Having never seen the stage version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I can't speak to the fidelity the film shares with the play. That said, let there be no doubt that Tim Burton has crafted a true piece of musical cinema from Stephen Sondheim's bloody masterpiece. To their discredit, early previews have hedged a bit regarding the singing in the film. In them we only see Johnny Depp canting some......

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......

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......

a writer's perspective As I get ready to join my brothers and sisters in the picket line, I’m flipping the channels, looking for some coverage. Fuckin’ Joe Torre is stealing our thunder. Finally, on KTLA, they break in with footage of Jay Leno pulling up on a motorcycle and handing three boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to some writers. All writers are being encouraged to give 20 hours a week to the cause. No......

My heart wasn't saying Bruuuuuuuuce, it was booing. The biggest cliche in amateur criticism is to say "I liked his older stuff better". Bruce Springsteen is supposed to be held on the same level as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, or Johnny Cash. However, if one is to keep it real, the songs The Boss released after the mid '80s don't hold up to contemporaries like Tom Waits or Tom Petty. Seriously, after the Born......

Kings 4, Wild 3 (SO) - The Kings took down previously undefeated Minnesota, which is a surprising sign of a pulse. It did take them an extra period and a shoot-out to get their first win since upsetting Anaheim six games ago in the season opener. Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 28 saves in his first start for Los Angeles. We're not convinced Southern California is big enough for two NHL goalies named Jean-Sebastien. Kobe Watch -......

He's 80something and his self-titled cd is something that we've listened to almost every day since it was sent to us in April. Since Moz canceled perhaps that frees your schedule to take in another living legend: Charlie Louvin @ The Mint High School Musical on Ice @ Staples Bryan Adams, George Thorogood @ Gibson Black Label Society, Dope @ House of Blues Rolling Blackouts, Thunder in the Valley, Vampire Hands @ Alex's Bar......

Devendra Banhart Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Release Date: 09/25/07 XL Recordings A lot of people hate Devendra Banhart. He's definitely one of the most polarizing artists that I listen to. I've explored innumerable avenues of elucidating this matter and nothing has come close to sating me. Within the indie community there are splintering factions of naysayers who say, "That's where I draw the line!" The line, of course, divides the obscure from the......

"Yeah, I do think this one sounds grittier, but the songwriting on both are kind of dark. On the first album, some of the songs are immediately catchy, where some of the people don’t realize it’s dark and on the second one, the music can be a bit darker, immediately."...

Steve Jobs is a very smart and powerful businessman. So did he purposely bite his tongue last week when he announced a $200 iPhone price cut -- just two months after launching the product? Was it a plot to steer additional hype toward the iPhone so the new iPods wouldn't steal all the thunder? Did he plan all along to offer store credit to those who shelled out $600 for an iPhone? Was Master......

These are the last days of summer. At least that's what they say on the news and in the marketplace. But here in Southern California, it only gets hotter as the days grow shorter. (At least the pools won't close just yet). But -- Holy Dallas Raines -- early this morning, with temps stuck in the mid-70s, we've got thunder and lightning! Unfortunately, the electricity in the air has no bearing on California's energy supply,......

PB&J playing their hit @ Red Eye Fly, SXSW 3/14 Peter Bjorn & John, Cass McCombs @ Henry Fonda Godsmack @ The Wiltern MIA @ Echoplex Michael Penn, Patton Oswalt @ Largo Oliver Future, The Gray Kid, Astra Heights @ The Troubadour The Last Town Chorus @ Amoeba (6pm) Maxeen, The Mercy Kiss, Acute @ Key Club Mower, Lords of Rock & Roll Thunder & Lightning @ Viper Room Bat For Lashes, Tara Busch,......

Anaheim Angels manager, and former Dodger, Mike Scioscia tried to defend his suddenly-controversial outfielder Garret Anderson, who last week told officials that he would not be wearing Jackie Robinson's number this Sunday to celebrate Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. Anderson originally gave two excuses for dissing the dead Dodger by refusing to wear his number, 1) he said he wasn't going to do it because it was Ken Griffey Jr.'s idea and......

Grindhouse There probably isn’t a single night I wouldn't enjoy going to the Quentin Tarantino-curated Grindhouse Festival at the New Beverly. On Monday & Tuesday it’s a double bill of Rolling Thunder, a revenge flick about a Vietnam vet who goes on the warpath after his wife and son are killed by thugs, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a 1977 film that's set in 1946 about a hooded killer stalking the terrified residents of......

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......

The New Beverly has announced the schedule for 2007 the Los Angeles Grindhouse Festival Grindhouse festival, which is this year programmed by Quentin Tarantino and runs from March 4 - May 1. Many of the prints come from Tarantino's vast and awesome private collection, reputed to be among the best in the world for such films. As we reported last week, Los Angeles' best revival house will screen themed, handpicked double features on weekdays......

One of the best things about Van Halen reuniting is that finally the legend of Eddie Van Halen can go back to being praised. It's not like Sammy stole any thunder from Ed, he just never added to the two guitar attack that was promised. If anything, Sammy's influence only watered-down the high-flying rock gods. Sure "Right Now" and "Dreams" were acceptable songs to see your little sister singing along to, but they weren't......

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the sight of Rock and in the face of Roll, to join together you, dear LAist reader, and this New Music Tuesday in holy Matrimony. This mystical union is not to be entered into lightly, or unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly (ha), and in the fear of the reaper. More cowbell. L'chaim. OUT TODAY: .38 Special - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: (A&M)......

Lady Sovereign @ El Rey James Blunt, Starsailor @ Gibson The Fray @ The Wiltern DJ AM @ LAX UK Subs @ Anarchy Library La Rocca, Pop Noir @ The Troubadour The De La Cruz Band @ Zabumba Warlords of Rock & Roll Thunder & Lightning @ Mr. T's Bowl Bitter Sweet, Natalie Walker, John Gold @ Roxy The Drones, Favorite Sons, Devastations @ Spaceland Whiskey Chimp, Fermata, 10 Seconds to Go, Ormolu @......

The Pogues, Murder By Death @ Wiltern Nashville Pussy, Priestess @ Key Club Rancid, Adolescents, Los Creepers @ Henry Fonda Badly Drawn Boy @ The Troubadour Switchfoot @ Roxy The Adored @ Spaceland The Brombies @ Viva Cantina Michael Bolton @ Kodak The Shore, The Lamps @ Silverlake Lounge Bobtail Yearlings, Paper Scissors @ The Gig Warlords of Rock & Roll Thunder & Lightning @ Mr. T's Bowl Jon Peter Lewis, The Procussions @......

Asia @ Vault 350 Veruca Salt @ Key Club Vast, Buckfast @ Viper Room Candlebox, Driveblind, Whitestarr @ House of Blues Ratatat, Envelopes, Panther @ The Troubadour Hard Again @ The Vine Street Lounge Lloyd Kaufman @ Borders Books, Hollywood Michelle Featherstone, Freeman, Sterling Witt @ The Mint Chuck Ragan, Rebecca Pidgeon, The Breakups @ Silverlake Lounge After Midnight Project, DDJ @ Whisky Warlords of Rock & Roll Thunder & Lightning @ Mr. T's......

David Geffen won the bidding war in the mid '80s to nab the country-tinged LA band Lone Justice and their self-titled debut came out to much hype. Everyone was fixated on the blonde singer, Maria McKee, whose voice was often compared to both Dolly Parton and Janis Joplin as the songs went from bluesy to hillbilly with a solid foundation in rock. Record sales didn't meet expectations despite being overwhelmingly loved by critics, fans,......

For some reason there are hella shows happening tonight so lets get right to it Taking Back Sunday, Angels & Airwaves, The Subways @ Long Beach Arena Steely Dan, Michael McDonald @ Verizon Wireless Pat Benatar @ Grove of Anaheim Sally Kellerman @ Genghis Cohen The Church @ Henry Fonda Johnette Napolitano @ Hotel Cafe Warlords of Rock & Roll Thunder & Lightning @ Mr. T's Bowl PM Dawn @ Malibu Inn Pop Levi......

After their bid at history fell short against the Longhorns of Texas, life at USC has moved on. Part of that process would inevitably involve change of players. Although the loss to graduation of key seniors Matt Leinart, Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui, and Tom Malone were unavoidable, as was the loss of Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush to the NFL inevitable. The loss of other key juniors puts the Trojan squad in a new situation.......

Most people are familiar with the work of LA performance artist Paul Zaloom through his role as the host of the popular children’s science show “Beakman’s World” in the '90s, but he’s also a widely admired puppeteer/artist and imaginative satirist. His work incorporates techniques such as overhead projection, government document exposé, “picture performance”, and hand, rod, shadow, found object, and dummy puppets. On Wednesday, January 18, 2005, Paul’s latest project, “The Mother of All......

There have been signs of autumn in Los Angeles all week. There have been cool breezes during the day, the sun sets earlier, and there are a lot of new television programs, as well as movies about Serious Issues. And just now, there was a rumble, not of helicopter blades, but of actual thunder, followed by the splashing of a few large raindrops. After last year's flooding here, and the recent devastation from Hurricane......

We want to be really excited going into our long weekend that celebrates our nation's independence. We have a new Mayor in Antonio Villaraigosa who, immediately and willingly, becomes a national political figure and may, if his rhetoric at the progressive conference is to be believed, help push American government to look forward instead of backwards in its urban planning, renewal and management and keep LA in the national conversation. We want to be......

Will Arizona be a blue state, once Phoenix boasts scenic beach-front property?...

The sun is shining where we are and we just got back from the dentist so we don't want to even think about the rain. Please don't point out that the clouds are rolling in again or that we've got another thunder storm expected this afternoon. La la la la. We can't hear you. We're just going to check out today's Daily Breeze and their story on the ever decreasing crime rate in the......