pants role n.— «In opera parlance, the term is “pants role,” meaning male characters performed by female singers. Mozart wrote one for “The Marriage of Figaro,” Strauss for “Der Rosenkavalier.” As Berkeley singer Leslie Hassberg notes...
chonga n.— «The magic starts with a heaping glob of electric blue L.A. Looks hair gel. Then comes the extra coating of $1.07 Beauty Glamorous Extra Hold hair spray. So begins the transformation of 17-year-olds Mimi Davila and Laura Di...
headie n.— «“Hey Afroman!” a student shouted into the rapper/singer’s dressing room window after the show, “I got a fat sack of headies for ya. You gonna let us in?” They must’ve known that Afroman had to ditch his...
vegetables n.pl.— «“Hey Afroman!” a student shouted into the rapper/singer’s dressing room window after the show, “I got a fat sack of headies for ya. You gonna let us in?” They must’ve known that Afroman had to ditch...
guitar pull n.— «There’s a scene in Heartworn Highways, the late Jim Szalapski’s 1975 documentary on singer/songwriters, that takes place around Guy Clark’s kitchen table on Christmas Eve. It’s a “guitar pull”—a term used to...
prettopop n.— «Swedish trio Kamprads most often sound like LA’s Mellowdrone on their 2006 debut, Thoughts Never Released. Dark and slick drum beats and synths matched with the emo crooning of singer Skanfors even has the band admitting...