After reviewing a few dozen releases this year this is my top ten of reviewed albums plus a few select tracks of items that I went out and hunted down myself. These weren't easy to select out of the great stuff I received so it was a challenge. I'd like to thank the labels and their PR agencies for hunting me down and sending CDs to me. I reviewed everything that I received this year......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

Last year we did a lot of Best Of lists, and this year we are on a roll to eclipse the quantity and quality of last year. One thing I have noticed is there seems to be two ways to do a Best Of list. You can do a politically correct one for the hipsters and cynics - which is boring and a lie. Or you can keep it real and talk about how......

Listen to the interview here: Deborah Harry is on her way to LA to play the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater tomorrow, Friday the 7th. She's got her first new solo album in fourteen years out, Necessary Evil, and you can hear some samples of it at her MySpace. Unfortunately our conversation sounds like I'm contacting her by sat-phone somewhere in Tibet but these are the days of multiline patch-ins so it couldn't......

Right around Labor Day we interviewed KCRW dj Jason Bentley about the 30th anniversary of Morning Becomes Eclectic. Today he provides us with his top ten albums of 2007, and you Radiohead fans will be glad to see that he adds them to his list just like most of his cohorts did. Interestingly when Mathieu Schreyner left Radiohead off his list, not only was he not criticized, but he received many more positive comments......

This week we have been delivering Top 10 lists from KCRW's most popular on-air personalities. Tonight we're going to give you a two-fer. First up is native Los Angeleno Raul Campos, host of Nocturna, and the first one on these lists to give it up to Brit faves Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. Also if you're scoring at home, Radiohead seems to be doing quite well on these KCRW lists. Have a gander at......

You might recall that right around Labor Day we celebrated KCRW's 30th anniversary of Morning Becomes Eclectic with a series of interviews with a handful of their on-air personalities. Today we are lucky enough to get the Top 10 list of Nic Harcourt's top albums of 2007. We are very happy to see that he's just as down with local kids Sea Wolf and Great Northern as we are. Not only that, but atop......

These dudes didn't make the list. The year is already over for L.A. Times pop critic Ann Powers; in a piece dated tomorrow, she lays out an unremarkable top 10 albums of 2007. Maybe Powers gave up on 07 when she couldn't get on OiNK anymore. Or perhaps, like Christmas decorations and presidential primaries, top 10 lists are just going up earlier than ever this year. Either way, I guess she's not waiting on......

I've always dreamed of attending the CMJ, the annual New York gathering of pretty much every band in the entire universe. The people over at Fader are saying CMJ should be an acronym for Conquering Many Jams. I'm just not sure if I'll be doing the conquering. With thousands of bands to choose from, It's more than likely that the music will be conquering me. As I arrive at the Puck building on Lafayette......

LAist reviewed !!!'s excellent album Myth Takes earlier this year. Here's a chance to see what can only be described as a tribal experience. They've got the horn section, they've got crazy needs-more-cowbell jams, they've got the nutty electronics, and they've got the energy to drive this machine. Members of this band are also involved with other amazing groups like Out Hud and LCD Soundsystem if that helps you identify this pseudo-dance-punk-funk genre. If......

They're probably the best band in the world right now. And they're playing at the world famous Hollywood Bowl. If you don't have tickets, break your piggy banks, go to the show and overpay for the Arcade Fire. Think of how much you hand over to cable each month or your cell phone carrier. These Canadians with their punk sensibilities and violins and megaphones deserve your attention. If not, there are some mighty fine......

The Arcade Fire show at Hollywood Bowl is only a day away (and we might be dancing in the rain). If you're not already familiar with openers LCD Soundsystem (feat. James Murphy / DFA Records), check out the brand-spankin' new video for "Someone Great," the next single from one of our favorite releases this year, Sound of Silver. Shot by Doug Aitken ("sleepwalkers"). UPDATE: Sadly, this video has been removed from YouTube only one day......

Here at LAist, we are no strangers to Arcade Fire. And that's why we are happy to being giving away a pair of tickets to next Thursday's concert at the Hollywood Bowl! Yes, you! All ya gotta do is comment (as a registered user, not a guest) on this post by end of Monday night saying what alcoholic drink you prefer at the Bowl: wine or beer (or, if you must, be as creative as......

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......

Smoosh: They're 14, they've been rocking for years. We interviewed them in April. Touring America is what they're doing for their summer vacation. What are you doing for yours? The Pipettes are equally cute, but in a very different (and legal) way @ The Troubadour Juliette and the Licks @ Spaceland LCD Soundsystem, Yacht @ El Rey Theatre Thailand, Repeater, Death to Anders, Expo 70 @ Silverlake Lounge Hymns, Mezzanine Owls, The Parson Redheads,......

- Today is visiting day at the Twin Towers facility where America's most famous inmate resides - The Atwater Village Street Fest is still happening till 4pm - They've turned a roller rink into the sweetest named museum in all of Long Beach, The Molaa - The Sopranos finale comes on at 6pm if you're lucky enough to get the east coast feed of HBO - LCD Soundsystem is at the El Rey tonight......

Yesterday we told you how to see 14 pretty good bands this Friday at Coachella, so now let's do Saturday using the Coachooser. Sadly even though the middle day has our most anticipated act, The Arcade Fire, it has the fewest amount of bands that we want to see, a paltry 15. Nine of them are playing between 2:30 and 5:30, and five of those are all playing at the same time! While we......

LAist is proud to offer a weekly, chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Billboard Charts......

A Word or 157: It's all about the Prime Time tonight. The Office and 30 Rock have a real chance at getting some serious viewership since both Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy are simply rehash episodes (even though they are billed as 'New'). Tina Fey has been hitting everything from Good Morning America to Conan (and Baldwin made an appearance on Letterman last night) in an attempt to push 30 Rock more - it's......

A Word or 47: Full disclosure - tonight I might watch the cultural trainwreck that is Idol and then it's on to Lost and then an evening culminating with LCD Soundsystem on Letterman, they will kick ass! And then, if I can find some Cialis, a bit of Tina Fey on Conan. Tonight - Wednesday - April 11th, 2007 Jericho/Criminal Minds/CSI: NY (CBS, 8-11:00 p.m.) From post-apocalypse to a dead New Yorker in medieval......

LAist is proud to offer a weekly, chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Billboard Charts......

Out Today (The Baby List) Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum (Ryko)) LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (Capitol) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living (Touch & Go) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Sony) I'm from Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends [US Bonus Tracks] (Mute U.S.) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Junk Culture (Caroline) El-P - I'll Sleep When You're......

With a tough, glossy finish, and a hearty dose of quirk, DFA dignitary, James Murphy, delivers fat danceability and wry cynicism to the latest LCD Soundsystem project, “Sound of Silver.” Detached, electronic soundscapes come peppered with vocal flourishes, throwback rhythms and mod-futuristic notions. Catchy, robotic hooks are held in place by glittery beats, atop atonal clanging. Also, as it turns out, the sound of silver is a cowbell. I had no idea. The record......

Wanna' know what's hot and fresh on our playlists? Look no further. Here's the 411 on what your favorite LA-centric blog is listening to. Whether it's sick and twisted or straight up embarrassing to mention -- it's all here: Lisa, Music Editor: The new Shins - Wincing the Night Away, the new Of Montreal record, Talking Heads - 77, Lily Allen, Randy Newman good old boys, Velvet Underground Loaded, and a mix my friend......

Like a presidential election, the information is trickling into the newsroom... Earlier today Andy let everyone know who most of the confirmed artists would be for this year's Coachella. Now we let you know who is playing on what days, etc. April 27 - Björk / Interpol / the Jesus and Mary Chain / Arctic Monkeys / Jarvis Cocker / Sonic Youth / Faithless / DJ Shadow / Peeping Tom / Brazilian Girls / Peaches......

Those are the headliners, other confirmed acts via the preliminary lineup ("subject to changes and additions") posted this morning at coachella.com: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tiesto, the Arcade Fire, Interpol, Manu Chao, Willie Nelson, Air, Happy Mondays, Decemberists, Faithless, Gotan Project, the Good, the Bad and the Queen, Paul Van Dyk, Arctic Monkeys, Roots, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth, Crowded House, Placebo, Satellite Party, Stephen Marley feat Jr. Gong, Kings of Leon, DJ Shadow,......

Didn't get enough of M.I.A. at Coachella? Didn't catch her this weekend as she opened for LCD Soundsystem at the El Rey? Need more Galang Galang Galang?! Yeah, we do too. Thankfully she continues her love affair with Los Angeles tonight with a show at The Echo. Diplo is in tow as usual so you know the beats will be ridiculous and, thus, the crowd dancing will be frenetic. The show is sold out......