System of a Down to take over Rose Bowl

• Want FREE tickets? System of a Down adds third Rose Bowl date Due to overwhelming demand | 95.5 FM KLOS

"Pasadena is the 'Varanasi of the West'"-Swami

One of the greatest American rock bands ever, SOAD, though they no longer seem to make new musick but just ride on their laurels. Maybe that'll change when they play next door to home (Glendale) in the world-famous Pasadena Rose Bowl, famous for football games after the world-famous annual Rose Parade.

Does SOAD influence new rockers?

(Louise Calvo) La Promesa (official) Influences? Just SOAD

"Best" SOAD song? There are so many

"Sugar"? Every song on Steal This Album? Hypnotize/Mesmerize? "Chop Suey" is very pretty

As a sidenote, having been around the world, once living in England, a country that loves its home gardening, rose pruning, and all things horticultural, I remembered to ask, "Do you watch the Rose Parade?"

"What's that?" was the answer everywhere.

"The world-famous Rose Parade from Pasadena, USA." *Blank stares*

It's safe to say that calling yourself "world-famous" means nothing, as local Pasadena station, the "World-famous KROQ" learned a long time ago because, though big in this country as an alternative rock station that once held a lot of sway over MTV programming, is scarcely known inside this country, much less outside it.

• System of a Down (Summer, June 5, 2027) + 2026 tour dates and concert schedule | Live Nation

Linda Lindas, Foo Fighters, Sublime (12/12)

When horny fans jump on stage, artists react - How much $$$ to see Metallica at The Sphere?

The new faces of Riot Grrrl pop punk

This morning on The Klein Ally Show (morning zoo), alternative rock station KROQ announced the lineup for the annual Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Forum in Los Angeles. The headliners are girl punk impresarios The Linda Lindas, making strides to conquer the post-riot grrrl rockers Bikini Kill rock world with hardcore LA angst.

• Radio station X-mas concerts Hollywood, LA
• The Linda Lindas transform 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' into a punk Christmas party | ALT 98.7
• (eclecticism) Riot Grrrl is back! Its history and the new scene
• Metallica's dynamic pricing at Sphere in Vegas

Finally, a lineup that doesn't completely suck.

Opening for the princesses of punk are what's left of the Germs, now playing as Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters featuring Pat Smear. Sublime, Weezer, and a self-proclaimed with named Julia Wolf are also co-headlining the bill, which features zero acoustic sets and has had nothing but full fuzz distorted electric guitars since the first show 35 years ago. Rounding out the night are Interpol, Joyce Manor, and almost monday.

Foo Fighters fantasize playing the Los Angeles Forum: "All My Life"

The station's official announcement runs like this: The 35th Annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas returns to the Kia Forum on Saturday, December 12th, 2026, featuring The Linda Lindas, the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Sublime, Interpol, Joyce Manor, Julia Wolf, and almost monday!

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 30th, 2026, with proceeds benefiting Para Los Niños [Spanish for "For the Children"] and the Al Wooten Jr Youth Center.

• KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2026 | KROQ

What is "punk rock"? It's a relative term

What is "punk rock," Dave Grohl? - Foo Fighters cover Minor Threat's "I Don't Wanna Hear It"

• Dave Grohl (the fifth drummer) on why Nirvana was never going to last and Kurt Cobain's downfall

Who are The Pretty Lindas?

The Linda Lindas "Racist, Sexist Boy" (Live LA Public Library) Linda = "pretty" in Spanish

(The Daily Show) The Linda Lindas go national as rock stars

(NPR Music) The Linda Lindas: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert 2022

(The Linda Lindas) "Gotta Get Out" (official, Sept. 2026) LIVE in SF

(The Linda Lindas) "Oh!" on Epitaph Records (every member sings)

Interpol makes music for millennials learning how to be adults - Top 10 best Interpol songs

One-hit-wonder witch Julia Wolf? "In My Room" (What does it mean?)

White man's powwow: slam dance mosh pit

Study finds mosh pits mimic ancient tribal rituals

If only neighboring Hollywood nightclubs had a way for young invading European settler colonialists to express themselves in appreciation of their musical traditions, perhaps a distinctive dance style to the beat of relentless drums with howls and yelps, cheers and applause.

• VIDEO: Mosh Pit Meditation, Part 1 (Wisdom Quarterly)

(John Blues) Hardcore band Avenged Sevenfold orchestrates huge mosh pit at Rock Am Ring

Careful, kids, you don't want to get hurt.

Such exuberance might look like pure mayhem and random violence, particularly when it devolves to a war game/war dance called a "Wall of Death."

For example, the biggest Wall of Death ever was during Slaughter to Prevail's set at Hellfest 2024. Is it real?

Hey, down front, we're trying to watch the show! - Then pay for a seat. This is GA on the floor.

POV: Hellfest wall of death from eye of storm - It's growing, not shrinking: Inkcarceration 2025

We Got Power! (perihelionarts.com)

.

Mosh Pit Meditation (calm amid chaos), Pt. 1

But a tribal war dance full of fists and fury with wild gyrations of the body, swinging limbs recklessly at nonparticipants, or coagulate into a swirling mass of humanity in a "circle pit" to the grating guitars, excruciating vocalizations, and amplified rhythm section of rebels without a cause, ne'er-do-wells, and malcontents. Perhaps, in time, such an outlet will form in and around Tinsel Town, USA, as bands seek to win the attention of corporate music industry types.

Mosh pits of the future

The craziest mosh pit ever seen (band = Drosera)

• I. Rony, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Hit song of Summer 2026? 'Dracula'?

Back in August we asked the question, What will be the hit song of summer 2026? There are a few contenders, and the race is very close, but it would seem to be Tame Impala's "Dracula" (Jennie remix), which is still going strong. But still, in the office, we prefer "Lobotomize Me" by Rat Utopia!

Best new song: (RatUtopiaVEVO) The Rat Utopia Experiment "Lobotomize Me"

(Love Life Lyrics) TikTok Songs 2026 - new mashup | party music

What's a Tame Impala? (It's Kevin)

Tame Impala: Kevin Parker, session musicians, Jennie Kim of Blackpink

(Cage The Elephant) "Beaches in Tennessee" (official music video)

(Olivia Dean) "So Easy (To Fall In Love)"

(Temper City) "Self Aware"

Cage the Elephant "Beaches in Tennessee" (visualizer)

KATSEYE "Animal" (K-pop on the dance floor)

We discovered Aubrey Hobert in 2025: 'Sue me'; a star is born: Yoga, dancing; Pilates...

What'll be Song of Summer for 2026?

The new Ocean Way Festival of LA

Given the exigencies and erratic demands of the music industry nowadays, it is essential that one hit song be pushed to the top of the pop charts to rule each summer. A pop idol's shelf life could depend on it, or it might make an up and comer's career. This summer is tough because there's no obvious frontrunner. Taylor Swift? Yawn. Olivia Rodrigo has a new album, a new festival (Daisy Chain Fields), and everything she's done in the past has been so promising, but a runaway hit?

Who can win the music biz war battle by battle?

Not to our ears, not this time, not even "drop dead" or "the cure." Does it have to be a new song? Technically not because SAINt JHN had "Roses" due to a remix that went viral on TikTok or Instagram or my littler sister's cellphone and dance class. We used to be able to rely on Lana Del Rey to kick out the summer jams.

• Dukkha Girl: 4th of July with Lana Del Rey
• Lana Del Rey "Summertime Sadness"
• "Doin' Time" (Sublime cover)
• "High By the Beach"
• "Music To Watch Boys To"

Maybe skate punk can make a comeback?

Editor's flashback pick: JFA "Beach Blanket Bongout"

Skate punks really know how to party on sand

LYRICS: Party on the sand/ Bring your van/ Tan girls, macho fools/ Fun!/ Punk outing, people shouting/ Lots of fun/ Drugs and sun/ Fun! [CHORUS:] Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ Beach blanket bongout (bongout, whoa-oh)/ We're having the fun, wasted in the sun/ Purple boards, short hair/ We're outnumbered and we don't care// The hippies, they hate us/ We take their chicks/ They beat us up/ They're still the dicks/ Dicks!/ Surf punks, we're not/ Skateboard, we do/ We have the fun/ We're the new crew/ Crew! [Chorus]

(Aubrey Hobert) I have a new song, guys! It's out Aug. 7, 2026!

• WOW! 😲Audrey Hobert "Sue me" (I Want to Be Wanted, so Swiftish but better)
• Audrey Hobert - Sex and the city (official video)
• Song of Summer 2024: "Apt." (Rose & Bruno)

(DECESSUS) "The Hollow Descent" live at Pulsar Awards 2026: Who is this beauty queen? Death metal singer wins beauty pageant

Is rap most popular white art form?

(Chris Turner) They laughed at white rapper, until they heard him rap

Most streamed songs of 2026  -  The best rap song of 2026?

(The HU) "Horsemen"

Pretty Reckless: "Dear God"

(The Pretty Reckless) The Pretty Reckless "Dear God"

• (Thunderpussy) "N.E.D." (official music video)

(Katia Pojidaeva) "Capitalism"

(Valhalla Sounds) Lana Del Rey "Sorry I Forgot to Call" (official lyrics video)

• Olivia Dean dazzles on SNL (That Grape Juice)

SURF PUNKS "My Wave" (1980)

• MUSE "Nightshift Superstar"
• Bella Kay "iloveitiloveitiloveit"
• Best Summer Songs 2026 🍒 Summer Hits 2026 Playlist
• Beavis and Butthead want to rescue "filthy chicks"

Butt-Head dating advice

(Beavis & Butt-Head) A better summer with beards for chicks

(Top Metal) The Warning "Kerosene" live at Lollapalooza, Chile

Could locals Mermaid Island ever breakthrough with "Freaks"?

Overweight by the water: Disney hippo dance (Fantasia)

• The Heaviest Show in the Universe; Editors' selections, Wisdom Quarterly

Burning Man Festival 2026 (8/30-9/7)

Esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist lamas build sand mandala with Mt. Sumeru at center (wiki)

.

Not a raincoat, a fashion statement

Black Rock City 2026 rises in the Nevada desert from August 30 to September 7th, 2026. Theme: Axis Mundi.

• [Axis mundi is the "world mountain," Buddhism's Mt. Sumeru, sometimes seen as Tibet-China's Mt. Kailash in the Himalayas, a synthetic peak that is far too small to meet the requirements of the descriptions given in Buddhist cosmology, and at other times regarded as Mt. Kunlun in China, the World Tree Norse Yggdrasil, or the more sensible axial tilt.]
• Predicted weather for Burning Man 2026 (USA Today)

Will the free Orgy Dome be back this year?

The Axis Mundi celebrates our interconnectedness, our shared social realities, and our ties to this natural world. Final ticket sales for Burning Man 2026 are open now. No registration is required. Buy tickets now through Black Rock City Tickets or subscribe for fresh Black Rock City updates.

Ooh, I always wanted to try that, and what happens in the desert stays in the desert, right?

 

Black Rock City is ephemeral. Every year is beautifully unique. The massive desert city rises for just eight days then disappears without a trace (well, some trace but there is a zero-footprint ethos the festival tries to live by, even if not all participants keep to it).

• Burning Man 2026 now open in Nevada desert

Is it as wild as Woodstock '69 was?

(DoYouRemember?) Insane things that happened at Woodstock at Max's Far in Bethel, New York

The Moon Goddess descends to dance

If anyone is new to Burning Man — welcome! Explorers are embarking on a grand adventure in participatory creativity.

Read the 2026 Survival Guide and the Playa Primer for essential information to help all festivalgoers thrive. And fill out the Volunteer Matching Quiz to join a Black Rock City crew that is the best match!

Burning Man attendees build Black Rock City together. Immerse in Burning Man’s connective magic. Looking for a camp? Read the Camping Quick Guide to find camps seeking campers. These art projects are looking for others to help out.

Connect with Rising Sparks, a grassroots collective igniting next generation artists, creators, and leaders. More: burningman.org

Government hypocrisy to "green scam" profits

Could Banshees have been Burners?

(MAGAZINE) Post-punk avant garde pop Siouxie Sioux for EDM Burners?