Liam Gowing

Yahoo Singapore — In January 2020, as the normally joyous Chinese Lunar New Year arrived, things looked bleak in Shanghai. COVID-19, then a complete unknown, was spreading. The government had shut down all but essential businesses, grocery store shelves were empty and the city's streets were deserted.

The Atlantic Daily Newsletter — This edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf, excerpts Liam Gowing's op-ed on the draconian lockdown of Shanghai, China and discusses it's importance.

Los Angeles Times — In January 2020, as the normally joyous Chinese Lunar New Year arrived, things looked bleak in Shanghai. COVID-19, then a complete unknown, was spreading. The government had shut down all but essential businesses, grocery store shelves were empty and the city's streets were deserted.

SPIN — In the December 2004 issue of SPIN, we published Los Angeles journalist/musician Liam Gowing’s detailed, empathetic look at the last years of Elliott Smith’s life and the circumstances that led up to the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s apparent suicide. “Mr. Misery” was difficult to read, a tremendous challenge to edit and fact-check, and one of the most remarkably intimate pieces in the magazine’s history. In honor of SPIN’s 30th anniversary, we’re featuring this piece as part of our ongoing “30 Years, 30 Stories” series.

Los Angeles Times — The feeling of dread was overwhelming as I rendezvoused with my band and noted the absence of our foremost member, drummer Chris Gailfoil. Stricken with stage-four cancer, Chris had been teetering on the brink of death for weeks, and seeing his seat uncharacteristically empty, I couldn't help but assume the worst.

The A.V. Club — Hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time upon its 1966 release and battling it out with The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for critical supremacy ever since, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds was such a triumph that its writer-arranger-producer and lead singer, Brian Wilson, drove himself to the brink...

Buzz Bands LA — What do you get when you combine a funk-folk journeyman and an indie rock singer-songwriter with the son of a rock music icon? A hell of a lot of secrecy, apparently. At least that was the case Tuesday night when KCRW music director Jason Bentley welcomed a star-studded audience to The Village Recording Studios for a hush-hush taping of today’s Morning Becomes Eclectic guest artist, Fistful of Mercy.

SPIN — “Even in this tiny little room,” said Perry Farrell to the 150 or so folks sharing the confines of Hollywood club Bardot, “I can feel an oceanful of love.”

SPIN — Even in the desert, the Dead Weather hit the stage dressed all in black. And during their Saturday night headlining set at Coachella, it certainly suited the music. From the count-in of the first song, a cover of “Forever My Queen” by Virginia doom-metal band Pentagram, it was clear that Jack White and his bandmates — the Kills vocalist Alison Mosshart, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist and keyboardist Dean Fertita, and the Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence — intended to take their audience on a ride to the dark side.

SPIN — Legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr took time out from his gig playing in Modest Mouse to join the Cribs at the Roxy in West Hollywood on Monday for the first American date of the U.K. group’s new tour.

SPIN — The Flaming Lips have always been about big ideas: In 1997, it was Zaireeka, an experimental release comprising four CD’s designed to be played simultaneously; in 2002, it was Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, a concept album so theatrical the band decided to adapt it into a Broadway musical with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin; and come Oct. 13, the big idea will be Embryonic, the Oklahoma City group’s first double-album.

SPIN — It was right after a rousing version of “The Sound of Settling” from 2003’s Transatlanticism, 12 songs into Death Cab For Cutie’s sold-out concert at the Hollywood Bowl, that frontman Ben Gibbard made the big announcement: “We’re going to take a quick break and then we’re going to come back with 50 of our new friends!” Even for the Grammy-nominated Seattle quartet, this was a big deal: Fourth of July weekend; a capacity crowd; a gorgeous night under the stars at a historic venue; and one of the finest symphony orchestras in the country, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, on hand to perform backup. And if that weren’t enough… fireworks!

SPIN — “So this is the first show of our tour,” Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland told the sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ House of Blues during the inaugural St. Jude Rock’n’Roll Hope Show, a new event to raise funds for children’s cancer research. “Ready or not,” he continued. “Ready or not.”

SPIN — Music fans are wise to be leery when they see phrases like “all-original lineup” and “long-anticipated reunion tour” followed by that cracked-out whore of the punctuation world — the exclamation point. We all know what she’s hiding: The fact that the band members are broke and temporarily putting aside mutual hatred for quick cash.

SPIN — “Hello!” yelled Mark Hoppus from a stage at Los Angeles’ Paramount Pictures lot Thursday night. “We are Blink-182 and this is our first show together after four years of hating each other’s guts!”

Los Angeles Times — "You're going sky diving?" an incredulous colleague asked me. "I did it once in Florida and it went OK. But the next day the same pilot turned around too early, caught the last jumper in midair and sheared his legs off! "He bled to death on the way down."

Los Angeles Times — SPOT an utterly valueless item -- a tiny toy soldier, a button, a marble -- lying at the base of a telephone pole or atop a fence post, and you probably wouldn't pay it much attention. If anything, you might just curse the litterbug who left it there.

Los Angeles Times — CREDIT Johnny Depp and his pirate pals. Or thank Viggo Mortensen and the inhabitants of Middle-earth, or all those lightsaber-wielding Jedis. But the bottom line is that even after the advent of more advanced weaponry, swords are cool.

Los Angeles Times — Action Man: Our intrepid reporter's adventures mountain biking Sullivan Canyon go awry when he flies over his handlebars without proper protective gear.

Los Angeles Times — In MANY ways, the Good Nite is like a lot of trendy new cocktail lounges. A romantically lit spot parked on a quiet stretch of Burbank Boulevard in bohemian North Hollywood, the Good Nite boasts all the accouterment one might expect from a fashionable watering hole: There's the shiny stainless steel bar, the Art Deco sconces and damask wallpaper, the black leather bar stools, couches and cube chairs.

Los Angeles Times — ON FIRST APPROACH, Surf City USA seems an awful lot like Anytown, USA. Drive down Huntington Beach's main thoroughfare, Beach Boulevard, and you'll encounter a Wal-Mart and Big Lots, McDonald's and Burger King, Bally's Total Fitness and one car dealership after another.

Los Angeles Times — SOAP. On a rope, in a bar, in a jar, it's one of those everyday inventions we take for granted. And it is an invention. Unlike salt, it doesn't occur naturally or, like cinnamon, grow on trees. So what is soap anyway, and how is it made?

Los Angeles Times — An island paradise turned into a Roaring '20s hot spot by chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., Santa Catalina Island has long been popular. In fact, during the summer months, it's been perhaps too popular. But with spring barely sprung and tourism depressed after the May wildfires, there's never been a better time to visit: Waits are shorter, prices lower.

SPIN — Unlike many celebrity spawn, 24-year-old Liam Finn is actually quite comfortable discussing his famous father, former Split Enz and current Crowded House tunesmith Neil Finn. “I’m proud of him,” says the scraggly-bearded New Zealander, relaxing after a packed show at the Los Angeles club Spaceland.