Weird Al Yankovic

Remembering Ray Manzarek: Doors Keyboardist Believed Venice Beach Helped the Band Find Its Sound

Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player for the Doors, was the first rock star I ever interviewed. I'd just started writing about music, and one morning my editor called me up and asked if I'd like to interview Manzarek. I don't know if he knew I was a Doors fanatic, but I jumped at the chance. I went out ... More >>

Watch: Huey Lewis Goes American Psycho on Weird Al as Sports Gets Reissued

Remember that scene in American Psycho where Patrick Bateman extolls the virtues of the Bay Area's Huey Lewis and the News, just before pounding an axe through the cranium of Jared Leto? Yeah, of course you do -- and if you don't, well, it doesn't really matter: this clip of Huey and Al re-enacts it ... More >>

Eight Chubby Male Musicians We'd Love to Cuddle With

Earlier this week, our hard-bloggin' sister paper in Broward, Fla., ran a thoughtful piece titled "Eight Pleasingly Plump Female Musicians We'd Like to Get Down With." That post has since been flushed from the Internet because a) it turns out women are people, and b) fucking duh. But famous-people ... More >>

Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth: A First Listen

​Van Halen is about one thing: revenge. Eddie brought in Sammy to get rid of Dave, flirted with Dave again to get rid of Sammy, brought in Gary Cherone to clear out the building, trained his own son to replace his most loyal member, and brought Dave back in for now. Don't be surprised if he cans h ... More >>

Tea Party Princess: Victoria Jackson and the Rabid Right

A Good Start to the End of the World

'James Hetfield Is a Rapper,' and Other Awesomely Blasphemous Metallica Mashups

Onemoredisco.comOne More Disco's Metallica remix contest drew intriguing entries.​ See more of our Metallica Week coverage: Metallica Brings Out Lou Reed, Kid Rock, Mercyful Fate, and More as the 30th Anniversary Party Continues Author Brian Lew on the Early Days of Metallica and the Bay Ar ... More >>

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

Live Review: 'Weird Al' Yankovic Gets Revenge for the Nerds at the Fox Theater

Jamie Soja"Weird" Al Yankovic at the Fox Theater on Sunday.​ "Weird Al" Yankovic Nov. 6, 2011 Fox Theater, Oakland Better than: Being a nerd in high school. First, "Weird Al" Yankovic turned Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" into a pop-skewering polka. Then, he ribbed Taylor Swift with a song called ... More >>

The 6 Best Ways to Get Kicked Out a Turntable.fm Room

Welcome to your new home.​If you're like half the Internet (the lame half), you're currently infatuated with the newest reason the USA will soon only be known as China's once-great fallen rival: Turntable. This is the website that lets you DJ with friends and strangers instead of working, walk ... More >>

A Quick Guide to Lady Gaga's (Possible) Plagiarisms, From 'Telephone' to 'Born This Way'

​As a member of the media, it's my job to accuse Stefani Germanotta of things so she can respond to them. (Born which way? She doesn't have to specify because it's a hot topic -- and the length of Gaga's beloved fame largely depends on juggling those.) So it shouldn't shake this proud piece of pla ... More >>

Director Judd Apatow Talks Filmmaking, Pee Wee Herman, and S.F. (VIDEO)

​Back in September, we gave our readers a chance to interview director Judd Apatow-- the man behind the TV show Freaks and Geeks, and director of movies like Knocked Up and The Forty Year Old Virgin. Readers sent in three sample questions they would ask Apatow, and we picked the ones we liked best ... More >>

Friday Night: Die Antwoord at Rickshaw Stop

Gretchen Robinette​Die Antwoord July 16, 2010 Rickshaw Stop Better than: A live performance of most of the videos that go viral on YouTube. "Are they kidding?" is Question No. 1 raised by Die Antwoord, the South African rave-rap group that may be a clever parody or a full-blooded embrace of the ... More >>

Last Night: Garotas Suecas, Greg Ashley, & Lumerians at Rickshaw Stop

​Garotas Suecas, Greg Ashley, Lumerians Thursday, March 25, 2010 Rickshaw Stop Better than: out of season pineapple and Bebel Gilberto's new cd. The Rickshaw was filled with its usual overwhelming amount of cigarette smoke last night. But instead of causing coughing attacks and irritating eyes, ... More >>

Take My Health Plan, Please

Eight (One-Hit) Wonders of The Bay Area

One-hit wonders are often maligned in music, but the truth is it's pretty hard and pretty remarkable to achieve success on the pop charts. As we slowly wrap up December's reflections into music history, behold the eight most awesome one-hit wonders that the Bay Area has produced:8. The Greg Kihn Ban ... More >>

Just Tweet It

Wallpaper.’s Eric Frederic is an unstoppable viral music producer. But can the incessant songwriting, video blogging, and booty tweeting make him a star?

Wallpaper. and Das Racist get the dancefloor munchies

Last Night: Devendra Banhart at the Independent

Lauren DukoffDevendra BanhartTuesday, April 14, 2009The IndependentBetter than: Paying nearly $300 to bake in the Southern California sun with thousands of other music fans.It feels like there's a defacto music festival in the Bay Area right now as a number of acclaimed and underground bands perform ... More >>

MC Lars Prepares for New Album, Dates Suicide Girl

MC Lars, represent! Who said being nerdy wasn't cool? Try telling that to San Francisco "nerdcore" rapper MC Lars. A co-originator of Nerdcore--also known as "post-punk laptop rap"--along with MC Chris and MC Frontalot, Lars caught wreck in 2007 for his Weird Al-like take on the Bay Area's then-dom ... More >>

Last Night: Comedy Death Ray at Cobb's

Photo of Zach Galifianakis by www.brandonhickman.comComedy Death Ray w/ Zach Galigianakis, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bob Odenkirk, Paul F. Tompkins, Andy Kindler, Chris Hardwick and the Fun Bunch (Scott Aukerman & BJ Porter)Friday, Jan. 30, 2009Cobb's Comedy ClubBetter than: Lemme get back to you on th ... More >>

Rappers with low self-esteem: Bragging about going broke

Flight of the Conchords tap into music career comedy

Forget Shelter, Gimme Asylum

The Fears of a Clown: MC Frontalot Gets Trapped in Unfunny Nerdspeak

Cuts Like a Knife

Patience rewards fans of these mysterious Swedes

Smells Like Victory

Off your Gourd and into the StereoLab: A little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' electro

Repaired Social Club

Is Annie's Social Club the 19th Cheese of bars? And what the hell is the 19th Cheese anyway?

Unfaithful

Cheating spouses, meaty film

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Geek Chic

Stanford Junior MC Lars Horris may not unseat Eminem, but, with luck, he might be the next "Weird Al"

The Life and Times of an American Remixer

Oh the challenges of remixing a '60s recording * and the odd ethical conundrums that go with it

Feeding Back

If six avant-garde musicians get together in an art gallery, does it make a sound? You betcha.

Hear This

Like punk rock conga lines and dissing Moby? This show's right up your alley.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Reps Etc.

Sign Language

Cult hero Harvey Sid Fisher, creator of Astrology Songs, plays the Mission

Daft Punk

Meet the self-proclaimed No. 1 face in hip hop -- a former punk gone gold

Pop Philosophy

New Disorder Records; Mark Kozelek; Doublelife

That Was the Wit That Was

Decades after he left the stage to teach math in Santa Cruz, the voice of legendary satirist Tom Lehrer still echoes

House Of Tudor

Teenage Frames, Neomythic, Austin Lounge Lizards, Alan Kaufman, Lowbrow

The Man Who Came to Dinner

Greg Kihn

Review

The Promise Ring's Very Emergency!

Riff Raff

Hear This

Recordings