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......

The Donnas, Donita Sparks @ The Roxy Eagles, Dixie Chicks @ Nokia Theatre John Doe @ McCabe's Serj Tankian @ House of Blues Backbiter @ Mr. T's Bowl Peter Frampton @ The Canyon 1990s, The Airborne Toxic Event, Inberst @ The Troubadour TSOL, Smut Peddlers, 45 Grave, The Detours, The Crowd @ Vault 350......

Spoon - "The Underdog" Spoon @ Henry Fonda The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Viper Room I'm a Bird You're a Bird @ The Cat Club 14 Year Old Girls @ Pehrspace Lucinda Williams @ El Rey Gram Rabbit, Donita Sparks @ Spaceland Metal Skool, Zombies Ate My Nation @ Key Club Todd Rundgren @ Grove of Anaheim Doug Benson, Patton Oswalt @ Largo The Happy Hollows, The Western States Motel, Tigers Can Bite......

Comets 82, Sparks 72 - A long and painful season is over for the Sparks. Without a preggo Lisa Leslie, the team crashed and burned through the final half of the season, finishing with an overall record of 10-24. If you're really eager to check out some professional women's sports in LA, how about a football game later this week? Dodgers 4, Rockies 3 - The Dodgers took the rubber game in a 2-1 series......

Dodgers 6, Astros 2 - Too bad the Dodgers weren't playing double or nothing. The Blue Crew split the series against Houston 2-2. In the final game, they turned four double plays. Second baseman Jeff Kent hit three doubles, including one for a two runs. His counterpart, Craig Biggio, also had a couple hits. Angels 4, Blue Jays 3 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep thanks to a home run by Gary Matthews, Jr. and a......

Cardinals 12, Dodgers 2 - At least the Dodgers took the first game from St. Louis. They were hammered in the rubber game, as Mark Hendrickson allowed eight runs on 11 hits in just 2 and 2/3 innings. Andre Ethier was the only Dodger holding up the offense, with a double, triple, and RBI. Angels 6, Twins 2 - The Angels shut down Minnesota in three straight games this weekend. Jared Weaver lasted 7.1 innings......

Dodgers 5, Reds 4, 11 - After being shutout for 28 innings, the Dodgers scored early and late to snap their six game skid. Rafael Furcal yo-yo'd throughout the game. After scoring on a sac fly in the first, he stranded runners in scoring position three different times. He redeemed himself in the 11th, smacking the game-winning home run. Takashi Saito got the save. DC United 1, Galaxy 0 - In the humid rain of......

Reds 1, Dodgers 0 - Life is wacky in Dodgertown. The pitching staff has been riddled with injuries, but held Cincinnati to one run. This was just days after shutting down Barry Bonds, who has smashed three homers and set the career record since departing LA. Meanwhile, the offense has a catcher hitting almost .300 but they've been shutout in three straight games. They actually haven't scored in 28 innings, making the Angel's post All-Star......

Angels 10, Red Sox 4 - LAnaheim has won the first two games in a clash of baseball's best records. Gary Matthews, Jr. shone with 4 RBI, 3 runs, and 3 hits in five at-bats. He hit a homer in the 8th and robbed another from Boston's Coco Crisp. Joe Saunders allowed four runs on eight hits, but still got the win on just 5 and 1/3 innings of work thanks to a five run......

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Maybe it's better this way. If Barry had tied (or passed) Hank Aaron in Chavez Ravine, it would have been the second time the Dodgers gave up the record breaking shot (yup, Hammerin' Hank hit 715 against the Boys in Blue). That's not to mention the riot that would have ensued. This isn't exactly the most hospitable town for any Giant, much less that Giant. It was a bigger game......

Giants 3, Dodgers 1 - Barry Bonds surprisingly was all smiles despite a bitter reception at Chavez Ravine. While he didn't tie Hammerin' Hank for the career home run title, he did reach base on two walks and scored a run. Brad Penny allowed all three runs in six innings for just his second loss of the year. Baseball royalty on hand included Tommy Lasorda, Bud Selig, and Alyssa Milano. Wait, did we just write......

Seattle 2, Angels 0 - After piling up the runs against the Detroit, the Halos couldn't connect in Seattle. Kelvim Escobar pitched all eight innings with seven strikeouts in the loss. Appropriately, Ichiro Suzuki had three hits, a run, and an RBI on Japanese Baseball Night. Rivalry Week - While LA develops a split personality disorder during that "other" rivalry week (Trojans-Bruins), the city unites in loathing of the San Francisco Giants whenever the ol'......

Angels 13, Tigers 4 - The Angels got back on track this weekend, hammering NL Central leader Detroit for 34 runs in a three game sweep. Anaheim reached double-digits in each game and had 12 runs by the end of the third inning on Sunday. Chone Figgins had three runs in the finale and every starter scored at least once. Rockies 9, Dodgers 6 - Los Angeles couldn't sustain a 9th inning rally and dropped......

Galaxy 2, Pachua 1 - The Galaxy was without its biggest star (Beckham wasn't on the bench, much less the field), but 19,317 people still showed up to watch the struggling squad knock off one of Mexico's best club teams. Landon Donovan scored go-ahead goal in the 81st minute. Next up, the Galaxy will host Chivas -- the real Chivas of Guadalajara -- in more SuperLiga action on Saturday. Astros 7, Dodgers 4 - When......

Dodgers 10, Houston 2 - Los Angeles has been consistently inconsistent since the All Star break, and didn't show true dominance until going on the road. Chad Billingsly improved to 7-0 with a complete game, and even held the Astros scoreless until the final out. The Dodgers also looked good at the plate, with 3 RBIs from both Luis Gonzalez and James Loney. Jeff Kent (who scored on a wild pitch) had four hits before......

Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,......

Angels 3, Devil Rays 0 - LAnaheim avoided the sweep in Tampa and ended a three game losing streak. Kelvim Escobar's fifth straight win came on 7.2 innings of scoreless work. The Halos had three doubles in the game, but haven't gone yard in 114 innings. Mets 13, Dodgers 9 - The Dodgers slipped into a first place tie with San Diego, but it wasn't due to a lack of offense. The team had 19......

I'm not impressed by Beckhamania. Sure, I'm excited about David Beckham's arrival. He's a world class icon coming to compete in our backyard. I planned my Saturday around his first match in a Galaxy uniform, despite the fact that it's just a friendly in an obscure tournament during the MLS All Star break. I embedded a semi-regular "Beckham Watch" in our "LAst Night's Action" segments and I've posted highlight videos of his greatest plays. Beckham......

Phillies 15, Dodgers 3 - After loosing 10,001 games, Philadelphia took out 124 years of cheesesteak-fueled frustration on the Dodgers. Starting pitcher J.D. Durbin had three of the team's 26 hits one of 15 Phillie runs. All this from a guy who had never reached base before in his life. Heck, he'd never won a game in his life, either. Check both off his to-do list. The Dodgers actually had a respectable 14 hits (yup,......

Dodgers 10, Phillies 3 - Imagine how good the Dodgers would be if Jason Schmidt were healthy. On Monday it was another All Star, Brad Penny, who notched his 11th win of the season and gave the Blue Crew their 5th in a row. Jeff Kent and Matt Kemp each contributed a three-run shot. The Phillies trailed by as many as nine en-route to their MLB leading 10,001st franchise loss. Beckham Watch - There's drama......

Braves 8, Dodgers 6 - The Dodgers couldn't hold an early lead against Atlanta, as Brad Penny's stellar stats were tarnished with six runs and nine hits in just four innings. Chipper Jones was the star of the game, going yard from both sides of the plate. His 372nd career home run sealed the win for the Braves and set the club's all time record. Angels 5, Rangers 2 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep against......

Dodgers 7, Braves 6 - It feels like a good summer in LA. The weather is hot, the Dodgers are in first, three of the Blue Crew are going to the All Star Game, and everybody has the day off for the 4th. Well, almost everybody. The Dodgers will be back in action tonight and hope for some more on-field fireworks. Last night they connected for 13 hits to power home 7 runs. Wilson Betemit......

yes. even if we had $3,000+ to pay to see Prince, we'd see the Donnas and their friends at Safari Sam's tonight The Donnas, Donita Sparks, The Binges @ Safari Sam's Prince @ Hollywood Roosevelt LA Guns, Love-Hate, Little Caesar, Rhino Bucket @ The Knitting Factory Steve Winwood @ House of Blues Widespread Panic @ Orpheum Moving Units @ Music Box Colin Hay @ Largo Battles, Ponytail @ The Troubadour Motorycle Black Madonnas, Backbiter......

A shooting suspect has been in pursuit by the LAPD for the last hour and a half. Driving a silver pick up truck and circling the city of Los Angeles, the suspect is allegedly responsible for a shooting in Tijunaga. Dozens of police in cruisers and helicopters.are following him as he drives on the 5, 10, 110, 101, and other freeways. KCAL 9 has been broadcasting the chase and they're streaming that broadcast online.......

How would they fill up two hours in the American Idol finale? That was the question on LAist's mind tonight. (And we were particularly bummed since we had to give up the first hour of Lost for this!) Since the show seemed just as long as the Oscars, it was only fitting that AI had filler like the "Golden Idols" -- awards for the freaks during the early part of the show. Remember the......

Ducks 4, Red Wings 3 - Everybody thought hockey in Orange County was like a snowball in hell: Funny to say, totally unrealistic, and full of cliche (remember those "Mighty" days?). Well, it's starting to get a little chilly down south. The Ducks knocked of the "Mighty" Red Wings in six games, surviving a three goal scoring barrage by Detroit in the third period. Anaheim will host the Ottawa Senators in game one of the......

So after LAist got over the initial shock of Melinda Doolittle (the best singer this year) getting the boot from American Idol last week, we had to sit through tonight's reality -- one hour of two OK performers, their three songs and packaged childhood retrospectives. Tonight's second-to-last show pitted the beatboxer (Blake Lewis) against the 17-year-old power singer (Jordin Sparks). They each sang their favorite song from a past show, a cover song they'd......

- Long Beach teenager, Samantha Larson, pictured, becomes the youngest American ever to climb Mt. Everest. No word yet on at what altitude she lost the ability to IM on her Sidekick - LA Times - Say What? The Hoff Gets The Kids - TMZ - "Stand and Deliver" high school, Garfield High, intentionally set aflame - KABC - Dude tries to kill his girfriend by parking their car on the train tracks and......

Now we freaking completely understand how someone like George W. Bush gets into the Oval Office: American voters are stupid. Tonight on American Idol, calling voters kicked off the best singer in this popularity contest national singing competition. Melinda Doolittle, the most experienced singer among the remaining three, got kicked off the show by the nearly 60 million callers. We don't mean to sound bitter, but seriously...is it because she didn't have Jordin Sparks'......