Picture this. It's the mid 2000's, and the south has been steadily drawing out the blueprint for street music in the 21st century. Records in Young Jeezy's early canon such as Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 and T.I.'s Trap Muzik have all but literally set in stone the commandments for how music from 'hood should sound in this age. If you're a rapper and you want to base the part you play on what goes on in the trap, you have to be intimidating, you have to be true to your word, and most importantly your flow has to sound menacing over drums that resemble rattlesnakes and bass that blows out strip club speakers. And then, Atlanta's Gucci Mane & DJ Burn One release the the 25-track mixtape Chicken Talk and everything is turned upside down. Now, the playing field is spread wide open for levels of weirdness and eccentricity that don't usually come along with teardrop tattoos and cocaine trafficking. More »

Fans of ska, funk and reggae in Orange County should be excited for this Sunday. Fishbone, along with Long Beach Dub All Stars, C-Money & The Players Inc (from Slightly Stoopid) will be performing at the Yost Theater on the last date of their U.S. tour.

It's been a busy past few years for Fishbone. In 2011, they released their Crazy Glue EP and this year saw the release of their live album, Live at The Independent. On top of that, the Los Angeles-based alternative rockers were the subjects of a documentary called Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, which was narrated by Laurence Fishburne and featuring testimonials from Gwen Stefani, Flea, Les Claypool of Primus, Ice T amongst others.

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​Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar has been an illustrious name since the mid-'60s, largely through his association with George Harrison and the Beatles, whose music was profoundly influenced by Shankar's mastery of the Indian classical raga form; his appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival and at Woodstock in 1969 further spread the impact of Indian traditional music throughout the Western worlds of pop, rock and jazz. (He's equally famed these days as the father of singer Norah Jones and sitarist Anoushka Shankar.)

To see and hear the 92-year-old Shankar perform is to witness a young old soul in a very pure state of transformation. It is, he says, the eternally rejuvenating power of the raga that keeps him alive and kicking. Herewith, Shankar discusses his life in music, and offers a tutorial in the nuts and bolts of his chosen form of expression, the raga.

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Today NBA star Shaquille O'Neal posted on his Twitter account that "I'm retiring" and "Shaq ooout" today. On the video linked from his Tweet, he says, ""We did it. Nineteen years, baby. (I) want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first, I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon."

The Boston Celtics have not announced the retirement of the 7-foot-1-inch center, who has won four NBA titles in 19 years. According to CNN, he is fifth on the NBA's all-time career scoring list with 28,596 points.

If this is official, does that mean his rapping alter-ego, Shaq Diesel, is coming back in full force? Sure there's a Greatest Hits CD out, but that was 15 years ago. Here are five reasons (not including this awesome one of him singing "When the Doves Cry.") Shaq should go back to doing music full time.

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​ In a move that devastated fans of the soundtrack to Disney's Tarzan (1999), Phil Collins announced his retirement from the music industry this week. A prolific recording artist during his 40-year career, it's unlikely the former Genesis front man will stay idle for long. When Collins is ready to rejoin the rat race, we humbly suggest to him the following careers:

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​Stevie Nicks is one of our very favorite rock stars of all time. During Fleetwood Mac's mid- to late-'70s golden era, she (along with the other band members) recorded plenty of material that never made it onto albums or solo releases, for whatever reason. "Silver Springs," from the Rumours recording sessions, is perhaps the best known of these orphan songs; it was finally recorded in full form for the Mac's 1997 comeback album, The Dance.More »

​Had four gunshot wounds not claimed the life of John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, the prolific singer-songwriter would have enjoyed his 70th birthday tomorrow. 

The former Beatle was murdered outside of the apartment complex he shared with Yoko Ono almost 30 years ago by Mark Chapman, but his music lives on. 

Millions of Lennon's musical admirers around the world will mark the occasion of his birthday tomorrow in celebration of his life and craft. In the musician's hometown of Liverpool, England, a new peace monument will be unveiled in honor of his humanistic hymns. The John Lennon Signature Box Set has also been released just in time to take a comprehensive and reflective look back at the music of the man.

Google has a Lennon doodle on its main search page today, and even YouTube has a channel honoring Lennon today!

Locally, UCI history professor Jon Wiener took the occasion to pen an opinion piece in today's edition of The Los Angeles Times re-examining the deportation battle against the anti-war singer waged by the Nixon Administration. 

As a scholar and aficionado, Wiener has also authored two books on the musician: Come Together: John Lennon in his Time, and Gimmie Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files.

With those credentials in mind, I asked the Lennon-Lovin' UCI professor for his list of top 5 solo recordings from the singer as well as a few words on each on the songs chosen:

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​So Matt Costa's third (and latest) album Mobile Chateau is out next week on Brushfire Records. It's streaming on SoundCloud right now if you'd like to listen to it here. Most of it is pretty typical, palatable Costa stuff...until you hear the song "Drive," which sounds a lot like the Zombies' 1968 single, "This Will Be Our Year." (OK Go also covered it in the John Tucker Must Die soundtrack.)

Maybe it's just me, but "Drive" doesn't evoke the warm, fuzzy feeling that  "This Will Be Our Year" so effortlessly creates such that tears spring to my eyes and I feel the urge to call my mom immediately.
 
After the jump, watch a video that he created with Vans for the song in question...and then listen to the Zombies.

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My story on Duane Eddy coming to play at the annual Guitar Geek Festival within walking distance of NAMM in Anaheim Saturday mentions some of the legendary rock pickers and strummers the 71-year-old guitar legend has influenced--as well as at least one bass player, the Who's John Entwistle.  More »