The Flaming Lips is coming to town this summer for two special nights at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Using the tagline "Every One You Know Some Day Will Die" (a lyric from the 2002 single "Do You Realize," the Lips' wildly entertaining psycho-pop shenanigans will attempt to bury you on June 14th and 15th. And there's a bonus... more ›

When the band finished their version of Love’s “Along Again Or” aided by a mariachi horn section I was pretty sure we’d seen the highlight of an already strong show. Then, front man Joey Burns called out “Here’s one for D. Boon!,” and burst into the Minutemen classic “Corona,” taking a gringo punk rock imagining of Mexican music and sending it straight back to Mexico with a straight face. It was perhaps the finest only-in-LA moment... more ›

It's the 28th annual Outfest in Los Angeles! Thursday's opening night gala at the Orpheum Theatre features the Los Angeles premiere of Allen Ginsberg biopic Howl and - listen up, Gleeks - Jane Lynch, recipient of the 14th Annual Outfest Achievement award. Saturday, Lynch appears at a panel at the DGA theatre... more ›

He's bringing it back. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters is revving up for a big "The Wall" tour this Fall and last night in Santa Monica (Arizona & 2nd Street) he released some mysterious projector images in Santa Monica and New York City. more ›

Riding the Red Line into Hollywood this morning a track from David Gilmour's On an Island made its way into my ears. As I sat there half asleep listening to the guitar hero uncharacteristically blow his sax, I picked up on the somber mood of the tune and attributed it to Richard Wright's majestic keyboard playing, so subtle yet so brilliant. The original Pink Floyd founder passed away from cancer today at his home in Britain. He was 65. more ›

If you're as excited as I am about was only a half-success. more ›

This video, like many others, was taken during Roger Water's set at Coachella this past weekend. Despite the quality of the vid, it's easy to see why the set blew everyone away. Pyrotechnics? Check. Classic rock legends? Check. Pig-shaped dirigibles? Check. more ›

$10,000 reward and four lifetime passes to whoever returns a giant pig. more ›

Elvis Costello and The Attractions essential 1978 record This Year’s Model was re-released for the twenty-third time earlier this week as a deluxe 2-CD set. This year’s model of This Year’s Model includes a bevy of previously released bonus tracks, and a previously unreleased live concert. more ›

Oh, to have unlimited resources and $8,000 to blow. My perceptions of rock 'n' roll fantasy camps forever changed this morning when my eyes skimmed an e-mail touting the mother of all rock experiences. My skepticism led me to open the e-mail and I was genuinely shocked by the caliber of the special guests and "camp counselors," which include Brian Wilson, Nick Mason, Cliff Williams and more. The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp will take place Feb. 15-18 at a recording studio in Los Angeles and will include an on-stage performance with Cliff Williams at the House of Blues. more ›

SING-ALONG: The Music Center’s annual Holiday Sing-Along happens tonight. Don't know the words? Songsheets will be provided. The singing takes place outside, so bundle up – or spike your personal egg nog stash. 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 ›

During the six years relocated Clevelanders Biblical Proof of UFOs haunted the dives of Los Angeles, they made my world a better place. This one band brought so many of my favorite things in the same package. They had a simply colossal sound, shape-shifting between glacial-pace Black Sabbath grind and Who-like momentum, powered by memorable tunes and sweetened with angelic vocal harmonies. They could step on any stage, in any room, with lousy acoustics... more ›

Surf's Up was actually better than Happy Feet but, as my grandpa used to always tell me, the second Penguin-themed animated movie never does as well as the first. 28 Weeks Later may lack the novelty of 28 Days Later, but it's just as tense and terrifying. The fate of Robert Carlyle is truly awful. Amazingly, even Steve Carrell can be unfunny sometimes. YHWH is truly powerful. John Dahl never gets the rich praise... more ›

Generously coated with crunchy quirks and utterly bursting from its chewy 60s center, Philadelphia’s lo-fi recording traditionalists, Dr. Dog headlined a packed show at the Echo last week in support of their latest record, We All Belong (Park The Van). The attending cross-section of fandom was something like suburban Silverlake meets overgrown, asymmetrical haircuts meets the Laurel Canyon revivalists. And this makes sense if you believe that Dr. Dog is what happens when The Beach... more ›

The greatest surprise performance at the 24-hour Live Earth was not Kanye West and John Mayer joining the Police on "Message in a Bottle." Hell, no. It was Spinal Tap (reunited) with some help from Metallica (they actually laugh) bringing down London's Wembley Stadium with hits like "Stonehenge" and "Big Bottom." Madonna's gypsy-hobo-punk performance -- fully choreographed -- of "La Isla Bonita" with Eugene and Serge from Gogol Bordello was also surprisingly excellent (watch... more ›

Here's the LAist Mix for June 2007 - an audio summary of only a fraction of the bands and music events we mentioned or reviewed last month. Powered by Podbean.com Peanut Butter Wolf - Casio[LA Tour heads up by Kemp Powers] the Misfits - Static Age [Punk Rock cover bands concert review by Elise Thompson] Keren Ann - Sailor and widow [concert preview by Michele Reverte] the Killers - Sam's Town [Street Scene preview... more ›

Last week I went to five concerts in five nights. It was a strange and unusual experience. I will review each of the shows in a second. But first I would like to dedicate the reviews to two people. The first would be the to the guy who put those dollar bills into the urinal at the Troubadour during the Menomena show. Dear guy, I appreciate you challenging my values in regards to wealth.... more ›

Dear LAist, Roger Waters is playing the Hollywood Bowl tonight and you haven't said WORD ONE about it! What more does a man have to do than write the best parts of THE WALL, and Dark Side of the Moon? Poseurs, Adam in Tarzana Bro, we were just waiting to see if anyone noticed. Congratulations, send us your cell phone number and we will buy you a beer at the show. We've had our... more ›

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 Issue... more ›

We'll go ahead and use the obvious line here, because it's apt: the Stars were out on Tuesday night at The Roxy. While many were at The Roxy to see headliner Joseph Arthur, we were all hopped up to see our favorite not-yet-but-soon-to-be-big band that we saw a few years ago in Seattle and haven't been able to stop talking about since. The Stars of Track and Field woo you with their melodies, both... more ›

Red Hot Chili Who? The Good The Bad And The Wha? Clearly, the belle of this year’s 104 degree ball was Pittburgian genius, Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk. This master sampler/DJ/remixer melted faces on Saturday night with his awe-inspiring, intense nonsense -- super creations of musical hybrids -- a dozen songs spliced together to create something overwhelmingly familiar and entirely new. Energy, energy and more energy -- a giant screen flashed four frames reading... more ›

For a band that waited 20 years to get back together, and for a band that knew that they were going to announce their reunion tour today at the Whisky, they sure didn't have many tour dates lined up. The Police are arguably the most anticipated reunion tour in recent memory. Only a Pink Floyd reunion, one would think, could eclipse this summer's tour but when it came time for the Police to cough... more ›

Yes he played your favorite Pink Floyd tunes, yes he played all of Dark Side of the Moon and yes he's playing again tonight at the Hollywood Bowl. Because the visuals are so good, you really can't lose by getting any old ticket that someone wants to offer you on Highland and going. Even the cheap benches. Even on the side. Even up in the hills. Why not? All Waters does is bob his... more ›

He wrote The Wall, he wrote Animals, and he wrote pretty much all of Dark Side of the Moon; still, somehow, when Roger Waters split ways with guitarist David Gilmour and the rest of the band, it was the guitarist who got to keep the name Pink Floyd. And to add insult to injury, when the new Pink Floyd put out new records, it was they who outsold their songwriter. Tonight Waters returns to... more ›

A Heartwell Ending - Trust Us, We Lie (Mediaskare) C-Bo - Money to Burn (West Coast Mafia) Cassie - Cassie (Bad Boy) Comets on Fire - Avatar (Sub Pop) Daughters - Hell Songs (Hydra Head) Ani DiFranco - Reprieve (Righteous Babe) Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo to Anywhere (Interscope) Nina Gordon - Bleeding Heart Graffiti (Warner Bros.) Hello Stranger - Hello Stranger (Aeronaut Records) Hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! (Drive-Thru) Jonas Brothers -... more ›

Psychedelic rock legend Arthur Lee, founder of the classic '60s band Love, died late yesterday afternoon after battling lymphoblastic leukemia, his manager Mark Linn said yesterday in an email to friends and the press. Arthur Lee died peacefully at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, a little after four in the afternoon Aug 3, 2006 with his wife Diane by his side. His death comes as a shock to me because Arthur had the uncanny ability... more ›

The hottest thing on YouTube and Google Video is the mashup of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and the film classic "The Wizard of Oz". more ›

Anyone remember Catherine Wheel? Rob Dickinson and the boys were one of our favorite acts of the Nineties. They somehow managed to balance a hard, heavy sound with an scintillating and arty sensibility. Their 1997 album "Adam & Eve" came off like a terrific blend of Pink Floyd and Radiohead, achieving a delicate sound that they'd hinted at but never quite delivered in their earlier efforts. more ›

Stop right there! more ›