The Los Angeles (and San Francisco) editions of The Onion have hit the newsracks for the last time today, according to a source at Gawker. "An Onion staffer whispers to us that the humor publication has already laid off editorial and sales staff for its Los Angeles and San Francisco print editions, which will, said the staffer, cease publication," reports the blog. However, their local online sites--The Decider--will reportedly stay afloat. UPDATE: President and CEO Steve Hannah sent out this memo to staffers and readers confirming the rumor: more ›

It's always sad to hear when a paper totally goes away. "It is with great regret that as of the March 26, 2009 issue, Southland Publishing, Inc. has decided to discontinue publishing the Los Angeles CityBeat alternative weekly publication," company President Bruce Bolkin wrote in a memo to staff and others about the closure. Citybeat started in 2003 and was a blast this summer when Alan Mittelstaedt got on the transportation and water efficiency beat. "Sources inside the paper expressed surprise at the decision. Under CityBeat publisher Will Swaim's direction the paper had recently gone from operating at a loss to breaking even," finds Tina Dupuy at FishbowlLA more ›

Ever want to experience what a speakeasy must feel like? Descend the depths of underground downtown bar the Edison for its new weekly bar night called Speakeasy Sundays. Only the bar's Radio Room will be open (entrance is a couple of doors down from the regular entrance in Harlem Alley) while the main bar area will be closed. This means that there's only a 125-swank-person capacity so get there early as doors will close after the room is packed and you'll be SOL on the street. more ›

Reviews of Jay Babcock's review of Los Angeles didn't go so well in the comments section yesterday. Babcock, the man behind Arthur Magazine, left Los Angeles for Brooklyn earlier this month. Soundboard on LA Times caught up with him and quizzed him about his move and Babcock went off on Los Angeles. more ›

The man behind Arthur Magazine, Jay Babcock, recently took the indie rag's operation to Brooklyn where he decided to resettle. Soundboard, the LA Times music blog, got a hold of him for a short interview. His answer to the first question, "what prompted the move to Brooklyn?", is quite a read: more ›

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Tuesdays are usually slow nights in LA for music and as bands prep to head Texas-way for SXSW, we'll probably see even fewer choices like tonight. But fewer doesn't mean worse. Mountain Goats and Jeffrey Lewis (great video below) play at the Troubadour tonight (and tomorrow), Working For A Nuclear Free City is back with another concert, this time at Cinespace (though it's a private premier party. Crash?) and LA Weekly says to head over to Glendale and check out The Scene. more ›

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It's official - Buk's De Longpre house is now a landmark. more ›

Yay for Monday nights, there's lots of quality to choose from. If you're looking for something crazy and fun, then watch this video we recently took of Killsonic, who plays at The Bordello tonight. LA Weekly picks Tracy Spuehler at the Hotel Cafe as their pick and What Made Milwaukee Famous plays once again, for free, at The Echo tonight. Also BPM Magazine is hosting a new issue release party (RSVP here) at the Roxy with Peanut Butter Wolf and others. more ›

LA Weekly points us to some hot picks for tonight. About Girl in Coma: "Joan Jett knows a thing or two about rock & roll, and her latest protegees, Girl in a Coma, on her Blackheart label are one of the best and most interesting bands to come out of Texas in a long time," writes Falling James. They also play Alex's Bar in Long Beach tomorrow night. Also, Brian Wahl picks the "rare appearance" of Buddy Collette Big Band, who will be playing at the Terrace Court on the second level of Paseo Colorado at 8 p.m. more ›

Alex & Sam may be a duo in title, but their fairly large band, sometimes up to twelve-members on stage, is quite a force of music that just puts a smile on your face. You can't really corner them into a jazz-blues rock or straight rock category. All we can say is that on stage, they've got it going and they are making their way to becoming a household name in Los Angeles. more ›

Usually Tuesday nights are slow for music in this town. Not tonight -- the spirit of Super Tuesday and democracy must have rung clear to bookers. Of course, LAist is having a party too, starting at 7:00 p.m. at Seven Grand. Choices, choices. more ›

Last chance to catch bands in their Monday night January residencies. That, plus Fred Armisen, who LA Weekly says "does Prince better than Prince." more ›

It's the last Saturday of the month and that means The Blue Mask at Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park is back after a little holiday break. LA Weekly describes the all-night music party put on by fellow musicians of Motorcycle Black Madonnas as a venue to catch "some of the city’s most respected underground punk, hard-rock and bent-jazz musicians... Best of all, there’s almost no chance that the faux-rock glitterati (or celebrity trash like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan) will ever discover/ruin the place." more ›

CalArts and USC have a joint program at REDCAT tonight titled, “Listen Again: Music You Should Change Your Mind About Right Now.” A great panel of writers, musicians and scholars discuss the current state of pop music and celebrate the release of the latest scholarly writings on music issued by the Experience Music Project. Panelists include Neal Pollack (alternadad.com), Ann Powers (Los Angeles Times), R.J. Smith (Los Angeles magazine), Oliver Wang (Soul-sides.com, CSU-Long Beach) and Ernest Hardy (L.A. Weekly). more ›

I wasn’t much of a Tom Petty fan in my pre-L.A. years, but like most people, I knew him from the basics…I had caterwauled the lyrics to "Free Fallin’" alongside other angsty Massachusetts teens at a dance or two, and I had been baffled by, but pretended I knew what the hell was going on in, the "Mary Jane's Last Dance" video. more ›

Sometimes Monday nights in Los Angeles are rather lacking for good music. But tonight there is something to celebrate for everyone and as Liz Ohanesian pointed out last month in LA Weekly, if you look east of Vermont, "Mondays have provided the best way for checking out upcoming local groups without busting our budgets." more ›

The Pasadena Star-News is looking for you. Or if there are problems to rant about in general throughout the SGV, then the San Gabriel Valley Tribune might be where you go. Or hey, same goes for Whittier and the Whittier Daily News. "It's a new year and we are on the lookout for letters to the editor. If you have a person that wants to write one, or is expressing an opinion on an article or photo, direct them to write a letter to editor..." That's Mickie of Mickie's Zoo talking. She's a professional belly dancer (swords are her specialty), a singer in a rock band and a full-time journalist. She also has been crowned the Queen of the 31st Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade that will take place on January 20th. more ›

When Sharon Stone wears a gown that looks like she's been shot or Lindsay Lohan goes out in public in an insanely sheer dress, Mr. Blackwell considers their candidacy for his annual top 10 worst dressed. Countless actresses and singers made questionable wardrobe choices in 2007. The overexposed, the under-dressed, and the over-the-top take center stage in this yearly ritual. Tomorrow Mr. Blackwell, the well-known fashion critic and designer, will unveil his 48th Annual Worst-Dressed Women list. LAist asked Mr. Blackwell about dressing movie stars, his favorite style icon, and of course our fascination with fashion disasters. more ›

Sunday marks the return of HBO's The Wire. To get you ready for the premiere of the fifth and final season of a show that TIME, Entertainment Weekly, Slate and the San Francisco Chronicle have all called "The best on television" LAist has lined up interviews with three members of the show's incredible cast. Be sure to check back tomorrow and Friday. more ›

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It's the end of another year and LA has lost yet another handful of important buildings. LA Weekly has the goods on the "big ones" that were lost this year including the Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove, Trader Vic's, Johnie's Broiler, Mann National Theatre and our personal vote for deepest loss of the year, Tail o' the Pup. more ›

Today's issue of LA Weekly holds their top few picks of the 740 new California laws coming our way in 2008. more ›

For those interested in entertainment I might liken to wrist-slitting, there's Disney on Ice or George Lopez live at the Nokia. For everyone else there's a few things going down around town. more ›

• A body was found yesterday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest, off Highway 2 near Big Pines. The identity of the person has not been revealed.
• Now you can get all the penis-biting snake action you want on the web: the next "Jackass" sequel is set to premiere on the web through Blockbuster's new online movie service.
• In New Jersey, the state assembly has voted to outlaw the death penalty, "poising the state to become the first since 1965 to eliminate capital punishment.The state Senate earlier this week also voted to end executions and replace them with sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole."
• Do not mix illegal camping with alcohol and fires! Arrests are being made in the Malibu Corral Canyon arsons: "the suspects were having an illegal late-night campfire near a cave when the blaze broke out. Investigators found evidence such as alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs."
• The contest for Rufus Wainwright and Belinda Carlisle on New Years Eve ends tonight! Enter to win! Enter to win!
• LA Weekly reports on gang activity in LA and elsewhere -- it's bad and getting worse.
• So the Golden Globe noms were announced...but if the writer strikes are still going, who's gonna show up for the ceremony? Wow I actually might watch this year. Is that wrong?
• ESPN is on top of fallout from the this morning's report on steroid use in the big leagues: "Baseball slow to react."

Jennifer Lopez's twins will receive the royal treatment- the mommy to be was seen picking up onesies that read "Prince" and "Princess" - NY Daily News more ›

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