We talked to LL Cool J last night at the TCA after-party and he gave us some inside info about the next season of "NCIS: Los Angeles": "I've been doing a ton of training. My tech advisor is a Master Gunner so I've been learning a lot. I can 'consciously aware' put my weapons together in the dark, but I'm not 'self-consciously' aware yet - I can't play the piano blindfolded yet. I went down to Camp Pendleton to do some training with the Marines, they've got their own Special Ops group now. There's going to be a _lot_ of action this coming season, it was a lot of fun." more ›

LA has a diverse cast of characters. Whether it's the characters with stirring stories or interesting occupations or the people who are just simply characters, this town has them all. In an effort to get to know some of those characters a little better, we've created "Seven Questions with..." If you have a suggestion for a future Seven Questions subject send us an email. more ›

Tonight rapper/actor/chunk of chiseled meat LL Cool J will be performing at Club Nokia. Local producer/musician extraordinaire Jon Brion (LAist Review) is poised to jam with friends at Largo at the Coronet. Prolific Lawrence-based indie rockers the Appleseed Cast will be gracing the Knitting Factory in support of their eighth album to date, Sagarmatha. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echoplex to catch legendary producer/DJ Prince Paul. Stones Throw's own Peanut Butter Wolf is slated to kick off the show. more ›

ABC won the viewership battle of opening night of the season, although the "beginning" of the season gets more ambiguous every year. What put them over the top was "Dancing With the Stars" which featured a pretty awesome Cloris Leachman who can kick some ass at 82. Evidently she wants to "blow" Bob Saget according to the Comedy Central roast of him a few weeks ago so perhaps she's staying spry in hopes of that. more ›

A Word Or 30: A wall of repeats ends a fairly good week of new TV. They had to pull celebrity commentators off of Anna Nicole's coffin today, leaving nail marks on the lid. Tonight - Friday - March 2nd, 2007 Sharks @ Ducks (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Kings @ Lakers (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) 38th NAACP Image Awards (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Hosted by LL Cool J Las Vegas (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) Ed thinks about... more ›

Tonight- Wednesday - February 28th, 2007 Sonics @ Clippers (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Jericho/Criminal Minds/CSI: NY (CBS, 8-11:00 p.m.) The town tries to fix their renewable energy resource/New Orleans serial killer/Illusionist murderer Friday Night Lights (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) It's all about family, the football family. America's Next Top Model (the CW, 8:00 p.m.) Season premiere George Lopez/The Knights of Prosperity/According To Jim/In Case of Emergency (ABC, 8-10:00 p.m.) A kind of endless sitcom hell. Larry... more ›

His music might not be what it once was back in the early Rick Rubin days, but one thing you can't deny, homie has a sick body. Someone finally decided to market this phenomenon with "LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout: Sculpt Your Best Body Ever With Hollywood’s Fittest Star" (topless photo of the book cover after the jump). Not only can you pick up this fine work, but you can even have it autographed... more ›

Tonight - Monday - January 2nd more ›

Monday Night "Monday Night Football" (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.) Buccaneers @ Panthers "Kingdom Come" (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Feel good neo-blacksploitation flick starring LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox "College Football" (PRIME 42, 7:00 p.m.) Oregon @ USC "NHL Hockey" (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Sharks @ Kings "Prison Break" (FOX, 8 p.m.) see if these guys finally make it out of prison before the show goes on extended hiatus "Two and a Half... more ›

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? more ›

No one knows where he will strike but prolific stencil graffiti artist Banksy (aka Robert Banks) from Bristol, England, will make a much anticipated ”Barely Legal” L.A. appearance (or at least his work will) on September 15-17 at a super secret location that won’t be disclosed until the day of the event. - Caroline on Crack we have a date for the first opening of H&M in SoCal: September 21st in pasadena located at... more ›

Al Gore will be presenting his film An Inconvenient Truth at Cal Plaza about a half mile from the big ass sex festival at the Convention Center. If neither of those choices floats your collective boats, may we show you some other offerings more ›

Who would have thought back in 1985, when the Red Hot Chili Peppers were working with George Clinton, that 21 years later their brand of whiteboy funk would be some of the most reliably popular middle-of-the-road music for the masses? Not only do you hear "Californication" in the dentist's office, bank, and elevator, but it actually sounds good in those places. more ›

For this Laist contributor, the love for The Brand New Heavies began with a little Heavy Rhyme Experience. Before LL Cool J went unplugged and before The Roots became the only contemporary Black (hip-hop, r&b, pop or rock) band with national acclaim and radio airplay in America, there was this eclectic group of British cats getting supremely funky underneath my favorite rap group in high school, The Pharcyde. From "Soul Flower" 14 years ago to last night at The Roxy, we've all been through a lot. more ›

The Beatles The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (Capitol) – Four disc collection of the American versions of the early albums (The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help and Rubber Soul) in both stereo and mono. A tempting purchase, but unless you’re a completist it’s tough to justify. more ›

THURSDAY more ›