The Black Eyed Peas

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

Five Race-Related Songs That Are (Almost) as Dumb as "Accidental Racist"

As you are no doubt already aware, earlier this week, Brad Paisley and LL Cool J released one of the most embarrassing songs ever written. In "Accidental Racist", the two try to solve national issues regarding racial tension and the legacy of slavery with lyrics like "If you don't judge my do-rag, I ... More >>

This Ain't No Disco: How Swedish House Mafia Brought EDM to America

This Ain't No Disco

Swedish House Mafia remade rave music in rock's image — and got America listening.

best halftime shows at candlestick park

The First Listens of 2012: What We Got Right, What We Got Wrong

As evinced bu my initial take on Tyler, the Creator's Goblin and my final opinion, a lot happens between one's first listen to an album and their final conclusion after taking it in several times. What I love about writing these features is that you get to read my pure, unvarnished thoughts about a ... More >>

Worst New Song of the Week: Karmin's "Hello"

Man. When we heard that really ironically-titled new 3OH!3 song ("You're Gonna Love This"), we were like "Wow. Nothing could ever be more inane and vacuous than this auto-tuned piece of shit." But then we heard the new Karmin song, "Hello," and decided it should be the first in our new Worst Song of ... More >>

After 20 Years, Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" Is Still Huge Because America Loves Asses

There are songs that mention hands, touching numbers that express feelings of giddy togetherness and devilish desire: "Put Your Hands Together" by Eric B. & Rakim, "I'm Throwin' up My Hands" by Rev. Gary Davis. There are songs that mention feet and how they hastily whisk us away or keep us rooted in ... More >>

Justin Bieber's Believe: A First Listen

Like my colleague Andrew Stout, I have mostly managed to avoid Justin Bieber for what I'm pretty sure are good reasons. He's a typical "innocent" white male singer trying to represent universality to nonwhites and nonmales. Then there's his musical blandness: bits that crept through my defenses of " ... More >>

Weekend Parties: Avicii, Sandwell District, Mark E, Robert Hood, Ivan Smagghe, and More!

The past week has been a fairly wild ride for fans of electronic dance music. A Rolling Stone cover story about and subsequent blog post by Deadmau5 have both opened up a Pandora's Box of questions within the echo chamber of the blogosphere. Are technical DJ chops relevant? Has the producer supplant ... More >>

Boat Noodles and the Secret Menu at Zen Yai

The menu at Zen Yai Thai Restaurant has a long menu of noodles and curries with careful English translations, but no one is ordering off it. Recently, we walked in for a late lunch, leaving the streets of Little Saigon and entering a room filled with Thai chatter and people slurping from l ... More >>

EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing

Dance music is fighting for its soul. The charts are filled with tracks (Rihanna, Flo Rida) that borrow from the ecstatic trance and pulsing grooves of electronic dance music. The last time pop was so infatuated with the dance floor was 1979, the year disco died. This time around fans are more sa ... More >>

A Handy Guide to the Best and Worst Bands With "Black" in Their Name

Tonight, the Black Keys are playing the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Did you know they were that big now? We kind of thought they'd be a Fox Theater band forever. Especially since there are so many damn bands with "Black" in their names. Speaking of which, we want to honor Black Keys' arena-playing prow ... More >>

Deadmau5 Comes Out as a Non-Drug-User. Is EDM Sobering Up?

​This week, one of the biggest stars in EDM -- Deadmau5 -- chastised one of the biggest pop stars of all time -- Madonna -- for using drug lingo (specifically the phrase "Has anyone seen Molly?") on stage at this year's Ultra Music Festival. And he didn't do it in a small way either, indulging in ... More >>

Wallpaper. at SXSW: Bigger, Bouncier, and With Lots of Clapping

Wallpaper. Moody Theater/Billboard Showcase at SXSW March 14, 2012 Last night, four hours before Lionel Ritchie was set to take the stage at the Moody Theater -- the place where they film Austin City Limits -- Oakland's Wallpaper. showed off its throbbing crunk-pop to a nearly empty room. Ricky Ree ... More >>

The Top Five Most Bizarre Superbowl Halftime Shows

​Oh, the hallowed and hyped Superbowl halftime show. This Sunday, we will bear witness to the unholy alliance of Madonna, M.I.A., and Nicki Minaj performing together, which will be -- well, beyond interesting, we're not quite sure. Sometimes, though, the stars align and something truly magical hap ... More >>

President Barack Obama Likes Arcade Fire and the Black Eyed Peas. Yes, Really.

​Yesterday, we found out from a British music news website that, like Santa Claus, Barack Obama keeps a "Nice" list -- or rather a list of people he wants to have supporting him in his re-election campaign. We've seen the list, and alongside all of the alphabetized politicians, business and sports ... More >>

The Top Five Most Heinous Pop Songs of 2011

Yesterday, we gave you our votes for the top five pop songs of 2011. But to be perfectly honest, in our look back over the last 12 months, we found far more pop moments that made us want to rip our own ears off than ones that made us want to dance like small children. Here are the worst abominations ... More >>

Flash Mob to Occupy San Francisco and Oakland

Flash mobs are arguably the only good type of mob. It was supposed to be just another ordinary visit to the mall, and then bam. A crowd of people spontaneously broke into dance. That's why Dancing Without Borders, an Oakland nonprofit, is teaming up with Code Pink and the National Organization ... More >>

In Defense of the Game -- Our Last Honest Gangsta Rapper

The Game performs at Regency Ballroom this week.​ Lately, The Game, who performs at the Regency Ballroom on Thursday (Oct. 27), has been psychoanalyzed as some sort of rapping mentalist. Armchair critics are quick to characterize him as an artist constantly putting out desperate cries for atte ... More >>

Jeff Tweedy Covers (and Mocks) the Black Eyed Peas; Wilco Drops New "Born Alone" Video

"This has been very challenging": Tweedy covering the Black Eyed Peas​Check it: New Wilco album (The Whole Love, out Sept. 27) means new Wilco video (for "Born Alone"), means new Wilco tour (alas, no Bay Area dates yet.) But the best of today's Wilco developments is a video captured of Jeff ... More >>

Seasunz on Hip-Hop Activism, Spirituality, and Speaking Klingon

​Ashel Eldridge has made the rounds. Otherwise known as Seasunz, Eldridge has emerged as a social and environmental activist, working with groups like Amazon Watch and Project Pink and partnering with Will.i.am to open a youth center in Oakland. And, lest we forget, he also makes music. In ju ... More >>

Here's Why People Really Hate the Black Eyed Peas -- and Why It's Unfair

Black Eyed Peas: Hate 'em or love 'em?​ Yesterday, prominent critic Ann Powers broke down why people hate the Black Eyed Peas so much, without necessarily defending their music. Much of what she wrote makes sense, but there is a point where it feels overthought academically. She writes: In eve ... More >>

The Top Five Utterly Embarrassing White Girl Rap Songs

Kreashawyn's "Gucci Gucci" is blowing up. The video to the song from the Bay Area-raised female rapper, which features cameos from members of Odd Future, is on track to top over a million YouTube views since its release last week. It's a high point in Kreashawyn's short career so far, as she attempt ... More >>

Obama Asks San Francisco "Are You In" for 2012?

Are you FB friends with Obama?​After a short and public visit to Facebook in Silicon Valley, President Barack Obama headed up to San Francisco yesterday evening where he drove past the Golden Gate Bridge on his way to the Masonic Center in Nob Hill.  "One of the greatest views in the world," ... More >>

The Top 5 Most Politically Incorrect Music Videos

Since yesterday's Super Bowl Half Time Show was so sorely lacking in wardrobe malfunctions -- frankly, we found the Black Eyed Peas' outfits a billion times more offensive than Janet Jackson's silver-plated nipple, but whatever -- we decided to provide a bit of dirt today, so you can all get over th ... More >>

SF's Retronyms Taps Into Your Inner FlyLo

​When they're not taking board games out into the real world or bringing cocktail-hour amusements to your phone, San Francisco startup upstarts Retronyms are hard at work making the best of music-geek technology available and enjoyable to the masses. See DopplerPad, electronic composition software ... More >>

Mainstream Mex-Tech

After the Whale

Bouncer hunts for good tunes at Moby Dick

The Ghosts of Outside Lands Past

Now that this year's Outside Lands lineup has been released in full and stayed true to its lil-bit-hippie-lil-but-hip-hop roots and the folk vs. funk vibe, will you be forking over some coin when the tickets go on sale tomorrow? How do you think this year's lineup fares with those of previous years? ... More >>

Hey DJ! Friday Q&A w/ Adrian & Mysterious D of Bootie

​Adrian & Mysterious D have an interesting take on mashups. As they explain it, the "genre" transcends all other styles, as producers working in this arena pull tracks from a wide variety of artists, making the artform both classic enough to build a large fanbase, and cutting edge enough to in ... More >>

Listomania: Top Latin Music Picks For 2009

It's been a year of surprises in Latin music. Reggaetón continues fading, albeit slowly, and the industry's mainstays aren't garnering the attention they used to. Case in point: Don Omar's summer release iDon (no relation to your phone), which remained quiet after its first single, "Virtual Diva." ... More >>

Listomania 2009: Unintentional Lyrical Hilarity

Outside Lands Day Two: Street Sweeper Social Club, Trombone Shorty, Black Eyed Peas, The Mars Volta

EKAphotography​Outside Lands Day 2: Street Sweeper Social Club, Trombone Shorty, Black Eyed Peas, The Mars Volta, & more, Saturday, August 20, 2009.Better Than: sitting in the park, waiting for you.The first day of Outside Lands was a huge freakin' success, especially if you stayed at the Twin ... More >>

Outside Lands Trivia Challenge

Zap Mama​ The headliners for this weekend's Outside Lands festival--Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, Thievery Corporation, Tenacious D, and M.I.A.--need little introduction. But what about the undercard? One of the coolest things about this event is the sheer number of acts play ... More >>

Chron Disses, Praises Outside Lands

"Richmond then divulges that she herself has used Porta Potties at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass..."

Energy 92 Sold to New Owners

​Yesterday, Chron radio columnist Ben Fong-Torres reported that Energy 92 (KNGY) has been sold. As far as I know, the station was the only major commercial station in this market to actively target gay and lesbian listeners with its programming. It was a bit of an anomaly in the world of commercia ... More >>

Outside Lands Announces Ace Lineup: Beasties, Ween, Tom Jones, Dirtbombs, and More

Soren Solkaer StarbirdSan Francisco's giant music marathon, Outside Lands, announced its lineup this morning, capping its press release with headliners like Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Modest Mouse, and, yes, Dave Matthews Band hitting Golden Gate Park between August 28-30. Also in the ... More >>

The 10 Awesomest Wardrobe Malfunctioning Celebs

(Is All My Children's Cameron Mathison wearing a thong?)10. Cameron MathisonThe sole male representing on this list, All My Children's Mathison (who plays leading man Ryan Lavery) flashed what looks awfully similar to a thong during an episode of the soap last December. He claims it was just his s ... More >>

Talib Kweli Eardum CD Review: Grade -- C

Last Night: One Tribe Nation at the Boom Boom Room

Hiya's Blahg -- Penelope Houston, Make-Out Room, Ian Fays, The Pale Green Girl, Jeffrey Manson, QNA Royale and Marijuana Mafia

That Stinking Feeling

Poseidon's second voyage yields a brand-new disaster

Nu Shooz

Film School grows better as it grows older -- shoegazer comparisons be damned

Assault 'N' Prepper

A reckless cop goes undercover as the Underclassman

Songs of Freedom

Perhaps the candidates running in the 2004 election could use some help selecting their campaign music

Hear This

Black Eyed Peas

The House of Tudor

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