Here are the top 20 Popscene shows of 2007, as voted by the fans of Popscene: 1. Amy Winehouse/The Klaxons, April 26 2. LCD Soundsystem, June 8 3. The Pipettes, June 12 4. The Horrors, June 19 5. Maximo Park/M.I.A, July 26 6. Spoon, May 24 7. Blonde Redhead/Shiny Toy Guns, December 31 8. Junior Senior/The Switches, August 2 9. Shout Out Louds/Vampire Weekend, July 18 10. Hot Hot Heat, Sept 13 Next year,......

Aaron Axelsen has been a major force in promoting local independent music with San Francisco's indie-dance party, Popscene and his Sunday night radio show on Live 105. (You can listen from 7-10pm. Check out what he plays, here.) We wanted to feature his top ten albums of the year to find out what he thinks rocked 2007. Here's the list: Aaron Axelsen, Live 105 Music Director's, Top 10 Albums of 2007 1. Great Northern......

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part......

As the winners of Live 105's Local Band competition, Maldroid will be opening for Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon, and Paramore tomorrow night at the "Not So Silent Night" bash at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Maldroid's sound is a mix between The Beatles and The Hives. They first became popular when their video, "He Said, She Said," won "The Youtube Underground" competition - Youtube's first ever music video competition. They......

The results are in: Maldroid is currently the best local band in San Francisco according to Live 105's local band competition. They will be opening for Spoon, Angels & Airwaves, Paramore, Jimmy Eat World and Modest Mouse. According to Ryan Devine's blog (the lead singer), "[It] sucks that Paramore and Angels & Airwaves have to embarrass themselves after us. Looking forward to Modest Mouse and Spoon though!" Well, well, well... someone's shit doesn't stink.......

We had twenty but it's down to the last five. Live 105, a big supporter of local music scene (see popscene) is at it again. Each December, Live 105 hosts the "Not So Silent Night" event which brings a host of great bands - this year it's Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Angels & Airwaves, Spoon and Paramore - to San Francisco. (Seems like a great line-up to us.) To make it even more......

Never having been huge fans of instrumental music, we were taken by surprise when we listened to Maserati's latest record Inventions For The New Season. Their own entertaining bio describes the music as a "post-psychedelic orgy of hooks molesting the tired cliche of math-prog" and/or "a post-disco drone machine bristling with the buzz-saw sound of 1,000 angry square waves nestled on a California king size bed of shoegaze swirl." We like to think of the......

There are no less than three fantastic music festivals all taking place over the weekend of September 14-16. What gives? And how do we choose? Since we live in the bay area, perhaps our decision has been made for us: we're heading to the inaugural Treasure Island Music Festival presented by the fine folks at Noise Pop and Another Planet. The two day festival features 14 bands each day on two stages with mostly hip......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

-- "Not guilty," says you know who. [Chron, Examiner, ABC 7] -- Beautiful, steel, and glassy Rincon Hill (and its streets) want a little love, too, you know? [RinconHillSF] -- The Cesar Chavez/Mission Street condo debate goes on (and on). SF Board of Supes decide tomorrow. [Beyond Chron] -- Crunchy New College is on accreditation probation because of "sloppiness." Whoops. [SFGate, via SFBG] -- Although we're partial to show tunes and a good five-hour......

Next Thursday, July 19th, Sonic Youth perform 1988's double album Daydream Nation in its entirety at Berkeley Community Theatre. The acclaimed album is lauded for its artistic vision and flowing dynamics from lulling instrumentals to all-out noise. We have a pair of tickets for one lucky winner to (re)discover the underground masterpiece. Watch the video for "Teen Age Riot" and enter to win. (Contest ends 7/15. Winner will be notified via email.) Tonight catch brazen......

We've got a really cool giveaway this week. Everyone knows who Rufus Wainwright is, right? Please, tell us that you do. He's still crooning luxuriously behind the piano, wearing fabulously tailored suits and hasn't aged a day since his auspicious self-titled debut nearly ten years ago. His brand new record, Release the Stars, is hot off the presses and he's coming to play a special show at Nob Hill Masonic Center with Sean Lennon......

It's another music giveaway bonanza this week! First up is a prize pack from Sea Wolf. They've been touring with Silversun Pickups (see a few SSPU members in the video for "You're A Wolf"), but they're a far more mellow outfit: Alex Church's vocals and melodies are gentle, strummy and soothing. Sea Wolf open for Devotchka on Friday night at the Grand Ballroom Bimbo's, and we have a pair of tickets for the winner......

Tonight we're wishing a great big Happy 4th Birthday to DJ Ted and his baby BAGeL Radio. The party is at Bottom of the Hill with performances by Birdmonster, Division Day and Two Seconds, and yes there will be cupcakes! The show is 18+ and only $10, but for those of you who aren't in the city tonight you can still listen in to the party performances thanks to the fine folks at Lala.com.......

We first heard of Rogue Wave when they opened for Spoon a few years ago, and though we liked them back then, we had no idea they'd make such gorgeous records. Descended Like Vultures, released last October, is a must-own and with airplay on MTV2, a deal with Sub Pop and tours with Nada Surf and The Shins, they're not our hometown secret anymore. Listen to "Publish My Love" or watch the video. Enter to......

These are my top 12 favorite albums of 2005. That's right, I said "my" not "our." That's because once a year at SFist we get crazy and write a post in the first person (and also because my fellow SFist music writers probably have wildly different favorites of their own). Sufjan Stevens Illinois Young, ambitious, talented, and accomplished, Sufjan Stevens has topped the majority of 2005’s Best Of lists his own way, on tiny independent......

Submissions go to yvesdroppings - at - gmail - dot - com. Guy: “Hey, watch for a parking spot for me, will ya?” Other guy, under his breath: “There’s some weird planetary s**t going on right now, man.” -- From Ginevra / Outside Artists' Television Access Twentysomething guy: "Do you think they'll sell spoons tonight?" -- From Ashley / Spoon concert at The Warfield Costco cashier: "So, you've been working at Costco since 1987?"......

Our concert picks for the week of 11/10-11/16. It's another great week of music, with more of our favorites in town including Stars, The Oranges Band, our beloved Spoon and one of our newest favorites Silversun Pickups. Weeks ago we were offered review tickets to write up Sunday night's Death Cab For Cutie show, but we were just told that Atlantic Records had to "cut their press list" and our tickets were revoked. Folks, that's......

Our concert picks for the week of 7/7-7/13. Dear readers, we're just itching to give away some free stuff. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have a new comedy coming out called Wedding Crashers. You might have seen the trailer already, but you can star in the trailer here. (We're not kidding -- upload your photo and watch!) We've got an indie-tastic Wedding Crashers soundtrack to give away, including songs from Bloc Party, Flaming Lips, Spoon,......

The June music issue of The Believer will come packaged with a CD compilation of pure indie rock gold. We hear that local do-gooder and author extraordinaire Dave Eggers is behind the compilation, proving his excellent taste and indubitable influence by convincing the persnickety indie rock elite to cover each other's songs. Local duo Two Gallants made the cut, as did Devendra Banhart, Vetiver and Joanna Newsom. The majority of the songs were recorded specifically......

Our concert picks for the week of 5/12-5/18. Welcome, welcome, hordes of new readers who have recently discovered what our loyal readership has known for months -- that SFist.com is our fair city's Best Local Blog. (This will not be the first nor last mention of this honor bestowed upon us by SF Weekly). But enough with the self-aggrandizing babble. Onto the concerts! Tonight Ivy conjures their dream pop at Slim's in support of their......

Our concert picks for the week of 5/5-5/11. We can't help but sing Liz Phair's "Cinco De Mayo" in our head every May 5th. The lyrics make no sense, but dang is it a catchy tune. Some of us get Ween stuck in our head today, and how many of us wished someone a Happy Valen-talen-tine's Day on February 14th? Musicians take note: writing a song about a holiday guarantees the kind of longevity of......

Our live music picks for the week of 3/3-3/9. We're sad that Noise Pop has ended, but glad to report that a regular ol' week in San Francisco still brings the noise, the funk, and the freaks out to play. Tonight's the night to get out and support local music. Bottom of the Hill has the angular, shoegazer sounds of Xiu Xiu, The Dead Science and The Rum Diary. Pep Love from Hieroglyphics hosts Fusion,......

On Friday Noise Pop presented a matinee show with Ringside, Von Iva and Robbers on High Street at Cafe Du Nord. It's quite strange to head to a rock show at a time of day that's more appropriate for happy hour, but having the evening wrap up by 9pm was a bit of a treat. It leaves you feeling like you have extra time on your hands, Daylight Savings Time-style. We missed Ringside's set but......

Dan Leone hits us right in the gut with Giordano Bros. -- we're not familiar with the Pittsburgh all-in-one like they serve at Primanti Brothers. We'd have to defer to Mr. Kavanagh on that one. But the idea of stuffing the french fries into the sandwich appeals to us on so many levels that Giordano Bros. seems an inevitability, especially if they stayed open just a little later. The other Guardian foodie, Paul Reidinger, hits......

[Ed. Note: And our pleading pays off yet again, with new SFist Krissy bringing news of the music scene.] True San Francisco hipsters and locals with the finest taste in indie rock will convene for a Tiny Telebration this Friday at Café du Nord and the Swedish American Hall.  What’s a Tiny Telebration, you ask?  It’s a party that San Francisco's unofficial musical mascot John Vanderslice is throwing to celebrate Tiny Telephone's 7th anniversary.  Vanderslice......