This was my 14th consecutive Coachella, and 17th if you count the short-lived cruise and the two years I went both weekends, but first with Rolling Stone. I teamed up with shutterbug Andy Keilen (that’s his shot of Kamasi Washington above) and writer Steve Appleford to tackle the best fest in the west. Half of the entries on this list are mine. Can you guess which ones without looking at the tags below? Make sure to keep scrolling downward on the article itself.
Dean Spunt on the skins, No Age drummer and PPM Records owner
It’s awesome time in L.A., people. Either get on the Good News train or get left behind. Music, frankly, is great — always has been, but when so much great music exists in one’s own backyard, when the people responsible for tending the flame all seem to gather within the same ten-mile stretch, when there’s no shortage of good ideas or good tunes, well, a person is likely to get real happy and start writing silly things like this.
Far less silly, and actually quite informative, is “Twelve Indie Labels You Should Know, a Primer” (I say “prymer,” please don’t say “primmer”) which is on the L.A. Times blog, Pop & Hiss, right now, as I type. This piece is the culmination of a three-parter. Read the Sunday print feature, “L.A.’s Indie Labels Succeed with a Jack-of-All-Trades Approach,” if you please. And find a supplemental piece (with a choice MP3) over yonder.
Amanda and Britt Brown of Eagle Rock indie label Not Not Fun pose for Los Angeles Times (photo by Jay L. Clendenin)
Well, it has been a long, long time coming, but I’m pleased to share my debut pair of links over to the Los Angeles Times. The main feature, which runs in print in Sunday’s Calendar section, profiles the ways in which independent labels in L.A. are adapting to the changing landscape of the music biz. Read about it here:
L.A.’s string of indie labels succeeds with a jack-of-all-trades approach
With noted input from the Dangerbird, Stones Throw, Alpha Pup and Not Not Fun imprints, plus tons of help from folks at Sargent House, Hydra Head, Southern Lord, Anticon, Manimal Vinyl, and Post Present Medium.
Also, there’s a supplemental blog piece to read, featuring a free download of Aloe Blacc’s stunning “I Need a Dollar” here:
Indies in L.A.: Alpha Pup and Not Not Fun talk the thriving L.A. scene
It’s true. This week’s installment of the INCHES L.A. vinyl column focuses entirely on the output of local indie , Dangerbird Records. I hand-picked a combination of the label’s best-for-listening and most innovative releases, including stuff from all of the bands mentioned above — flagship players like Silversun Pickups, Sea Wolf, Darker My Love, and Eulogies. MP3s from all four are included, along with the requisite photos, reviews, and recommendations, plus a Top Ten chart from Origami Vinyl.
Darker My Love's 2008 7-inch series
The LA Weekly runs an exceptionally solid music blog called West Coast Sound. I’ve contributed little bits in the past (Coachella coverage, and this Snoop Dogg thing), but in conjunction with WCS stepping up its coverage yet further, I’ll soon be contributing weekly. Expect breaking news, brief interviews and the occasional wry note on my usual musical obsessions (peep the Tag Cloud, yo).
Today’s posting is somewhat old news, but odd news nonetheless:
Chris Writes Things 