Usher (Entertainer)

Wiggle-Walk 
Across America

Here Are the Songs They Play at a Middle School Dance

[Editor's note: The following post by Houston writer and ESL teacher Shea Serrano was named the best blog post of the year in the first-ever Voice Media Group music writing awards. Originally published by our sister blog at LA Weekly, It's a sidesplitting minute-by-minute account of an afternoon he ... More >>

Diplo: Show Preview

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 >>

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 >>

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong To Enter Rehab After Onstage Meltdown

Days before Green Day releases the first of an ambitious trio of new albums, singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong announced plans to enter rehab for substance abuse after he went on a profane tirade and stormed offstage at a Las Vegas concert on Friday. In the wake of Armstrong's troubles, Gre ... More >>

Usher Eats Vegan, Mickey D's Opens Veg Location, and Tater Tot Casserole Looks Lovely and Amazing!

​Guys, guys, guys--biggest news ever! R&B superstar Usher is eating vegan! And he wants the Biebs to go vegan too! I effing love Usher like whoa so I'm super pleased. Hopefully he will make the whole leap once he gets a little further into veganhood. And then JB will go vegan and make a line of ve ... More >>

DJs from Mars: Show Preview

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 >>

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 >>

Hood Internet: Show Preview

POP ETC's 'Live It Up': Watch the Morning Benders Try to Remake Themselves Into Smooth R&B

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 >>

Hot Mouth on Making "Songs You Could Kill a Kitten To" and Going Solo After LA Riots

Once a member of indie dance group LA Riots, Jon Pegnato, aka Hot Mouth, hasn't seen any drop-off in activity since going solo -- he's playing residencies in Vegas, recording a new EP, and keeping a full schedule of fun in between. Breaking away from the LA Riots sound, Pegnato has become known for ... More >>

Vegan Hanukkah, Year End Animal News, and Beyonce is Partially Vegan!?

​ • Beyonce is preggers and so she's eating a vegan diet. Or is it, a partially vegan diet? Which is what EVERYONE ON EARTH EATS. It's like, did you eat anything that wasn't a steak today? Unless it was an egg milkshake, you're partially vegan! Welcome to the club, asshole! • Need some last m ... More >>

Das Racist Issues Drunken Antics, Fake Encores, and Love for Kate Bush at The Independent

Joseph SchellDas Racist at the Indy​Das Racist HOTTUBVin SolFebruary 2, 2011@ The Independent Better than: Dancing to Tina Turner alone in your room. The members of Brooklyn hip-hop outfit Das Racist are masters of mixing the ignorant with the intelligent without being too pretentious or ir ... More >>

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 >>

Dear Famous Musicians, Stop Trying to Fleece Us With Your Overpriced 'Signature' Headphones

You trust this guy's opinion about headphones?​It's CES time again, that once-a-year event when every consumer tech company that you have (and haven't) heard of flocks to Las Vegas to reveal this year's lineup of middling products they're sure will drive profit margins up. And, building on re ... 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.

The Cheesiest Food Songs of 2010

These eight songs aspired to be hot enough to melt our popsicle, but all they did was make us taste cheddar. Behold, our countdown of the cheesiest food-themed songs of 2010: 8. "Ms. Chocolate" by Lil Jon featuring R. Kelly and Mario They're cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, they want a piece, etc. ― ... More >>

Saturday Night: Mayer Hawthorne, White Mike, Riche Panic, and Others Soundtrack A Santa-Filled Night in the Mission

The Saturday night crowd at SOM Bar​Meyer Hawthorne, Richie Panic, White Mike and othersDecember 4, 2010@ Public Works, SOM Bar, and Beauty BarBetter than: Being forced to sit in Santa's lap at your mandatory company holiday party. Jingle bells, confusion, and offensive party smells! Such was th ... More >>

Onra: Show Preview

Exclusive: NastyNasty's 'Lazer Soul' DJ Mini-Mix

Luba RonissNastyNasty​Jasper Reeder is San Francisco lazer-bass aficionado NastyNasty, a vital asset to our city's increasingly vibrant electronic music landscape. He contributes his speaker-wobbling tracks to a handful of labels, including local institution Frite Nite, and can be seen regularly r ... More >>

American Idol Tryouts in S.F.: Too Bad You're Not Like Carrie Underwood

Contestants waiting to try out for American Idol in San Franicsco earlier this week​More than 8,000 singers flocked to AT&T Park yesterday with enough ambition and dedication to wait up to nine hours in order to give a 30-second audition for American Idol. To manage their excitement, contestan ... More >>

Exclusive: '90s R&B Mini-Mix by Debaser's Jamie Jams

Chris BrennanJamie Jams​One thing I've always greatly respected about Jamie Jams and the other fellas that run the 'SF Weekly Best of 2010' Debaser club is their unending wealth of knowledge about the music they love. Obviously, they know their way around '90s alt-rock hits, but it's a pleasant su ... More >>

How the crash will reshape the music industry

Rap and Bullshit

Today’s R&B is pure garbage.

Busted Rhymes: The Top 10 Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Usher

Here I Stand (LaFace/Sony BMG)

Hey DJ! Friday Q&A: Disco Shawn

Ben Westhoff tells Usher he can't make love

The infamy rollercoaster that is R. Kelly's life

R. Kelly

Double Up (Jive)

New Wave Thuggin'

Kirby Dominant brings together niggaz and white girlz

Lady Sovereign

Vertically Challenged

Misc. Reviews

If it's kinda, sorta music-related, we'll review it. This Week: Indie Rock Cribs.

Da Da

Down at Da Corner, Bouncer gets her crunk on, coins term "muff muffle."

Pop Goes the World

Will Schwartz and Hey Willpower want you to think about why you like pop, or, barring that, get your booty bouncin'

Fitness Gurus: What's Hot for 2005

Core training and other exercise regimens you might actually follow

On the Down-Low

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures.

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote.

Hear This

Kanye West is everywhere, including Oakland; My Chemical Romance delivers its canned goth-pop

Girls Gone Mild

If only the SuicideGirls' wildly popular soft-porn Web site translated into a decent stage show

BeatBox

Get "crunk" with DJs who love risqué content as much as they do booming bass

Saint in the City

MC Pitch Black finds spirituality in the San Francisco streets

House Of Tudor

The heavenly Mediæval Bæbes, the earthy Manic Hispanics, and the Sabians, who are somewhere in between

Reel World

Life Is a Serious Business; The Bad Sleep Well

Reviews

Behind the Scenes

Night+Day