Now that it’s summer and I’ve made it through an entire season without owning a vehicle in L.A., I decided to add up the miles I’ve traveled (excluding rides with friends and walking) since taking on the experiment with carlessness. I’m not great at math, but here goes …

Total miles biked: 546
Days biked to work: 85
Miles driven: 26
Cost of refueling the rental car ($4.63/gallon): $6.74
Number of hybrid bikes I could buy for what the (previously desired) hybrid Honda costs: 60
People who told me I inspired them to ride a bike: 2
People who looked concerned about my mental health when I answered “no” to the question “So, are you going to buy another car?”: Far more than 2
Weekend days it was hot enough to sear flesh but I got out there anyway: 3
Months before I broke down and bought a basket for grocery purchases: 3.5
Calories burned, according to dubious online calculator: 28,050
Executives at my company that I unexpectedly encountered post-ride (i.e. disheveled, sweaty) on the weekend: 2
Normal people at my company that I encountered: 0
Days I’ve seen that squashed crow on my commute: 9 (somebody pick that thing up)
Yippy dogs charging at me: 1
Car doors smacking me: 1
Group rides: 1
Freeway rides: 0

»continue reading The Bicycle Brief, Chapter 4: Math And Stuff

PICK OF THE WEEK

Modey Lemon
with
The Muslims
Wed July 2
The Echo
Info

Contest closed–Winners TBN

Mods & Rockers Film Festival
Egyptian Theater
Wed July 2, 7:30 pm
Triple Bill! Two World Theatrical Premieres!
The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story (2001, 50 min) / Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death…And Insects (2008, 60 min) *Discussion with filmmaker John Edginton / All My Loving (1968 50 min) *Discussion following with filmmaker Tony Palmer

Contest closed–Winners TBN

Festival runs through July 9
Full Info

Modey Lemon w/ The Muslims @ The Echo Wed 7/2 — See Pick of the Week, above.

Teddy Thompson @ Largo Wed 7/9
Nico Vega w/ Gods & Monsters @ Key Club (David Lynch Foundation Benefit) Wed 7/16
Lili Hadyn @ The Roxy Sat 7/19
Dizzee Rascal @ Echoplex Thu 7/24
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down @ Troubadour Sat 8/2
Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls) @ Troubadour Mon 8/4
Sunset Junction Festival @ Sunset Junction (Broken Social Scene, Isaac Hayes, Antibalas, Cold War Kids & more ) Sat 8/23
Sunset Junction Festival @ Sunset Junction (Kinky, !!!, Black Keys & more) Sun 8/24
El Vez @ Key Club (Ron’s Pick) Sat 8/23
Sondre Lerche @ Troubadour Sun 8/24
Marc Broussard @ The Roxy Thu 8/28
Paul Weller @ The Wiltern (2 Night Pass – 9/2 & 9/3) Tue 9/2
Paul Weller @ The Wiltern Tue 9/2
Paul Weller @ The Wiltern Wed 9/3
Nada Surf @ Troubadour Sat 9/6
Nada Surf @ Troubadour Fri 9/5
NIN (Nine Inch Nails) @ The Forum Sat 9/6
Ratatat @ Henry Fonda Tue 9/9
Ratatat @ Henry Fonda Wed 9/10
Silver Jews @ Echoplex Fri 9/26
Liam Finn @ Echoplex Sat 9/20
Stars @ Avalon Wed 10/1
Dandy Warhols @ The Wiltern Fri 10/3
Santana @ Nokia Theater Fri 10/3
The Kooks @ The Palladium Tue 10/28

»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: June 30 – July 6

»continue reading No Age at The Getty, June 27, 2008

I can’t think of a more colorful place than Old Chinatown. Can you? The paint scheme is straight out of a comic book. And if you love neon like I do it’s a treasure trove. This weekend a great place is about to get even greater. After decades of not being there anymore the neon highlighting those spellbinding pagoda rooflines has been replaced. Miracles do happen! I weep! The relighting ceremony is part of Chinatown’s 70th anniversary party, Saturday evening June 28, 2008. The neon light switch will be flipped on at 8:30.

If you love timeless Chinese modern style like I do, I seriously recommend while experiencing Old Chinatown that you see two of the best vintage Chinese restaurant interiors in country. The upstairs dining room at Hop Louie (formerly the Golden Pagoda) is still serving sweet and sour pork, while Realm, a gift shop housed in the long-gone Hong Kong Low Restaurant, serves up the most spectacular retail space in the city! Oh, and speaking of Chinese modern time-warps, the old lawyers office upstairs in the Hong Building (seen here on the left,) was recently revealed after decades of being moth balled. Don’t miss that either. Ask to do so inside of Realm and make sure to tell them I sent you!

Here’s to Chinatown, Chinese modern, those that restored the neon and YOU!

Visit Charles’ site or join his Slide of the Week Mailing List.

HEADS UP

Sigur Rós @ Greek Theatre Thu 10/2

Ticket pre-sale this morning, Thursday, June 26 at 10 am.

General ticket on-sale this Saturday, June 28 at 10 am.

Gagnrýnendur lofa Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós ! Nýjasta plata Sigur Rósar, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, kemur formlega út í dag, en í nokkurn tíma hefur verið hægt að hlusta á hana á heimasíðu hljómsveitarinnar.

Dómar um hana hafa þegar birst í nokkrum erlendum blöðum og eru gagnrýnendur mjög hrifnir af plötunni sem þykir talsvert frábrugðin fyrri verkum Sigur Rósar.

Gagnrýnandi breska dagblaðsins Guardian segir hana sólargeisla úr óvæntri átt og andrúmsloftið á henni hlýtt og gleðilegt. Hann lofar sérstaklega lagið „Ára bát“ sem hann segir metnaðarfyllstu tónsmíð sveitarinnar frá upphafi.

Gagnrýnandi Independent er sömuleiðis jákvæður og segir plötuna aðgengilegri en fyrri plötur. „Þessi fimmta plata hljómsveitarinnar inniheldur, sumum heitum aðdáendum hennar til mikillar skelfingar, nokkur lög sem hægt væri að kalla popplög,“ segir hann og lýkur máli sínu á þessum orðum. „Það klingir ekki lengur í álfabjöllum hjá Sigur Rós, en það gæti farið að klingja í peningakössum þeirra í staðinn.“

»continue reading 2008 Make Music Festival, Pasadena: Raveonettes, Little Ones & Autolux

»continue reading 2008 Make Music Festival, Pasadena: Kinky

Setlist:
»continue reading Radiohead à Paris, Parisian Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, 10 Juin 2008

I’m getting my car washed.
I’m getting my car hand washed.
At the Millennium Car Wash Hand Wash
On the corner of Lincoln and Venice.

It’s like picking up radio signals with your braces,
And using this feat to pick up girlie girls,
And then going to Fairplex Park
And picking the winning horse.
»continue reading Millennium Car Wash Hand Wash

PICK OF THE WEEK

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
w/ Steve Winwood
Hollywood Bowl
Wed 6/25
Info
 
 

Two Special Out-of-Town Giveaways to Kick Off Summer

Death Cab For Cutie
with Rogue Wave
Tues 6/24
SANTA BARBARA BOWL
Tix & Info | Contest closed–Winners TBN
 
 
 
 

Yacht
with Mika Miko
Thurs 6/26
Orange County Performing Arts Center
Costa Mesa
Info | Contest closed–Winners TBN
Tickets Courtesy of Boost Mobile!

Grand Archives
w/ Sara Cahoone
Fri 6/27
Echo
Info | Contest closed–Winners TBN

 
Nikka Costa
w/ DJ C-Minus
Fri 6/27
El Rey
Info | Contest closed–Winners TBN
 

We Are Scientists
w/ The Blood Arm
Tues 7/1
El Rey
Info
Contest closed–Winners TBN
*Grand prize winner will receive an autographed W.A.S. CD & poster!

DENNIS WILSON
Pacific Ocean Blue (Sony Legacy)
2-CD Legacy Edition reissue of the 1977 classic solo LP, including many unheard tracks and the entire lost Bambu LP sessions.
Info | Contest closed–Winners TBN

VERVE REMIXED VOL 4.
NOTE: This is a VINYL DOUBLE LP RECORD!
New remixes of James Brown, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday & more, by Kenny Dope, Diplo, Cinematic Orchestra, Antibalas & more.
Watch The Trailer | DL the Diplo/Marlena Shaw Track| Contest closed–Winners TBN

*Include a mailing address when entering for these, of course.
 

HEADS UP

Hercules & Love Affair @ The Echo Wed 7/23
Lykke Li @ Hotel Cafe Mon 8/25
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band @ Troubadour Tue 8/5
Albert Hammond Jr. @ Spaceland Fri 7/11
Foals @ El Rey Thu 9/18
Tokyo Police Club @ Henry Fonda Thu 9/18
Sigur Rós @ Greek Theatre Thu 10/2
Tegan & Sara w/ City and Colour & Girl In A Coma @ Henry Fonda (On sale Mon 6/23) Thu 10/16
Tegan & Sara w/ City and Colour & Girl In A Coma @ Henry Fonda (On sale Mon 6/23) Fri 10/17
Tegan & Sara w/ City and Colour & Girl In A Coma @ Henry Fonda (On sale Mon 6/23) Sat 10/18
Tegan & Sara w/ City and Colour & Girl In A Coma @ Henry Fonda (On sale Mon 6/23) Sun 10/19
Mudhoney @ El Rey Fri 11/14

MONDAY
Death Cab for Cutie w/ Rogue Wave @ Nokia Theater
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss @ Greek Theatre
The Afternoons @ Spaceland (Free June Mondays residency)
»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: June 23 – 29

»continue reading These New Puritans at Echoplex, June 21, 2008

Rilo Kiley played the final show of the Under the Blacklight tour thankfully in our shared hometown. With each successive show the soft spot in my heart grows larger for the band. While the anxious energy that Rilo performed with at the Santa Monica Civic show last October wasn’t topped, the outdoor park setting of the Greek and a more boisterous crowd made the night equally memorable. The highlights of the night include the audience singing, remarkably in tune, a capella the last bars of “With Arms Outstretched” per the guidance of Jenny Lewis, the confetti-filled balloons thrown out into the audience during “Silver Lining,” and the guy standing next to me singing with abandon the entire lyrics to “I Never” so that no one noticed my frail attempt. One of the backstage friends that came on stage to throw out the balloons looked remarkably like Zooey Deschanel. Blake Sennett’s fiancee Winona Ryder was also spotted before the show. I, for one, hope that the discussions around of the band splitting are completely baseless, and that Rilo return with a fifth album quickly after finishing their myriad of solo/side project commitments. Yes, Jenny closed the night by saying, “It’s been nice knowing you,” but in L.A. ninety minutes is considered an eternity for a relationship.

Set List:
»continue reading Rilo Kiley at The Greek Theater, June 18, 2008

»continue reading These New Puritans & The Broken West w/ The Blakes, Echoplex & Echo This Sat

Starry wuz supposed to write about this thing she went to that Paper Magazeen did and she forgot. She feels like a stupid-ass slutty bitch with no taste. In other wordz she feelz fine.

So um. Sh7t. Starry kind of forgets what happened b/c it was so long ago but like Paper magazine bought this store on La Brea that used to sell furniture and pasta and now it sells nothing so they want 2 cellabrate. It wuz chill. They had some pictures of people wearing turtlenecks sticking they tongues out. They also gave out wine which was cool b/c Starry didn’t have $1.78 to buy the bottle. There wuz some people there like Phyllis Diller. There was also some skinny hating bitches who wished they had Starry’z long legz and hott azz. And there wur girls there 2. A few people weren’t dOOshbaGGz and had style. 4 instance: Starry had to give maddd properz to 1 boy who wore a leather kimono jacket with lariat pendant and trompe-l’oeil harem pants. She thinks a Steven Speilberg movie threw up on him but he worked it OWWWT!!!
»continue reading Starry F***’d up she wuz supposed 2 write this Paper Magazine thing like seven months ago and she 4got whoopz

HEADS UP AND BOBBING
Extra Golden @ Echoplex Wed 6/18

Quick reminder: No shortage of great shows this evening, but if Fink’s not your bag and you didn’t get tickets to Rilo at the Greek, again must I fully condone Extra Golden at the Echoplex. This is a rare opportunity, as there’s literally no telling when some of these guys will hit the states again.

» Extra Golden To Play Echo; Dig Obama For Visa Clearance

Photos by Tito da Costa

Saturday night, I carpooled on down to the Summer Camp event at the Art & Mayhem gallery in Atwater Village (not to be confused with the Little Radio Summer Camp–can you say “theme conflict?”). The “camp” theme this night was universally interpreted as Indian feathers and headbands for the girls (totally hot) and shorts and knee-socks for the guys (kind of gross). And there was some kind of Friday the 13th theme going on too. And kids were doing arts and crafts, and playing games with water balloons and three legged races and shit like that–but I was more into the aural tug-of-war going on between the different acts of the night.
»continue reading Summer Camp at Art & Mayhem Gallery, 6/14/08

Picnic dinners and an arty film at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, rekindling friendships with people who live in apartment buildings with pools, dusting off your terrycloth onesie–and the subsequent horrific realization that playing dodgeball one night a week has not, in fact, diminished the damage inflicted by all those late night bacon wrapped hot dogs–these are all sure signs that summer is here (yay!)

Well if you haven’t in summers past, it’s high time you added Little Radio Summer Camp to that list of reasons why you love summer. I was lucky enough to attend last weekend’s very first Summer Camp of the year, and if the backyard BBQ’s, sunburned shoulders and longing glances out my office window hadn’t already indicated to me that summer is here, LRSC would have done the trick.
»continue reading Little Radio Summer Camp, Saturday June 14

Obligatory, explanatory cut-and-paste following the jump…

»continue reading It’s Pop It’s Art @ Unitard Gallery, June 11, 2008