By Frances Reade Local psych-rock heavies the Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound pilot a cavernous, abandoned spaceship, where the ponderous echoes of Black Sabbath, Neil Young, the Stooges, and the 13th Floor Elevators reverberate through empty chambers and recombine into mind-frying gamma rays. Equal parts brooding stoner sci-fi, choogling jam-along, thunderous riffage, and Californian-sunset melancholy, the Assemble Head plays the Hemlock tonight at 9 p.m. If the mood should strike, do stop by. In......

SFist interviews David Hyman founder of MOG, and online music community. ...

We don't say this lightly, because there are really a lot of great artists coming out of the Bay Area, but we do have a current favorite: Birds & Batteries. We've been telling you about this co-ed quartet for a little while now, and our expectations for their new record were really high. Thankfully it's good news: we love I'll Never Sleep Again. It's still the B&B we met on their last release, but this......

I'm so used to using the royal "we" when I write for SFist that it feels really strange writing "I" - sort of like driving on the left side of the street. And my favorites of 2006 have left me feeling not quite myself either - I've never been a huge fan of electro-rock, but this year's list is drowning in it. In fact, each of these albums share one or more of the following......

Total number of people pictured in this week's Swells society column: 52. Total number of people pictured whose names we recognize: 4 (Neil Young, Elton John, Dede Wilsey, and Paul Pelosi). Minority count: 6 (approximately 12%). Hats, capes, tiaras: 0, 0, 0 (but two pendants, one of which was being dramatically clasped around the neck of an auction winner). Getty v. Traina: 1-1. Minimum number of children's books you can donate to get a plastic......

Total number of people pictured in this week's Swells society column: 59. Total number of people pictured whom we recognize: 6, though we must confess that if it didn't say "former mayor" in front of Art Agnos's name, we probably wouldn't recognize it. Minority count: 2 (approximately 3%). Getty v. Traina: 2-3. Hats, capes, tiaras: 1, 0, 0. Ranking of this week's benefit parties, from most money raised to least: San Francisco Parks Trust ($275K),......

Total number of people in the pictures of this week's Swells: 58. Minority count: 16. (27.5%). One group of pictures is from the SF Ethnic Dance Festival. Number of people in the pictures whose names we recognize: 4 (Vera Wang, the director of the SF Ballet, the SF Ballet principal dancer, and Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams at his wedding, above). Getty v. Traina: 1-0. Number of hats: 0. Number of horn-rimmed glasses: 4. Percentage of......

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: A letter-writer urges the food critic to open his heart to the magic and love that is Cafe Gratitude. Typos in Ellen Corbett's mailers. Open relationships, without using the word "polyamory" ("I hate that word. It's so '70s.") Cover: going wireless in West Oakland (and other East Bay cities). Steak in Danville. New music guy on Neil Young, and Sick Of It All about the lead singer's......

Our concert picks for the week of 6/23-6/29. While scanning for your best musical entertainment options this week, we noticed an interesting trend of late 90's alt-pop bands rousing from their silent slumber to play in our fair city. We mention them here not so much to recommend them, but more out of sheer wonder that they're still alive and kicking. Tonight Amoeba presents Madlib & MED for an in-store and signing before their gig......

While book signings themselves are not that big of an event in and of themselves, they can be depending on who is doing all the signing. Like ex-Presidents. Or skanky “celebrities.” And especially reclusive, iconoclastic writers. It’s an even bigger deal if said reclusive iconoclastic writer isn’t necessarily a writer per se, but a reclusive iconoclastic rock god. Tomorrow, the Bard of La Honda, the Godfather of Grunge, the man who can somehow still......

'Tis the season, already, for record companies to inundate the shelves of Target and Wal-mart with gift-worthy releases of greatest hits, Christmas collections, and repackaged favorites. You already know about the huge releases by Destiny's Child and Eminem, and we're betting that critics' darling Rufus Wainwright will be covered extensively elsewhere. Here are some of the releases that intrigued and amused us for the week of November 16th. In the "Best Of"s category, we recommend......