Every now and then when the wind blows just right and the planets align, an opening band will blow the headliner out of the water. It is an extremely rare occurence, but every so often, you arrive at a venue early and have your mind blown. If any of you were at the Troubadour on December 10th, 2010, you know exactly what I'm talking about. All thirty of you. more ›

To say that it's been a good year for Avi Buffalo would be an understatement. They've managed to pull off what most teenagers only fantasize about it. Graduate high school? Check. Sign to Sub Pop? Check. Tour the country? Check. Sellout the Troubadour for their record release party? Check and check. more ›

Tonight is the most excellent show, Open Road on KCRW, which begins at 9:00 p.m., ending at midnight. DJ Gary Calamar mixes roots of Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, and Soul with new releases that you can most see on his peer's lists. Calamar got his start at KCRW as a volunteer, moving his way to DJ after literally begging on his knees to Chris Douridas for a show. Douridas made a great choice. 1)... more ›

Yesterday we started our Best of 2007 list with choices from KCRW's Nic Harcourt and Tom Schnabel. But then we realized we weren't being gentlemen. The ladies of KCRW should have gone first! D'oh! So fasten your seatbelts for The Drop's host Liza Richardson's picks for 2007. Something tells us our comments will be buzzing. Will it be for the inclusion of M.I.A.? Let's hope. 1) Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon... more ›

Release Date: 09/25/2007 more ›

OUT TODAY: Flight Of The Conchords - The Distant Future (Sub Pop) [MP3]: “Business Time” via Tunes Consumed Magnolia Electric Co - Sojourner (Secretly Canadian) [MP3]: “Leave The City” via Aquarium Drunkard The Budos Band - The Budos Band II (Daptone Records) [MP3]: “Chicago Falcon” via Inflight at Night Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar) [MP3]: “Unless It’s Kicks” via Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good Augie March - Moo, You Bloody... more ›

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge) Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! (Side One Dummuy) Mark Ronson - Version (RCA) Oh No! Oh My! - Between The Devil And The Sea (Dim Mak) Gravy Train!!!! - All the Sweet Stuff (Cochon Records) Danzig - The Lost Tracks of Danzig (Evilive) The Monkees - Headquarters [DELUXE EDITION] (Rhino) Chris & Rich Robinson - Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy (Eagle) They Might... more ›

Billboard has a lot of charts. And usually we just give you the No.1s. However, the line up for this week was rather uninspiring, and it seemed in everyone's best interest to instead list the top ten winners from just a few featured charts. So here they are. Issue Date : March 31, 2007 Top Independent Albums 1. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Merge) 2. Type O Negative - Dead Again (Steamhammer) 3. The... more ›

This might be a good week to give your piggybank the ol' smasheroo and excavate your couch cushions for awol monies. The CD player NEEDS your donations. Don't delay. Rush out now in a buying frenzy. Here's a glanceable list of new noteables and rightous reissues being handed down today. Ten octzillion more after the jump... Arbouretum - Rites Of Uncovering (Thrill Jockey) The Bird & The Bee - Bird And The Bee (Blue... 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 ›

Fri 6/9 - Silversun Pickups / Film School @ the Echo ($10) – The Silversun Pickups drop their debut full-length, Carnavas, on July 25th on Dangerbird Records. The record is consistently strong and they're one of the handful of local bands with a really good chance of blowing up this year. Expect to hear a few Smashing Pumpkins comparisons in the reviews (classic Gish/Siamese Dream-era Pumpkins). San Francisco’s Film School frequently gets favorably compared to your favorite Manchester bands. more ›

Fri 5/19 - Kelley Stoltz / Irving / The Little Ones @ the Echo ($10) – This is a very strong lineup for the indie pop fans. San Francisco’s Kelley Stoltz put out an overlooked album earlier this year on Sub Pop. He sounded great at the Echo in February, but his set was cut short by a DJ night. Hopefully he won’t be rushed tonight. He writes songs that are informed by all the classic music you love from the late 1960s / early 1970s, but still manages to make them his own. Download “The Sun Comes Through” You've already heard us talk about Irving several times before. Their latest album is super catchy and they always put on an energetic live show. Their songs cover the spectrum from early 1980s, Cure-influenced songs to Elephant 6 pop. Download “Situation” The Little Ones are one of our favorite new local bands. They seemed to spring out of nowhere (the lead singer was actually in a popular emo-ish band called Sunday's Best) and immediately caught the attention of the blogosphere. They play sing-along indie pop in the mold of the Shins and Fruit Bats. Download “High on a Hill” more ›

Listen to a track HERE more ›