The Clash (Band)

You Brut!

Revolting Cocks

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press

Crash Worship

The good-time ska of Berkeley's Dance Hall Crashers

Samples

The good-time ska of Berkeley's Dance Hall Crashers

Rachid the Casbah

The good-time ska of Berkeley's Dance Hall Crashers

Career Opportunities

The good-time ska of Berkeley's Dance Hall Crashers

Very Post-Punk

The good-time ska of Berkeley's Dance Hall Crashers

Hear This

Angelina Jolie's ex, Mr. Billy Bob Thornton, shifts from the big screen to Slim's stage

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Last Night: The Pogues at The Warfield

Joseph Schell​The Pogues The WarfieldOctober 13, 2009Better Than: Finding a four leaf clover ... and then sobering up and realizing it's just a three leaf clover.There were two kinds of Pogues fans last night at The Warfield: the fans that wound up at the center of the dance floor, and everyone el ... More >>

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Last Night: Saul Williams, Earl Greyhound, and American Fangs at the Independent

Saul Williams's facepaint resembled a dolphin crossed with the Star Trek logo​Saul Williams, Earl Greyhound, American Fangs November 10, 2009 The Independent Better Than: Gym Class Heroes, or 2009 David Bowie With a head full of feathers and his face painted like a glittering Star Trek dolphin, ... More >>

The Slits continue giving wild women a place in punk

Saul Williams's facepaint resembled a dolphin crossed with the Star Trek logo​Saul Williams, Earl Greyhound, American Fangs November 10, 2009 The Independent Better Than: Gym Class Heroes, or 2009 David Bowie With a head full of feathers and his face painted like a glittering Star Trek dolphin, ... More >>

Local Frequency: As A People

​If variety is your thing then As A People may be what you're looking for. Songs on the band's 2008 release Carpet Bomb Ballet vary drastically from post-rock, to metal, and punk. While so many genres in one place would usually come across as scatterbrained, the album is held together by singer A ... More >>

JEFF the Brotherhood Think Our Burritos Are Weird

​Garage rock is not a fad. It's been percolating for over half a century, in one form or another, and shows no sign of letting up. JEFF the Brotherhood is the kind of band that explains why. Nashville brothers Jamin and Jake Orrall are out to extract as much fun as possible from a growling guitar, ... More >>

Vinyl's Hidden Messages Unmasked

Photo by Qsysue for Public Collectors​Public Collectors is working on a really cool project that spotlights a small detail of what's being lost amongst so many invisible MP3s. The site is making a list of the messages bands have "pressed into the matrix of their vinyl" over the years. Apparently t ... More >>

Major Lazer introduces electro dancehall fans to animated moves

Photo by Qsysue for Public Collectors​Public Collectors is working on a really cool project that spotlights a small detail of what's being lost amongst so many invisible MP3s. The site is making a list of the messages bands have "pressed into the matrix of their vinyl" over the years. Apparently t ... More >>

CD Review: LCD Soundsystem's "This Is Happening"

​Third albums come with a lot of pressure. They're typically treated as a chance for a rising band to secure its place in the halls of greatness (see Radiohead's OK Computer or The Clash's London Calling). While some acts face the challenge by letting loose with experimentation, others stick to th ... More >>

M.I.A.'s diluted politics

​Third albums come with a lot of pressure. They're typically treated as a chance for a rising band to secure its place in the halls of greatness (see Radiohead's OK Computer or The Clash's London Calling). While some acts face the challenge by letting loose with experimentation, others stick to th ... More >>

M.I.A.'s Shock Tactics Dilute Her Politics

Image Courtesy of: Grant Gilliland​ M.I.A. thrives on misinterpretation. Her debut album, Arular, was named after her Tamil Tiger dad and released in the midst of the War on Terror with a lead track taunting, "I've got the bombs to make you blow." Her antagonistic resolve arrived at a time when ... More >>

Love Doesn't Actually Kill

Image Courtesy of: Grant Gilliland​ M.I.A. thrives on misinterpretation. Her debut album, Arular, was named after her Tamil Tiger dad and released in the midst of the War on Terror with a lead track taunting, "I've got the bombs to make you blow." Her antagonistic resolve arrived at a time when ... More >>

They Might Be Giants, Street Food Fest, Rock Make, Booty Bassment and More

They Might Be Giants play Stern Grove for free this Sunday​Celebrate San Francisco this weekend. We have awesome bands, awesome fests and awesome non-summer summers. Check out our list of top ten things to do for less than a cocktail costs at some fancy-pants L.A. club. Locals only: Alamo Square ... More >>

Rancid Bassist Matt Freeman Talks Devil's Brigade Project, Kids Songs, and Op Ivy Reunion

Matt Freeman has been a force in East Bay punk for more than two decades.​Just when it seemed like almost everyone in the big-time East Bay punk band Rancid has had a side project of their own except for bassist Matt Freeman, the 44-year-old bassist is today releasing Devil's Brigade, a long-in-th ... More >>

The Lion Sleeps Tonight: A Musical Tribute to the Berkeley Mountain Lion

This too shall pass​The Berkeley Police Department shot and killed an errant mountain lion early yesterday morning. In the minor controversy that has ensued over whether they should have made more of an effort to tranquilize her before pulling out the patrol shotgun, we've already lost sight of th ... More >>

The Jim Jones Revue Tells Us the Secret Behind 'The Best Damn Rock'n' Roll Band on the Planet'

​The Jim Jones Revue has been called "The best damn rock 'n' roll band on the planet" by Mojo magazine -- a classic bit of British music press hyperbole that this time has a kernel of truth to it. This Sunday (September 19), the frenetic London five-piece will bring its superheated, piano-driven r ... More >>

Folsom Street Fair, Tour De Fat, Springsteen Tribute, Jared Mees & Grown Children, Arts Expo and More

Jared Mees & the Grown Children play The Hemlock this Sunday​ There are so many awesome events this warm weekend in September, the problem won't be what to do, but how to pack it all in. Make the best use of your time, map out a proper schedule and get to it. Here's this week's list of ten th ... More >>

Saturday Night: Gorillaz Drag Out De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, and More for a Cartoonishly Fun Halloween

Calibree Photography​GorillazN*E*R*DOctober 30, 2010Oracle ArenaBetter than: Vomiting up a one-eyed octopus; also, seeing Gorillaz on not-Halloween.What are you supposed to look at during a Gorillaz performance? Do you look at the band onstage, where a  group of humans -- including Damon ... More >>

Broken, Not Shattered: Adam Stephens and his band celebrate life after a tour accident

Calibree Photography​GorillazN*E*R*DOctober 30, 2010Oracle ArenaBetter than: Vomiting up a one-eyed octopus; also, seeing Gorillaz on not-Halloween.What are you supposed to look at during a Gorillaz performance? Do you look at the band onstage, where a  group of humans -- including Damon ... More >>

Friday Night: Phenomenauts Lead a Locally Grown Geek-Punk Freakshow at Rickshaw Stop

Phenomenauts at Rickshaw on Friday. Pics by Chris Trenchard.​PhenomenautsTornado RiderManzanitaBobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggetsJanuary 7, 2010@ Rickshaw StopBetter than: Middle Earth's music scene.The upshot of the live music malaise in early January is without a doubt the spotlight inh ... More >>

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in the Haight

The juke at Aub Zam Zam​The heyday of authentic jukeboxes is long over. With many bars installing those nasty touchscreen digital Internet boxes, the old school record-flipping kind of jukebox is a dying breed. And this is in the town that originated the concept of jukeboxes back in 1889. So what ... More >>

Everlast Talks Run D.M.C., Rapping While White, and the House of Pain Reunion Tour

House of Pain's Danny Boy and Everlast are at the Fillmore tonight.​More than a decade after its last "Jump Around," the indelible white rap group House of Pain -- featuring original members Everlast and Danny Boy -- is back out on the road for a reunion tour that kicks off tonight at the Fillmore ... More >>

Experiencing Sandanista! While Stoned and Walking San Francisco

​ Listen to this while high: Sandinista! by The Clash​Behind the buzz: In the most literal sense, Sandinista! is the dopest punk album of all time. The Clash's fourth studio LP is a six-sided monstrosity alternately damned upon its 1980 release by purists as a sellout of punk verities, and damne ... More >>

Helpful Advice: How to Survive NOT Going to Coachella

The time is almost upon us. This week, tens of thousands of beautiful indie kids will descend on a patch of desert in Indio, Calif., and bear witness to some of the finest music the modern world has to offer at the 13th annual Coachella Festival.​For those of you who didn't manage to get a ti ... More >>

Juke Hunt Finale: The Best Jukeboxes in San Francisco

You saw it coming...​Over the past few months, we've found treasures and trash in San Francisco bars: Old school jukeboxes with surprisingly sincere music picks, and sad little boxes we  urge you to skip. It's all come to this: The juke hunt winners distilled into a single list, the best offe ... More >>

James Blake's Lonely Beginnings

You saw it coming...​Over the past few months, we've found treasures and trash in San Francisco bars: Old school jukeboxes with surprisingly sincere music picks, and sad little boxes we  urge you to skip. It's all come to this: The juke hunt winners distilled into a single list, the best offe ... More >>

America Sucks: Six Great Songs Complaining About the USA

​So it's almost the Fourth of July -- a day when we are all obligated to find a barbeque, pretend it's sunny, get drunker than we probably should in the middle of the day, and complain about British people. As is the case with so many national holidays, this whole deal is a pain in the ass for the ... More >>

Azazel Jacobs, Director of "Terri," Breaks Free of the Labels

​So it's almost the Fourth of July -- a day when we are all obligated to find a barbeque, pretend it's sunny, get drunker than we probably should in the middle of the day, and complain about British people. As is the case with so many national holidays, this whole deal is a pain in the ass for the ... More >>

Saturday's 10th Annual Joe Strummer Tribute Doubles as a Save KUSF Benefit

The Clash City Sirens​A 10th annual tribute to the late great Clash frontman Joe Strummer takes place this Saturday, Aug. 13, at S.F.'s Bottom of the Hill. While it's always a benefit for Strummerville (The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music), this year the event doubles as a fundraiser for ... More >>

An Albany Kid Reflects on Hometown Punks Rancid: "That's My America"

Rachel TejadaRancid​ It's probably no coincidence that it began two years ago, when I was living in New York and constantly homesick for the West Coast. Someone would put a Rancid song, generally "Roots Radicals" or "Time Bomb," on the odd punk-heavy bar jukebox, and a wave of pure, adolescent ... More >>

The Flatlanders: A Beginner's Guide to Joe Ely

​This is the first of a two-part series of explorations of the long, bewildering discographies of Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, who will be preforming together as The Flatlanders this Saturday at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The Flatlanders are the only must-see ... More >>

The Top 50 Songs To Get High To

We'd bet Barry O. bumped some of these back in the day...​ As you might imagine, combing back numbers of my Listen to This While High column and my own vast library for a reasonable stab at the Fifty Stoniest Songs Ever is a labor and hashish intensive experience. Preliminary fossickings unear ... More >>

S.F.'s Extra Classic Tastefully Updates Dub and Reggae Sounds

We'd bet Barry O. bumped some of these back in the day...​ As you might imagine, combing back numbers of my Listen to This While High column and my own vast library for a reasonable stab at the Fifty Stoniest Songs Ever is a labor and hashish intensive experience. Preliminary fossickings unear ... 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 >>

In Which Three Young Boys Weigh in on the Best Songs of 2011

Not an actual photo of any of the children subjected to WU LYF for this article.​The year is drawing to a close, which means it's time for us music writers to puff out our chests -- those chests emblazoned with big red "C's" for "critic" -- and be extra insular, bombastic, and pissy. In our ye ... More >>