It just wasn't my night for taking pictures, so, here's photo of AM at ASCAP's Music Cafe- Sundance '08 via MySpace The heat was somehow trapped inside the darkened depths of the Hotel Cafe this Thursday night. Those fortunate enough to nab some of the few seats fell into two camps: The cautiously unmoving and the intent on revelry. Those left to stand shifted back and forth with an undeniable restlessness. The heat is......

Artist: Elbow Album: The Seldom Seen Kid Label: Fiction Release Date: April 22, 2008 (US) Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5) We Americans don't always make the right decisions. VHS or Betamax? George W. Bush or Gore/Kerry? Coldplay or Elbow? Undoubtedly, some of you are reading this and thinking to yourselves, "What is Elbow? Are they a band?" ...and that is, well, depressing. You should know who Elbow is. Both Coldplay and Elbow were......

Miwa Gemini at the Hotel Cafe | Photo by Lindsay William-Ross/LAist When the opportunity to check out New York-based singer-songwriter Miwa Gemini live at the Hotel Cafe came up recently I jumped at the chance based on one line in the PR materials: "Think Nina Simone meets Sparklehorse meets Cat Power, and you're getting close." Intrigued, I showed up Sunday evening to the Hotel Cafe, nabbed a seat in the room's soothing darkness, and......

Artist: Rakim Album: The Archive: Live, Lost & Found Label: Koch Records Release Date: 03/04/08 There’s not much to say after mentioning that Rakim released a new album, The Archive Live, Lost & Found, which has live performances of some of Rakim’s biggest hits and new, unreleased tracks. Even the novice hip-hop fan will know that this album is a bona fide crowd pleaser, with nothing even coming close to being comparable, well, that is,......

The Black Crowes' new album Warpaint, due out March 4th, was recently negatively reviewed in everyone's favorite trucker guy bible, Maxim. This was odd, however, since apparently, no advance copies of the album were given out. As it turns out, the reviewer never heard the album at all. According to The Black Crowes' website, when the band's management complained, the review was explained by Maxim's editors thusly: "Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing......

Photo of Meiko, who plays at the Knitting Factory tonight, by Koga/LAist for 'Meiko & Priscilla Ahn @ Hotel Cafe, 1/23 & 1/24/08' What Made Milwaukee Famous finish up their Los Angeles tour playing along with Tulsa and the British Sea Power/Colourmusic bill moves over to Spaceland. On the Westside, there's only one choice to make and that is hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh at the Temple Bar (check out our interview with him including......

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist Who knew an early Monday morning post about graffiti on a mural posthumously made famous by singer/songwriter Elliott Smith would lead to such wonderful results. Nearly six months ago, then-editor of LAist, Tony Pierce, posted a photo of the graffitied wall stating that "this is why we can't have nice things." Then, on Monday, reader Robert T. wrote an e-mail attaching a photo of a new tag on the wall.......

We seemed to have missed Santa Monica based Krandon as a Wednesday night resident at Molly Malone's. The lightly meditative and chill alternative indie band's name comes from an abandoned James Joyce play written in collaboration with physicist Neils Bohr according to the band's MySpace page. If that's a little too esoteric for you, our Wednesday night pick this month is a little more down home folk style, but with a loud presence -- Brian......

Artist: Beck Album: Odelay Deluxe Edition Label: UMe Release Date: January 29th, 2008 I wish I could put a promo track up with this post but UMe won't let me so it's their loss. Just hum "Devil's Haircut" while you read. It's been a dozen years since Beck Hanson put out his best album, Odelay, and listening to this expanded reissue just confirms that this release was his peak (to date). This is not to......

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards are tonight. The ">Irish foreign movie Once has been nominated for two categories: "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" and "Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" for the song "Falling Slowly" (heard above). The song's validity as an Oscar nomination was challenged, but the committee found everything to be fine, so Once stays. It was not nominated for......

Artist: Division Day Album: Beartrap Island Label: Eenie Meenie Records Release Date: 10/02/2007 Listen to "Ricky": We finally got our greasy little mitts on Beartrap Island from LA's own Division Day and have been enjoying it quite a bit. After the sort-of throwaway intro tune, the Beartrap Island kicks into what I think is my favorite tune on the entire album, "Ricky" (listen to it above) - it's rockin' and energetic and a great way......

Artist: Tuxedomoon Album: Vapour Trails Label: Crammed Discs Release Date: 02/05/2008 Listen to "Kubrick": It's hard to believe it's been thirty years since Tuxedomoon made their debut. They were part of San Francisco's weird music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. At a time when West Coast punk was in it's nascent stages, and there were plenty of hippie-era hangers-on, Tuxedomoon's mix of electronica, jazz, and rock found its place in both snobby......

Artist: Cheb i Sabbah Album: Devotion Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: 01/29/08 Listen to "Qalanderi": Devotion CD Release Party @ The Temple Bar - Saturday, February 2nd The incomparable Cheb i Sabbah has produced Devotion, his seventh release for Six Degrees Records, once again inviting us to enjoy his updated presentation of the timeless music of central Asia. San Francisco-based Cheb i Sabbah traveled to India to record the vocals for several tracks with......

Talib Kweli is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. On his first farewell, The Black Album, rap superstar mogul Jay-Z gave Kweli the greatest sign of respect when he spit the following line "If skills sold/Truth be told/I'd probably be/Lyricly/Talib Kweli." The son of two college professors, the Brooklyn native is far from your average emcee. In the fall of 2007, Kweli released the critically acclaimed and commercially successful album Eardrum, the first from his new......

UK punk band, The Gallows, play at the Troubadour tonight | Photo by Michael/www.attheshow.org Punk rock from London and Toronto at the Troubadour, Frenchies visiting Spaceland, and Reggae Dub at Echoplex -- we've got an internat'l flair going on here. You can also be overly hip and cool at The Roxy (one artist, A-TRAK, is from Montreal). Gallows, This Is Hell, Cancer Bats @ Troubadour The Teenagers. Run Run Run, Mostly Bears @ Spaceland......

Artist: Brownout Album: Homenaje Label: Freestyle Records Release Date: 01/29/2008 I'm really pleased to have a new favorite album and even more pleased to have it be from this year. Brownout is a side project of Grupo Fantasma but they are definitely not on the sidelines - they are an amazing hardcore funk phenomena from Austin and LA's in luck since they will be playing two gigs in town this week: Thursday @ the Rootdown......

For anyone who isn't storing all your party reserves for some big New Year's bash, here's what's going on around town tonight. JAZZ/VOCALS Silky-voiced Tierney Sutton and her band are on tap for a holiday weekend installment at the Catalina Bar & Grill. The ensemble has been nominated for a Grammy (Best Vocal Jazz Album) for their February 2007 release, and has headlined at notable venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl and Jazz......

So you've been bowled over by our Best of the Year lists, but do you demand more? Scratch that, do you crave more? Because if you do, you're in luck. Here's a round up of some of 2007's more creative year-end round ups. Time's Top Ten Underreported Stories of the Year. You gotta love how Time gets into the list spirit this, well, time of year. Twenty-five top tens, with everything from kids books......

Artist: The Deadly Syndrome Album: The Ortolan Label: Dim Mak Release Date: September 2007 Listen to "Eucalyptus": OK, so yeah I know Silver Lake's own The Deadly Syndrome came out with The Ortolan a couple months ago but I didn't know that it was hiding in a pile of CDs that was sent to me and I'd somehow missed it but I should get some credit for being a good boy and cleaning up after......

Artist: Cass McCombs Album: Dropping the Writ Label: Domino Records Release Date: 10/23/07 Listen to "That's That": Frequent tourer Cass McCombs came through LA this last fall but if you missed him you will have a chance to see him again in '08 as his tour schedule is posted and expanding. Dropping the Writ is inspired by a short stretch of time that McCombs spent living in Los Angeles from '05-'06 and it was recorded......

Artist:Da Cruz Album: Nova Estaçāo EP1&2 Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: Fall 2007 Listen to the track "Intro (Sao Jorge)": Nova Estaçāo EP1&2 is another release in the "Emerging Artists" series from the label Six Degrees Records. This series is part of Six Degrees' efforts to get new and innovative artists out in front of people as quickly as possible and inexpensively as well - these are electronic releases that you can pick and......

Artist: Raul Campos Album: Loteria Beats Mixtape - Volume 1 Label: Nacional Records Release Date: 10/23/07 Listen to "Olvidela Compa" by Nortec Collective: Regular listeners of KCRW know who Raul Campos is: the resident alterna-latino DJ for the lat seven years. From listening to his radio shows, you know he's a true DJ, a mixologist, with excellent beat matching and seamless theme weaving. Loteria Beats Mixtape, Vol. 1 is like a pumped up control-board tape......

OOOwww! Good evening Los Angeles! Wooo! How you all fee-ull? People. You know! I don't believe the LA Forum has a chimney... so if y'all want Santa Claus to come pay us a visit you're gonna need to raise the roof off this mother!! And I think if all twenty thousand of you flick your lighters in time with the beat we can turn this place into the biggest Christmas tree in the world!......

Artist: DJ Bitman Album: Latin Bitman Label: Nacional Records Release Date: November 6, 2007 Listen to the track "My Computer Is Funk": DJ Bitman is Chilean Jose Antonio "Toto" Bravo who has also gone under the name of Bitman & Roban. Latin Bitman is his second release in the US following last year's Musica Para Despues de Almuerzo and while I didn't hear that debut I really like this "sophomore" effort. You may have heard......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

Artist: The Real Tuesday Weld Album: The London Book of the Dead Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: Fall '07 Listen to the track "Last Words": The Real Tuesday Weld is the recording project of Stephen Coates and The London Book of the Dead is his third release under the name and his second with the Six Degrees label. The name itself is very interesting because at the Six Degrees website refers to "the late......

MUSIC: Machine Project is back with an evening of experimental folk music mix. The evening features the sounds of Ryan Fuller, Julie Carpenter, Laura Steenberge, Ruthann Friedman, rickyricky, Pilar Diaz, Pawko and Marshweed. 8 pm // Machine Project // 1200 D. N. Alvarado, Downtown // Free. THEATRE: The Anteus Company presents two nights of eight Noel Coward plays. Night Two takes place tonight featuring the plays: Come The Wild - Red Peppers, Fumed Oak,......

Artist: Dust Galaxy Album: Dust Galaxy Label: ESL Release Date: Fall '07 Listen to the track "River of Ever Changing Forms": If you missed Dust Galaxy at their Knitting Factory gig last Friday, have no fear, you can pick up their excellent self-titled CD. Dust Galaxy is the solo project of Rob Garza, co-founder of scenester label Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) but you won't be hearing any of the ESL's signature bossanova or other latin......

Grammy nominations were announced early this morning in Los Angeles. Kanye West's album "Graduation" earned eight nods, including Album of the Year and Rap Album of the Year. The increasingly unstable Amy Winehouse garnered six nominations for "Back to Black," including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist. Surprisingly, Bruce Springsteen did not get an Album of the Year nod for "Magic." Other nominees in......

Artist: Tom Middleton Album: Lifetracks Label: Six Degrees Records Release Date: 11/06/07 Listen to the track "Shinkansen": DJ, mixologist, and producer Tom Middleton has put out an album in his own name. You may have heard of some Middleton's other projects of the last 15 years: AMBA, COSMOS, Global Communication, and The Jedi Knights or his remixes of Prince, Coldplay, and Jamiroquai but this is his first release of his own tracks with his own......