Los Angeles-based music blog Confession of a Would-Be Hipster has compiled its first compilation, appropriately entitled Plastic Snow, just in time for the holidays. The sixteen-track disc features wintry tunes by some of the best bands the local music scene has to offer, including Great Northern, Earlimart (LAist Review, #2), Princeton (LAist Interview), Pierre de Reeder (of Rilo Kiley fame), The Monolators (LAist Review), Let's Go Sailing (LAist Interview, Review) and Letting Up Despite Great Faults. And as if that impressive cast wasn't enough, 100% of the profits from Plastic Snow go to benefit Los Angeles' longest running homeless shelter, Midnight Mission. Dropping a measly ten dollars has never felt so good! more ›

Last month, Joe Fielder, whose local music blog Radio Free Silver Lake has been in existence since February 2006, celebrated the second anniversary of his monthly Let's Independent! event, at Boardner's (MySpace) in Hollywood, with performances by Death to Anders (MySpace), The Savages (MySpace), and Xu Xu Fang (MySpace). more ›

The Guide to March Rock Music Residencies has been updated with a few more listings -- it seems as if residencies are catching on, which is a good thing. Meanwhile, Howlin Rain plays their last LA concert before a tour promoting their new album, Magnificent Fiend, that was released yesterday. more ›

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 little world. Therefore, this is an act of paying it forward to those hardworking, underpaid musicians who truly made a difference within the music scene this year. more ›

World Wide Spies, Protection, Plans to Leave, The Drowning Men, Frantic Taste @ Safari Sam's more ›

Har Mar Superstar - "Power Lunch" Har Mar Superstar, Lady Dottie & the Diamonds, Rolan Bolan @ Viper Room Ryan Adams @ Wilshire Theatre Shout Out Louds @ El Rey Team Dresch @ The Echo Kenny Loggins @ Pacific Amphitheatre Jon Brion @ Largo The Fray, Gomez @ The Greek Jill Sobule, Julia Sweeney @ The Hotel Cafe B-Side Players @ Key Club Dickey Betts & Great Southern @ The Canyon Kenna, Carina Round... more ›

Photo © An Tran 2007 Last week we teased you with photos from the Let’s Go Sailing record release party at the Troubadour, now here’s an interview with singer/songwriter Shana Levy. Formerly of the band Irving, Levy has broken out on her own to deliver bittersweet melodies alongside gentle vocals. As a fan on the LGS message board aptly described, “I love how sweet and fresh your voice is, like conversations with a good... more ›

Back in town after a nationwide tour, Let's Go Sailing (LGS) of Los Angeles performed at the Troubadour last Thursday to celebrate the debut LP, "The Chaos in Order." Singer/songwriter Shana Levy delivers a slate of multi-faceted music, some say it's a kind of bittersweet dream pop comparable to Yo La Tengo or Belle and Sebastian. It's been a busy 2007 for LGS, and with four songs featured on recent episodes of Grey's Anatomy, an... more ›

Kaiser Chiefs, Airborne Toxic Event @ Henry Fonda Meshell Ndegeocello @ Temple Bar Unsane, 400 Blows, Mouth of the Architect @ Spaceland Golden Ax, Batman vs. Predator, Disarm the Speaker @ Knitting Factory Girl in a Coma, The Randies @ Alex's Bar The Tennessee Three, Merle Jagger @ Safari Sam's Let's Go Sailing, Bedroom Walls, Whispertown 2000 @ The Troubadour Peachfuzz, The Shakes, The Scandells @ The Scene Castledoor, Dynamite Walls, The Signal Hill... more ›

Blackalicious, Sage Francis (above), Brother Ali, Jean Grae, Mr. Lif, Visionairies, Cage, Zion I & the Grouch, Devin the Dude, Evidence & Alchemist, Pigeon John @ Orange Pavilion more ›

Joe Fielder's Radio Free Silverlake, with support from KXLU and Sea Level Records, has been presenting a monthly, indie music night called Let's Independent at the lovely and historic Boardner’s in Hollywood. Last Tuesday’s unwashed-hair trifecta included local acts, Tigers Can Bite You, The Black Pine and Let’s Go Sailing. TCBY (heh) went on first and went on loud, but did not actually come to life until halfway through the set when they energized... more ›

Black Fuzz, Family Tree Analog, The Starlight Frequency @ Mr. T's Bowl more ›

Our best pictures are of The Sugarplastic but we left the Great American Smokeout Benefit Show last night most impressed with Space MTN. Dina Waxman's sad songs about loss and past relationships gone bad mixed with her deadpan banter in between songs were oddly appropriate for this night of jokes and music centered around that most hilarious of subjects: Cancer. more ›

We don't know how else to say it except like this: Fuck Cancer! Breast cancer, throat cancer, stomach cancer, all of it. Kiss our ass, Cancer! Especially lung cancer which is the leading cause of cancer deaths in this country and the most preventable. Take those sexy cigarettes and break 'em up, throw them in the trash and never look back. LAist had, for a long time, been seduced by the allure of attractive people holding rolled tobacco on their lips and in their hands but no longer. Smoking may be sexy but a long life and being able to run up a flight of stairs without fearing for a heart attack is way hotter. more ›

THURSDAY more ›