Subject: M.I.A. (Musician)

• Elvis Perkins at Spaceland

  Providence's Elvis Perkins plays Club NME at Spaceland tonight, along with Pernice Brothers. Perkins' despondent (yet somehow soothing) vocals are somewhat reminiscent of crooners Jeff Buckley, Colin Meloy (eh) or Rufus Wainwright—but minus all that excessive theatricality. And recently signed to XL Recordings (home to indie powerhouses Devendra Banhart, M.I.A., Basement Jaxx, Thom Yorke, Ratatat, Peaches and Tapes 'n Tapes), we've seen Perkins' name exalted in all the major music blog

  November 22, 2006

• A Little Peek Into The World Of M.I.A.

  Although M.I.A.'s new album Kala (Interscope) wont come out in the U.S. until August 21, here is a little clip of her collaborating with Diplo on an early rendition of "Paper Planes".

  August 1, 2007

• Photos: Lollapalooza 2007

  The Daft Punk mothership lands in Chicago. Click the image for photos of Blonde Redhead, M.I.A. and other bands at the festival:

  August 7, 2007

• What you missed over the weekend: Part II

  Freelancer Shawn Smith was at Disneyland Friday night when she noticed that the Social Distortion show slated for the evening had been pulled. We bit our nails wondering if this was the latest in Disney censorship at the venue, which Clubs editor Erin DeWitt blogged in September. But it wasn't so, thank goodness. Shawn reports that the boys simply had the flu. Get well soon, guys. Staffer LYT drove to the L.A. River Center Friday to bid Los Angeles Times editorial page assistant editor Matt Wel

  December 17, 2007

• Avalon Bar Owner Mike Conley Found Dead

  The Weekly has received reports and the Chicago Tribune has confirmed that Avalon Bar owner Mike Conley was found dead early Thursday in a hotel parking lot in Leyden Township, Illinois. From the Tribune: Michael Conley, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was found unresponsive at 5:40 a.m. by a person staying in the hotel in the 2300 block of North Mannheim Road, sheriff's police spokeswoman Penny Mateck said. He appeared to have suffered head injuries. Conley was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in

  February 29, 2008

• Coachella, Day 1

  April 26, 2008

• To Do Tonight 4/28

  Beautiful Noise: A Benefit for the Family of Mike Conley, 7 p.m. Join Mike’s friends, family and fans for a night of remembrance at the House of Blues with performances by M.I.A., Jello Biafra, Kevin Seconds (of 7 Seconds), a special acoustic set by Social Distortion, and more. Proceeds will help the Conley family. Price: $35. Check OCWeekly.com/heardmentality tomorrow for a live review and photos of the event. House of Blues 1530 S. Disneyland Dr. Anaheim CA 92802 714-778-2583 The Shys,

  April 28, 2008

• Coachella, Day 2

  Recovering from yesterday’s illness forced me to miss 120 Days, MGMT, Little Brother and Boys Noize. Bah. But I arrived in time to see some Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. Their loose rock jams slash sea shanties were adorned with much proggy filigree. It was nice big-sky music for a big-sky setting. “It’s time to go fucking Jack Johnson on your ass,” Malkmus announced later, strapping on an acoustic. That was my cue to bolt. I strode over to the Sahara tent to catch Erol Alkan spinning

  April 27, 2008

• Last Night: Benefit for Mike Conley @ House of Blues in Anaheim 4/28

  There aren't too many guys in recent years that had as big of an impact on the Orange County punk scene as Mike Conley, ex M.I.A. front man and owner of Avalon Bar in Costa Mesa. Given that statement, I should have been more prepared for the overwhelmingly packed scene that awaited me behind the entrance curtain at the House of Blues. The night was a celebration of the life and times of a man that was taken from us far too early. In support of Mike Conley's family, Orange County punk fans we

  April 29, 2008

• Last Night: MC Chris, Totally Michael, Sirah at Chain Reaction

  Last Night: MC Chris, Totally Michael and Sirah at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, Oct. 21, 2008. Better Than: All three of the "Star Wars" prequels. Sorry, "Revenge of the Sith" apologists. Download: Totally Michael's self-titled debut, released last week and on iTunes. MC Chris isn't a fan of the "nerdcore" label that's followed him throughout his career. Writing at length on the subject in his MySpace blog, he essentially doesn't want to be the figurehead of any movement, or associated with the

  October 22, 2008

• Japanese Motors Reviewed in Spin

  The December issue of Spin--featuring fetching (and pregnant!) freshly minted Grammy nominee M.I.A. on the cover--sports a write-up of the self-titled debut from Costa Mesa's Japanese Motors, in the mag's micro-mini album review section.It's a positive (if not a bit cheeky; the band is dubbed "boarding brosefs") review, too, bringing up the seemingly obligatory Strokes comparisons and awarding three (out of five) stars--though it's rather rare to see anything get lower than two and a half stars

  December 4, 2008

• The Year in Music: 2008's Top Ten Pop Songs

  BY ANNIE ZALESKIPop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The following ten singles saturated the Top 40 -- or what passes for hit-oriented radio in this topsy-turvy musical climate -- while proving that accessibility doesn't necessarily preclude creativity.

  December 17, 2008

• L.A. Weekly's Top Ten Dance Collections of 2008, Both Mixed and Unmixed

  Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin. Simple dropdown mouse maneuvers can transform electro tracks into progressive house tracks (from dry and synthetic to wet and gushy), rhythm tracks can be tempo-tweaked with an upward toggle to change a Timbaland beat into a Chromeo one. Add some T-Pain-esque pitch-correction vocals to your between

  December 18, 2008

• Celebrity Fave-Raves Edition

  The year in music

  December 27, 2007

• Before It Gets Old: 'I'm On a Boat'

  The best televised musical thing to happen this weekend, other than maybe a (very) pregnant M.I.A. performing at the Grammys. The Lonely Island's Incredibad album comes out tomorrow!

  February 9, 2009

• Last Night: Raphael Saadiq at House of Blues

  Last Night: Raphael Saadiq at the House of BluesBetter Than: Trying to fill up a car from the 60s with today's gas prices.Download: Don't download shit, buy the damn album (The Way I See it)Toss Raphael Saadiq's latest album, The Way I See It into any CD player and most people are quick to call it a throwback. Delicately places strings, Stax-esque soul claps and an over all retro-sexy, "grown-folks" vibe swoons and swirls in the echoed, analog bliss of every track. If you didn't know any better,

  March 3, 2009

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

  April 9, 2009

• New Sensations

  February 12, 2009

• Sandy Jams

  October 30, 2008

• Gold Standard

  October 9, 2008

• In Memoriam

  April 24, 2008

• Coachella: It's Too Much . . . Thankfully

  April 17, 2008

• Give the Po' Girl a Break(beat)

  DJ Shynepne is a jill of all trades behind the decks

  January 24, 2008

• DESERT STORM

  May 5, 2005

• But What About the Hip-hop, Tom?

  Saul Williams
  

  March 15, 2007

• Sprawl of Sound

  Moving Asses Is Their Asset: Dirty Money’s DJS Favor Raunchy Rhythms Over Filthy Lucre

  August 30, 2007

• [Sound Guy] The Indio Index: Coachella By the Numbers

  April 23, 2009

• Two Days in the Valley

  April 27, 2006

• Stop Lying

  December 1, 2005

• Dead Hot Crazy

  November 24, 2005

• OC's 31 Scariest People

  Now 25 percent more terrifying!

  October 27, 2005

• Swamp and Overflow

  October 6, 2005

• Piracy Funds Superstardom

  October 6, 2005

• Oh, Dread

  June 30, 2005

• This Week In Nightlife

  June 2, 2005

• Missing In Action

  May 26, 2005

• Diary of a Mad County

  May 26, 2005

• Stinkstock!

  April 28, 2005

• Live(ish) from Coachella: Sunday Morning Coming Down

  I'm in the Motel 6, a.k.a. the COMMAND CENTER, but my WiFi expired (24 hours) so I'm iPhoning it in. Pay another $2.99? Heck no! Let's talk about Saturday for a bit, no?- TV on the Radio were real good. I saw them a few years ago and was kind of "eh" on it, though I always dug their recorded material. This was lightyears from that. Makes me wish I had seen them at the Glass House on Tuesday.- Fleet Foxes, on the side stage (the "outdoor theatre," if you will) got totally DROWNED THE FUCK OUT by

  April 19, 2009

• (Not) Live from Coachella: The N00b Reflects

  Spencer KornhaberThe "Hand of Man" crushes autos.While Albert's still sweating it out (literally! ha!) at some polo field in the desert, my Coachella experience -- my first Coachella experience -- is over. But it was fun. Why? Top things about Saturday from a neophyte:This is a good festival. Water wasn't too expensive, drunk nekkid hipsters weren't unbearably obnoxious, and it was pretty easy to see and hear most sets no matter how late you arrived. The fire-spewing dragon sculpture and the gia

  April 19, 2009

• Live from Coachella: Is There a Band Cooler than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Honestly?

  Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So great. Right now they're doing "Maps." You know, from that video game Rock Band! That picture is from them doing "Cheated Hearts." They were just on Saturday Night Live eight days ago (with host Zac Efron! OMG!) and here they are at Coachella. Pretty cool. I raved about their new album just a few weeks ago in the Weekly, and they did plenty of tracks from that: "Dull Life." "Zero." "Skeletons." And of course, Karen O is wearing a fetching glittery gold outfit. At least it loo

  April 19, 2009

• (One Day Ago) Live from Coachella: Day Two Pictures!

  Thank goodness for Beth Stirnaman. If not for her, our Coachella coverage would consist of my blah blahing and iPhone pictures of stages from the crowd, many yards away. Thankfully, she's got a bundle of great images from day two here, so you can put a face to my inspid ramblings. Remember me raving about  TV on the Radio doing songs like "Wolf Like Me"? Well, there's a bunch of TV on the Radio pictures, including this one here of fetching frontman Tunde Adebimpe. She also got Calexico, Fle

  April 19, 2009

• (Definitely Not) Live From Coachella: Good times, but no new finds

  Well, here we are again. Monday....ew. But for those of you who came along for the ride at Coachella 2009, the memories are probably still cycling around in your brain somewhere. Otherwise, you'd probably be getting some work done instead of trolling the internet looking for the next Albert Ching blog post. Sorry, but can we give this man a raise, honestly? Not only did he give you 3 days-worth of blurry iPhone pictures and up-to the-second coverage of the whole sha-bang, but he also Twittered y

  April 20, 2009

• Tomorrow: Mike Conley tribute

  There's a show at Fitzgeralds in HB tomorrow night that is billed as a "tribute to Mike Conley." Conley was the former lead singer of M.I.A. and owner of Avalon in Costa Mesa. He passed away Feb. 28, 2008 in Chicago.   The lineup includes the aforementioned M.I.A., Love Canal, CH3, the Strangers, Anarchy Taco (original members of the Vandals), Plain Wrap, Fork Tailed Devils and the Outsiders.   Tickets are $15. Show starts at 8.  

  May 29, 2009

• San Diego Street Scene Lineup Announced

  Tired of the Black Eyed Peas yet? No? Great! Well, they're headlining the 25th installment of San Diego's Street Scene, happening on August 28 and 29 (three weeks after playing the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa on August 7). Also playing: M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, the Dead Weather, Chromeo, Calexico, Silversun Pickups, Band of Horses, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Girl Talk and more. Highlights of lower down on the poster: Holy Fuck (rad), Los Campesinos! (super

  June 1, 2009

• Heard Mentality: Headed to Street Scene!

  ​Seeing as how we're the closest Village Voice Media paper to San Diego, we feel a profound sense of obligation to cover this weekend's Street Scene festival. Yes, that's right, obligation--not the opportunity to hang out in the Gaslamp District checking out awesome bands. It's all about obligation, for sure.The OC Weekly all-star team of writer Nate Jackson, photographer Beth Stirnaman and myself will be hitting up both days of the fest, checking out acts like M.I.A., Bands of Horses, Calexic

  August 28, 2009

• What You Missed: Street Scene, Los Cojolites, OC Beer Fest

  Beth StirnamanBadass gramps.​We had quite possibly the shittiest weather for a weekend full of outdoor activities--with temperatures reaching into the triple digits, we spent our weekend, well, kind of constantly moist. But that's okay: We trudged on. For you, our readers. For. You.First up, on Friday and Saturday, OC Weekly photographer Beth Stirnaman braved the heat and hit up the San Diego Street Scene music festival. The two-day event featured everyone from M.I.A., Public Enemy (a brief si

  August 31, 2009

• 12 Things I'll Always Remember About Street Scene '09

  Beth Stirnaman​It's Monday morning and another Street Scene is officially in the books. And while it's important to note that this parking lot extravaganza of fog-filled stages, oddly eclectic line-ups, mind-altering drugs and festival food has reached it's 25th year, it's also worth mentioning that I'm no longer a stranger to this two-day Coachella by the sea. Although for anyone that was there, the temps this weekend were actually fit for a desert, or maybe Satan's ass crack. But harsh heat

  August 31, 2009

• Street Scene: Like a More Comfortable Coachella

  ​ After attending Street Scene, the two-day downtown San Diego music festival that took place on August 28 and 29, I was left with this impression: it's better than Coachella.

  August 31, 2009

• [Sound Guy] Making a Street Scene

  September 3, 2009