Rihanna

The Odd Spectacle of Musicians Being in Other Musicians' Weddings

Everyone loves a good wedding -- the booze, the food, the outfits, the awkward drunk uncle dance. But truth is, nuptials are even more fascinating when famous musicians are involved. (What do their drunk uncles look like doing "The Birdie Song" dance?!) Here are five musicians and singers who have p ... More >>

Dawn Penn: Show Preview

Lady Gaga Blew Chunks: The Top 5 Onstage Pukers

There are few more undignified actions in the world than regurgitating the contents of your stomach in public: The watering eyes, the full-body-gag, the blowing of chunks. Even when we do it alone, we feel slightly embarrassed. So pity poor Lady Gaga, who hurled all over her own stage in Barcelona t ... More >>

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

Sorry, Billie Joe, But Your Onstage Freak-Out Was Not Punk

[Editor's note: Former SF Weekly intern Matt Saincome fronts a killer straight-edge hardcore band called Zero Progress. Seeing as he, like Green Day, hails from the East Bay, we decided he should be the one to remind Billie Joe Armstrong why having a meltdown onstage and going to rehab for substance ... 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 >>

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

An Open Letter to Chris Brown and His Abhorrent Neck Tattoo

Dear Chris Brown,About that new neck tattoo of yours that's causing such universal disdain: who the hell do you think you're fooling exactly? When the world notices that your new ink is clearly based on images of Rihanna's face after you beat the crap out of her three years ago, and you deny it, it ... 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 >>

The Top 5 Best (Pro-Lady) Songs About Vagina

Lana Del Rey must've known that covering Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" would elicit some sort of a response from Courtney Love, but none of us could've predicted that Love would actually be funny when she Tweeted LDR about it. "You do know the song is about my vagina right?" Love queried. "Next time ... More >>

The Top 5 Worst Birthday Songs Ever

So, 2 Chainz and Kanye West just saw fit to join forces to write a birthday song. Called "Birthday Song". What the ball-sack were they even thinking? It's a well known fact that there are only three birthday-related songs in the history of music that are actually good. One is Loretta Lynn's "Happy B ... More >>

Dave Audé on His Billboard Hits and What it Takes to Remix Madonna

In his 15-year career, Los Angeles-based DJ and producer Dave Audé has made 80 No. 1 Billboard dance hits, including remixes of pop stars such as Madonna and Rihanna, as well as bands like Korn. Nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for his remix of Dean Coleman's "I Want You," Audé's extensive resume al ... More >>

Usher's Looking 4 Myself: A First Listen

For some reason, I've always managed to ignore or miss Usher. "You Make Me Wanna..." is a classic, of course, but I managed to resist the supposed charms of "Yeah!," "Burn," "Love in This Club," and "Lil Freak." This year the Diplo-produced "Climax" stopped me dead in my tracks. So I'm willing to be ... More >>

"Battleship": Soak up the Beautiful Bombast

Coldplay Is Here in S.F.: Shots From the Band's Tour Around the City

The members of Coldplay have been Twit Pic-ing their way around San Francisco since last Sunday, according to the band's Twitter. They're playing at the HP Pavilion tonight and tomorrow night, and last we checked on Ticketmaster, tickets aren't sold out yet. But if you really want to have an encou ... More >>

Fucked Up vs. Katy Perry: The Top Five Most Offensive Videos That Glamorize War

Fucked Up's gloriously unhinged frontman Damian "Pink Eyes" Abraham got all righteous on Katy Perry's ass this week after apparently viewing the video for her "Part of Me" single. First he Tweeted: "Seeing Katy Perry as a soldier in the video for 'Part of Me' really makes me think that we need to st ... More >>

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

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

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 seems a little contrived. "We Found Love" so ... 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 >>

A Year in Food: Five Favorite Dishes of 2011

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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

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 >>

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 Postcard from the Future

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

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.

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Phoenix crafts the season’s perfect hits

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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

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

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

Kanye West, Rihanna Play HP Pavilion in April

My Tunes: Juanita More!

Drag queen, She-J, and nightlife entertainer

Slap that ass at Donkey Punch