Rihanna

JUSTICE Up For MTV Award: Tweens Discover Coke

Kanye West, Rihanna Play HP Pavilion in April

Coachella, Mortified confessions, Ascended Master and the Golding Collection of Rock Art - Your Monday Morning Hangover

The Year in Music: 2008's Top Ten Pop Songs

By Annie ZaleskiPop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The foll ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

By Randall Roberts You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barrier ... More >>

10 Music Stars Who'd Make Great Soap Stars

Paula AbdulAs people turn away from soap operas in droves, daytime television continues to pull out the dramatic stops in order to keep afloat in the recession. But if Days of Our Lives or All My Children wants a bit of a buzzy boost that a fictional transsexual rock star just cannot provide, the pr ... More >>

Worst PR Flack Opening Line Award Goes to: XO Publicity

Usually I keep email correspondences private, but the following message I just received from one publicist at XO Publicity was so crass I had to share it."I know your [sic] still upset Jennifer about Chris Brown hitting Rihanna however I was hoping you might attack my red shiny package with [band na ... More >>

NARIP Presents Music and Advertising Seminar @ SFSU

NARIP.comJeff DanieMusic is only one part of the music business. The other part, of course, is business, and a big part of that business revolves around how artists are marketed. With that in mind, the National Association of Recording Industry Professionals, or NARIP for short, is offering a one-da ... More >>

Stereolab

Chemical Chords (4AD)

The Cataracs have the fans, lack the lyrics

Chemical Chords (4AD)

On His New Record, Ne-Yo Saves Some R&B Hits for Himself

Chemical Chords (4AD)

Kanye, Jay-Z, Mary J., and Rihanna clamor for diva status

Chemical Chords (4AD)

My Tunes: Juanita More!

Drag queen, She-J, and nightlife entertainer

Slap that ass at Donkey Punch

Drag queen, She-J, and nightlife entertainer

Phoenix crafts the season’s perfect hits

Drag queen, She-J, and nightlife entertainer

Eight of the Most Awesome Food Tech Gadgets

random-good-stuff.comThe Ham Dogger makes hot dog-like hamburgers via the wonders of plastic technology.​We're still dreaming of the day we'll have our very own KitchenAid mixer, let alone some of these startling feats of culinary technology. Most awesome doesn't always mean most expensive, but if ... More >>

Bay Area Music Links: Outside Lands Lineup Leaked

Love and Happiness: Al Green's on the Outside Lands lineup​Outside Lands lineup accidentally revealed in latest issue of Spin. [SF Appeal] Local faves The Dodos record at Daytrotter with Magik*Magik Orchestra. [Daytrotter] Big tours hitting the Bay Area this summer include Lady Gaga, Justin Bie ... More >>

Why The Critics Are Wrong: Rap Albums You Probably Don't Know But Should, Part II

​Since many recent Next Big Things in rap have proven disappointing -- see Wale, Asher Roth and B.o.B. -- it might be time to consider the possibility that hip-hop tastemakers don't know what to look for in the first place. Here's an alternative to the critical consensus on rap. Yesterday, we ... More >>

Summer Bloodbath? The Concert Industry Had It Coming

Was seeing Petty's grin worth the price? Tell us in the comments section​Summer 2010 is turning out to be a bloodbath for the concert industry. As Billboard reports:Individual shows, legs of tours, or entire tours have been canceled or postponed by such artists as U2 (due to Bono's back surgery), ... More >>

The Chatroulette Show at the Make-Out Room: Laughs, Music and Masturbation

John Staedler hooks a fan.​The Chatroulette Show July 22, 2010@The Make-Out Room Better than: Pretty much any other use of Chatroulette. (Unless you really just like looking at genitalia.)Penises, boobs, cocks, phone sex ladies, tits, schlongs, vaginas, pubes, porn ads, and more penises. Bored-lo ... More >>

But You Can't Stay Here: Seven Songs for S.F's New Sit/Lie Law

Move it or lose it, sister​ In the aftermath of last week's elections, Measure L, the controversial initiative that would -- nay, will -- make it against the law to clutter San Francisco's public thoroughfares with shiftless human litter between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., has finally squeaked into the l ... More >>

DJ Earworm Slams 2010's Pop Hits Into One Frankenstein of a Song

​If you really hate yourself, have the world's worst music taste, or are just morbidly curious how it's possible to mix together Billboard's top 25 songs into one coherent track, you'll probably wanna give DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop 2010 (Don't Stop The Pop)" a listen.

A Postcard from the Future

Or, how 2011 was the year everything changed in music.

The Billboard Social 50 Proves Internet Fame Can Only Get You So Far

Bieber: Fame via YouTube​In early December, Billboard launched a new chart called The Social 50. It factors in all the times an artist is mentioned across various social media outlets and ranks them accordingly. When I heard about this, I was expecting to see a mix of both big name artists and a ... More >>

The 2011 Grammys, A Timeline: Lady Gaga's Boob Armor, Who Is Lady Antebellum, and What the Hell is Cee-Lo Wearing?

In which we sit through three and a half hours of Grammys twaddle, so you don't have to: 8:01 p.m.: Show opens with an Aretha Franklin montage. Okay... 8:03 p.m.: Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, and Martina McBride perform "Natural Woman" together, then take i ... More >>

A Ke$ha Condom, and Eight More Celebrity-Endorsed Rubbers We'd Use

Prepare for your genitals to feel itchy, because LifeStyles is bringing out a line of Ke$ha condoms. Presumably, the front of the condom packet will have her face on it, accompanied by a catchy tagline -- something to encourage us to use such a product. Something threatening, maybe? Perhaps: "If y ... More >>

Six Child Musicians It's Okay To Like. No, Really.

​Remember that guy in OutKast that isn't Andre 3000? Big Boi is his name. Well, he's just announced some musical news that will probably make you frown, curl up your top lip and ask a bemused: "But why?" That's right! Try not to recoil at the fact that Big Boi has started a record la ... More >>

Train Releases a Signature Wine, Becomes Instantly More Irritating

​ Prepare to be hit by a tsunami of nausea as we inform you that Train -- probably the most insipid band from the Bay Area -- is bringing out a wine (called "Drops Of Jupiter" -- after one of its biggest songs -- just to annoy us that little bit more), apparently aided by San Francisco Wine Co. Th ... More >>

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

​ Prepare to be hit by a tsunami of nausea as we inform you that Train -- probably the most insipid band from the Bay Area -- is bringing out a wine (called "Drops Of Jupiter" -- after one of its biggest songs -- just to annoy us that little bit more), apparently aided by San Francisco Wine Co. Th ... More >>

Rihanna Burns Out Retinas at Oracle Arena

Richard HaickRihanna at Oracle Arena last night.​ Rihanna J.Cole June 30, 2011 @ Oracle Arena Better than: Having an actual seizure. I think. There was very little doubt -- after watching a gaggle of high school girls in sequined tube tops and six-inch stilettos almost throw down in broad d ... More >>

The Best of SF Weekly June Concert Photography

You know it's going to be a good month of concerts when the lineup starts with U2 and ends with Rihanna. Whether small or large, sweet and soulful or eardrum-piercing, you can be sure that SF Weekly was at the concert. Here are the best of the Bay Area June concerts in photos. Christopher Victorio ... More >>

The Summer Anthem: Does It Get Better or Worse with Age?

​We pop music critics are wired in such a way that articulating a love for Aja and Scott Walker is significantly less difficult than articulating the love for the person we share a toothbrush with. We're a revolting phylum, I know. However, one notable exception is Rolling Stone editor Rob Sh ... More >>

Anderson Cooper Calls Out Chris Brown; Ladies Everywhere Swoon

​So, remember that thing that happened at the 2009 Grammys? That thing where Chris Brown  and Rihanna both no-showed on account of the fact that he'd beaten the crap out of her? Then shortly afterwards, photos emerged online of a decidedly broken-looking Rihanna, sporting a swollen eye, a spl ... More >>

Britney and Rihanna Debut New Videos -- and Anti-English Sentiments

​This week, both Rihanna and Britney Spears debuted gritty videos for their latest singles. In Rihanna's "We Found Love", we see the singer exploring sex, drugs, and horrible apartments. In Britney's "Criminal," we see her slapped in the face by a dude, shot at by cops, and naked in a shower with ... More >>

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

​This week, both Rihanna and Britney Spears debuted gritty videos for their latest singles. In Rihanna's "We Found Love", we see the singer exploring sex, drugs, and horrible apartments. In Britney's "Criminal," we see her slapped in the face by a dude, shot at by cops, and naked in a shower with ... More >>

Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto: A First Listen

​ The No. 1 album in the country this week is by the biggest band on Earth. All is right with the world? Well, hold that thought. Unlike textural forbears U2 and Radiohead, much less the Clash or Nirvana, most people even willing to concede that Coldplay is a relevant force do not think it has ... More >>

Drake's Take Care: A First Listen

​ Funny thing about Drake: I'm forced to care. This goes beyond my duties as a music writer; rap now is in a state where someone like Drake or Rick Ross becomes the sun and everyone surrounding becomes an orbiting satellite. I'm a huge fan of co-Money Youngins Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, and I ... More >>

The Stop Online Piracy Act: The Owner of San Francisco's Burning House Records Explains His Support

​You've probably heard some rumblings about the Stop Online Piracy Act recently. And in all likelihood -- especially if you watch major news channels like CNN -- it's probably all sounded pretty bad and pretty scary. Casey Shafer owns and runs Burning House Records -- an independent, San Francisco ... More >>

A Year in Food: Five Favorite Dishes of 2011

​You've probably heard some rumblings about the Stop Online Piracy Act recently. And in all likelihood -- especially if you watch major news channels like CNN -- it's probably all sounded pretty bad and pretty scary. Casey Shafer owns and runs Burning House Records -- an independent, San Francisco ... More >>

The Top Five Pop Songs of 2011

2011 was the year Beyonce got knocked up, Lady Gaga arrived at the Grammys in an egg, and a soul singer from London took over the world. Tomorrow we'll be bitching about the worst pop moments of the year, but today, here are our favorite pop hits from 2011. 5. "Till The World Ends," Britney Spears ... More >>

How Wallpaper. Got a Record Deal, Local Artists Tackle Nick Drake's Pink Moon, and More

From SF Weekly's latest print music section: ​Wallpaper. Gets a Record Deal: It was around 10 o'clock on a Friday night in December when Ricky Reed walked into a meeting at the Sony Music building in Beverly Hills with no idea what to expect. Less than 36 hours later, Reed -- the creative for ... More >>

Live Review, 1/19/12: Katy B Soars Over the Bass at Her First S.F. Show

Katy B at Rickshaw Stop last night.​ Katy B Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 Rickshaw Stop Better than: The club music bandwagon. For all the pop singers building hits out of electronic dance music these days -- which is pretty much everyone under the age of 30 who isn't Adele -- the marriage often s ... More >>

Awkward! The Top Five Most Uncomfortable Grammy Moments

​This Sunday, Rihanna and Chris Brown are both going to be present at the always-prestigious Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. It's been just three years since they both were forced to drop out of the show last minute, due to Brown having beaten the crap out of Ri-Ri on their way over. We kno ... More >>