The infamous protestors from Westboro Baptist Church visited Los Angeles yesterday to protest outside a memorial service for heavy metal rocker Ronnie James Dio. The public service was held in the afternoon at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park for the revered heavy metal singer and songwriter, who died of stomach cancer earlier this month. more ›

Come December 15th, a new burger truck is expected to hit L.A.'s streets. Grill Em' All pays homage to Metallica and other rock n' roll bands through their rotating menu. For example, the Molly Hatchet, described by Grub Street Los Angeles as "seared fennel sausage gravy, bacon, and maple syrup" or the... more ›

A group of enterprising young researchers in UCLA's graduate Computer Science department have discovered a fun new way of using your iPod playlist: Wi-Fi enabled software sends your music preferences to whatever computer is nearby. Then music tailored to your preferences pumps out of the speakers -- can you imagine walking into a coffee shop, and the Carrie Underwood track playing shuts off, and a Matthew Good album slides into the rotation instead? How awesome! What a great way to go about your day! more ›

Need some butt-rock to motivate your ass out the door to finish shopping? Luckily it's not just Satan, Satan, Satan all the time with these guys. more ›

One of heavy metal's signature vocalists has died at the too-young age of 52. Kevin DuBrow grew up in Hollywood and Van Nuys and in the late 1970s became the lead singer for Quiet Riot, the glam-metal brainchild of guitarist Randy Rhoads. Though Quiet Riot's brand of hard rock -- or whatever you wish to call it -- was never the same after the 1980s, Quiet Riot carried on, true to form, was featured on... more ›

There’s certainly no shortage of seasonally creepy movies to choose from, from the cartoonish to the sickeningly realistic, whatever floats your boat. But if you prefer all your eggs in one basket - cartoonishly evil violence in documentary form – prepare to stay glued to the computer screen for half an hour. more ›

The Scorpions are in town and we were glad to read that we weren't the only ones excited. Look no further than the LA Weekly of all places to get the bandwagon going. Libby Molyneaux breaks it down perfectly: For better or wurst, the Scorpions still live in a world where “We Were Born to Fly” and “The Future Never Dies,” not to mention “Love Will Keep Us Alive,” all actual titles from their... 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 ›

Last night Jeff Tweedy and the boys of Wilco performed a stellar two hour long set at the Greek. Since I had a wall pass, I had the pleasure of people watching and I must say that Wilco fans are happy folk. Singing along and even dancing at times, the fans were enraptured by the incredible musicianship. The bashful yet charismastic Jeff Tweedy led the crowd through a set comprised of half Sky Blue... more ›

Marilyn Manson and Slayer bashed open our collective brains, and feasted on our souls. We in turn worshiped and thanked them for every second of it. Of course, it's a haul getting one's ass all the way out to the damned Irvine Meadows/Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, but where else can these dudes play? Promoters aren't letting all of us head bangers and moshers into the Hollywood Bowl anytime soon. Pffft... we'd destroy that place. The... more ›

If the above photo does not look anything like a night of Mozart or Tchaikovsky, you're right. Enter 20th Century Classical music where some composers went into non-linear forms, chance and improvisation. Part of the Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound's (SASSAS) sound. series, "Noisy Night features eight players from heavy metal and harsh noise, two idioms with rich and similarly subversive histories. Improvisational ensembles will be created using... more ›

Angela Boatwright and Patrick O’Dell are two New York-based photographers who are coming to LA for the new exhibit “200 Troubled Teenagers” opening tomorrow night at the Standard Downtown. As teenagers themselves, the two attended the same Columbus, Ohio high school and now they’ve joined forces for an exhibit examining two youth subcultures: skateboarding and heavy metal music. The title of the show isn’t so much about juvenile delinquency but an inspiration from the lyrics... more ›

We hear about Iraq everyday but we don't hear enough from real Iraqis. On the cusp of the first weekend of Spring we bring you the fifth and most recent episode from Hometown Baghdad, a vlog featuring documentaries shot by a group of young Iraqi filmmakers. The first episodes took us into the streets of Baghdad and into living rooms with high-fiving soccer fans glued to the tube -- as long as the 3-hrs on/... more ›

Ian Svenonius AKA David Candy AKA the lead singer of D.C. punk bands Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up and most recently Weird War, has published The Psychic Soviet, a book of essays and articles that dwell on "the use of rock 'n' roll and art by the ruling class" and "the sinister machinations behind popular fiction, film, and television serials" (that's according to the good folks at Second Layer Records). Published by Drag City, The... more ›

Sex is something that drives us, empowers us and gets us into really stupid situations with people we have no business seeing naked. Jen Sincero is the bestselling author and sexpert with the carnal knowledge you need. Ask her your questions (all are posted anonymously). Cuz there's no such thing as being too good in bed. Dear Jen: I've been married for 4 years and I am not happy. I've inwardly talked to myself about... more ›

I humbly present this week's offering of classic crooners, underground rappers, David Bowie, heavy metal, art rock, prog rock, and even a little yacht rock. 'Tis a pity we are built with only two ears. more ›

Quetzal @ The Echo more ›

After an exhausting — and possibly soggy — day at the LA Times Festival of Books tomorrow, literati of the most fun persuasion will be heading to Chinatown for the Vermin on the Mount reading series. Held at the Mountain Bar, this Vermin is co-produced by Swink Magazine, and promises to be both liquor- and literature-friendly. Readers coming in from afar include poet Alex Lemon, Steve Almond (My Life in Heavy Metal), and litblogger Moorishgirl (aka Laila Lalami); local litbloger Mark Sarvas of The Elegant Variation is on the bill too, with fellow Angelenos Julianne Flynn and Lisa Glatt (The Apple's Bruise). With martinis from the bar, you'll be perfectly equipped to take in this new ratpack.

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