The highly anticipated arrival of season 2 of Louis C.K.'s "Louie" arrives tonight at 10:30pm on FX. We've seen it, it's incredible, and it's the must-watch show of the night. Please check out the interviews we've done with Louis over the past few months. --- Jack White and Stephen Colbert plan to make sweet music together. --- All this and the TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan for tonight. more ›

The hope and dream that the White Stripes would make up that cancelled 2007 Forum date can now be put to rest as the band formally announced their split today. It was not a split for the classic “band breakup reasons” as a statement on their website states, “The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health,” and continued “It is for a myriad of reasons but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.” The 2007 Forum show and the remaining tour was cancelled as Meg suffered from “acute anxiety.” more ›

Tonight South Carolina-bred folk maestro Iron and Wine will be performing for free, in-store at Amoeba Music in Hollyweird before taking on the Wiltern for two nights. English alternative rock trio White Lies, who recently released their sophomore endeavor, Ritual, are poised to take on the Troubadour with none other than local hard rock duo Giant Drag. And, lastly, Long Beach-bred indie rock stalwarts the Cold War Kids (LAist Review, #2) will be taking on the Bootleg Theater with Grouplove in anticipation of their forthcoming third album, 2011's Mine Is Yours. But we strongly suggest heading over to the El Rey Theatre to catch Oklahoma-bred singer-songwriter Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rockabilly and America's first female Rock and Roll singer, who is touring in support of her latest Jack White-produced endeavor—2011's The Party Ain't Over. more ›

Tonight Oklahoma-bred singer-songwriter Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rockabilly and America's first female Rock and Roll singer, will be headlining the El Rey Theatre in support of her latest Jack White-produced endeavor—2011's The Party Ain't Over. LA-by-way-of-North Carolina folk outfit Hi Ho Silver Oh are poised to perform for free, in-store at Origami Vinyl. And, lastly, Portland-based folk songstress Laura Gibson will be gracing the Troubadour. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to catch San Franciscan post-punk trio Weekend, who will be performing for this week's edition of Michael Stock's Part Time Punks. LAist favorites, Oxnard-bred garage pop act Catwalk are slated to kick things off. more ›

Jack White's latest reincarnation Dead Weather played to a packed house at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night. The adoring crowd clad in black freaked out every time someone with a hat crossed the stage thinking that it might be the mysterious Mr. White. When they finally did emerge the crowd lost it's mind, screaming, and cheering as if the Messiah had arrived. Bassist Jack Lawrence and guitarist Dean Fertita smiled at the crowd sheepishly, but lead singer Alison Mossheart grabbed the mic as if it was her last cigarette and inhaled. Dead Weather is more of a feeling than a band. They have all the right elements for a bad ass rock group: sexy lead singer, mysterious bassist, talented lead guitarist, and eccentric drummer, but no matter how badly they try it just doesn't have any lasting soul. But man alive, they've got the theatrics down. more ›

With so many bands playing, the breadth of Coachella’s line-up can be a curse as well as a blessing. It forces the fans to make a choice between potentially up to 5 acts they may all love. Unfortunately, I have been faced with decisions such as Them Crooked Vultures or Grizzly Bear, Dead Weather/MGMT or Muse, and on Sunday Phoenix/Thom Yorke or Pavement/Gorillaz. Most of these decisions have essentially been an old favorite vs. a curious desire to see a different band. So far, the old favorites are up 2-0. more ›

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Twilight books and movies provide an inherently evil model to young women about the kind of men they should date. Sure, Edward and Jacob are cute and all, but they are also violent and emotionally distant narcissists. Parents, don't be surprised when your cute little Cindy comes home with a black eye insisting, "But deep down he's really a good person!" Thank that lunatic Mormon Stephanie Meyer and her backwards ideas about sexuality. more ›

Having just gotten out of a relationship which had eerie parallels to (500) Days of Summer, I have no intention of seeing it anytime soon. You should, though. It's wonderfully melancholy and real (excepting the amazing musical sequence with the animated musical bird). I was thrilled to see that District 9 made such a large impact at the box-office. It gives hope to those of us who are tired of seeing nothing but pre-packaged concepts that have been given virtual body-cavity searches by the studios' risk-management trolls. more ›

Wednesday was day one of Third Man Records and Novelties, a downtown three-day-long pop-up store from Jack White in promotion of Horehound, the latest album from his band The Dead Weather. More than 500 people packed the Regent Theatre for the free afternoon six-song show, reported blogdowntown. more ›

In promotion of his latest album, Jack White is opening a temporary record store on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles tomorrow through Friday. Third Man Records and Novelties, which last popped up in New York City (and has a permanent space in Nashville), will feature all things Jack White from the White Stripes, Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, which just released the album, Horehound. more ›

In a rare show of good taste, Americans flocked to the alien civil rights drama, District 9, as it rang up a surprising $37M in sales to top the weekend box office. Last week's champ, G.I. Joe: Didn't Suck As Much As Transformers, had a decent second frame ($22.5M | $98.7M), managing to hold off newcomer The Time Traveler's Wife ($19.2M). After that it was the mostly delightful Julie & Julia ($12.4M | $43.6M), the stupid G-Force ($6.9M | $99M) and The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, which debuted to a disappointing $5.3M. more ›

District 9 is generating the sort of low-level buzz that is often the sign of an unexpected, breakout hit. Thank God, the plug got pulled on Halo or District 9 never would have been made. Also, thank God that the increasingly on-the-nose Peter Jackson didn't direct it. Davis Guggenheim isn't nearly the documentary filmmaker that a Kirby Dick or an Errol Morris is, but the subject matter of It Might Get Loud kept me enthralled (LAist review here). What Zeppelin fan wouldn't love to see Jimmy Page not only play with The Edge and Jack White but show off his record collection, too. Not sure what to make of The Goods. Critics are torching it, but someone compared it to Wet Hot American Summer which was only incredibly hilarious and inventive. more ›

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The 15th annual Los Angeles Film Festival kicks off tonight at 7:30 pm with the premiere screening of Paper Man at the Mann Village Theater. The full festival begins in earnest the following morning as over 80 documentary and narrative features unspool in venues across the Westside. In addition to that, the festival features panels and seminars, coffee talks and poolside chats, short-film programs, music video showcases, live concerts and free screenings of such beloved films as Ghostbusters, Election and The Muppet Movie. more ›

Tonight Nashville-based alternative rock supergroup the Dead Weather, which features Jack White of the White Stripes and Alison Mosshart of the Kills, will be headlining a sold-out show at the Roxy. Local rapper Busdriver (LAist Review, #2) is poised to flow in celebration of his forthcoming disc, 2009's Jhelli Beam, at Amoeba Records early on in the evening. And, lastly, San Franciscan psych rock sextet Sleepy Sun will be performing at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock with Dios (Malos) and Slang Chickens. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to catch Portland-based indie rock duo Viva Voce (LAist Review). LAist favorites Cut Off Your Hands (LAist Review) are slated to kick things off. more ›

Finally, after all the hubub and debate of the quality of this year's Coachella lineup, the festival got underway Friday afternoon. Featuring Jack Johnson at the top of the bill, the day featured outstanding performances from the Raconteurs who proved that they aren't just Jack White's side project but rather a band that is developing their own sound and identity. The Verve, playing for the first time in nearly a decade sounded like they hadn't even missed a step. The day also featured standout performances from indie darlings Vampire Weekend as well as Tegan and Sara among others. more ›

Jack White discussed this bonus re-working of the Patti Page classic on NPR's Morning Edition:

For the new B-sides, The White Stripes teamed up with Beck and recorded in his Los Angeles home studio. more ›

Who says there's anything we wouldn't do for our readers? Here we are in all of our glory and humiliation for your viewing pleasure. more ›

Regina Spektor - "Us" @ Coachella, 2007 Maybe you're like us. Maybe you already have been to every great Halloween that Isla Vista has to offer. Maybe you are tired of scaring the little kids in your Dick Cheney costume showing them how Social Security will be wiped out by the time they're 40. Maybe the West Hollywood omg I'm a slut costume has worn thin(ner). Maybe you just want to get away from... more ›

June of 2007" src="http://www.laist.com/attachments/tony/ifroneicky.jpg" width="640" height="406" /> Those of you who saw Jack and Meg at the Tower Records - whoops, we mean the Icky Thump Records in-store concert earlier this summer, you might be the only people in LA who will get to see the duo this year in the Southland. According to an email that was just sent out by the band's email team, the tour has been ixnayed. The White Stripes... more ›

We didn't know how lucky we had it when the White Stripes came to Hollywood last month and took over the location formerly known as Tower Sunset and turned it into Icky Thump Records. OK, yes we did. But we had no idea how much more White Stripes love we were going to get compared to the other parts of North America in regards to these "secret shows". For example on their tour across... more ›

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We get a lot of cheesy people trying to get their hands down the proverbial pants of LAist every day. You know, those who try to get their crap on our crap so that you THE EYEBALLS will see and love and salivate and consuuuuume. Even though that's not really how it works. How do we know? Well, watch: Be nice to each other. Give $20 to the most shady homeless person you see... more ›

A few interesting things happened today as the White Stripes announced that they have finished their new record Icky Thump (those things just seem to ease right out of Jack White's mind, dont they?). The first was the Stripes, who should know better, announced their news on their website that is only accessible via Flash, meaning it's impossible to cut n paste the info and pop it into an email or a web post... more ›

Even though they have every record company at their beck and call, even though they can basically hand-pick the performers and the songs that they will play, MTV's Video Music Awards are usually hit-or-miss and as comfortable as watching Michael Jackson try to make out with Lisa Marie Presley. Last night's ceremony was no exception with generous parts cringe and a sprinkle of inspiration. Christina, Justin, and Jack Black were talented and wonderful, as... more ›

"Despite a sound mix that bordered on muddy and amateurish, Jack White's new band, the Raconteurs, proved Tuesday in Tempe that they are much more than a 'side project' for the White Stripes star." - Arizona Republic 7/19 more ›

Any apprehension about seeing the Raconteurs at the Fonda last night disappeared when they took the stage. On the album, each song sounds like a different band trying on a new style. But in person, they're tight, unified and rock nice and hard and loud (are your ears still ringing a little too?). On tour the band (Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler) is supplemented with a fifth member who mostly played keyboards but added a third guitar on some tunes (wasn’t he in the Waxwings?). About four songs into the set they broke out Love's "A House Is Not a Motel." Anybody who’d just read about Arthur Lee's illness and his recent experimental stem cell surgery had to feel a little emotional. Love is one of the quintessential LA bands and New York’s benefit for Lee blows LA’s away. Anyway Jack White rolls into town and plays a very passionate version of the song (and songs off of Forever Changes aren't the easiest things to pull off). Respect. The band didn't say much during the set. At one point White said something about "all my Latino and Latina family out there” and then at the end of the two song encore, he introduced the band. Brendan Benson added a nice cover of "It Ain't Easy" which most people know from David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust. The other big highlight was "Broken Boy Soldier" which many critics have interpreted as White's kiss off of the White Stripes ("I'm through ripping myself off" / "The boy never gets older"). White’s guitar playing was skilled as ever and very engaging to watch. And Patrick Keeler’s got talent. Those rock drummers who hold their sticks like jazz drummers are always way cooler. Much of the crowd was obviously there to see White (he was front and center) but the rest of the band more than held their own. They played through the record, did the two covers and another two songs we didn't immediately recognize (any help?). If you're on the fence about going to the Wiltern show, pull the trigger (tickets still remain for the July 20th show). You’ll hear the record with new ears. more ›

Infinity (the Journey cover band that played Spaceland on Friday) is a lot of fun to see live. Here are some other bands that are hopefully fun live..... more ›

Cam’Ron Killa Season (Diplomatic Man) – He’s straight-up gangsta. In the last two years he’s hunted internet pedophiles, gotten shot and beefed with Jay-Z. Some critics complain that the beats on this album sound too much like the last one, but most agree that his lyrics make it an enjoyable listen. He’s even got a song about his battle with irritable bowel syndrome. more ›

Fri 4/14 – The Greenhornes @ Troubadour ($12) – This Cincinnati three-piece plays quality retro rock’n’roll that’s heavily influenced by The Yardbirds. The band includes the rhythm section that played on Loretta Lynn’s great album, Van Lear Rose, and they're also members of the Raconteurs (along with Brendan Benson and Jack White). Download Pattern Skies more ›