Andre Romelle Young Jr., Dr. Dre's son, found dead

Andre Romelle Young Jr., the son of hip-hop legend Dr. Dre of N.W.A, was found dead Saturday morning in his Woodland Hills bedroom, MTV News and the LA Weekly are reporting. He was 20.

An autopsy was conducted on Young's body Monday, but a cause of death has not yet been determined, pending the results of a toxicology report, a representative for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office told MTV News. The coroner's rep confirmed that an Andre Romelle Young Jr. passed away Saturday, but was uncertain if he was Dre's son; Dre's rep confirmed that information Tuesday (August 26).

Young was discovered in his bed at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday by his mother, who attempted to rouse him, the coroner's spokesperson said. Young was unresponsive, so she called paramedics, who responded to the scene. After their efforts to revive him failed, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the coroner's spokesperson, Young had spent the previous evening with friends. His mother told police that he'd returned home Saturday at around 5:30 a.m., and that she'd heard him in his bedroom. Police said they did not suspect foul play. - MTV

The pioneering producer and rapper from South L.A. issued a statement today through a spokesperson. "Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre Young Jr. Please respect his family's grief and privacy at this time."

Dre is currently working on his third solo album, "The Detox." Longtime collaborator Snoop Dogg recently told Rolling Stone that the album, the first since 1999's "2001," is nearly finished and is simply awaiting  Dre's decision on which tracks would make the cut. N.W.A's groundbreaking album, "Straight Outta Compton," which Dre produced and rapped on, came out 20 years ago this month.

Update: Young Jr. was the subject of a paternity dispute 18 years ago when his mother, Jenita Porter,  sought $5,000-a-month in child support from Dre.

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: Dr. Dre by Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Tensions surrounding the 28th annual Sunset Junction Festival in Silver Lake have escalated dramatically this week, with area businesses referring to themselves as “angry villagers” and the Junction’s organizer, Michael McKinley, saying that the business owners  “all want to make bank” and that they’re cranky because they never got “strawberry ice cream as kids.”

Less than 24 hours before the start of the festival, which is expected to draw as many as 50,000 people, the dozens of businesses lining Sunset Boulevard between Edgecliffe Drive and Sanborn Avenue are still unsure who will be within the official boundaries of the festival, which is organized each year by the non-profit Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance with headquarters at Tsunami coffee shop.

Those boundaries determine the flow of foot traffic to area businesses, as well as which employees and residents need to pay entry fees.

It’s been a good week, to say the least, for the teen-hearththrob Jonas Brothers. Not only have Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas succeeded at entering the national sales chart at No. 1 with their new album “A Little Bit Longer,” they logged the third biggest sales week of the year by selling 525,000 copies during its first week of release.

You'd be hard-pressed to find one dance music fan who doesn't swear by Toronto's Deadmau5 (pronounced Deadmouse).  Born Joel Zimmerman, the electro/house purveyor announced today that he would release his first physical compact disc release, "Random Album Title" (out digitally Sept. 2 and in stores Nov. 4) and tour in support of the Ultra Records disc this fall. 

His Los Angeles date?  Oct. 31 at the Shrine Auditorium as part of a yet-to-be-officially-announced full lineup at a forthcoming HARD haunted mansion. We caught up with Zimmerman via phone on the Spanish resort Island of Ibiza, where he is scheduled to play Amnesia tomorrow. 

Zimmerman talks about what tracks will make his debut disc (around eight of which are previously unreleased and won’t be released all the way up until this winter), his upcoming Puma/Beatport sponsored 50+ city tour, forthcoming material from his side-project BSOD and even his Halloween costume he may debut in L.A. this year at Hard plus more after the jump...

In a victory for the estate of the late Jim Morrison, the California Supreme Court has slammed the Doors shut.

The court denied a petition by two of the surviving members of the Doors, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, to review a lower court’s decision that blocked them from touring under the name of the band that rose to fame on the Sunset Strip in the 1960s and recorded dark hits such as “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” "People Are Strange" and “Riders on the Storm.”

Manzarek and Krieger had toured with others musicians under the name the Doors of the 21st Century and had advertised their shows with images of Morrison, the decadent rock icon who died in 1971. The use of the name led to joint legal action by the Morrison family, the family of Pamela Courson (Morrison’s common-law wife, who died in 1974) and the third surviving Doors member, drummer John Densmore.

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Malfunction at the Junction?

Tensions surrounding the 28th annual Sunset Junction Festival in Silver Lake have escalated dramatically this week, with area businesses referring to themselves as “angry villagers” and the Junction’s organizer, Michael McKinley, saying that the business owners  “all want to make bank” and that they’re cranky because they never got “strawberry ice cream as kids.”

Less than 24 hours before the start of the festival, which is expected to draw as many as 50,000 people, the dozens of businesses lining Sunset Boulevard between Edgecliffe Drive and Sanborn Avenue are still unsure who will be within the official boundaries of the festival, which is organized each year by the non-profit Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance with headquarters at Tsunami coffee shop.

Those boundaries determine the flow of foot traffic to area businesses, as well as which employees and residents need to pay entry fees.

It’s been a good week, to say the least, for the teen-hearththrob Jonas Brothers. Not only have Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas succeeded at entering the national sales chart at No. 1 with their new album “A Little Bit Longer,” they logged the third biggest sales week of the year by selling 525,000 copies during its first week of release.

You'd be hard-pressed to find one dance music fan who doesn't swear by Toronto's Deadmau5 (pronounced Deadmouse).  Born Joel Zimmerman, the electro/house purveyor announced today that he would release his first physical compact disc release, "Random Album Title" (out digitally Sept. 2 and in stores Nov. 4) and tour in support of the Ultra Records disc this fall. 

His Los Angeles date?  Oct. 31 at the Shrine Auditorium as part of a yet-to-be-officially-announced full lineup at a forthcoming HARD haunted mansion. We caught up with Zimmerman via phone on the Spanish resort Island of Ibiza, where he is scheduled to play Amnesia tomorrow. 

Zimmerman talks about what tracks will make his debut disc (around eight of which are previously unreleased and won’t be released all the way up until this winter), his upcoming Puma/Beatport sponsored 50+ city tour, forthcoming material from his side-project BSOD and even his Halloween costume he may debut in L.A. this year at Hard plus more after the jump...

In a victory for the estate of the late Jim Morrison, the California Supreme Court has slammed the Doors shut.

The court denied a petition by two of the surviving members of the Doors, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, to review a lower court’s decision that blocked them from touring under the name of the band that rose to fame on the Sunset Strip in the 1960s and recorded dark hits such as “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” "People Are Strange" and “Riders on the Storm.”

Manzarek and Krieger had toured with others musicians under the name the Doors of the 21st Century and had advertised their shows with images of Morrison, the decadent rock icon who died in 1971. The use of the name led to joint legal action by the Morrison family, the family of Pamela Courson (Morrison’s common-law wife, who died in 1974) and the third surviving Doors member, drummer John Densmore.

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Jonas Bros. hit No. 1

It’s been a good week, to say the least, for the teen-hearththrob Jonas Brothers. Not only have Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas succeeded at entering the national sales chart at No. 1 with their new album “A Little Bit Longer,” they logged the third biggest sales week of the year by selling 525,000 copies during its first week of release.

You'd be hard-pressed to find one dance music fan who doesn't swear by Toronto's Deadmau5 (pronounced Deadmouse).  Born Joel Zimmerman, the electro/house purveyor announced today that he would release his first physical compact disc release, "Random Album Title" (out digitally Sept. 2 and in stores Nov. 4) and tour in support of the Ultra Records disc this fall. 

His Los Angeles date?  Oct. 31 at the Shrine Auditorium as part of a yet-to-be-officially-announced full lineup at a forthcoming HARD haunted mansion. We caught up with Zimmerman via phone on the Spanish resort Island of Ibiza, where he is scheduled to play Amnesia tomorrow. 

Zimmerman talks about what tracks will make his debut disc (around eight of which are previously unreleased and won’t be released all the way up until this winter), his upcoming Puma/Beatport sponsored 50+ city tour, forthcoming material from his side-project BSOD and even his Halloween costume he may debut in L.A. this year at Hard plus more after the jump...

In a victory for the estate of the late Jim Morrison, the California Supreme Court has slammed the Doors shut.

The court denied a petition by two of the surviving members of the Doors, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, to review a lower court’s decision that blocked them from touring under the name of the band that rose to fame on the Sunset Strip in the 1960s and recorded dark hits such as “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” "People Are Strange" and “Riders on the Storm.”

Manzarek and Krieger had toured with others musicians under the name the Doors of the 21st Century and had advertised their shows with images of Morrison, the decadent rock icon who died in 1971. The use of the name led to joint legal action by the Morrison family, the family of Pamela Courson (Morrison’s common-law wife, who died in 1974) and the third surviving Doors member, drummer John Densmore.

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Scared yet? Deadmau5 finally releases full-length, hits L.A. on Halloween

You'd be hard-pressed to find one dance music fan who doesn't swear by Toronto's Deadmau5 (pronounced Deadmouse).  Born Joel Zimmerman, the electro/house purveyor announced today that he would release his first physical compact disc release, "Random Album Title" (out digitally Sept. 2 and in stores Nov. 4) and tour in support of the Ultra Records disc this fall. 

His Los Angeles date?  Oct. 31 at the Shrine Auditorium as part of a yet-to-be-officially-announced full lineup at a forthcoming HARD haunted mansion. We caught up with Zimmerman via phone on the Spanish resort Island of Ibiza, where he is scheduled to play Amnesia tomorrow. 

Zimmerman talks about what tracks will make his debut disc (around eight of which are previously unreleased and won’t be released all the way up until this winter), his upcoming Puma/Beatport sponsored 50+ city tour, forthcoming material from his side-project BSOD and even his Halloween costume he may debut in L.A. this year at Hard plus more after the jump...

In a victory for the estate of the late Jim Morrison, the California Supreme Court has slammed the Doors shut.

The court denied a petition by two of the surviving members of the Doors, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, to review a lower court’s decision that blocked them from touring under the name of the band that rose to fame on the Sunset Strip in the 1960s and recorded dark hits such as “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” "People Are Strange" and “Riders on the Storm.”

Manzarek and Krieger had toured with others musicians under the name the Doors of the 21st Century and had advertised their shows with images of Morrison, the decadent rock icon who died in 1971. The use of the name led to joint legal action by the Morrison family, the family of Pamela Courson (Morrison’s common-law wife, who died in 1974) and the third surviving Doors member, drummer John Densmore.

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

The Doors slammed shut by California Supreme Court

In a victory for the estate of the late Jim Morrison, the California Supreme Court has slammed the Doors shut.

The court denied a petition by two of the surviving members of the Doors, keyboard player Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, to review a lower court’s decision that blocked them from touring under the name of the band that rose to fame on the Sunset Strip in the 1960s and recorded dark hits such as “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” "People Are Strange" and “Riders on the Storm.”

Manzarek and Krieger had toured with others musicians under the name the Doors of the 21st Century and had advertised their shows with images of Morrison, the decadent rock icon who died in 1971. The use of the name led to joint legal action by the Morrison family, the family of Pamela Courson (Morrison’s common-law wife, who died in 1974) and the third surviving Doors member, drummer John Densmore.

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Big air: Hot Lixx Hulahan takes air guitar title (again) in SF

Oh how San Franciscans love to hate Los Angeles.

Case in point: Friday’s sold-out 2008 US Air Guitar Championships at the Regency Center near San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where L.A.’s regional winner, "Houston Rockit," was roundly booed before he even took the stage at the event, which featured 24 aspirant air guitar gods who were already winners in regional contests held across the U.S.

“I didn't matter who I was, as soon as they heard ‘from Los Angles,’ they started booing,” said Justin Hypes, who competed in the finals (and "repped" L.A.) but failed to crack the Top 10.   

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

So, this is what Burial looks like

The camera-shy U.K. dubstep producer Burial is probably the single most unlikely victim in human history of a tabloid-unmasking campaign, courtesy of the British fish wrap the Sun, which opined ridiculously that it might be an Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim side project. The U.K. paper the Independent put some fuel on the fire by dropping Burial's real name in a February article about the Elliott School in south London, which Burial attended. So as the producer prepares to possibly appear at this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize ceremony (his fantastic album "Untrue" is hotly tipped for a win), he decided to put the kibosh on the reclusiveness thing and make his public debut.

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Gear thief makes a lifelong enemy of the Stooges

If I were to come up with a list of people whom I'd feel comfortable stealing a truck's worth of irreplaceable musical instruments from, the Stooges would not be on it. I can imagine Iggy Pop coming in through my air vents, unhinging his jaw and consuming my innards like that one yellow-eyed "X-Files" villain. And Mike Watt would probably just whale on me in a parking lot somewhere. Nonetheless, some cowardly soul in Montreal decided to disembark with the Stooges' entire tour truck worth of gear this morning, including Watt's classic Gibson bass. Full list of lost equipment after the jump from the e-mail that's being forwarded around, and how you can help ensure they have the gear to try and make a better album than "The Weirdness" in the future.

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Yelle ruins Heaven 17 tune; lead singer of English band doesn't mind

I always thought the opening riff of Heaven 17’s fantastic early 1980s track “Let Me Go” would make a smart sample for a techno or hip-hop act. Leave it to French electro temptress Yelle (née Julie Budet) to ruin my fantasy of the perfect meshing of Heaven 17’s signature track with contemporary beats. Her just-released video for “Ce Jeu” is about as uninspired as the song (which has been out now for a while).

But not everyone agrees with me. Curious what the man who sang the sampled track thought of Yelle resurrecting the famed bass line, I e-mailed a few questions to Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory over the weekend. His response to the track and more Heaven 17 news (including possible forthcoming U.S. tour dates) after the jump.

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.

Scars on Broadway catch the 9:25 at Union Station

If you don't listen to KROQ (and we know many of you don't), you might not know about tonight's KROQ-sponsored Scars on Broadway show at Union Station downtown. Scars principals Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan (from System of a Down) will surely scare the bejesus out of late arriving or departing commuters caught unawares this evening via performing such loud and politically charged tracks as "They Say" inside the historic building's impossibly ornate lobby beginning at 9:25 p.m.