Andy Sternberg

This hilarious video is full of ideas and initiatives that newspapers could employ to shake the print downturn and become more like LAist. the more economical and timely Internet publications of today. Fill the news racks with double-D racks? Open up an LA Times Smoke Shop on Spring Street? Got any better ideas?

By the time dozens of LA-based bands descend on Austin for South by Southwest next week, LA's greatest freaks and geeks will have already mad an impact at SXSWi. The interactive component of SXSW, which begins tomorrow (along with the opening of SXSW Film) is a long weekend packed with panels and conversations regarding the future of new media, technology, and entertainment. Now in its 16th year, SXSWi has grown more notable in recent...

The latest iteration of Modest Mouse rocked the mid-sized (4,000 capacity) Hollywood Palladium last week leaving most fans -- young, old, industry, walk-ins -- satisfied. But for those waiting to hear the opening notes of the band's radio (and video game) hits "Float On," "Ocean Breathes Salty," and "Dashboard," it was an incomplete night. But "fuck 'em," as frontman Isaac Brock, would say. For those of us who've watched the PNW indie rockers grow from...

Two people were killed and one was injured in apparently connected drive-by shootings Sunday evening. The first victim was fatally struck in the 1600 block of Baxter Street in Echo Park just after 5 p.m., according to the LAPD. The second shooting, around the corner on Echo Park Ave, injured one. A third victim was reported dead at the scene on Toland Way in Glassell Park, a few blocks east of the Eagle Rock Fresh...

Watch great multi-camera video and soundboard audio of about half of last Monday's set at Echoplex was posted today at Pitchfork.tv.

Jonathan Jarvis, a master's candidate at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, kept it more than a little bit real with "The Crisis of Credit Visualized." This 11-minute animation is just one part of Jarvis's thesis. May his grad school debt vanish with great haste....

Chris Brown was sought on suspicion of domestic violence assault after an early morning incident in Hancock Park, according to LAPD. He later turned himself in. Both Brown and Rihanna canceled their Grammy appearances and performances hours before the awards show began.

Even before President-elect Barack Obama nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be his Secretary of Commerce, a grand jury investigation was under way regarding Richardson's hiring of Beverly Hills-based CDR Financial Products. CDR won a lucrative contract to advise the New Mexico Financial Advisory in 2004, but not before donating $100,000 to two Richardson organizations. He will continue to serve as governor although the investigation may "extend for several weeks or, perhaps, even...

We've spent much of the past few weeks reviewing the year that was, in music, movies, TV, food, and more. We've talked New Year's resolutions but now's the time to get real: What is really gonna go down over the next 12 months? Below are some of our early predictions -- what are yours? MTA installs turnstiles at all Metro subway stations, securing millions of dollars of unrealized revenue from erstwhile freeloaders. Construction begins on...

Saturday night's marquee lineup at Club Nokia of X, New York Dolls, and Cracker was a perfect set up for a reenactment of the evolution of the clichéd rock fan: the MC5 meets Stooges and Stones 70's garage rock of the Dolls; the timeless West Coast iteration of late '70s downtown punk best repped by hometown heroes X; the '90s post-cowpunk, quasi-kitsch alt-rock of Cracker. Throw away the bullshit clichés -- this nearly four-hour show...