local parties Warm Leatherette and Haçeteria, who told us about his history with collecting obscure records and how he treasures cheap, informal parties in S.F. Nihar even made us an exclusive all-vinyl mix, which you can listen to online.

Fizzle

• How many songs is too many for a mixtape? That's an irrelevant question for Berkeley rapper Lil B, who just dropped an 878-track freestyle mixtape. It's a great move for a headline, but the obvious downside of this Brobdingnagian bundle is that you'll be on Social Security by the time it's over.

• In her new video for "National Anthem," Lana Del Rey invokes the Kennedys and Marilyn Monroe — some of the most tired iconography this side of the Bible. It again seems like Del Rey doesn't have anything but her image to sell; yet even her image is without any real innovation. If only she had some startling new insight about fame or death or sex or Googie architecture or cutlery — something.

• So how is the new Justin Bieber album? Surprisingly tired, actually — you've heard all the sonic trickery on Believe many times before, and even the hooks aren't that hooky. The final song, "Maria," is a highlight, but otherwise the newly 18-year-old takes us on a tour of blandness.