Obama and Clinton onstage last week in Hollywood | Photo © 2008 by Jonathan Alcorn (sundogg) via LAist Featured Photos Pool Everyone's a songwriter when there's something big going on. YouTube is busting at the seams with song parodies of candidates and campaigns; some mourn for better choices, some simply sing their support, and some poke lots of fun at the candidates' foibles. Recently a couple of professional songwriters were asked by Weekend America......

Last month LAist was lucky enough to be invited to the Nissan Live studio on the Fox lot to see PJ Harvey perform one of her very few live appearances in support of her new cd, White Chalk. From what we heard, Polly Jean played once in NYC, once in LA, once on the Tonight Show, and once for Yahoo's Live Sets. It was an intimate, eerie, and fragile hour in West LA. PJ......

The Dan Patrick radio show recently debuted in Southern California (check 570 KLAC in the mornings), but this isn't what he meant by "En Fuego." While often immune to the real world, local sports have been impacted by the disaster in several ways. Of course, let's keep this all in perspective ... the real losses are to the families and the real heroes are the firefighters. - The San Diego Chargers are practicing in Arizona......

EPMD, People Under the Stairs @ House of Blues The Mountain Goats @ El Rey Theatre The Wailers @ Vault 350 L.A. Guns, The Pegs, Kingbaby, Aces Over Kings, Noyze @ Whisky Heartstring Symphony, Minus the Hope, Signal to Noise @ The Good Hurt The Small Steppes, Mad Lovers, The Kevin K Band, The Hits @ Mr. T's Bowl Beasts of Bourbon, Dallas Crane, Children Collide, Panda Band, MINK @ The Troubadour Minutes Til......

Randy Newman @ Walt Disney GWAR @ Ventura Theatre The Skatalites @ El Rey Theatre Steve Aoki, DJ AM @ LAX Girlyman @ McCabe's The Lucky Stars @ The Derby Peter Walker @ The Mountain Bar Groundation, Come Down Selecta, Local Vibes @ Key Club Ponce DeLeon, Anna Jones, Brennan Hill @ Il Corral The Warriors, Remembering Never, Full Blown Chaos @ Whisky Fireball Ministry, Artimus Pyledriver, Vains of Jenna @ Knitting Factory Bankrupt......

For us there is no better LA street fair than the Sunset Junction annual event in the Silver Lake stretch of Sunset Blvd. One can enjoy eating chicken on a stick and drinking a beer while peoplewatching the hipsters, the kids, those of alternative lifestyles, and the random tourists who don't really know what they've stumbled into. The volunteer "donation" is now a hard $15 admission, but for all the good music, good food,......

TUESDAY • Join a lonely hearts club for A Violet Valentine tonight at The Echo, featuring Dntel, The Long Lost, Becky Stark and Winter Flowers, with DJ sets by Jimmy Tamborello, frosty, Sobbing Sara and Tommy DeNys, a picture show by Chad Misner and treats from Hip Hop Chocolates. Things kick off at 9 PM; admission is $5. [18+] • Tangier features Benji Hughes, Gus Seyferrt, Tom Brosseau, Vincent and Mrs Green and Kirstin......

TUESDAY • The Decemberists and Sons and Daughters perform tonight at the Henry Fonda Theater. Doors open at 8 PM; tickets are $18. • The Echo is having a toga party and show to benefit the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund, featuring The Atomic Missiles, Kill Radio, Porterville, BANG sugar BANG and Letter Openers. $3 gets you in, $5 gets you in plus a bumper sticker and pin, $10 gets you in plus a free......

There's too much going on Sunday, November 7th. How can we choose between the following lit events all happening on the same night? If we could, we'd start out in the west of Los Angeles at Royce Hall, UCLA in Westwood where Russell Banks converses with Michael Ondanjtee about Film and Fiction while their pal, actor Willem Defoe, just sits between them, exuding dangerous charisma. 8pm Royce Hall, UCLA Live Event Tickets: $35, 28,......