Pics and Video: Culture Spy, East Bay Express

Photos: Slash at the Fox Theater, 10/2

Raymond Ahner — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:30:00 -0700

Slash at the Fox Theater on October 2, 2012. Photos by Raymond Ahner.

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Of Course There's a UC Berkeley Gangnam Style Video

Kathleen Richards — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:16:26 -0700

Some UC Berkeley students made this fairly slick "UC Berkeley Style" video as a submission to the Myx TV (that's the Asian-American channel) Gangnam Style Parody contest. (ICYMI, "Gangnam Style" is the viral song/video by South Korean artist PSY that skewers materialistic culture in the Gangnam district of Seoul.)…

Photos: The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Fillmore, 6/14

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:54:00 -0700

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Photos from Tuesday's Sleep Show at the Fox Theater

Kathleen Richards — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:54:34 -0700

Sleep played at the Fox Theater on Tuesday night, along with Oxbow and Kowloon Walled City (in case you were wondering what that low-frequency drone emanating from downtown Oakland was). Here are some photos from the night, courtesy of Raymond Ahner.…

Photos: Meshuggah at The Fillmore, 5/6

Kathleen Richards — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:11:00 -0700

Note: I have never claimed to be the world's greatest concert photographer. Or a concert photographer — period.…

Lil B Addresses the "Grandma Earrings" Diss

Rachel Swan — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:58:00 -0800

Lil B's sartorial choices have raised more than a few eyebrows in the past, but none earned quite as much attention as the grandma earrings he rocked in the video for "Got the Mack Loaded," redubbed "Lil B Shows Off Grandma Earrings" on YouTube. Many critics, including this one, couldn't help but jeer at the rapper's sparkly costume jewelry, although most listeners agreed that, in every other sense, "Got the Mack" is a pretty gritty rap song.…

Sh** Drake and Samuel L. Jackson Say

Rachel Swan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:10:51 -0800

Here are our two favorite additions to the meme:

Shit Drake Says:

and

Shit Samuel L. Jackson says:

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New Comedy Sketch from Two Trick Pony: Games People Play

Rachel Swan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:05:00 -0800

Two of our favorite local sketch artists, Scott McCabe and Tory Stanton of Two Trick Pony Productions, just released a new video skit to follow up on their Odd Couple-style web series, Copy and Pastry. This one, called "Games People Play," includes a cameo from Impact Theatre actress Maria Giere, plus a few sprinkled-in references to the board game mystery movie Clue.…

Drake, Lil' Wayne Do It for the Bay, or Something

Will Butler — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:40:41 -0800

Remember that video that Drake was filming around these parts a few weeks ago? Well "The Motto" clip arrived via interweb late last night, and, except for a poignant intro from Mac Dre's mother, it's pretty much what you'd expect.…

Drake Was Here — and Can Teleport, Apparently

Will Butler — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:20:00 -0800

Over the weekend, hip-hop behemoth Drake took the Bay Area by storm, landing, according to the Internet, pretty much everywhere. On Saturday night he tweeted: "In the bay area... love it out here."…

Occupy Sesame Street in Full Force

Rachel Swan — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:30:00 -0700

Lest you think Boots Riley and Lupe Fiasco were the only celebrities to descend on Occupy Oakland, wait 'til you glimpse Ernie, Bert, and Cookie Monster amid the hoopla. The entertainment site Uproxx just posted a full album of photoshopped images depicting your favorite Sesame Street characters as Occupy Wall Street protesters.…

Eli's, Merchant's Featured in New Saviours Video

Kathleen Richards — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:59:20 -0700

Oakland metal band Saviours just released a new album, Death's Procession, on Kemado Records, the band's fourth. Check out the video for new song "Crete'n," featuring shots of West Oakland, the Port, Merchant's Saloon, and Eli's Mile High Club.…

New Video "Work That Body" By Oakland Rapper Dolla Will, Featuring Too $hort

Rachel Swan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:39:49 -0700

So here's tantalizing new workout video from Oakland rapper Dolla Will, directed by Casual of Hieroglyphics, and featuring an extremely grizzled Too $hort. To quote staff writer Ellen Cushing, "I definitely interpreted 'vet' to be short for veterinarian, not veteran, and am now hella disappointed :( ."

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Tom Hanks' Son Is a Prep ... and a Rapper

Rachel Swan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:24:18 -0700

Now this is precious. Chester Hanks, son of famed Concord-born actor Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson, is generating his own little cult of celebrity — as a frat boy rapper.…

New Video "Based in the Bay" from Berkeley Rapper Sliggitay

Rachel Swan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:09:22 -0700

Not for nothing does Berkeley High alum and Harvard- student- turned rapper Sliggitay (aka Nathan Simmons) call himself "a criminal with no convinction. Check out the video for his new single, "Based in the Bay."…

It's About to Get Real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot

Ellen Cushing — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:59:00 -0700

Three minutes, 56 seconds of perfect yuppie angst, courtesy of the (partly) Bay-based Fog and Smog films! Choice line: "I been on edge ever since they took kombucha off the shelf."…

Around the Bay in Music: New Club Night in Oakland, Foreign Legion Movie Premiere Tonight, KUSF Sister Station KZSU in Jeopardy

Kathleen Richards — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:26:10 -0700

What’s happening around the Bay in music? Lots!…

Video: Spoken-Word Poet Jazz Hudson

Vanessa Carr — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:13:00 -0700

Twenty-two-year-old spoken-word artist Jazz Hudson has been rocking Oakland mics since the eighth grade. From her first writer's workshop at the West Oakland Library — where her father sent her to "curb that mouth of hers" — she has performed from the streets of Oakland and Richmond to the national stage, often with her three-year-old son Nassor at her side.…

Day Around the Bay in Music: Eddie Vedder Coming to Oakland, Forum on Musicians and Health Care

Kathleen Richards — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:01:23 -0700

1) Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder is embarking on a solo tour this summer in support of his forthcoming album, Ukulele Songs, according to the Contra Costa Times, which likens Vedder's effort to Tiny Tim. Vedder plays the Paramount Theater July 11, tickets go on sale April 1.…

Mike Daisey Builds His Case Against Steve Jobs, and Explains Why He's Not an Apple Fanboy

Rachel Swan — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:22:10 -0800

Check out this new interview with TechCrunch, in which Daisey discusses his love affair with technology, and his process of investigating the Foxconn factories in Shenzhen, China.

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Cal Freshman Does a Gloriously Geeky Gaga Parody Vid

Ellen Cushing — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:10:20 -0800

This is great: a "Telephone" parody video all about mitosis by Cal freshman Josephine Coburn. There are, sadly, no sunglasses made of lit cigarettes to be found, but there is — spoiler alert!…

ABC Nightline Features Oakland's Turf Dancing

Kathleen Richards — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:08:23 -0800

Turf dancing, which became a viral hit thanks to the Turf Feinz and Yak Films, and which the Express covered back in August, was recently profiled on ABC's Nightline. Check it out...…

Photos: Weezer

Kathleen Richards — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:39:00 -0800

Weezer at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco on November 29 & 30, 2010. Photos by Clay Lancaster.…

Video of the Day: Rival Schools' "Shot After Shot"

Kathleen Richards — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:39:21 -0800

One of Ear Bud's favorite alt-rock bands, Rival Schools (featuring the dazzlingly talented Walter Schreifels) will release a new album, Pedals, on March 8. Here's the official first video for "Shot After Shot."…

Photos: Stars

Kathleen Richards — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:22:00 -0800

Stars at the Fillmore in San Francisco, Calif., on November 10, 2010. Photos by John Joh.…