Now that the writers' strike is over and it's full-steam ahead with the Oscars, you can bet that just about every TV channel is going to dogpile on the gala event. Yeah, the Grammys went ahead without interference but the Grammys are nothing compared to the Oscars. E! and CNN already have several shows lined up (look for Oscar host, Jon Stewart, on Larry King this Wednesday night) ready to tackle the exciting topics of:......

Sunday's Grammy Awards weren't just about honoring the best in music, they were also about supporting environmental awareness and conservancy. And the The Recording Academy® hoped to set the precedent with getting the Grammys to go green. The show itself was produced to have a reduced environmental impact, which, according to their press release, meant that in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and......

Questlove on the red carpet last night at the Key Club in West Hollywood host of The Roots Jam Session | Photo by John Wayne Maioriello Last night, LAist had a spot on the red carpet of the Key Club in West Hollywood, host of The Roots Jam Session sponsored by Rock the Vote, Okayplayer and Keldof. The Jam Session has become a Grammy weekend tradition, for the last five years, the Philadelphia-based influential......

As was reported today on LAist, the writer's strike, which cost the city about $1 billion, is nearly over. We all know how involved Mayor V has been nudging the two sides back together. Oh, wait. But at least he weighed in today: "This agreement is a blockbuster for the Los Angeles economy. It will put thousands of writers, set designers, caterers, and behind-the-scenes workers back on the job this week." Blockbuster! HA! Election......

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards are tonight. The ">Irish foreign movie Once has been nominated for two categories: "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" and "Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" for the song "Falling Slowly" (heard above). The song's validity as an Oscar nomination was challenged, but the committee found everything to be fine, so Once stays. It was not nominated for......

Back in 1996, Mary J. Blige provided vocals to the hook of "Can't Knock the Hustle," the second single off of Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt. 12 years, 12 Grammys and 70 million records sold later, Jigga Man and MJB are back at it again, co-headlining 25 shows across North America. Being billed as "The Heart of the City Tour," the former CEO of DefJam records and the Queen of Hip Hop Soul will......

The WGA Board voted unanimously last night to not picket the 50th Grammy Awards, February 10th at Staples Center. If there was an exasperating gasp of relief following the WGA vote, excuse us for missing it. For most of our lifetime the Grammys has done little more than exemplify just how out of touch the so-called mainstream is with Gen x+y's musical taste (with apologies to The Dixie Chicks). The only way this Grammy Awards......

Red Shoes makes for a nice contrast with the distinctive blue tile floor of Silver Lake's Intelligentsia CoffeeVan Nuys is real nice, isn't it, Senator Obama? Today the Democratic presidential nominee hopeful held a roundtable discussion in the residence of supporter Mimi Vitello in beautiful Van Nuys. Today's visit is part of Obama's local campaign efforts and his desire to meet with those who have fallen victim to the country's tough economy. And speaking of......

Hey check it, yours truly was invited to contribute some commentary to this ABCNEWS.com article (I'm on page 2). Thanks for your support! So the Golden Globes got canceled and now maybe the Academy Awards will get canceled and this is conflicting me. On the one hand I will have a whole bunch more free time (hours upon hours) to watch my Tivo'd episodes of Grape Ape but I will have so much less lousy......

Grammy nominations were announced early this morning in Los Angeles. Kanye West's album "Graduation" earned eight nods, including Album of the Year and Rap Album of the Year. The increasingly unstable Amy Winehouse garnered six nominations for "Back to Black," including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist. Surprisingly, Bruce Springsteen did not get an Album of the Year nod for "Magic." Other nominees in......

John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae kicked off their 33-date US tour at UCI’s Bren Events Center on Tuesday night, reuniting two of the young stars who (along with Mr. Jessica Simpson John Mayer) delivered a poignant sleepy set at February’s Grammy Awards. In contrast to that milquetoast performance, Legend and CBR gave a lively three-hour show which even got the normally subdued Orange County crowd on its feet. In this current era of......

A Word or 4: Have... a... great... weekend... Tonight - Friday - February 16th, 2007 College Basketball: UCLA @ AZ State (PRIME, 5:00 p.m. NBA All-Star Celebrity Game (ESPN, 7:00 p.m.) Hoops Ghost Whisperer/Close to Home/NUMB3RS (CBS, 8-11:00 p.m.) All new. Nanny 911/Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (Fox, 8-10:00 p.m.) Fox! Make it one show! Las Vegas/Law & Order (NBC, 9-11:00 p.m.) New & New Logan's Run (TCM, 9:155 p.m.) Farrah Fawcett-Majors! Yeah!!......

A Word or 51: PBS and NPR have been hyping up the new set of Frontline programs that expose media manipulation. Knee-jerk conservative pundits will have a chance to spew their own conspiracy theories since this week we have the Anti-Surge Resolution in Congress, and the Libby trial - topics both relevant to the program. Tonight - Tuesday - February 13th, 2007 American Idol (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Done with auditions, the show heads to......

We're sorry, tomdog, that you missed the first ten minutes of the Grammys, because that's when Stewart Copeland was on stage. As millions of people saw last night, The Police got back together to open the big award show at the basketball arena. If LAist ran the world we wouldn't have allowed Sting to ruin those first few moments at the Grammys to announce the band was coming back, or introduce themselves. Everyone knows......

A Word or 116: So I missed the first 10 minutes of the Grammys which meant that I missed the effing Police. I punished myself by watching the rest of the Grammys: a collection of posers I will never go see perform and whose songs I've never heard and will never care to hear. 24 is back with a 2 hour allotment but my understanding is that I'm not supposed to watch 24 anymore......

For a band that waited 20 years to get back together, and for a band that knew that they were going to announce their reunion tour today at the Whisky, they sure didn't have many tour dates lined up. The Police are arguably the most anticipated reunion tour in recent memory. Only a Pink Floyd reunion, one would think, could eclipse this summer's tour but when it came time for the Police to cough......

A live rehearsal and news conference to announce the Police Reunion World Tour is set for 11 am at Whisky a-Go-Go. Click here to watch the live webcast. The Police will start a world tour in Vancouver in May 28th, continuing through North America through the first week of August, then to the U.K. and Europe, returning to North America in late October. They will then continue on to Mexico, South America, Japan, Australia......

What did you miss at the Grammys last night? Lionel Richie sang "Hello," (sans clay bust) and it was like warm honey. That's what you missed. I'd like to put my vote in now for a fierce Lionel Richie comeback. Also, The Police policed, Chris Rock made a funny about RHCP with their jocks in socks before JT ever put his in a box, Christina Aguilera sang her guts up on a James Brown......

The Grateful Dead were given a Lifetime Achievement award by the Grammys last night. After decades of selling out every concert they ever had since the 60s it makes you wonder what took the Grammys so long to get off their asses. Every morning at 6am we present our national anthem. Of course none of these three gentlemen were there, two of them are no longer with us, but that's ok. We hope you......

We were flipping between E!'s red carpet coverage of the Grammy arrivals and TV Guide Channel's coverage (Melissa and Joan beats Ryan Seacrest - big surprise) when we saw Debbie Matenopolous swooning all over Peter Frampton who let it be known that he had covered Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and it was nominated for an award. We nearly kicked over the bong running to the computer to see if YouTube could confirm. And not......

People don't realize until they show up and then leave empty-handed, but most who show up at the Grammys tonight will lose. So for all you losers, and all your loser friends who might not want to go to those glitzy glamorous chi-chi award parties, here are some alternatives where you'll find some locals rocking out and dancing to actual music ZZ Top @ House of Blues Smith's Night @ The Echo Kinky Karaoke......

Even though the Police have been practicing in Vancouver, BC, the band will be holding at least two public rehearsals here in Los Angeles, one on Monday at the legendary Sunset Strip rock club, The Whisky, made famous by bands like The Doors, Love, and Motley Crue. Sunday the band will rehearse as the opening act of the Grammys at Staples Center, made famous by Shaquille O'Neal. If for some bizarre reason you happen......

Joss Stone, the 19-year-old British soul singer, who's probably best remembered for singing barefoot with Melissa Etheridge at the Grammys in 2005, has a new album due out in March. But LA fans have the opportunity to see her test drive her new material on Monday (1/29) in West LA at 7 p.m., courtesy of Yahoo! Music and Virgin Records. The first 200 fans to e-mail: Invites@YahooLiveSets.com will get in the doors (with a......

In a statement oozing of paradoxes, World of Britney's webmaster, Ruben Garay announced Wednesday that he would be pulling the plug on the most popular un-official web site dedicated to the pop princess. As Britney keeps losing her identity and credibility within fans and industry people, so is WoB. We're moving on to greater, bigger things. I would therefore like to announce the permanent shut down of World of Britney.com beginning January 31st, 2007.......

Just in time for Christmas: - a Mary J. Greatest Hits package right as she gets nominated for hella Grammys - a disc by an American Idol winner who can sing her ass off - a disc by an American Idol winner who can't sing for shit - a Sonic Youth cd for the the collection that has everything - way too much Tyrese Mary J. Blige - Reflections (A Retrospective) (Geffen) Fantasia -......

Will longtime genius-slash-recluse Sly Stone show up to perform as scheduled at the Grammys? We're dying to know. So we'll be watching later today. But in the meantime, music continues to percolate across the net. Here are some indie-ish downloads to tide us all over until this evening. Local music blog You Set the Scene recommends new releases by Belle & Sebastian, The Ladies and Kelley Stoltz. Catfish Haven is the download du jour......

The incomparable Lou Rawls died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center this morning at the age of 72. Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2005. His wife, Nina, was at his bedside when he died. Rawls is remembered for his deep, smooth voice that he used in a variety of genres including gospel, blues, and R&B. Rawls was introduced to music by his grandmother in his hometown of......

In a city with such a large Latino audience, LAist is surprised at the lack of coverage of the 6th Annual Latin Grammys. Perhaps the awards are still ahead of the curve. After being aired on CBS for several years (and garnering low ratings) this year the Latin Grammys moved to Univision, the leading domestic Spanish-speaking language network. The awards were broadcast in Spanish for the first time, which makes perfect sense to us--and......

If your hat gets stolen, never fear, the LAPD is on the case. Just one month after having his signature top hat taken from his limo after The Grammys, Slash had his hat returned to him by the Los Angeles Police Department. The hat thief, however, is still on the loose. LAist is left to wonder what one does with a stolen hat? Is there a black market for these kinds of things? Maybe......

While we only watched a little bit of the Grammys last night, all the local papers lede with the results of the Awards ceremony. The Daily News notes that Ray Charles was the night's big winner with 8 post-humous awards while The Los Angeles Times's Robert Hilburn wonders if the accolades aren't just a little too late for a man whose most creative and significant years were decades ago. Details about the Devin Brown......