Charles Thompson hasn't recorded an album with the Pixies since 1991's Trompe le Monde, despite years of rumors. But Thompson, who led the trailblazing indie quartet under the pseudonym Black Francis (originally suggested by his father), recorded roughly one album per year since the Pixies' 1993 break up as Frank Black. This summer he put a cap on Frank Black with the 32-track 93-03 compilation. And now, Black Francis is back. Touring behind the edgy,......

Black Francis, Eastern Conference Champions @ Safari Sam's The Bird & the Bee @ Amoeba Music Jill Scott @ House of Blues Patrick Wolf @ El Rey Jimmy Eat World @ Wiltern Tom Brosseau @ Largo Matthew Dear, Mobius Band @ The Echo Mothers Anthem, Izzy the Eskimo, Cockpit, Spiral @ Viper Room Sally Kellerman, Marina's Daughter, Brandon McCulloch @ Genghis Cohen Arden Kaywin, Deadbeat Sinatras, Blackbird, Silver Needle @ The Gig......

PJ Harvey - "White Chalk" PJ Harvey @ Orpheum Rilo Kiley @ Santa Monica Civic Sarah Silverman @ Largo Black Francis, Eastern Conference Champions @ Safari Sam's Castledoor, Hearts of Palm UK, Princeton @ The Echo Limbeck, Travis Shettel, Andrew Deerin, Chris Koza @ The Hotel Cafe Metal Skool, Born as Ghosts, Immune, Glacier Hiking @ Key Club Suburban Legends, Taxi Doll, Skrotum Kiss @ The Knitting Factory Abe Lincoln Story, Doug Stewart &......

Arctic Monkeys @ Hollywood Palladium The Monolators, Mezzanine Owls, Amateurs @ The Echo Trisha Yearwood @ Cerritos Center Steel Pulse @ House of Blues James Blunt @ El Rey Midlake, Maria Taylor @ Henry Fonda Sally Kellerman, David Lucky @ Genghis Cohen Grant Lee Phillips, Morgan Murphy @ Largo The Expendables, B Foundation, Dirty Heads @ The Roxy Ride On Rides, Eastern Conference Champions @ Viper Room The Barbarellatones, The Black Fuzz, The Scrid......

Kennedy - "Your Mama" One of the weirdest singles we've heard in a while. We're not sure if it's good that he's lovin our momma, but whatevs. He sorta looks like John the Stutter so it's cool. Clipse, Lucky.I.Am @ The Roxy Subhumans, Witch Hunt, Peligro Social @ The Knitting Factory Kennedy, Eastern Conference Champions, Voxhaul Broadcast @ Silverlake Lounge Palms to Pines, Dora Flood, Moving To France, Garden of Earthly Delights @ Safari......

Daniel Johnston at SXSW, 3/07 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: Daniel Johnston @ Henry Fonda......

OUT TODAY: These and other new releases are conveniently located at your neighborhood record store (sigh) or online retailer… The Chemical Brothers - We Are the Night (Astralwerks) Suzanne Vega - Beauty and Crime (Blue Note) The Dark Crystal: 25th Anniversary Soundtrack - Trevor Jones (La-La Land) KT Tunstall - Hold On [SINGLE] (Relentless Records) Editors - An End Has a Start (Epic) Meat Puppets - Rise to Your Knees (Anodyne) The Cribs -......

Weird Al - "Bob" Weird Al Yankovic @ Orange County Fair The Psychedelic Furs, The Fixx, The Alarm @ Pacific Amphitheatre Eastern Conference Champions, The Vampire Weekend, Faker @ Silverlake Lounge Spoon @ Cinespace Crowded House @ The Troubadour Puddle of Mudd @ Viper Room OK Stranger, She's your Sister, Shiloe @ Spaceland Adam Franklin, the Black Watch, Benni Hemm Hemm @ The Echo Maxeen, MS90, The Audio Club, The Kids of Widney High......

Everyone loves the Eastern Conference Champions and everyone loves LAist on Fridays because for some reason everyone gets super motivated by the upcoming weekend and they post whatever it is that they've been working on all week. Here it is 4:30pm and we've already busted with 19 posts today and many of them are super awesome. If this were the Eastern Conference, several of those posts would be vying to be the Champ. Speaking......

The Who @ Long Beach Arena Division Day, Love of Diagrams, Canon, La Rocca @ Spaceland Eastern Conference Champions, I Make this Sound, The Procession @ Silverlake Lounge The Binges, Bleu, Dial Zero, Andy Dick & the Bitches of the Century @ King King The Faceless, Toast to the Gods, Earned in Blood, Straight to Vengeance @ Whisky A Go Go Floater 6, The Nervous Wrecks, Boozehounds, Marie Catastrophe, Uglysticks @ Lava Lounge Go......

The Submarines, "Brighter Discontent" Tonight: The Who @ Long Beach Arena Division Day, La Rocca @ Spaceland Eastern Conference Champions, I Make this Sound, The Procession @ Silverlake Lounge The Binges, Andy Dick & the Bitches of the Century @ King King Metal Skool, Shapes of Race Cars, Pearl @ Key Club Tuesday: Rockstar Supernova, The Panic Channel, Dilana @ Long Beach Arena Money Mark @ Amoeba (free, 7pm) Mezzanine Owls, Black Palms @......

Eastern Conference Champions "To The Wind" The Airbourne Toxic Event, The Sharp Ease, Dead Ponies @ Viper Room Division Day, Bedroom Walls, Tigers Can Bite You @ Spaceland Ralph Stanley @ El Rey Sarah Silverman @ Largo Metal Skool, Prima Donna, Mardo, The Sugi Tap @ Key Club Eastern Conference Champions, Blvd., Meho Plaza @ Silverlake Lounge Will Haven, Eightfourseven, Death Valley High, Red Host @ The Troubadour The Binges, The Ringers, Andy Dick......

The Abe Lincoln Story @ The Echo Division Day, Great Northern, Peter Walker @ Spaceland Metal Skool, The Thornbirds, Drugstore Cowboys @ Key Club Cousin Kate, Amy Loftus @ The Gig Mia Sable, Kristy Kruger, Gil Landry @ The Hotel Cafe Eastern Conference Champions, Magic & Rattles, Valentino, The Shys @ Silverlake Lounge The Binges, Wired All Wrong, Minutes to Midnight, Andy Dick @ King King Robin Williams on Fire, Macka, The Pristines, Alexis......

The Binges, Tokyo Smog and host Andy Dick @ King King The Game @ House of Blues Lily Allen @ Henry Fonda Theater Paul Weller @ Avalon Metal Skool @ Key Club sosohuman @ King King Foreign Born, Black Palms, In Waves @ Viper Room A Kiss Could Be Deadly, Ultraviolet, Metroid @ Safari Sam's Alexandra Bustamante, Jessica Catarina, Dee, Olivia @ Cat Club Division Day, The Movies, Tandemoro, Happy Hallows @ Spaceland Simon......

Lady Sovereign, Young Love, Honeycut @ El Rey Lou Barlow, Emperor X, Applied Communications @ The Smell Cursive, The Parson Red Heads, Eastern Conference Champions @ The Troubadour Joe Purdy, Greg Laswell, Simnon Dawes @ The Hotel Cafe Adema, Daredevil Jane, The Sixth Chamber @ Viper Room Daniel Higgs, Ezra @ Il Corral Esteban @ The Canyon......