Against Me!

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Bass Instincts: How Bassnectar Came to Rule American Dance Music

Slideshow: Bassnectar in San Francisco

Taylor Swift's Red: A First Listen

Imma let you finish Kanye, but Taylor Swift made one of the best albums of 2010. While indeed beautiful, dark, and twisted, Kanye's forbidding masterpiece didn't get stick it to abusers like "Mean" or "Dear John," get laid like "Sparks Fly," bare its teeth like "Better Than Revenge," marry in style ... More >>

The Cult's Ian Astbury Talks New Album, Kitchen Knives, and Fucked-Up Children

Not too many bands have traced the kind of eclectic arc traveled by The Cult. Anchored by the British songwriting team of singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy for three decades, the group has traversed from its UK gothic-rock roots in the early 1980s through a rise to global fame with the ic ... More >>

Against Me!'s Tom Gabel Comes Out as Transgender; Internet Explodes with Support and Shock

It should have been obvious to us all for years. In 2007's "The Ocean", Against Me! vocalist, Tom Gabel sang "If I could've chosen, I would've been born a woman..." Most listeners at that time took it as a statement of solidarity with women from a vocalist who made a career out of being vocally poli ... More >>

The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians: The Complete List

See also: * The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians: Honorable Mentions Here they are -- the 20 greatest San Francisco musicians ever: 20. Cameron Paul Lists of pioneering American DJs often mention the usual suspects in New York and Chicago, but go back to the '70s and '80s and you'll find ... More >>

Axl Rose Is Batshit: His Top Five Craziest Moments

You may have noticed in the last couple of weeks that Axl Rose is running amok all over the press again (it's been a while, Axl, thanks for coming back to us). Not only have there been reports that -- try not to vomit on your keyboards -- he's dating Lana Del Rey (so, so wrong on so many levels we d ... More >>

The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians, #15-11

See also: * The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians, Nos. 20 to 16 Here we are with the second installment of our list of the 20 greatest San Francisco musicians ever. (If you missed yesterday's first edition, check it out here.) Note that to qualify for this list, artists had to have a strong ... More >>

NOFX's Fat Mike on Taking Drugs, Being a Father, and Joining the Mile High Club

You may not have been alive in 1983, when punk rock icon NOFX was started in Berkeley. That was nearly 30 years ago, after all, and the world was a very different place: Ronald Reagan was president, "big" East Bay punk bands like Rancid or Green Day didn't exist, and Thriller was only a year old. Si ... More >>

Dubstep Is Now Officially Soundtracking a Southern Comfort TV Commercial

You're a wild type. A rebel. The kind of person who likes life a little spicier. The kind of person who wants a flash of Tabasco™ lighting up your shot of Southern Comfort™. Like a fling between liquor and pepper sauce, you're a radical -- you probably even listen to that dubstep music. ​ ... More >>

Dubstep Takes Over the Fillmore District This Saturday, Rest of the World Soon After

Irie Cartel is one of the DJ groups performing at the free Fillmore Dub Music Festival on Saturday.​If you're reading this blog, you've probably already heard of it -- it's heavy, it wobbles, and it's not the Bay Bridge. A fast-growing electronica genre with roots in reggae and dub music, du ... More >>

The Top 6 Weirdest Gig Venues Ever: Buses, Airplanes, Ancient Ruins, and More

This week, tens of thousands of people are going to a patch of desert to watch a pile of bands at Coachella. It's not going to be comfortable, but it's not the worst place in the world to play. How do we know? Because of the following -- the top six weirdest gig venues ever. 6. Against Me! at 1 ... More >>

Hold It Against Me, Britney Spears: A Brief History of Terrible Pickup Lines in Song

Today marks the release of Britney Spears' surprisingly great new album Femme Fatale, whose lyrics -- you may have noticed in single "Hold It Against Me" -- feature a wealth of corny come-ons and played-out playerisms. Do these work for Britney Spears? Do they work on Britney Spears? And more impor ... More >>

Sunday: Britney Spears Plays God (For Some, Anyway) at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Britney at Bill Graham Civic yesterday. Photos by Joseph Schell.​Britney Spears March 27, 2011 @Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Better than: Dashing to Vegas for a 55-hour marriage. Sunday at around 10 a.m., a man carrying a tray of giant "Britney Spears Is God" buttons shuffled past another man ho ... More >>

Against Me! on How the Anarcho-Punk Movement Is Like Any Other Gang

Against Me! with former anarcho-punk and new father Tom Gabel second from left.​Against Me! made a name for itself playing infamously raucous, sweaty shows in the nation's basements for kids who identified as anarcho-punks. But with the release of its second major-label album last year -- the much ... More >>

Forgetters Reignite Jawbreaker-Caliber Angst at Bottom of the Hill

The Forgetters at Bottom of the Hill last night. Pics by Rae, whose camera broke upon arrival, leaving us no choice but to subject you to Blackberry photos.​Forgetters January 27, 2011 @ Bottom Of The Hill Better than: Living under the false hope that Jawbreaker are going to reform one day. The ... More >>

The Top 5 Creepiest Depictions of Exercise in a Music Video

First of all, let's just say "Go Giants!" We're so proud of our boys for making it to the play-offs, and are hoping and praying they can whoop Philly's ass and take us to the World Series. As usual though, all this gleeful anticipation got us thinking about music videos - sporty ones. Then we found ... More >>

Tuesday's Pick: Silversun Pickups, Against Me!, The Henry Clay People

Can you spot the real Tom Gabel?​Silversun PickupsAgainst Me!The Henry Clay PeopleThe Fox Theater, Oakland8 p.m., $35Calling all ufologists and conspiracy buffs! Tonight we can witness evidence of aliens among us -- proof that Pod People do indeed exist. You may notice these Pods' exoskeletons tak ... More >>

Hole to Headline BFD 2010 (along with Deftones, Silversun Pickups, More)

photo by Stacy Schwartz for City Pages Courtney Love fills the Hole once more​Live 105 just announced its 2010 lineup for its big summer fest, BFD, and the band on the bill most folks will be talking about--for better or for worse--is Hole. Yup, Courtney Love and Co. will be one of the headliners ... More >>

Get "Fat," build your empire: Michael Burkett's punk legacy

Against Me!: Successors to Green Day's Mainstream Punk Reign

Foo Fighters at Oracle Arena 2/2, Tickets on Sale Sunday

CD Review: Against Me! -- New Wave

CD Review: Against Me! -- New Wave

Against Me!

New Wave (Sire)

Two Gallants Announce Summer Tour, New Album Release Date

Summer Listings

Object-ifying

Lunatique's astonishing puppetry

House of Tudor

Proto-punk European street music and neo-cabaret, Hasidic reinterpretations of Ice-T, and a shot at Paradise