You're encouraged to "have a drink with the dinosaurs" at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays showcase, which is a helluva lot more exciting than you'd think. It's not just dioramas and deciphering Latin genus-species information, folks. more ›

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Tonight legendary Boston-bred alternative rock outfit the Pixies will be taking on a three-night stint at the Hollywood Palladium with local noise-infused rockers No Age (LAist Review, #2) in tow. Equally legendary Akron-based new wave act Devo are poised to conclude a two-night stint at the Henry Fonda Music Box. And, lastly, English electronic act Broadcast will be headlining the Troubadour with none other than Deerhunter front man Bradford James Cox's solo endeavor Atlas Sound. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Bootleg Theater to catch one of LAist's favorite local singer-songwriters Mia Doi Todd. more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008. more ›