Tonight Minneapolis-bred rapper Atmosphere will be headlining the Hollywood Palladium. Icelandic pop chanteuse Emiliana Torrini is poised to grace the El Rey Theatre with none other than San Diegan singer-songwriter Anya Marina (LAist Review, #2). And, lastly, local retro 60s soul act Fitz and the Tantrums will be performing at the Troubadour with LA-based MC Kenan Bell (LAist Interview) and NY's own John Forte. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch English multi-instrumentalist Max Tundra, who will be performing for this week's edition of Club NME. more ›

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008. more ›