Here at LAist, we cover many fantastic up and coming artists, as well as those who have toiled in obscurity for far too long, but continue to push new boundaries in music. If any of them are lucky, perhaps they will have a fraction of the career with the longevity and overall significance and impact on music that the incomparable Emmylou Harris has had over the last 37 years since her debut album Gliding......

Serj Tankian is that lead singer losing his mind screaming into the microphone at those System of the Down shows. You know, the one amping the crowd into a frenzy rivaled only by a pack of starved wolves. Obviously this Armenian from Glendale has enough kaboom to rock a successful solo side dealio. And LAist loves local success stories. Anyways, he whips out this Elect The Dead album, it doesn't come out until October......

The facts: Phil Spector, motherf***ingawesome record producer and somewhat legendary kook, is on trial for the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson, a struggling actress. One Feburary night, Spector ended up at the House of Blues' VIP Room -- oh, sorry, "Foundation Room" -- where Clarkson was working. He picked her up, she went home with him, and about an hour later ended up with a bullet in her head. The prosecution says Phil Spector......

We were a bit apprehensive – OK dreading – reviewing Janis Cooke Newman’s Mary: A Novel (MacAdam/Cage) when it first arrived at our doorstep. It had everything going against it – not only did it weigh in at three pounds and a hefty 707 pages, it was also a work of historical fiction (read: 50-50 shot of being boring) about Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. But Newman’s first novel – she also authored the memoir The......

LAist thinks the kids have it too easy. What with their PSPs, and their PS2s attatched to their flat screens in the back seats in the SUV. LAist remembers having to collect change from couches and skateboarding down to Santa Monica Pier to play decent video games. LAist remembers getting kicked out of the 7-11 on Wilshire near Lincoln for beating the hell out of 10 Yard Fight. LAist remembers the tiny little closets......

LAist is an avid consumer of news media, the kind that comes in papers, on the internets, TV and, this LAist-er especially, ye olde NPR. We like that NPR ain't no Fox News: no diatribes, no right-wing harangues. So we were taken aback by the rampant use of "illegals" in NPR's coverage of yesterday's immigration rallies and marches. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has urged media outlets to stop using the word "illegals:"......

At halftime of the Lakers-Suns playoff game 3 tonight, a Tom Petty song played during the "McDonald's I'm Lovin' It Highlights." And LAist couldn't help but think of Petty's doppelganger: Suns' point guard Steve Nash. Well, we're glad that Tom's got music and Steve's got the skills to fall back on.......

The Museum of Television & Radio’s annual William S. Paley Television Festival – a love fest between the creators and stars of the latest and greatest in TV land and their adoring public – kicks off on Feb. 28 with the cast and crew of http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/">Grey's Anatomy. Audience members get treated to clips/episodes of their favorite TV shows, hear insight on production and even get to ask the questions everyone must know. (When are......

As everyone expected, USC was voted No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. About the only surprise was Louisville getting one first-place vote. So what does this mean? Usually absolutely nothing. Except for last year it meant the national championship. USC began 2004 as a preseason No. 1, and without a single loss they held onto to the top spot straight through to the BCS Title Game. Some college football pundits were openly saying......

Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the whatever you want to call them Angels of wherever open their season tomorrow. And LAist couldn't be more excited that after a long winter, baseball is here. The Dodgers just made their biggest move of the spring, and it came off the field. After LAist pleaded with Frank Court to hold Lon Rosen accountable for stupid decisions like firing Ross Porter, cutting down on Nancy Bea Heafley's......

Someday I Suppose, since most of us really Don’t Know How to Party, it was bound to happen. Sick of Howard? Are Kevin and Bean just so five minutes ago? Are your mornings just too eclectic? Well, fear not loyal readers, you’re about to get a memorable Wake-Up Call. That Rascal King himself, Dicky Barrett, lead singer of legendary Boston ska-punk trailblazers The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, just got his own morning show. Finally. Beginning......

Last night at 12:01 AM there was a collective gasp among all obsessive XBOX owners when the game-to-end-all-games, Halo 2 was finally released to the public. Well, the small percentage of the public who felt driven to wait in a line for hours just to get their hands on a copy before the rest of the (sleeping) public. Halo 2, produced by Bungie and Microsoft has been said to be one of the most......

There is a building. It is located at 8500 Melrose Avenue. It is situated in the city of West Hollywood. It sits just down the street from Urth Cafe, and on the corner of Melrose and La Cienega Boulevard. And LAist is pleading the City of Los Angeles to tear it down. Although featured in a prominent scene in the movie Ruthless People, the pink and black checkered building has done more than corner......

While everyone was watching election coverage all last night, LA almost forgot the Lakers began the post-Shaq era yesterday. The result: an impressive 89-78 win over Denver. Kobe Bryant was impressive, not with his 25 points, but with his seven assists. Many of those passes allowed Chris Mihm to score 23 points. Lamar Odom also added 13 rebounds. Many basketball fans are acting surprised that Kobe suddenly decided to pass the ball. But Kobe......

USC basketball is about to take another blow as Rodrick Stewart is reportedly likely to be ruled academically ineligible for the fall semester. This is yet another sore spot for Henry Bibby, whose USC program should be much better. While he did reach the Elite 8 once, Bibby has became infamous for berating players and holding grudges with them for not taking orders. While that may be because of Bibby's nonsensical eccentricities, here's a......

It was generally assumed that the Clippers planned to go after Kobe Bryant, and if they failed, they would simply re-sign Quentin Richardson. As a restricted free agent, the Clippers could match any deal for Richardson, including the $45 million offer sheet he agreed to with the Phoenix Suns. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Clippers might not match Richardson. And LAist cannot possibly understand why. Call us crazy, but LAist has......