http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/articles.sec-31-1-if-i-were-u.html Three words: Brian fucking Wilson! ]]> Imagine standing on a mountaintop with your arms outstretched, waiting for the face of Mufasa from The Lion King to appear in the sky. That’s how you’ll feel if you listen to Sweet Heart Sweet Light, the new album by English space-rock outfit Spiritualized.]]> Rufus Wainwright, OFF! and Lotus Plaza are some of the acts we’re excited about this week.
]]> With the recent release of the new album by Allo Darlin’, Europe, the London band has solidified its status as heir to the twee-pop throne.]]> If the Toxic Avenger traded his mop for a Fender Jaguar, he might sound something like Shiva Trash.]]> Time to clean out the bong, turn on the black light and cue up the reggae—for pot-heads, 4/20 is practically a national holiday. ]]> Disco-punk pioneers The Rapture get deep and reflective on their 2011 album, In the Grace of Your Love. But they’ll still make you work up a sweat on the dance floor with classics like “Echoes” and “House of Jealous Lovers.”]]> Bay Area legends E-40 and Too Short might have mad respect, but they aren’t resting on their laurels.]]> The only instrument you’ll hear tonight will be the powerful voice of Henry Rollins, the buzz-cut-rocking beefcake who used to sing in Black Flag. ]]> If you’re looking for some earnest, endearing, straight-ahead pop, this is it]]> Taking cues from the likes of George Clinton and Sly Stone, San Francisco’s Monophonics lay down the kind of grizzled, psychedelic funk that goes well with a baseball-sized mound of hashish.]]> An iconic actor, poet and rapper, Saul Williams has crafted a body of work that’s as distinct as it is wildly eclectic.]]> Back in the ’60s, Bakersfield singer-songwriter Merle Haggard helped popularize a gritty, common man’s country music known as the “Bakersfield sound,” offering an alternative to the slickly-recorded tunes of Nashville.]]> Eli Meltzer, aka Smoov-E, might just be the Tom Waits of rap. ]]> Whether they’re performing to a sold-out crowd on New Year’s Eve or playing a modest venue in Carlsbad, local folk-rockers The Heavy Guilt are just about everywhere.]]> Thee Silver Mt. Zion’s scathingly political chamber rock gives the indie-music world a much-needed kick in the balls]]> Even if you can’t stand all that ’80s-tinged indie-pop that’s been flooding the blogosphere in recent years, you’re bound to find Twin Sister irresistible.]]> After taking a long break from playing live shows—too long, if you ask me—local indie-rockers New Mexico have honed a new sound, giving their infectious riffs a Cure-style sheen with glossy reverb and hypnotic synths.
]]> Jamuel Saxon has been popping up in CityBeat a lot lately, and I think it’s making my editor a little crazy.]]> One of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, Public Enemy are still resilient three decades into their career, with a new album, Most of Our Heroes Don’t Appear on a Stamp, set to come out later this year.]]>