Subject: Amy Winehouse

• Busywork, Detroit Bar, October 31, 2007

  Muscles from Melbourne: kinda weak. Halloween: It's really more for adults than for kids, isn't it? It astounds me how much effort grownups put into their costumes, simply to have ridiculous amounts of fun getting wasted as they take mini-vacations from their own personae. The overflow gathering at Detroit Bar last night proved this conclusively—and reminded me that I need to get a camera, damn it. (I hope to get some shots by OC paparazzo Will Tee Yang later.) Sure, you had your share of

  November 1, 2007

• The Worst Things in Music This Year

  Freelancer Ben Westhoff (you may recognize the name from "The Efron Scandal") posted this provocative list on our sister paper Pitch Weekly's blog. We reprint it here because this is a time of giving (said the atheist). By BEN WESTHOFF 1. Worst Album: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible This cerebral garbage entertained about 100 people, none of whom didn’t either live in Canada or work as a music critic. Speaking of critics, it’s hard to agree with Sasha Frere-Jones about anything, but he was right

  December 21, 2007

• Check Out My Package

  It's pretty well-known that I'll go almost anywhere I'm invited if there's free food and booze, but some invites make more sense than others. Movie premieres, I understand. Art gallery openings, sure. But a meeting held by a package tour company to pitch their getaways to local travel agents? I mean, I don't make near enough money to afford African safaris or whatnot, especially since some of them cost as much as my rent for the entire year. And I'm fairly sure that most of you who pick our free

  January 9, 2008

• The Grammys: Drunk on Winehouse

  Every year the Grammy Awards ceremony proves—among other things—how far out of step my tastes are with mainstream music, a state of affairs with which I came to terms, oh, in the early '80s. It also reveals the dearth of imagination/adventurousness of the nominating committee. Most of the music that charts and excites people of mainstream sensibilities just strikes me as bland and insipid. Must be the way I'm hard-wired. I like weird, edgy shit, generally speaking, the sort of stuff the powe

  February 11, 2008

• Because You're Ugly: Ben Sherman Five Decades

  Iconic British labels PPQ and Ben Sherman have collaborated on a line called "Five Decades of Dresses," and the pieces are now available here in the States. Each dress in the range represents a different decade—and, of course, the music associated with that decade—from the '60s through the '90s. You've got the '60s mod shift dress; the '70s rock paisley print shirt dress; the '80s ska houndstooth high-waisted skirt with a tartan blouse with gold buttons ("Ska and 2-tone meets Amy Winehouse"

  July 8, 2008

• Sprawl of Sound

  I regret . . . Things that made me sigh and rue in 2007

  January 3, 2008

• Coachella Lineup: Finally Here!

  More thoughts to come since I'm definitely still processing it all. The McCartney reports were true, the Bowie rumors were not. OMG Morrrissey. Haha, Amy Winehouse. That'll be something. How many "will she still be alive by April 18 jokes?" will we have to hear? Nice to see Phoenix's Dear and the Headlights on Friday--I've been into them since way back when. Shockingly, this lineup is pretty awesome! Though The Killers are a pretty weak headliner.

  January 30, 2009

• Way Too Early Coachella Must-Sees

  I wanted to be the first person in the blogosphere to comment on what bands you should see at Coachella. So here goes. The Aggrolites -- LA's best white boy reggae/soul/funk band. They wear cool clothes and know how to throw a dance party. Thievery Corporation -- Maybe you know them, maybe you don't. The only time I went to Coachella (hello 2003), I saw these guys and they were great. Killer dance/groove stuff. Or maybe that was the weed talking. Superchunk -- They're still around? Bob Mou

  January 30, 2009

• Nothing's Shocking: Amy Winehouse Removed From Coachella Lineup

  (Yes, that's a picture of Amy Winehouse. Weird, right? It's from her MySpace. It's been up there since 2006.)Everyone--even us!--made the same joke when Amy Winehouse was announced back in January as performing at this year's Coachella. "No way she'll actually make it there!" Well, we were right, of course, as it's been announced that she's won't be at the April festival in Indio due to work visa problems--she won't be able to get one in time because she's been charged with assaulting a fan back

  March 10, 2009

• M.I.A. Added to Coachella!

  Saturday at Coachella--already considered weak by many in the blogosphere due to the Killers as headliners and then compromised further after Amy Winehouse had to drop out due to work visa issues--has gotten a boost. M.I.A., who just gave birth to a boy last month days after performing on the Grammys, is going to get right back into it with her third Coachella set on Saturday, April 18 (she previously was at 2005 and 2008's festivals). Rad.

  March 20, 2009

• [Coachella 2009] Everything New Is Old Again--and Vice Versa

  April 9, 2009

• Feedback 2008: The Music Issue

  November 27, 2008

• Costa Mesa's Japanese Motors Head East Before Camping Out at Detroit Bar

  August 28, 2008

• Detroit Cobras Snake, Rattle and Roll Through Obscure R&B Classics

  June 5, 2008

• [CD Review] Jamie Lidell, 'Jim' (Warp)

  May 8, 2008

• [Locals Only] Not a Chance

  April 24, 2008

• [Sprawl of Sound] Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and Yet More Coachella Blurbage

  April 17, 2008

• Coachella's Robot Rock: Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin and Justice's Automation for (Moving) the People

  April 17, 2008

• Hotter Than the Temperature at Coachella? Black Lips, Animal Collective, Duffy and 43 More

  April 17, 2008

• [Hits!] Top-Selling Records at Borders Books, Music and Café at the Block in Orange

  March 27, 2008

• The Anti-Amy Winehouse

  Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Create Vintage Soul Music, Not Tabloid Headlines

  November 29, 2007

• Pop Goes Britannia

  With a New Four-CD Retrospective, Rhino Records Captures the Agony and Ecstasy of Modern English Rock’s Golden Age

  November 22, 2007

• How (Not) to Name Your Band

  WEB EXCLUSIVE! Your Moniker Can Mean Big Money. Choose Wisely with These Tips

  November 8, 2007

• Hits!

  Borders Books Music & Cafe
  

  October 11, 2007

• Hits!

  Fingerprints

  August 23, 2007

• Hits!

  Pepperland Music
  

  August 16, 2007

• Hits!

  Virgin Megastore Orange

  August 2, 2007

• Hits!

  The Noize Music

  July 26, 2007

• Hits!

  Music Revolution

  July 12, 2007

• Hits!

  SecondSpin

  May 31, 2007

• Hits!

  Borders Books Music & Cafe

  May 17, 2007

• Cream of the Coachella Crop

  April 26, 2007

• Recommendation From Me to You

  Maybe you noticed I didn't blog last week. Or maybe you didn't. OK, you probably didn't. Anyway, I hit the road and spent the week in Portland, Ore., a city I hope to call home one day. The trip was amazing -- tons of killer vegan food, the weather was nice and the beer flowed all day and all night. But perhaps the coolest part of the vacation was the fact that I "discovered" Amy Winehouse.Yes folks, three years after she became a household name, I finally heard Back to Black and guess what? It'

  August 10, 2009