When it comes to Lana Del Rey, haters gonna hate. Her fans, on the other hand, will melt into a weepy mess when they get to meet their idol in the flesh. Del Rey gave a concert at Amoeba on Tuesday, and—despite being panned by tastemakers like Brian Williams and Juliette Lewis for her performance on SNL—the fans turned out. more ›

Sometimes to get a handle on Los Angeles' geographic sprawl, you have to draw it yourself. That's exactly what Amoeba employee and blogger Eric Brightwell has done with his colorful, Sharpie-drawn maps of LA and Orange County neighborhoods and cities. more ›

Amoeba Records, along with its two other California locations, took top honors this week on Rolling Stone's list of 25 top U.S. record stores for unique vinyl and CDs. No surprises there and no other local stores were listed (Chicago garnered three spots!). more ›

As noted earlier, it's Record Store Day on Saturday. So SPIN decided to promote the event by naming America's 15 Best Indie Record Stores. And with no surprise Amoeba Records, with locations in Hollywood, San Francisco and Berkeley, got top honors because "it represents a sort of music lovers' heavenly refuge:" more ›

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and it's time to party down before the traditional Lenten fasting and abstinance we know you will all be observing. For those of us who can't make it to the Big Easy, there are plenty of great places to celebrate Fat Tuesday right here at home. more ›

Tonight Ghettogloss on Melrose presents artifacts from Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch, with Willis in person from 7-11 pm tonight. There will be specially created gourmet treats from Susan Feniger's Street, of which Allee is part owner; live auctions of kitsch masterpieces hand-picked by Allee herself; a first-time-ever public raffle to win a guided tour of Allee's exclusively private Willis Wonderland. more ›

It’s not exactly shocking to hear that Elvis Costello’s latest album, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane, is a collaboration with bluegrass musicians. Costello’s taken so many leaps into alternate musical universes, it wouldn’t be shocking to hear he was working with anybody. Li’l Wayne, Herb Alpert, Placido Domingo, Michael Jackson, Ornette Coleman, the Broadway company of Rent - you name it, you can imagine it happening. But this particular diversion, as witnessed at Amoeba on Monday night, looks like one that could leave a lasting impression. more ›

Author Gayle Greene will discuss her book An Insomniac’s Slant on Sleep with Alice Wexler, research scholar at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women. Greene weaves memoir and investigation on the science of sleep -- from the perspective of a life-long insomniac. She’ll guide the audience through the “hidden terrain of a devastating and little understood condition.” The free event begins at 7 pm tonight at the Central Library as part of its ALOUD series. Reservations are recommended. more ›

To promote the release of MURS for President, which hit stores today, the LA native will be signing copies and performing at Amoeba tonight at 6:30 pm. more ›

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Elvis Costello and The Attractions essential 1978 record This Year’s Model was re-released for the twenty-third time earlier this week as a deluxe 2-CD set. This year’s model of This Year’s Model includes a bevy of previously released bonus tracks, and a previously unreleased live concert. more ›

I've got a conundrum, folks. You might, too: In a study entitled "The End of the Music Industry As We Know It" (suggested subhead: "And consumers feel fine"), Forrester Research, Inc., is reporting that half of music sales will be digital by 2011, and digital sales will surpass CDs entirely by 2012. more ›

The Guide to March Rock Music Residencies has been updated with a few more listings -- it seems as if residencies are catching on, which is a good thing. Meanwhile, Howlin Rain plays their last LA concert before a tour promoting their new album, Magnificent Fiend, that was released yesterday. more ›

Our brain is going to explode with all the great choices tonight. From friggin' amazing jazz (see, we're not swearing) at UCLA to folk-punk sensibilities of The Hackensaw Boys at Tangier in Los Feliz (video after the jump), tonight is a bounty of gold. Also, Jim Bianco will be at Amoeba and it's the first night for Wednesday night March residencies. more ›

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Although critics have raved about Juno, including myself, I have occasionally heard that it made a few people gag, and I've definitely heard mixed responses to the decidedly twee soundtrack. (I love that word. Twee! ...Not related, sorry.) Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis's rant about both the movie and the soundtrack is already making the blog rounds and iliciting quite a few responses. more ›

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 Wright & The Waco Tragedies. But Wright and his country buddies pose a difficult choice to make with Jay Leno's very own Kevin Eubanks, who plays at The Baked Potato tonight in Studio City. more ›

Despite it being Superbowl Sunday, February residencies got off to a great start last night with Alex & Sam at Tangier. Tonight is the first night of February residencies at Spaceland, Silverlake Lounge, Crash Mansion and The Echo/Echoplex. By last Thursday, The Airborne Toxic Event had gained so much popularity from their January residency, they had to reject 300 people from the door. Case in point, catch these bands in residency early on in the month. more ›

You saw that right, except for the date: It's Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl IV, airing all day Super Bowl Sunday. Not only is this a fun idea on their part (why subject your shows to poor overall ratings?), it's mesmerisingly watchable and a great way to keep the kids and pets occupied and away from your guests and food. Or maybe you're not (gasp) a football fan and just want to veg out? I wouldn't be surprised if Puppy Bowl had their own, Teletubby-like following among the tripping set. And yes, there is a "Kitty Halftime Show." more ›

Shelby Lynne will be performing songs recorded by Dusty Springfield (of 'Son of a Preacher Man' fame) tonight at Amoeba at 7 p.m. It can get bit tight and uncomfortable over there, so if you just want to watch from the comfort of your home, well, there'll be a webcast. Here's Lynne playing at a live session on KCRW back in October. more ›

Tonight's the first show of undergrounDNUOS, which is a nonprofit night of collaboration and experimentation put on by Amoeba Music and its employees as a labor of love. " It is a monthly series set at various underground spaces, art galleries, warehouses, and strange bars embracing the concepts of improvisation in any genre and any sound... it is designed to be a space for people to step outside of what they normally do and collaborate with others in an unexpected live setting." more ›

Be joyful with the electro-pop sounds of Hey Willpower (Will from Imperial Teen and Tomo from Tussle) at The Echo or get a more worldly groove on at the Temple Bar. Jackshit, who we interviewed once, plays tonight and there are two in-store performances as well: one at Amoeba (of course) and the other at Active Ride Show. There's a few sold out shows, but you deserve to know if you're hardcore enough to try to get in and The Airborne Toxic Event released a new song yesterday (embedded below). more ›

Unlike the rather tired and off-handed assessment of the LA food scene that the SF Chronicle tossed off about six months back, the New York Times has been showing how it's done: their recent piece on "36 Hours in Hollywood" and last week's survey of Sunset Junction. Okay, yes, some of their picks are probably geared to the curious tourist rather than the traveler interested in a more gritty L.A. experience -- Teddy's nightclub is one of their spots to hit up (although you do get to see L.A. teenage wildlife in its natural habitat). more ›

First Amoeba Music scored a "secret show" featuring Paul McCartney, and now Ringo Starr is coming to town. Amoeba announced tonight that Starr and Dave Stewart will play an exclusive short set at the House of Blues this Friday to promote the release of Liverpool 8, Starr's new album. In order to be guaranteed entry, you must be one of the first people in line to purchase the new CD at Amoeba Music on Tuesday morning. The only other way to reserve a place is to win a pair via a KLOS on-air giveaway. All others must wait in line at the HoB beginning at 9 a.m. Friday morning. more ›

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Andy Summers will be at Amoeba Music tonight @ 6pm to sign his just-out book from Taschen, I'll Be Watching You: Inside The Police 1980-83. more ›

The week in Los Angeles bookish events from Monday, January 7th - Sunday, January 13th. Readings, signings and bookish events this week include Andy Summers, Jami Attenberg, Judith Freeman, Alice Fulton, J.A. Jance and Robert Gottlieb. more ›

Record shops and CD purveyors are going the way of the 8-track. Joining the now-defunct ranks of Aron's Records, Rhino Records and Tower on Sunset is the Virgin Megastore. The rent's too high (tell us something we don't know!) And maybe, the sluggish music sales don't help much, either. more ›

Metal Skool w/ Jeremy Piven - "Back in Black" Metal Skool @ Key Club Ky-Mani Marley @ Amoeba Emo Phillips @ Steve Allen Theatre Softlightes, Porterville, El Ten Eleven @ Spaceland The Ramonas, Shatto, All New Like @ The Airliner I See Hawks In LA, Cydney Robinson @ The Bordello D-Strutters, Ninja Academy, Masterslave @ Crash Mansion L.A. Saint Motel, Le Switch, Last American Buffalo, Voxhaul Broadcast @ Viper Room... more ›