Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Early Graves Fight on After a Tragic Accident

Starship Wachowski Dares You to Leave Your Pod

Fancy Feat

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 >>

New Orleans Rapper Dee-1 on Meeting Lil Wayne and Playing Basketball with Master P

Back when he was in high school, New Orleans rapper Dee-1 was working at a local Circuit City store when Lil Wayne came in and ordered a TV. Dee ended up installing the goggle-box into Weezy's car. These days, Dee himself works closely with Mannie Fresh, the architect of the classic Cash Money sound ... More >>

Five Musical Couples That Should Collaborate

Yesterday, we sighed and felt warm and fuzzy inside when angel-faced pixie Brit Ellie Goulding revealed that she'd love to make an album with her boyfriend, Skrillex, with whom she shares a hairstyle. Adorable! We'd like to take a moment to actively encourage both parties to make this happen, not on ... More >>

"Paranormal Activity 4": Tracking the Rise of Found-Footage Horror

The Best of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Saturday, Oct. 6

It's Red Baraat with the Saturday morning dance party This Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival definitely felt more hardly than strictly. Red Baraat kicked off the party on Saturday morning, and it didn't matter that they were a full-throttle, self-proclaimed "pluralism"-proselytizing funk band, rath ... More >>

Photos: Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon Rock Oracle Party on Treasure Island

Pearl Jam Kings of Leon X Oracle OpenWorld, Treasure Island Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012 While you were at home crying over President Obama's performance in the first presidential debate last night, Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, and X were rocking thousands of Oracle employees and guests at its end-of-confe ... More >>

Top 5 Ways Bleacher Report Rules the World!

11 Artists to See at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

There are lots of great things about Hardly Strictly Bluegrass -- but one of them isn't having to make the difficult choices that the massive, free roots music festival presents. To help you sort through this year's massive lineup, we've gathered 11 artists especially worth catching at the three-day ... More >>

Nor-Cal (Green Day) Lands at No. 2 on the Charts, Just Ahead of So-Cal (No Doubt)

There was a little bit of Nor-Cal vs. So-Cal rivalry on the charts this week, as Green Day and No Doubt, punk-y '90s outfits from opposite halves of the greatest state in the union, dropped their first new projects in a while. And whaddaya know? Nor-Cal won -- at least by the metric of album sales ... More >>

The 10 Most Unreadable Metal Band Logos

Once upon a time, extreme metal bands opted to contort their logos into the most stylized mutations possible as a way to visually represent their music, and as a proud testament to the obscurity of their appeal. By now, it's all become a bad joke, and you're likelier to find the sludgiest doom crust ... More >>

The Great Sonny Rollins on Why Jazz Is "King of All Musics"

Long celebrated as one of the greatest tenor players in the history of jazz, saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins has been refining the art of creative improvisation for almost seven decades. A precocious youth growing up in Harlem during the golden age of jazz, a teenage Rollins led a band that include ... More >>

KCRW's Jeremy Sole on the Importance of Radio and His Addiction to "Black Crack"

Between saturating airwaves with his weekly soul and funk show on KCRW, and throwing an underground party known as theLIFT, Chicago-born DJ/producer/remixer/host Jeremy Sole is a busy and influential artist in the Los Angeles music scene. As a teen growing up in Chicago, inspiration came from his fa ... More >>

Breakaway: Show Preview

Genndy Tartakovsky Still Goes it Alone With "Hotel Transylvania"

Motown Imposter Alan Young Accused of Trotting Out Old Con Act

Back in 2010, local cops caught longtime con man Alan Young's well-worn act. In October of that year, Young was apprehended after a series of cons in which he portrayed himself as Motown singer/songwriter Lamont Dozier, and managed to separate money and goods from those charmed by his anecdotes. It ... More >>

Bay Area Rappers Remake 50 Cent's "How to Rob" With a Misogynist Twist

San Francisco-bred rapper Messy Marv and J-Diggs, president of Vallejo's embattled Thizz Entertainment, have just released "211 on a Industry Nigga," a remake of 50 Cent's 2002 debut single "How to Rob." Both call out specific rap and R&B stars -- many of the same names, in fact -- and detail how th ... More >>

The Top 5 Best Music Videos That Feature Puppets

Fact: puppets are awesome. Second fact: puppets become even more awesome when you stick them in music videos. Which is what all these smart people did. Here are our top five favorite puppet-related music videos.

Green Day's New Album ¡Uno! Is Streaming in Full, If You Don't Mind Dealing With Nokia

And today, the exciting first installment of our riveting three-part series, What Will Green Day Do Next? After the shouty, stadium rock success of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, after touring Broadway and Billie Joe becoming a mentor on The Voice, what will be the East Bay pop-punk trio ... More >>

G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer: A First Listen

Kanye West has officially become the bad guy, people. He's rich, he's rude, he's entitled, he's a rock 'n' roll legend who's awaiting a legit artistic backlash any year now, and he's also a smart businessperson. After Taylor Swift-gate and record sales of his third Pazz & Jop-winning "masterpiece" f ... More >>

Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss: A First Listen

Normally I do these things on Radiohead or Bruce or Madonna, but my editor cleared one for Carly Rae Jepsen, who was a complete unknown a year ago. That's how big the biggest hit of the year is. Problem is, it's that mass-mass appeal that I think keeps me from all the way enjoying it. It's a cute so ... More >>

Paul Thomas Anderson: Master of "The Master"

Bridge School Benefit Lineup 2012: Guns N' Roses, Flaming Lips, Jack White, and More

The lineup for the 2012 Bridge School Benefit concert is out! Big names for this year's benefit include Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Guns N' Roses, the Flaming Lips, Jack White, and Foster the People. The annual concert -- which helps support the educational institution for individuals with severe sp ... More >>

Top 10 Black Pop Stars Who Should Go Country

With the nation's major-party political conventions recently drawing to a close with a rousing reelection appeal from the nation's first black president, it seems fitting to cast a spotlight on an equally rare profession: the black country music artist. Or, rather, the former black pop star seeking ... More >>

2012 MTV Video Music Awards: The 10 Lost Categories

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual occasion for thrill and intrigue. An arena for a slutty young Madonna to writhe around the ground in a wedding dress, or even for a slutty old Madonna to French kiss a couple of aging pop tartlets. A place for pyro and pasties and grand interruptions -- I'mma ... More >>

Fall Arts: Classical Revolution Charts a New Course

DJ Apollo on DJ Contests and the Positive Vibes of the Free Doin' It In The Park Party This Weekend

As a pioneer of the turntablism movement, which in the '90s redefined what it means to be a disc jockey, DJ Apollo's numerous accolades include membership in the first DJ team to ever win the 1992 DMC world DJ championships, as well as founding the famous turntable-band Invisibl Skratch Piklz with f ... More >>

Win, Win, or Draw

Poetry in Motion

Premiere: Shady Blaze and Young Gully's Breezy, SMKA-Produced "Greatness"

Dropping in October, new mixtape Darkest Before Dawn will see a fresh line-up of Bay Area rappers hopping on tracks crafted by Atlanta production unit S.M.K.A. As a teaser for the project, which will include input from Roach Gigz, Mistah F.A.B., and DaVinci, All Shook Down is proud to present the pr ... More >>

Live Review, 8/25/12: Strummerville Offers an All-Inclusive Tribute to the Face of the Clash at Bottom of the Hill

"10th Anniversary Tribute Show To Joe Strummer" The Hooks Chris von Sneidern Eastern Span Interchords Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 Bottom of the Hill Better than: Hearing Maroon 5 attempt "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Several men clad in sleeveless denim vests pack a dimly lit club on Saturday night. ... More >>

Live Review, 8/25/12: The '80s Babies and Their New Faves Rule Rock The Bells

Rock The Bells Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 Shoreline Amphitheatre Better than: Partying with your own demographic Rock The Bells is the only annual hip-hop festival to manage the difficult feat of attracting a truly diverse and multi-generational crowd. In its fifth year in the Bay Area (and ninth ove ... More >>

Noel Gallagher Claims Rock Stardom Will Go Extinct, Apparently Hasn't Heard of Other Forms of Stardom

Aw, look: Another one of Oasis' Gallagher brothers uttered a statement that managed to be arrogant, ignorant, and fuddy-duddy all at the same time! This time it was the elder (and usually saner) one, Noel, speaking to the U.K.'s Sunday Express about the impending die-off of that rare and vital spec ... More >>

Bob Weir's Fancy New TRI Studios Is Holding a Contest For a Free Day of Recording

Earlier this year, we told you about Grateful Dead member Bob Weir's state-of-the-art recording facility in San Rafael, Tamalpais Research Institute (TRI). TRI is furnished with a Meyer Sound Constellation system, which allows the acoustic properties of the room to be altered with the touch of a but ... More >>

Pay to Paint: S.F. Street Artists' Perfect Circle of Fees

Girls Gone Musical

Todd Akin: Reaction to Rape Comment Shows the Real Power of Social Media

Social media is no doubt a powerful force. But in what ways? How does this power manifest itself? Some people, perhaps confused by the word "media," seem to think it's a replacement for dying traditional media outlets -- particularly newspapers -- despite there being zero evidence that this is takin ... More >>

Animal Collective's Centipede Hz: A First Listen

I'm not an Animal Collective fan. I like Strawberry Jam a lot, and I cherish a few individual songs elsewhere, particularly "Summertime Clothes" (not least because it sounds just like the theme from Snoopy Come Home, which I loved as a kid). But their rhythms are so clumpy, melodies so soupy, and "i ... More >>

S.F.'s Prank Records Is Only Getting More Hardcore With Age

Name: Prank Records Owner: Ken Sanderson Headquarters: Richmond District, San Francisco Founded: 1995 Label one-sheet: Prank Records is a prolific hardcore punk label based in San Francisco that boasts 136 releases from bands worldwide since its inception 1995. Bay Area bands play a pivotal role ... More >>

The RZA: Show Preview

Pragmatists and Idealists Clash Over the Future of 924 Gilman

Slideshow: Step inside 924 Gilman

Julie Delpy: She's Taking on Everything That's Wrong with Movies

DJ Chucky Brown on Teaching the Art of DJing and His Collection of 25,000 Records

With a record-collecting father and a Studio 54-era disco queen mother, DJ Chucky Brown had a musically rich childhood. Originally an NYC native, he frequented fixtures of the early '90s dance scene such as the Paladium and Danceteria, and began his DJ career by leveraging the vast collection of vin ... More >>

What to See at Outside Lands: Nine Artists

25 Gorgeous GIFs From Lollapalooza 2012

By REED FISCHER See Also:Ten things your Lollapalooza outfit says about you[Slideshow] Lollapalooza 2012 Day One: The Music[Slideshow] Lollapalooza 2012 Day Two: The Music [Slideshow] Lollapalooza 2012 Day Three: The Music[Slideshow] Lollapalooza 2012: The PeopleReady for some GIFs? To quote Ozz ... More >>

Live Review, 8/3/12: Iron Maiden Dominates Shoreline

Iron Maiden Coheed and Cambria Friday, August 2, 2012 Shoreline Amphitheatre Better than: Spending the evening with any other '80s metal band, and arguably any metal band period. Reliving past glories with tours that focus on classic albums or eras has become a standard practice for bands across a ... More >>

Lollapalooza Suspended, Resumed After Dangerous Weather Conditions

BY ERIK THOMPSON The 2012 installment of Lollapalooza has thus far brought the requisite extremes, in terms of performances and potent weather. A two-hour delay cut through the middle of Saturday's entertainment at Chicago's Grant Park, and a good many people were wishing they had just the record h ... More >>

Remembering Tony Sly: Bands, Fans, and Friends Mourn No Use For a Name Singer's Passing

Outpourings of grief and gratitude flooded the Internet yesterday after news broke that No Use For A Name frontman and underground Bay Area hero, Tony Sly, had passed away suddenly at the age of 41. As a key member of the pop-punk scene since the heyday of the 1990s, Sly had been a long-respected an ... More >>