The Beach Boys will be reuniting onstage at the Grammy Awards this Sunday, which makes now as good a time as any to have a chuckle at this map of the United States that breaks down young ladies by description and region. more ›

With the arrival of the Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions on Capitol Records today, rock’s most famous unfinished album is finally on shelves in close-to-complete condition. It’s an occasion that many feared would never come, due to the decidedly Bad Vibrations evoked in the mind of Brian Wilson every time he heard those tunes. more ›

When the Chamberlin keyboard made its debut more than 50 years ago, Harry Chamberlin intended for it to revolutionize home entertainment. Little did he know that his invention would change the landscape of rock 'n' roll forever. By incorporating eight-second sound clips into an electro-mechanical keyboard, he essentially created the first music sampler. Read on to learn about the new documentary featuring this fascinating instrument. more ›

It’s said to be the greatest concert film ever made, but the T.A.M.I Show in its finished form has been elusive almost since it was released. The Teen Age Music International Show was filmed at the Santa Monica Civic over two nights in late 1964 for eventual release as a feature film, a way for all the small town kids that couldn’t make it to concerts see what their favorite acts were like on stage. After its first theatrical run, the Beach Boys insisted that their sequence be cut out... more ›

Whether the Beach Boys were singing about showing off their cars, surfing, falling in love or eating hamburgers, they made it sound like the most wonderful thing, like you wanted to be doing that right now. Kids in Omaha might not be able to relate to songs about surfing, but anybody could get what songs like “I Get Around” and “Fun Fun Fun” were about. Much like Eddie Cochran’s “Somethin’ Else”, they were about nothing less than the American dream: idealism, pursuit of happiness, pride of ownership and the kind of freedom you can only get from your own set of wheels. Having Brian Wilson play at the Petersen Automotive Museum’s annual fundraising gala was a kind of idealism realized, a harmonious pairing in more ways than one. more ›

Tonight legendary Beach Boys front man Brian Wilson (LAist Interview, Review) will be performing at the Wiltern. Deep-blues troubadour William Elliott Whitmore is slated to play to a sold-out crowd at the El Rey Theatre with City and Colour. The rather prolific Charlotte-based singer-songwriter Benji Hughes will be gracing the stage at Spaceland for this week's edition of Club NME. Recent Kemado Records signees the Soft Pack (formerly known as the Muslims) will be rocking out at the Echo early in the night. The Silver Lake Lounge is hosting a handful of exemplary local acts like Divisadero, Tigers Can Bite You and the French Semester. And, lastly, Foreign Born side project Big Search will be coming through Three Clubs in Hollyweird. But we strongly suggest heading over to Largo at the Coronet to catch Oklahoma-bred singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. more ›

Thanks to this intriguing trailer, LAist already can't wait for the DVD release of "Mellodrama," a documentary about the Mellotron, a keyboard instrument that for decades has made a dramatic impact on rock music. The film includes interviews with musicians such as Brian Wilson and LA-based Largo regulars, Michael Penn and Jon Brion. more ›

It's a great week to be a Brian Wilson fan in Southern California, with the release of a great new DVD package, an in-person signing and, finally, a performance of his very fine new album in the city that inspired it. 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. This year we asked some of the staffers what inspired them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008. more ›

There's a ton of great stuff going on in LA tonight, but it's going to cost you an arm and a leg to get in. First and foremost, there's the Carl Wilson Foundation 10 Year Anniversary Tribute Concert & Fundraiser featuring surf rock legend Dick Dale and Beach Boys front man Brian Wilson. The ginormous Gibson Ampitheatre will be bouncing to R&B mainstays Mary J. Blige and our personal guilty pleasure, Robin Thicke. You've got a lot of money and foresight if you're planning on going to one of the aforementioned shows. And, quite honestly, we've only got so much of both. So we shelled out thirty bucks a month in advance for the opening night of Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird's two-date stint at Largo at the Coronet. If you don't have tickets, then do whatever it takes to get in. It'll be the most intimate, mind-blowing experience of your life. more ›

It’s an LA tradition to send out summer with a fireworks spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl and this year, they may have found their most ideal co-host and honoree in Brian Wilson. As leader of the Beach Boys, he created the closest thing we have to an Original Soundtrack for the city, and last night, we got to see it played out in front of us, complete with fireworks. more ›

And Brian Wilson loves LA. LAist was lucky enough see him at his Nissan Live Sets show. more ›

It's a good week so far for basic cable programming. "Mad Men" was great, as was last night's season premiere of "The Shield", and tonight we have the series premiere of "Sons of Anarchy" on FX. Somehow the show is becoming a darling of the critics (not this one, because, hint hint, FX hasn't sent me any previews). What we _do_ know about is the "Cocaine Diaries" on BBC America at 9:00pm - a really fantastic and unconventional documentary that is the Pick O' The Night. more ›

LAist was among a couple hundred lucky fans left with goose bumps after being treated to an intimate set of music by Brian Wilson. The former Beach Boy debuted material from his brand new, Van Dyke Parks-produced album, That Lucky Old Sun backed by his energetic 10-piece band. Classic Beach Boys faves "California Girls," "I Get Around," "Good Vibrations," and more. more ›

I'm hoping you got a bunch of DVDs to tide you over during this dead week as well as until the writer's strike ends. It looks like TCM is running an "aviation in movies" marathon tonight and IFC's featuring Harvey Keitel. For further marathon action, check out BRAVO which is showing all of Project Runway's fourth season (starts at 6:00pm). more ›

Oh, to have unlimited resources and $8,000 to blow. My perceptions of rock 'n' roll fantasy camps forever changed this morning when my eyes skimmed an e-mail touting the mother of all rock experiences. My skepticism led me to open the e-mail and I was genuinely shocked by the caliber of the special guests and "camp counselors," which include Brian Wilson, Nick Mason, Cliff Williams and more. The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp will take place Feb. 15-18 at a recording studio in Los Angeles and will include an on-stage performance with Cliff Williams at the House of Blues. more ›

MUSIC: CalTech isn’t just about nerdy rocket scientists. They have glee clubs, too! All kidding aside, tonight's concert will feature traditional holiday favorites as well as the Women's Club taking on Porpora’s Magnificat, written in the 1730s. 8 pm // Dabney Lounge at California Institute of Technology // 1200 East California Blvd., Pasadena // Free. DANCE: From CalTech, we’ll head over to CalArts in Valencia. The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance is holding its... more ›

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! more ›

Daniel Johnston at SXSW, 3/07 more ›

Menomena - Cough Coughing Brian Wilson @ Pasadena Civic Auditorium John Doe @ Amoeba Menomena @ Troubadour Ne-Yo @ House of Blues Dave Stewart @ Largo LCD Soundsystem, Yacht @ El Rey Lifesavas, Strange Fruit Project @ Roxy The Duke Spirit, Twilight Sleep @ Spaceland Bleed the Dream, Hey Mike, Umbrellas @ On the Rox Hazelden, Tattooed Millionaires, Firebug, Stepsonday @ Safari Sam's Cold War Kids @ Echoplex... more ›

If Perry Farrell wants to have a Flash Mob situation happen in Venice on Sunday, fine. Bro invented Jane's Addiction, an LA band so great it ranks right up there with the Doors, Guns n Roses, and the Beach Boys. Like Brian Wilson, Perry could have holed himself up in a house doing drugs and thinking about surfing, but instead he invented Lollapalooza and then made the underground classic film The Gift. So if... more ›

He's probably best known for his "Hi How Are You" tshirt that Kurt Cobain often wore, but if you don't know Daniel Johnston's music you're really missing out and you should definitely pick up the award-winning DVD, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston". Equally amateurish and darkly genius, Johnston's tunes lie somewhere between Brian Wilson and Wesley Willis while being heavily influenced by the Beatles. more ›

LAist could have seen the Jesus & Mary Chain in 1986 but they played on Good Friday at the Santa Monica Civic and we were all, "if you see a band called the Jesus & Mary Chain on Good Friday you're gonna go to Hell." But we loved the band, and with each new album we loved them more and more. Quasi-gothic take on Brian Wilson is how it always felt to us. Beautiful... more ›

Anavan, Crooked Cowboy, Bob Bellerue, Bizzart @ Il Corral (fundraiser - go) Brian Wilson @ Long Beach Terrace Theater (final all Pet Sounds concert) Robbers on High Street, Lemon Sun, Mezzanine Owls @ The Echo (6pm) Of Montreal @ Avalon Cherryholmes @ Citrus College The Chieftains @ Cerritos Center The Briefs @ Alex's Bar (LA Derby Dolls afterparty) Shirley Caesar, Angie Stone, Kelly Price @ Galen Center RTX, The Binges, Year Long Disaster, HDR... more ›

Jim Noir, Tower of Love, on Barsuk Records. more ›

Brian Wilson @ UCLA Royce Hall Dirty Sanchez, Jefree Star @ Key Club Joshua Bell @ Disney Concert Hall Bob Lind @ Little Pedro's DJ AM @ LAX Sarah Green, Evan Bethany @ Tangier Tina Stevens @ Canter's Kibitz Room Jamie Lidell, Safety Scissors @ Safari Sam's Voxtrot, Low vs. Diamond, Yellow Fever @ The Troubadour River City Rebels, Penny Royals, Umbrella Tree @ Viper Room Kelly Dalton, Until June, Jay Nash @ The... more ›

The white smoke slowly rose from atop the Angelyne billboard which meant the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce had decided who would get stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. more ›

With influences ranging from Prince to Brian Wilson, Sabrosa Purr's sound is hard to pin down. And if you ask the band, that's the way they like it. With the exception of a few songs, they've ditched the formulaic verse-and-chorus routine we've all been accustomed to hearing. The result is something that stands out from everything else you hear on KROQ or Indie. Keep reading to find out how the band got its enigmatic name and to what lengths front man Will Love would go for the sake of his art. more ›

It seems there aren't any good vibrations in Surf City, USA. Beach Boy Mike Love is suing cousin and ex-bandmate Brian Wilson over Wilson's recent Smile release. According to an Associated Press report: more ›

LAist would like to send you and a guest to see Brian Wilson perform the legendary lost Beach Boys album SMiLE live at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, September 4th. more ›