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Thursday, November 13, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Los Angeles ConcertsCulture Club Cancel U.S. Tour, Including Show at the Shrine
Comments (0)By Andy Hermann
Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 9:16 AM
Categories: Los Angeles Concerts
The reunited original lineup of Culture Club have been forced to cancel all of their upcoming U.K. and North American tour dates, after doctors discovered a polyp in singer Boy George's throat. The canceled dates include a scheduled stop at the Shrine Auditorium next Wednesday, November 19. Tickets refunds will be available at point of purchase.
The tour was to be the band's first with Boy George in 14 years.
The tour was to be the band's first with Boy George in 14 years.
Hip-Hop
Snoop Dogg Sells Swedish Socks, Stays "G'ed Up From the Feet Up"
Comments (0)By Ben Westhoff
Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Hip-Hop, Fashion
Snoop Dogg is no longer an active gang member. In fact, renouncing his formerly violent life is what he's about these days, and his Snoop Lion and Snoopzilla personas have sought to showcase a more socially conscious, peace-and-love Dogg.
But mainstream America still sees him as rough and tumble, and trading on that image remains a fun and lucrative thing to do. Which is why Snoop's endorsement of a Swedish company called Happy Socks is not figuratively (and literally) soft, but in fact makes sense.
But mainstream America still sees him as rough and tumble, and trading on that image remains a fun and lucrative thing to do. Which is why Snoop's endorsement of a Swedish company called Happy Socks is not figuratively (and literally) soft, but in fact makes sense.
Los Angeles Concerts
The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend, Nov. 14-16
Comments (0)By L.A. Weekly
Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 4:45 AM
Categories: Los Angeles Concerts
Be sure to check out our constantly updated concert calendar!
Friday, November 14
Slayer
THE FORUM
Slayer remains the heaviest of the “Big Four” of thrash metal — out-shredding Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax — more than 30 years into their career. Their seminal 1986 release Reign in Blood is 29 minutes of scorching thrash that still inspires some of the most violent headbanging anywhere. But fans would have understood if the SoCal metal greats called it quits after a tumultuous 2013. Weathering a storm that included the acrimonious departure of drummer Dave Lombardo and the tragic death of guitarist Jeff Hanneman, remaining band founders Tom Araya and Kerry King are moving forward with a new as-yet-untitled album in 2015, alongside returning ’90s Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. This show – shockingly, the band’s first-ever performance at the Forum — should be a good indicator of what the future holds for the veteran act. — Jason Roche
Friday, November 14
Slayer
THE FORUM
Slayer remains the heaviest of the “Big Four” of thrash metal — out-shredding Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax — more than 30 years into their career. Their seminal 1986 release Reign in Blood is 29 minutes of scorching thrash that still inspires some of the most violent headbanging anywhere. But fans would have understood if the SoCal metal greats called it quits after a tumultuous 2013. Weathering a storm that included the acrimonious departure of drummer Dave Lombardo and the tragic death of guitarist Jeff Hanneman, remaining band founders Tom Araya and Kerry King are moving forward with a new as-yet-untitled album in 2015, alongside returning ’90s Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. This show – shockingly, the band’s first-ever performance at the Forum — should be a good indicator of what the future holds for the veteran act. — Jason Roche
Stuff Music Critics Like
Daniel Lanois on His Experimental New Album: "I'm Not Miley Cyrus"
Comments (0)By John Payne
Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 4:30 AM
Categories: Stuff Music Critics Like
Ace steel guitar man, famed producer (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young) and ambient music trailblazer Daniel Lanois’ latest solo album Flesh and Machine is just out on Anti- Records. It’s what you’d call one of those artistic rebirth sorts of things. Lanois is a bit fed up with the old ways of making music; he wanted to use new sounds to say something genuinely new and relevant about what is happening on our planet.
In conversation with L.A. Weekly, Lanois explained how Flesh and Machine is a soundtrack for "ferocious times."
Flesh and Machine dives into brave new worlds of sound with brash blends of beauty and boldness.
It began as more of a conventional song thing, but as I started building my sounds and garnishing the songs, all of that started sounding more interesting to me than the songs. [Laughs] So I abandoned the core of the matter and went with the toppings.
This was a process of deconstruction. While processes aren’t new to me — I’ve done this a lot on other people’s records and with [Brian] Eno over the years — I decided that this was possibly entering into new sonic territory.
In conversation with L.A. Weekly, Lanois explained how Flesh and Machine is a soundtrack for "ferocious times."
Flesh and Machine dives into brave new worlds of sound with brash blends of beauty and boldness.
It began as more of a conventional song thing, but as I started building my sounds and garnishing the songs, all of that started sounding more interesting to me than the songs. [Laughs] So I abandoned the core of the matter and went with the toppings.
This was a process of deconstruction. While processes aren’t new to me — I’ve done this a lot on other people’s records and with [Brian] Eno over the years — I decided that this was possibly entering into new sonic territory.
Henry Rollins!
Henry Rollins: The Doors Achieved Something More Than Just Music
Comments (1)By Henry Rollins
Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 4:00 AM
Categories: Henry Rollins!
[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Sunday KCRW broadcast.]
Los Angeles is a city where the eclectic and surreal often mix freely. There are so many scenes to make: If you do it just right, you can see and experience a lot in a short time.
Now and then, my schedule is such that I attend multiple events in a single week. I know for some people that’s just how they live. But it’s not always the case for me, so when there is a lot of nightlife on my itinerary, I marvel at Los Angeles and its incredible level of activity. It’s why you see all those low-cut vans with the driver pointing things out to the passengers. We live in a city that people come from all over the world to check out. It’s pretty cool.
Los Angeles is a city where the eclectic and surreal often mix freely. There are so many scenes to make: If you do it just right, you can see and experience a lot in a short time.
Now and then, my schedule is such that I attend multiple events in a single week. I know for some people that’s just how they live. But it’s not always the case for me, so when there is a lot of nightlife on my itinerary, I marvel at Los Angeles and its incredible level of activity. It’s why you see all those low-cut vans with the driver pointing things out to the passengers. We live in a city that people come from all over the world to check out. It’s pretty cool.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Music BidnessFriends of Friends Keeps Pushing the Boundaries of Electronic Music
Comments (0)By Max Bell
Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 4:30 AM
Categories: Music Bidness, Low End Theories
For independent record labels, exposure leads to expansion. An originally tight-knit community gradually comes untethered. Artists leave for the promise of bigger budgets and bigger hits elsewhere. Risk is jettisoned for the safe bet.
L.A.-based electronic-music label Friends of Friends (FoF) isn't the exception to the narrative, but it's close. Five years removed from the label's inception, founder Leeor Brown hasn't altered his approach.
"I'm just trying to play the long game, to keep working on projects that I'm proud of, that I think are pushing boundaries," Brown says over lunch at La Tropicana, a Highland Park market that doubles as a deli, near his home.
Also nearby is the FoF office, an open, spacious, wood-floored room on a second floor that overlooks the neighborhood's tree-lined streets. Inside, Brown's small staff is relaxed but on task. Breaks are taken both to pet Brown's dog and to ensure it doesn't run out the door.
Born out of its founder's vision and careful curation, FoF was one of the earliest labels to emerge from the salad days of L.A.'s semi-legendary beat scene. Compared to the punishingly percussive, bass-heavy hip-hop/electronic hybrid most associated with the scene, FoF's music is softer, more melodic. It's built to help you weather a breakup, not splinter speakers.
Culture Wars
Jewish Rapper Kosha Dillz Got Hacked by ISIS
Comments (4)By Chaz Kangas
Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 4:00 AM
Categories: Culture Wars, Hip-Hop
Last week, Los Angeles rapper Kosha Dillz had his website hacked by ISIS. No, this is not some weird promotional stunt. This actually happened.
The affable Jewish rapper, signed to Murs’ 3:16 imprint, found his place in cyberspace vandalized, raising flags among his friends and the Department of Homeland Security. We spoke to Dillz about this most unlikely of hip-hop beefs.
How did you discover your website had been hacked by ISIS sympathizers?
A kid had messaged me on SoundCloud saying, “Hey, I checked out your website and someone hacked your stuff.” I checked it and that’s exactly what happened.
Had your website ever been hacked before?
No, never. We have to drop it, it’s directed to my Facebook page right now. I have to get on the phone with all these security companies and had to speak with people from the government. They had already knew that it happened, and that was the trippy part.
The affable Jewish rapper, signed to Murs’ 3:16 imprint, found his place in cyberspace vandalized, raising flags among his friends and the Department of Homeland Security. We spoke to Dillz about this most unlikely of hip-hop beefs.
How did you discover your website had been hacked by ISIS sympathizers?
A kid had messaged me on SoundCloud saying, “Hey, I checked out your website and someone hacked your stuff.” I checked it and that’s exactly what happened.
Had your website ever been hacked before?
No, never. We have to drop it, it’s directed to my Facebook page right now. I have to get on the phone with all these security companies and had to speak with people from the government. They had already knew that it happened, and that was the trippy part.
Bizarre Ride
Australian Transplant Anna Lunoe Is Taking U.S. Dance Music by Storm
Comments (0)By Jeff Weiss
Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 3:30 AM
Categories: Bizarre Ride
[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Follow him on twitter and also check out his archives.]
Before conquering Coachella, HARD and Lollapalooza, touring with The Weeknd and supplying runway anthems for Kanye West’s preferred haute couture brands, dance music DJ/producer Anna Lunoe toiled as a frustrated boutique clerk in Sydney.
Raised in a musical household, the Australian native started out making cassette mixes to impress her older brothers, before graduating to violin, piano and acoustic guitar. But after bailing on her journalism studies to work as a part-time selector on FBi Radio (Sydney’s KCRW equivalent), she paid her rent by convincing local rich people that the blouse they just tried on “looked killer.”
“One day at the shop, I randomly picked up the NME and saw a quote from Franz Ferdinand’s lead singer that changed my life,” Lunoe says, wryly grinning, wearing pink cat-eye sunglasses, a white T-shirt and a dangling silver pendant.
Before conquering Coachella, HARD and Lollapalooza, touring with The Weeknd and supplying runway anthems for Kanye West’s preferred haute couture brands, dance music DJ/producer Anna Lunoe toiled as a frustrated boutique clerk in Sydney.
Raised in a musical household, the Australian native started out making cassette mixes to impress her older brothers, before graduating to violin, piano and acoustic guitar. But after bailing on her journalism studies to work as a part-time selector on FBi Radio (Sydney’s KCRW equivalent), she paid her rent by convincing local rich people that the blouse they just tried on “looked killer.”
“One day at the shop, I randomly picked up the NME and saw a quote from Franz Ferdinand’s lead singer that changed my life,” Lunoe says, wryly grinning, wearing pink cat-eye sunglasses, a white T-shirt and a dangling silver pendant.
Vinyl
What the Hell Happened to Backside Records?
Comments (17)By Art Tavana
Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 3:15 AM
Categories: Vinyl, Hip-Hop
Backside Records in Burbank is still a record store, but just barely. You definitely wouldn't know it walking in — as rows of urban streetwear now torch your senses with a kaleidoscope of gaudy colors.
"Sale margins on vinyl are not the same as apparel," says the store's apparel buyer and partner, Eric Flores, who saw Backside almost go under back in 2009, when physical music sales couldn't pay the rent near Burbank's Media Center (the city's uncool version of Melrose). "Apparel seemed like the natural transition for us."
The evolution of Backside Records from local record store to Melrose-style boutique began in the mid-2000s, when most of America began downloading MP3s instead of buying CDs and vinyl. DJs began spinning with a mouse on Serato, and suddenly, Backside lost their most loyal consumer: the hip-hop DJ.
"Sale margins on vinyl are not the same as apparel," says the store's apparel buyer and partner, Eric Flores, who saw Backside almost go under back in 2009, when physical music sales couldn't pay the rent near Burbank's Media Center (the city's uncool version of Melrose). "Apparel seemed like the natural transition for us."
The evolution of Backside Records from local record store to Melrose-style boutique began in the mid-2000s, when most of America began downloading MP3s instead of buying CDs and vinyl. DJs began spinning with a mouse on Serato, and suddenly, Backside lost their most loyal consumer: the hip-hop DJ.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Top 20The 20 Best Drummers of All Time
Comments (54)By L.A. Weekly
Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 4:00 AM
Categories: Top 20
As anyone who's ever started a garage band knows, you can get away with only knowing three chords and two basslines — but if your drummer can't keep a beat, you're never making it out of that garage. Behind every great band lies an even greater drummer, and hidden away behind all those cymbals and high-hats, many of the greatest ones never get their due.
So in the words of the immortal James Brown, let's give the drummer some! Here are L.A. Weekly's picks for the 20 greatest drummers of all time, in any genre.
So in the words of the immortal James Brown, let's give the drummer some! Here are L.A. Weekly's picks for the 20 greatest drummers of all time, in any genre.
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Henry Rollins: The Doors Achieved Something More Than Just Music
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