Today is the 50th anniversary of the Watts Riots (or Watts Rebellion, depending on your point of view). In that riot, 3,438 Anglenos were arrested, 1,032 were injured, and 34 died. This year (but not today) is also the 25th anniversary of another, less serious uprising, the Depeche Mode Riots, in which five to seven … Continue reading A Look Back at the Depeche Mode Riots
Tag: music
Tim & Eric Present: To Live and Deejay LA
Tim "Modern Brit" Shimbles (Amoeba employee and frequent traveling companion on California Fool's Gold) and yours truly are going to DJ a set of "locals only" music called To Live and Deejay LA on 12 May at the Melody Lounge in Chinatown. (Click here to join the Facebook event page). Los Angeles is a big place... bigger … Continue reading Tim & Eric Present: To Live and Deejay LA
The Dragonfly Collector Reviewed
Clementine Castro recently released his solo debut under the name Dragonfly Collector. Castro also was the leader of the popular bands, Orange and Lemons and The Camerawalls. Orange and Lemons released three albums in the 2000s (Love in the Land of Rubber Shoes and Dirty Ice Cream (2003), Strike whilst the Iron Is Hot (2005), … Continue reading The Dragonfly Collector Reviewed
A San Fernando Valley Playist
So the bad news is that I missed out on CicLAvia — The Valley. Cream Soda (my bicycle) was in the shop (nothing serious) and I was dog-sitting on the Eastside. I thought about bringing and walking the dog there but they’re not allowed on Metro buses or trains and there were further complications too that I … Continue reading A San Fernando Valley Playist
All-Female Bands of the 1960s – Happy Women’s History Month!
In the first half of the 20th Century, there were many popular all-female musical acts. In the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s there were vocal groups like The Andrews Sisters, The Boswell Sisters, and The McGuire Sisters. In the early rock/soul era, the so-called "girl groups" such as The Shirelles, The Teen Queens, The Paris Sisters, … Continue reading All-Female Bands of the 1960s – Happy Women’s History Month!
Proto-rap — a look at black soul and jazz poetry for Black History Month
INTRODUCTION In my freshman year of college I remember being hipped to the Last Poets by LaRon Johnson, another temporary housing refugee. He basically told me that they were rap music before rap music. This was back in 1992, a year after CERN released the World-Wide Web and when most music was shared via cassette … Continue reading Proto-rap — a look at black soul and jazz poetry for Black History Month
Piko Piko – A look at Picopop on the 34th birthday of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s debut
Back in 1978, on 25 November, pioneering Japanese group, Yellow Magic Orchestra released their influential, eponymous, debut full-length. The album and group are widely credited with being very influential on the development of several music genres, including ambient, chiptune, electro, hip hop, house, J-pop, synthpop, and techno, to name a few. The band (also known as YMO) were … Continue reading Piko Piko – A look at Picopop on the 34th birthday of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s debut
Herman Stein – Architect of the Sound of Science-Fiction
Though his name isn’t widely recognized, Herman Stein was a very influential American composer. Though he composed hundreds of film scores, he was most influential in for his work within the genres of horror and science-fiction. Some of his most recognized scores were created for Creature from the black lagoon, The incredible shrinking man, It … Continue reading Herman Stein – Architect of the Sound of Science-Fiction
Gina T is coming to LA!
Eurodisco star Gina T is performing Friday, November 12th at the Club 740 in Downtown, Los Angeles in a concert sponsored by Keep On Music (KOM), an organization committed to preserving and spotlighting Italo/Eurodisco -- often aka Vietnamese New Wave. Gina T is a gold and platinum singer as well as songwriter for other artists. She … Continue reading Gina T is coming to LA!
Roommate wanted – an interview with Roommate’s Kento-chan Lambert
For this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month I asked Asian-Americans involved in the arts to get at me. The first to do so was Kent Lambert, an experimental pop guy who lives in Chicago and is the front man for Roommate. Eric: How is your Asian Pacific American Heritage Month going? Kent Lambert: It's going swimmingly, … Continue reading Roommate wanted – an interview with Roommate’s Kento-chan Lambert
Eric Brightwell 