Album Cover, Go With What You Know Zappa Plays ZappaTuesday, November 13Hogg Memorial Auditorium (24th at Whitis)8pm[info] | [tickets]Post by Mark H. Being the spawn of an international superstar can be a tough weight to carry. Some try to sluff off comparisons, others try to appropriate their parents' legacy while striving to maintain their own sense of artistic creativity, and others still go unseen or heard until ending up in rehab. Dweezil Zappa seems to... more ›

In the mid 1980s, the US Senate (provoked by a high-powered busybody wives club called the PMRC) held a series of hearings on so-called “porn rock”—music containing lyrics about violence, sex, drugs, and the occult. The hearings were pointless but hilarious, providing a public venue for several old, rich, uptight assholes to make fools of themselves reciting lyrics from songs by prominent 80s rock bands. And though the hearings are probably best remembered for testimonies... more ›

Stay warm and prepare yourself for the shopping season by treating yourself to some new records. Here's what's new on the shelves at Waterloo and End of an Ear today: Gwen Stefani The Sweet Escape (Interscope) Somewhere in between her modern day interpretation of Elvira Hancock and her shoulder-groping self-adoration is Gwen Stefani's music, though it might rightly be as glossy and desirable as it is because of co-writers (Neptunes, Rice-Oxley of Keane). Commercial... more ›

Vote y'all. Then go buy records. Here's what's new today: Pavement Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition (Matador) Pavement's 1995 masterpiece came on the heels of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, a decidedly more radio-friendly album. Pavement fans who dropped the needle on "We Dance" expecting some sort of answer to "Silence Kit" or 120 Minutes darling "Cut Your Hair" were probably surprised, but not disappointed (in time). Malkmus took a certain pride in alienating critics,... more ›

Decades ago, the eucalyptus-lined, coyote-infested network of bungalows and winding roads known as Laurel Canyon, perched high above Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills, served as the mise en scène for a countercultural revolution of herculean proportions that uprooted the music industry and launched the careers of dozens of hippie folksingers. This mythic locale is the subject of pop culture journalist and Laurel Canyon resident Michael Walker's book, Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock... more ›