This news ought to put the cherry in the Manhattan of bourbon-loving Silver Lakers, and their fellow imbibing Angelenos: Esquire has hailed The Thirsty Crow as one of the nation's best bars. more ›

For all those in Los Angeles who swear there's no bagel like a New York bagel, you might have something local to chew on soon. "The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. plans to open its first West Coast location on South Beverly Drive by year’s end," reports the Beverly Hills Courier. more ›

Huddled in the gloom of his apartment in Brooklyn, Steve Schiltz, lead singer of the indie rock band Longwave began writing songs that didn't really fit with his current band's guitar heavy, rock aesthetic. These were mellow songs that were meant to be played in the quiet of the late evening hours. So Schiltz created Hurricane Bells, named after the big, heavy bells that are hung in trees to warn of impending doom. Well, at least stormy weather. more ›

Don't judge a pop band by it's cover. Yes okay, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, is a heartbreakingly silly name for a band (I mean I don't think they'll be tattooed on anybody's chest anytime soon) but man they've got a sparkly debut disk. Chock full of 80s inspired pop, the kind that would fit in the background of any John Hughes movie, the self-titled offering has already have generated some most impressive buzz. Lead singer, Kip Berman was kind enough to answer our questions while he was running around Pitchfork Festival this weekend. Here is some of what was said. more ›

Earlier this month, Brooklyn-based rock trio Earl Greyhound (MySpace) headlined with an acoustic set at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, supported by singer-songwriter openers Angel Taylor (MySpace) and Annie Stela (MySpace) -- previously mentioned here. Attendance was unfortunately down from a typical night there but understandable given the torrential weather. more ›

Reviews of Jay Babcock's review of Los Angeles didn't go so well in the comments section yesterday. Babcock, the man behind Arthur Magazine, left Los Angeles for Brooklyn earlier this month. Soundboard on LA Times caught up with him and quizzed him about his move and Babcock went off on Los Angeles. more ›

The man behind Arthur Magazine, Jay Babcock, recently took the indie rag's operation to Brooklyn where he decided to resettle. Soundboard, the LA Times music blog, got a hold of him for a short interview. His answer to the first question, "what prompted the move to Brooklyn?", is quite a read: more ›

Brooklyn indie rockers Pela were supposed to play Spaceland back on March 8, but a few days before, frontman Billy McCarthy was injured while playing a gig in Chicago, forcing them to cancel the rest of their tour. more ›

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I discovered this street art on 8th, just west of Grand in downtown LA last week. more ›

Of all the indie bands with some sort of animal in their title, Grizzly Bear might be the top dogs. After all, can Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Caribou, Panda Bear or even Animal Collective claim they are co-headlining a show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic? more ›

I definitely enjoy the weather. I enjoy hanging with Strong Arm Steady, who as you know are based out here in LA and are apart of my label Blacksmith. more ›

Fear not, fans of Posh and Becks, the high-profile pair are not going to be packing up and heading out of our fair city, as rumors have been circulating. more ›

Stage and screen choreographer Michael Kidd died this past Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 92, according to the New York Times. From his beginnings in Brooklyn, Kidd moved over to Manhattan to dance and create dances for dance companies including Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan (1937), Eugene Loring's Dance Players (1941) and Ballet Theater, the predecessor to the American Ballet Theater (1942-47). more ›

Power-pop is above all feel-good music, designed to hit all your pleasure centers at once, which makes it a natural fit for Christmas time. Click below for five super-charged riffs to restore your faith in humanity. more ›

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1. That I have two healthy, happy, sometimes crazy kids. 2. That, against all odds, I've found in Los Angeles a city I'm as comfortable in as my hometown (that would be Brooklyn, NYC). 3. That I have a better adult life than I could ever have imagined back during my stickball-playing childhood in Flatbush. 4. That being a square actually became the cool thing to be. 5. That I have a family and... more ›

I'm thankful for my family, even when they're "challenging." I'm thankful for my husband, who for some reason has signed on to sleep beside me, watch lots of tv, do the dishes and read every draft (even though he won't see movies more than once.) I'm thankful to be lucky enough to pursue my passion, so few people have that luxury! I'm thankful for Los Angeles, where the sky is big and the horizon... more ›

Release Date: 10/02/07 more ›

Monday Shalom Auslander presents Foreskin's Lament 7pm @ Vroman's Valerie Plame Wilson presents Fair Game 7pm @ Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach Barbara Firestone presents Autism Heroes 7pm @ Dutton's Slash presents Slash 7pm @ Borders, Torrance Lawrence Wright presents The Looming Tower 7:30pm @ UCLA Tuesday David Plante, with host Mark Danielewski, presents ABC 7pm @ Book Soup Michael Lent presents Christmas Letters from Hell 7pm @ Vroman's Tommy Lasorda & Bill Plaschke... more ›

As one blogger so delicately phrased it, "CMJ goes out with a whimper". There wasn't a whole lot I wanted to see on Day Five of CMJ. So I rested my weary bones, wandered around Williamsburg, and caught a couple of shows. One highlight was Ha Ha Tonka's performance at Union Pool in Williamsburg at a homey, jam-packed venue. I believe there was a BBQ going on as well. Williamsburg was lovely, flourishing with... more ›

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Day Four began with jazz hands. I started off at Cake Shop to see NY native Patrick Cleandenim. He struck my interest with his brand of flamboyant, jazz-infused pop. However, it'd be nearly impossible for him to replicate the orchestral backing live and thus his live performance seemed a bit flat. Regardless, Patrick is destined for large things. His latest effort Baby, Come Home was recorded in Kansas at a studio I am quite... more ›

Whew! We're a little more than half-way through this music marathon in New York and I'm starting to realize how similar this experience is to an actual marathon. It requires a lot of endurance, patience, and you'll wish you were an amputee afterwards. With two more days left, I'm still yearning for more and I'm certain that CMJ's final days will sate me. Yesterday started off a bit slow. I began my trek in... more ›

!!! aka Chk Chk Chk (or any other triple repeated expletive) played at the Avalon a couple weeks ago to a large crowd of friends, supporters, party-people, and folks who just effing wanted to dance. The band is 8 months into touring to support their incredible album Myth Takes and are about to embark for another pass through Europe. !!! loves LA - they have a lot of friends here, they make a pilgrimage... more ›

While all the cheesy babybooming douches like Costas and McCarver harken back endlessly about the good ole days of the Boys of Summer before they left NY and moved to LA, keep in mind one thing - people in Brooklyn don't miss the Dodgers. They might miss Vin Scully, or decent National League baseball, but miss or care about the Bums? Faggitaboutit. "When Pee Wee Reese died," said Marty Adler, who has spent years... more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. 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 ›

Necro grew up in Brooklyn listening to rap and heavy metal, and took all those influences and fused them together. Like if death-metal and hip-hop had a baby after a failed abortion. And while it's so good you will want to memorize every word, don't let your girlfriend listen to it... Not unless you want a lot of explaining to do, "No baby, i'm not a psycho, Necro is, but im just a fan!"... more ›

An epic battle of apathetic grandeur. Outside of carrot cake, scruffy beards and driving home from work in record setting time, there is nothing I like more than spoofs on hipsters. Granted, actually liking something like this bears a certain amount of hipsterness, which I mean, whatever man. I don't care. In watching this video, I have identified my five favorite quotes. It was hard to choose. "Exclusivity, that's what it's all about today."... more ›