Julian Casablancas

The Joy of Strokes

Spooner Oldham: hitchhiking Drive By Trickers country rock ride

Sweet Somethings

Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.'s pop valentines

The Herms

Record Machine

The Strokes

First Impressions of Earth

Low Flying Owls

Elixir Vitae

Old Faithful

Predictable, reliable, unforsakable -- the Strokes are back on the scene with this year's most anticipated follow-up

The Strokes

Is This It (RCA)

Lissy Trullie

Is This It (RCA)

The Joy of Cookin'

Is This It (RCA)

Ozzy Osbourne: Famous Batshit Dad/Rock Star Storms Oakland

Is This It (RCA)

Julian Casablancas

Is This It (RCA)

What to Do? Tuesday's Pick: Julian Casablancas

​Julian Casablancas @ Regency Ballroom Long the Strokes' slurred voice of sleazy cool, Julian Casablancas has become the latest member of that band to indulge in a side project. In his case, it's an eight-song solo album, Phrazes for the Young. Swimming in retro synths and elastic guitar lines, i ... More >>

Last Night: Julian Casablancas at the Regency Ballroom

​Julian CasablancasTuesday, Nov. 17, 2009The Regency Ballroom(Not) better than: The Strokes, Little Joy, Albert Hammond, Jr.It has to be hard, breaking into the 2000s as the symbol of the hipsters overtaking the mainstream, only to fall down to the bottom of the hype heap a decade later. As the fr ... More >>

Phil Collins: Indie Hipsters' Non-Guilty Pleasure

Peter Gabriel may be courting indie rock with his reciprocal covers albums Scratch My Back and the forthcoming I'll Scratch Yours - featuring the likes of Bon Iver and the Arcade Fire - but don't discount indiedom's growing love for his old Genesis cohort Phil Collins. The recent rise of chillw ... More >>

Green Day, Rogue Wave, The Dodos, Morning Benders to Play Lollapalooza

The Morning Benders​While it isn't exactly a Bay Area takeover of the Chicago festival, local indie acts are making a strong showing in the 2010 Lollapalooza lineup, which was just announced last night. Rogue Wave, The Dodos, and the Morning Benders all made the cut to play the Grant Park sta ... More >>

Coachella in Photos Day 3: Pavement, Gorillaz, Atoms For Peace, Matt & Kim, Phoenix

The last of photographer Christopher Victorio's great shots from the big desert fest down south, Coachella. Full slideshow here. Christopher VictorioGorillaz​ Christopher VictorioJonsi​ Christopher VictorioJulian Casablancas​ Christopher VictorioPavement​ Christopher VictorioPavement​ ... More >>

10 Bands To See at Outside Lands This Weekend

A stage at Outside Lands 2009​It may not be the greatest Outside Lands lineup ever, but this weekend's big-honkin' music (and wine and food!) festival packs a bicycle basket-full of bands we're stroked (heh, we mean stoked) to see. Here, in no particular order, are 10 of them, plus a few honorable ... More >>

The Top Five Covers of Outside Lands 2010

Christopher VictorioAl Green's soul medley on Sunday had us wearing a stupid grin.​Of all the things we'll remember about this year's Outside Lands festival -- the sun breaking through the fog during Al Green's set, the gaudy costumes of Empire of the Sun, and the incessant oonce oonce from the He ... More >>

Grand Lake, Ash Reiter, Sunbeam Rd. and Burrows at the Milk-Less Milk Bar

Grand Lake​Grand LakeAsh ReiterSunbeam Rd.BurrowsSeptember 16, 2010@ Milk BarBetter than: Shows where there aren't pictures of kittens on the kick drum.Maybe it was the waves of dense fog soaking trees and buildings on Haight St. late last night -- making it feel like more the empty dead of winter ... More >>

Paradise Found

Grand Lake​Grand LakeAsh ReiterSunbeam Rd.BurrowsSeptember 16, 2010@ Milk BarBetter than: Shows where there aren't pictures of kittens on the kick drum.Maybe it was the waves of dense fog soaking trees and buildings on Haight St. late last night -- making it feel like more the empty dead of winter ... More >>

Is M.I.A. Actually Trying to Drive Away Her Fans?

Richard Haick​M.I.A.October 12, 2010@ The Fox Theater, OaklandBetter than: Well, I guess she could have not played at all.Last night, M.I.A. was that kid you hated to do group projects with in school: She showed up late, she left ridiculously early, she barely did anything on her own, and yet ... More >>

The Top 10 Best Big Concerts I Saw in 2010, with Gaga, Green Day, Sir Paul, Pavement, and LCD Soundsystem

It just didn't seem right to lump in Oracle Arena and HP Pavilion fare with the cozy goings-on at S.F. dens like Bottom of the Hill and even Great American Music Hall. So, in search of an even comparison, I'm breaking it up: Today, here are the best concerts I saw with more than 5,000 of my fellow h ... More >>

Royal Bangs Hold a Half-Full S.F. Coming Out Party at Rickshaw Stop

Royal Bangs last night at Rickshaw Stop​Royal Bangs Foster the People January 20, 2011 @ Rickshaw Stop Better than: Southern Rock at any point in time. If last night's Royal Bangs show was one of those we-saw-them-way-back-when nights, it was also a we-walked-out-on-them-way-back-when nigh ... More >>

Top 5 Ways to Ruin a Perfectly Respectable Career, Featuring Kings of Leon

Is it really so hard to be Kings of Leon? That's a question that countless arena-rock sobsters have been asking themselves in the wake of the Followill clan's tour cancellation, a move which disappointed fans, upset beer manufacturers, and may damn near bankrupt Live Nation. Rather than revel in the ... More >>

This IS It: A Letter to the Perfume-Shilling Julian Casablancas

Something stinks, and it's you.​Dear Julian Casablancas, Remember how the Strokes were good that one time in 2001? Yeah, we're ready to forget that ever happened -- but then again, we're pretty sure you already have. Once upon a time, you brought us the bouncy, gritty swagger of "Last Nite" ... More >>

Saturday: The Horrors Update the '80s at Bimbo's

Chris TrewinThe Horrors at Bimbo's 365 Club​ The Horrors September 12, 2011 Bimbo's 365 Club Better than: The Horrors in 2005. The problem with watching bands on a Saturday night at Bimbo's 365 Club in North Beach is that a certain portion of the crowd is there by accident. Like drunk, middl ... More >>