Elvis Costello

The Police Come Back to the Bay in July: Just Announced

Elvis Costello Gets His Own TV Show

Last Night: The Police with Elvis Costello and the Imposters at the Shoreline Amphitheatre

TiVo Alert: Dysfunctional Family Re-Opens Fancy-Schmancy Restaurant

By Meredith Brody You may have noticed that there's precious little new stuff to watch during the holidays - a period which The New York Times describes as "a profound holiday slumber of repeats and musical specials." But we can't even find any musical specials, and are reduced to re-watching A Co ... More >>

Letters

By Meredith Brody You may have noticed that there's precious little new stuff to watch during the holidays - a period which The New York Times describes as "a profound holiday slumber of repeats and musical specials." But we can't even find any musical specials, and are reduced to re-watching A Co ... More >>

Jenny Lewis

Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)

Every Year's Model

Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)

Every Year’s Model

Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)

Sufjan Stevens and the Pacific Mozart Ensemble sing for the states

Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)

Misc. Reviews

If it's kinda, sorta music-related, we'll review it. This week: The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave.

Now Dirtier Than Ever

If it's kinda, sorta music-related, we'll review it. This week: The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave.

And You Thought They Sucked

These bands actually rule -- just like the Grateful Dead does

Get your improvisational noise on with the "Jyrk Jamboree"; get your Mexicali rock on with Los Lobos

These bands actually rule -- just like the Grateful Dead does

Big Fun, Even Small

New releases available this week

Elvis Costello

King of America

Class Act

Falling in love again with Rubicon, still at the top of its game after a decade

Spoon

Gimme Fiction

Weekly Obsessions

Things we were obsessing about on March 2, 2005

Just One of Those Biopics

The songs are immortal, even if this Porter flick isn't

Elvis Costello

North

Amy Allison

No Frills Friend

Dem Blues

The left, turning right, was plain wrong to attack pop culture

House of Tudor

The ever-expanding aural universe between Ralph Carney's ears, and a sugary LiftOff! Spacecapades farewell

Hear This

Swag travels through time for perfect power-pop

Letters

Swag travels through time for perfect power-pop

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Swag travels through time for perfect power-pop

Reviews

Swag travels through time for perfect power-pop

Sound Ideas

Mitchell Froom provided the sonic boom behind some of the '90s' best records

Year of the Elephant

Dead guys, psychedelic pop, and no sober opinions at South by Southwest 1998

Baby, It's Him

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Recordings

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

The House of Tudor

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Suspicious Minds

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Samples

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Free Elvis Costello Show in S.F. on June 22

Elvis Costello is celebrating the release of his new record, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, by touring the greatest state in the nation--California--for one day. On Monday, June 22, he'll perform acoustic shows at two Amoeba locations. First he'll play and sign autographs at the Haight St. store a ... More >>

This Afternoon: Elvis Costello at Amoeba

Elvis Costello and Jim LauderdaleMonday, June 22, 2009Amoeba MusicBetter than: Concerts you have to pay for.Sure, it's finally feeling like summer in San Francisco today, but a good couple hundred people skipped work this morning for more reasons than just working on their tan. The line that stretch ... More >>

More Budget Rock picks

Elvis Costello and Jim LauderdaleMonday, June 22, 2009Amoeba MusicBetter than: Concerts you have to pay for.Sure, it's finally feeling like summer in San Francisco today, but a good couple hundred people skipped work this morning for more reasons than just working on their tan. The line that stretch ... More >>

Last Night: Ray LaMontagne at the Nob Hill Masonic Center

Joseph Schell​Ray LaMontagneNob Hill Masonic Center Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009Better Than: Breaking up then making up.Ray LaMontagne's first few chords were barely audible behind the crowd's hooting and whistling, his figure obscured by shadows under a lone, blue spotlight. By the time he approached th ... More >>

Girls

Joseph Schell​Ray LaMontagneNob Hill Masonic Center Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009Better Than: Breaking up then making up.Ray LaMontagne's first few chords were barely audible behind the crowd's hooting and whistling, his figure obscured by shadows under a lone, blue spotlight. By the time he approached th ... More >>

Powerful Backup

Joseph Schell​Ray LaMontagneNob Hill Masonic Center Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009Better Than: Breaking up then making up.Ray LaMontagne's first few chords were barely audible behind the crowd's hooting and whistling, his figure obscured by shadows under a lone, blue spotlight. By the time he approached th ... More >>

What To Do? Wednesday's Pick: Jakob Dylan and Three Legs

​Rarely has a great songwriter, a man who is an icon and a joy to behold, been very nearly outclassed by his backup singers. The only other example we know is the early work of Gram Parsons and his tiny white-hot sidekick, Emmylou Harris. Jakob Dylan's new record, Women and Country, draws inspirat ... More >>

Come Together: Paul McCartney's Return to SF

​My mom is way cooler than I am. Back when she lived in Atlanta, Georgia, and had a southern accent still intact, she was a music journalist whose homemade chocolate chip cookies gave her an automatic "in" backstage at Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen concerts. At 57, she continues to tell me ... More >>

Official Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Lineup: Elvis Costello, Conor Oberst, Patti Smith, Joan Baez

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band​A few weeks back we posted a sneak-peek at the lineup for this year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which looked pretty cool. Today, the official lineup for the festival's 10th anniversary was released and, well, it looks even better than we were ... More >>

Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe Will Play Each Others' Songs at Benefit Show

Elvis Costello​Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe fans, check this out: On October 1, the first night of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' 10th anniversary festival, Costello and Lowe are playing a special benefit concert at Great American Music Hall in which they'll perform -- and, the promoters say, "bash" - ... More >>

Bridge School Benefit 2010: Buffalo Springfield, Elton John, Elvis Costello, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, More

Buffalo Springfield​LiveNation today announced the lineup for this year's Bridge School Benefit -- Neil Young's annual show for the school he helped found for his son -- and, well, wow: In addition to the regulars, the classic '60s outfit Buffalo Springfield is reuniting for the show, minus t ... More >>

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: 10 Bands You Should Not Miss

​San Francisco's annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. You could pick any number of themes to select the acts you want to see -- old punk pioneers, roots music up-and-comers, etc.-- and follow one through all three day's lineups. You coul ... More >>

Warren Hellman's Hebrew Jacket Explained

Jim HerdDefinitely not last year's model...​When Elvis Costello's in town, people can be forgiven for missing some peripheral details and focusing on the artist formerly known as Declan McManus. That being said, it was hard to miss Hardly Strictly Bluegrass impresario Warren Hellman's Semitic Serg ... More >>

Too Late Baby, Now, It's Too Late

Jim HerdDefinitely not last year's model...​When Elvis Costello's in town, people can be forgiven for missing some peripheral details and focusing on the artist formerly known as Declan McManus. That being said, it was hard to miss Hardly Strictly Bluegrass impresario Warren Hellman's Semitic Serg ... More >>

Nick Lowe Charms the NPR Crowd at Great American Music Hall

Nick Lowe at Great American Music Hall last night​ Nick Lowe J.D. McPherson Oct. 10, 2011 The Great American Music Hall Better than: What Lou Reed has chosen to do with his later career, by far. Although many original punk and new wave musicians delved into American and roots rock later in t ... More >>

Seek the Booty: 10 Artists to See at Treasure Island

Nick Lowe at Great American Music Hall last night​ Nick Lowe J.D. McPherson Oct. 10, 2011 The Great American Music Hall Better than: What Lou Reed has chosen to do with his later career, by far. Although many original punk and new wave musicians delved into American and roots rock later in t ... More >>