Just a mere week old on the Interwebs, this video by French DJ team Justice has already managed to cause serious controversy throughout the French media, meaning said controversy will undoubtedly cross the pond upon further exposure. The video's nascent beginnings can be traced back to Kanye West's blog, wherein he claims to be the first to have shared it on May 1st. First or not, this video is pretty cool.... [continue]

Today news broke that Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is slated to direct the film adaptation of Bioshock, widely heralded as the best video game of 2007. This comes at an especially interesting time considering parent company Take Two Interactive (also parent to Rockstar Games, which just released a little title called Grand Theft Auto IV) turned down a multi-billion dollar buy-out offered by LA-based Electronic Arts earlier this year. Verbinksi notes in... [continue]

Image courtesy of gfixler via Flickr Last year, to the chagrin of thousands of gamers nationwide, the LA-based Electronic Entertainment Expo (popularly known as E3) was massively scaled down to exclude the public in what was widely considered one of the biggest industry flops of the year. While the gaming masses were offered an alternative convention in October called E for All, industry professionals (specifically press) were none too pleased with the scattered layout... [continue]

This video, like many others, was taken during Roger Water's set at Coachella this past weekend. Despite the quality of the vid, it's easy to see why the set blew everyone away. Pyrotechnics? Check. Classic rock legends? Check. Pig-shaped dirigibles? Check. Previously: Lost: Giant Inflatable Pig Found: Giant Inflatable Pig Coachella Pics Part One Coachella Pics Part Two Video taken by Ali Miller for LAist... [continue]

There's nothing like three days of music and partying to distract a gamer from the release of one of the most anticipated games of the year. This dedicated LAista got back from Coachella in style; straight to my local GameStop to pick up my pre-ordered copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. After about 5 hours of solid playing time, its pretty much safe to echo the sentiments heard all across the internets; GTA IV... [continue]

Image courtesy of Paul Graham Raven via flickr Just when you thought stoner doom metal was dead, Austin natives the Sword have stormed onto the scene with some of the darkest riffs and sickest solos since Sabbath. With their sophomore release entitled "Gods of the Earth" in their arsenal of show material, the Sword took the stage at the El Rey and just started destroying ear drums one song at a time.... [continue]

Via blogging.la | Video used with permission courtesy of IGN.com From the publishers that have brought us such high profile games as Grand Theft Auto, Bully, and Manhunt comes the fourth installment of Midnight Club from Rockstar Games, now taking on the City of Angels in death defying rice rocketeering. I don't know about you, but there's something about driving down Sunset at Doheny when there's no traffic that's pretty titillating, even if its... [continue]

This past Friday LAist got to hang out with some of the bands playing at this year's Warped Tour. Assembled at the Plush lounge downstairs at the Key Club was a crowd of cameras and microphones vying for the attention of some choice bands as Reel Big Fish, The Aggrolites, and Katy Perry. The bands played a show signifying the kick off of Warped Tour, making it generally awesome that the show starts and ends... [continue]

Have you had enough of people whipping out their iPhones as a blatant symbol of status and coolness? Sick of grumbling under your breath "soon...soon I'll have an iPhone...blast that Verizon two-year contract!"? Well today's your lucky day. This week, at Las Vegas' CTIA convention, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega has unofficially announced that a 3G iPhone will come to the hands of consumers in a matter of months. So what does... [continue]

Interesting news in the gaming world this week. The Hollywood Reporter's Paul Hyman notes that video game power house publisher 3D Realms Entertainment has announced the inception of two subsidiary companies called Radar Group (Scottsdale, AZ) and Depth Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA), both focusing on publishing titles that will ultimately become specs for TV and film. CEO Scott Miller uses the concept of the "storyverse" as a logical reason to homogenize the two markets... [continue]

Urth Caffe on Melrose way too much of a scene, might I suggest a quick, delicious, nearby alternative? Eat Well on Santa Monica at Harper (in West Hollywood in between Crescent Heights and La Cienega) is a simple neighborhood joint that serves a mean breakfast, not to mention lunch, dinner, and cocktails. With a menu that gives Jerry's a run for its money, Eat Well is the perfect place to grab a quick bite. With... [continue]

This past week, LAist got a chance to travel up to San Francisco to check out the Game Developers Conference. GDC is universally known as one of the most fun and exciting of the industry's gatherings, where publishers, press, and lecture attendees convene to discover the latest in gaming technology. This year we got to see a ton of kickass stuff, including an exclusive look at the new Street Fighter title from Capcom and... [continue]

Just in time for the release one of the most anticipated titles for the Wii this year, the folks over at Nintendo are staging a regional tournament for fans of Super Smash Brothers Brawl, the game that just recently shattered Wii sales records in Japan. According to our sources, the first 256 people who show up at the Orpheum theater downtown will have a chance to fight to the finish in an attempt to... [continue]

Another week in February, another Q1 with not many greatly anticipated games. But at least there's always news. This week around the internets, we've learned a few cool things that may pique some interest out there. Check out some news, game releases, and other info for this week after the jump.... [continue]

Today marks the beginning of the 2008 race towards raising the standard of gaming. As we mentioned previously, 2007 was a monumental year for the world of video games. Take a look at a selection of some of the highly anticipated games of the year, in stores today.... [continue]

With so many epic video game titles making their debut last year, 2008 has some pretty big shoes to fill. Several titles released in 2007 undoubtedly rank the highest among several industry top 10 lists; Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, and Mass Effect to name a few. These games have proven and will continue to prove that they will be quite difficult to surpass in quality. Such competition is exactly what makes the gaming... [continue]

LAist recently got the opportunity to sit down with Marc Canter, author of "Reckless Road; Guns n' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction." Not only is he still best friends with Slash, but his family owns the infamous Canter's Deli on Fairfax. Over a cup of coffee and some delicious treats from the bakery, we talked with Marc for almost three hours about L.A. in the 80's, his amazing collection of memorabilia,... [continue]

Can't muster up the incentive to pay $3.25 for a cupcake? Then head on over to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills to get one for free! For today only, Sprinkles is teaming up with FOX's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for a promotion. The first 1000 customers will get a free "red eye red velvet" cupcake and according to the store, cupcakes are still available and probably have a "couple hours left" until they hit... [continue]

One of the many tattoos done by Kat Von D This past Friday night, The Learning Channel's LA Ink tattoo artist vixen, Kat von D, attempted to break the world record for most tattoos done in a 24 hour period. With lines forming almost 48 hours in advance, people flocked from as far away as Ohio to be apart of tattoo history. At about 3:30 in the morning on Friday, we decided to head... [continue]

Fashion in Los Angeles is arguably one of the most dynamic aspects of our city. While what typically is considered "LA style" may be snuffed by our east coast and European counterparts, there is no question that fashion is one of LA's primary economies, consistently flourishing thanks to globalization, our ports, and obviously our innate coolness. The great thing about LA is that nobody cares how you dress. Anything can be fashion here. Doesn't... [continue]