After a great start to the festival with a outstanding first day filled with solid performances from REM and MIA, day two continued picked up right where it left off the night before, rain and all. Luckily the rain subsided just before the first acts of the started and gave way to some beautiful weather that lasted throughout the day.......

Last August, Aimee Mann, Joan Osborne, Rob Laufer, Ian Ball from Gomez, and Al Jorgensen joined Cheap Trick and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to recreate Sgt. Peppers on it's 40th Anniversary. They'll do it again June 28th. We're four months out from the official start of the 2008 Hollywood Bowl Season and the schedule is nearly complete. Single tickets won't go on sale for a couple months but the Bowl is offering 16 different......

KITSCH: The Charles Phoenix Holiday Jubilee returns to REDCAT for the next four evenings. LA kitsch expert Charles Phoenix brings together an evening of live comedy, including the Bob Baker Marionettes, roller rink organist Dominic Cangelosi and a few other surprises. The entertainment's all in combination with his "Retro Holiday Slide Show," comprised of slides he found at area thrift shops and flea markets. 8 pm // REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall //......

Artist: The Shout Out Louds Album: Tonight I Have To Leave It (EP) Release Date: July 2007 Label: Merge Records If you missed the Shout Out Louds at the El Rey during their whirlwind pass through LA in mid-July you should definitely check out the EP they were touring to support. Basically the release is a glorified CD single with 3 versions of 'Tonight I Have To Leave It' (including a Russian Futurists remix,......

In honor of today's guest editor, here are some songs about trains. And one about a bus. And one about a bike. And one sung by Michelle Pfeiffer. Think of it as a musical love letter to all things transport. The Bees (U.S.) - Catch Yer Own Train &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://andysternberg.com/laist/06 Catch Yer Own Train.mp3"> Bob Dylan - It Takes a Lot to Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://andysternberg.com/laist/03 It Takes a Lot to......

Further proving my theory that Swedish pop will eventually show us the way to world peace, every brand, make, and model of human being showed up for the Shout Out Louds at the El Rey on Thursday night. The stage looked fancy and nautical with clothesline-esque flags hanging about. Charming, though not big on banter, the heavily accented ensemble played straight through their set, stopping briefly to mention they were from Stockholm and that......

LA's airwaves have been blessed with legendary personalities over the years - Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, Jim Ladd, and Rodney on the Roq just to name a few. Just as important was Richard Blade who for decades educated LA over KROQ's air by spreading the good news of Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Duran Duran, The Cure and so many of our favorites from the '80s when KROQ ruled the world. His "Flashback Lunch" hour......

American Idol was only an hour and seven minutes tonight, which we think meant shorter songs clips and shorter packaged coaching segments with guest judge Gwen Stefani. And the shorter show was just fine with us because (1) most of these “Top 10” singers are good -- but they’re not great; (2) while the song choices were better than last week’s British Invasion, they were ripped right from the Adult Contemporary radio station playlists......

An afternoon pick-me-up for your post-party let down… Arcade Fire - Intervention : Live on SNL (Bradley’s Almanac) Speaking of arcades, Barcade is now a real bar with real hours and a real liquor license. Mazel tov and FYI… Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes (extrawack!) Ian Hunter just signed to Yep Roc. And there is much rejoicing… The Robot Ate Me - On Vacation (Indie Folk Forever) Sunny and drippy hangover......

The New Cars, Persephone’s Bees @ House of Blues Gob Iron @ The Troubadour Roger O'Donnell (The Cure), Christopher Willets, Haley Bonar @ Spaceland Spank Rock, Debonair Samir, DJ C-Town @ Safari Sam's Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins @ Bren Events Center The Cops, Dead Ponies, Tsk Tsk @ The Scene Nova Kayne the Great @ Lava Lounge Wirgo, Garrison Starr, John Eddie @ The Mint Brandi Shearer, Elizaveta,......

We know there is real news going on like Gov. Schwarzeneggar's less than pleasant visit to Santa Monica College yesterday and that we're going to have another special election in the fall. There are also those pesky memos that keep showing up in British newspapers but we can't be bothered with such matters when Napster2Go has delivered their "He Beat It - Michael Jackson Gets Off" playlist. How can we be concerned with politics......

Okay, okay. So maybe it's time to stop listening to The Cure in a darkened room and move on. We lost, fair and square this time. Maybe we were too hopeful. Maybe we didn't work hard enough. Maybe it just wasn't supposed to be this time. Whatever the reason, we're all disappointed and we have to deal with it. But it's definitely time to put Disintegration back on the shelf and get on with......