Ben Westhoff

Best of Coachella 2013: Weekend Two

The Visual Stimulations for People Who Were High Coachella's art installations -- the ones designed to impress you while you're high, aka all of them -- were particularly impressive this year. There was the tesla coil, the crane that was formerly a flower but now a praying mantis, the giant floresce ... More >>

The Worst of Coachella: Weekend One

Daft Punk Fake-Out Friday and Saturday, all anyone could talk about was if Daft Punk was going to show up during Phoenix's set. Why? Because we were fucking teased. On the main stage before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a long commercial for their new album played, and then we found out that members of the ... More >>

The Hottest Dancing Girls at Coachella, as GIFs

By: Ben Westhoff and Mary Carreon We've spent a lot of time this Coachella talking about the magnificent bros in attendance, but how about the fair and talented ladies? Per usual, they were everywhere, doing their thing like it wasn't a chicken wing, or something. In any case, here are the hottest d ... More >>

A Tale of Two Coachella Bros

By: Ben WesthoffIt may be a bit early, but Coachella 2013 seems to be the Year of the Bro. For the ladies, it's business as usual, but the bros are really bringing it, from humorous neon t-shirts to costumes to all-around chiseledness. But there's more to being a bro than just looking good. Bros ... More >>

Top Ten Awkward Electric Daisy Carnival Dance Move GIFs

By Christopher Victorio and Ben Westhoff We love you, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. In fact, here are five reasons why you rule the roost. But my oh my you dance funky. We're not saying we're any better; truth is, we're utterly captivated by you and your awkward ways. Were God to create a thir ... More >>

The Best Of Coachella: Sunday, April 22, 2012

See also: Our Complete Coachella CoverageBy the third day of Coachella's second weekend -- the sixth and final day of this year's festival -- folks had more or less learned to ignore the dust and the heat. Here are our intrepid writers' favorite things about the final hours of the 2012 event.

The 10 Most Awkward Dance Moves At Coachella

See also: *"What My Spirit Hood Means To Me": Coachella-Goers Explain *Coachella: The Black Lips' Cole Alexander Goes Full Monty, Plays Guitar With His Ding-Dong At Coachella, folks come from all over the world to lose themselves in the music. They'll employ almost anything in this quest -- but mos ... More >>

The Best Of Coachella: Saturday, April 14, 2012

See also: *The Best Of Coachella: Day One *"What My Spirit Hood Means To Me": Coachella-Goers Explain *Coachella Preview 2012: Everything You Need to Know About the Performers*Radiohead, Weekend 1: No Alarms, No Surprises Radiohead certainly had the most pre-festival buzz for Saturday, but once we ... More >>

Coachella: The Garbage Situation Is Out Of Control

Ben WesthoffHey, it's a festival. Garbage is going to be an issue. And we applaud the organizers of Coachella in their attempts to, you know, prevent our planet from being ruined. But this is a little much. "Landfill"? That's garbage, right? But, we're supposed to feel shame for using it? "Mixe ... More >>

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, Village Voice Media's indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests to downright lame. Below, you'll find our cr ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Saturday 3/17/2012

So, we come to it: the end of all things. Four days of madness, Doritos, Skrillex and finally, St. Patrick's Day. Before we bid SXSW 2012 farewell, allow us to share our favorite moments from SXSW day four. Later, we'll let you know which shows weren't so hot. Find our favorites below, and if there ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Friday 3/16/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music editors have selected t ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Thursday 3/15/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music e ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

Five Things to Expect at Kreayshawn's Observatory Show

​5. Mixed Reviews (Mostly Bad)Despite the MTV nomination, the million-dollar record deal and the 17 million page views on YouTube of Kreayshawn's hit, "Gucci Gucci," we have yet to read a review of the 21-year-old white rapper's show that's all praises. Most of the time they're like these less-tha ... More >>

"Nigga in Paris": Jay-Z and Kanye Set a New Record, Which We Pretty Much Predicted

Sayre Berman​When we heard Jay-Z and Kanye West were playing the song "Niggas in Paris" multiple times during their Watch The Throne tour, we scratched out some highly scientific tabulations and calculated they would perform it 13 times in L.A. Here's how it all began. On the tour's first ni ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Is a Sober Lil Wayne a Good Thing?

​Little Wayne emerged from Rikers Island late last year. Now, owing to the terms of his probation, he must lay off drugs and liquor for three years or return to prison. And, by all accounts, he's kept kosher. 

 And yet something doesn't quite sit right. For the man who once composed a lo ... More >>

TONIGHT: Deerhunter at Detroit Bar, the Dead Weather at the Glass House

​There's something about every August 27, 2009, that makes it a big night for shows. The warm weather? The fact that it's Street Scene eve? Pent-up Ted Kennedy/Dominick Dunne mourning? Who knows.

[Sound Guy] Tweeting Up and Geeking Out

Incoming: Deerhunter, DJ AM, More at Detroit Bar

Bary KlippMicrocastle, the third studio album from Atlanta "ambient punk" band Deerhunter, came out last fall to nearly unanimous critical praise (including a 9.2 from Pitchfork and high marks from our own Ben Westhoff in this very blog). If you enjoyed the article, why not take the logical next ste ... More >>

TONIGHT: Jason Lytle at Art Theatre of Long Beach

There is a ton of stuff happening around our towns tonight, not the least of which is former Grandaddy lead singer Jason Lytle at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.Sounds like a promising show, just for the venue alone. I was at Greater California's album release concert there a couple of months ago, an ... More >>

Incoming: AC/DC, Beyoncé Coming to Honda Center (Separately)

Attention, single ladies (and others): Beyoncé, will soon be touring behind her third mega-popular solo record, this one with the much-mocked title I Am...Sasha Fierce (Ben Westhoff reviewed it for us here when it came out last fall, check out the hilarious comments he attracted: "BBBBB I LOVE U GI ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Akon Added to Jingle Ball

As if the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball could get any more awesome, this morning Senegalese-American rapper Akon, he of "Don't Matter" and simulated sex with a 15-year-old and pulling a dude on stage and throwing him off fame, has been added to the bill. I notice you noticing him.Akon just released a new albu ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Worst Press Release Ever?

OC Weekly freelancer Ben Westhoff has a blog post detailing what could possibly be the worst press release ever—and it's for Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, only one of the most anticipated albums of 2008. Check out Ben's dissection of the press release's awfulness and then look for his review of Tha ... More >>

Famous Musicians' Presidential Picks

When musicians wax political, the results are usually laughable and rarely illuminating. With this in mind, we link to OC Weekly freelancer Ben Westhoff's blog, where he's posted the presidential preferences (or noncommittal blather) of several rock and rap figures he's recently interviewed. Their r ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

InDELible: An Interview with Del the Funky Homosapien

Del, in his more bizarre days. [We didn’t have space in the paper to run this feature by Ben Westhoff, but we think it’s worth posting on Heard Mentality in advance of West Coast underground-rap luminary Del’s appearance Wed. Feb. 20 at the Vault 350.] Richmond, California emcee Del The Fu ... More >>

Letters

'Save the music, y'all'

Letters

A year to remember

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 garbag ... More >>

More "Efron Scandal” Fallout

"Yo, Wayne, I need a dope rhyme for 'fellatio.' Help a brotha out." The satirical story about prolific Southern rapper Lil Wayne collaborating with High School Musical star Zac Efron has inspired one sensitive soul to pen this heartfelt piece of fanfiction on his blog. All that's left now is for ... More >>

Letters

'All credibility has just gone down the drain'

Holy crap, we're on Perez Hilton!

No, really. It all started with Ben Westhoff's hysterical SATIRE piece on Zac Efron and Lil Wayne. Yes, satire. Y'all think this sort of collaboration would happen in real life?! With lyrics like these: Efron sings the chorus—“Everybody all for one, a real summer has just begun! Let’s rock ... More >>

“The Efron Scandal” Gets Internet's Panties in a Bunch

Wayne and Zac: brothers from other mothers, fo' sheezy. Have you read Ben Westhoff's “The Efron Scandal” feature yet in this week's OC Weekly? Dozens of thousands of 'net surfers have (enough—30,000 and counting—to crash our site, temporarily). Among those readers are those who work for ver ... More >>

Letters

“Why can’t polygamists be more like Mike Carona? He only has one wife (and a mistress and a couple of girlfriends)”

Hova-rated

Jay-Z’s American Gangster Proves He Ain’t All That—and Never Was