The Souls Of Mischief ever-popular, landmark introductary first single “93 ’Til Infinity” has been long considered a timeless hip-hop track but this year the title track off the Hiero crew’s 1993 debut album has been given a whole new lease on life thanks in great part to appearing in the soundtracks of two major 2019 movie releases.

It appeared prominently in both the recently released Shaft (setting the tone for the 2019 remake of the blaxploitation movie classic as part of its opening scene) and also in the popular (Amoeba Berkeley-friendly) Bay-centric, Nahnatchka Khan directed romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe starring Randall Park and Ali Wong.

Acclaimed street artist, graphic designer, and social activist Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant) did some shopping recently at Amoeba Hollywood and sat down with us for a What's In My Bag? episode! He shared some of his favorite records and album covers, and talked about how The Clash's London Calling is the embodiment of punk, the way graphic design serves as a visual parallel to what's happening in the music, and the pleasurable inconvenience of vinyl.

Shepard Fairey is the American street artist, activist, and graphic designer behind the iconic Obey Giant and Obama "HOPE" designs. He first became active in the early '80s, sharing his artwork on t-shirts and skateboards while still a teenager. While attending the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989, Fairey created his first instantly recognizable work: the André the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign, which later evolved into the Obey Giant. After graduating from RISD, Fairey opened Alternate Graphics, a small printhouse that produced his t-shirt and sticker designs. In the late '90s, Fairey opened guerilla marketing firm BLK/MRKT Inc.; during this time, he designed Mozilla's red dinosaur logo. Fairey launched the OBEY Clothing company in 2001 as a way to bring activism to everyday design. He and his wife Amanda Fairey founded the Studio Number One design agency in 2003. Highlights of their work include the poster for the film Walk the Line, plus album covers for The Smashing Pumpkins (Zeigeist), Led Zeppelin (Mothership), and Flogging Molly (Whiskey on a Sunday).

Hey ho, let's go to the Johnny Ramone Tribute at Hollywood Forever on Sunday, August 11th! Curated by Vincent Gallo, this year's event features a screening of the 1979 cult classic The Warriors in celebration of its 40th anniversary, along with an exclusive one-night only exhibit of punk rock and glam rock photography from Jenny Lens, Danny Fields and more in the Cathedral mausoleum. Enjoy a discussion with The Warriors director Walter Hill and star Michael Beck “Swan.” Plus, there will be a food tent, pop-up shops, and an Amoeba Music tent. We'll be there with Warriors and Ramones merch and collectibles for sale, Amoeba swag and other goodies. Stop by before the movie and say hi!

Fans young and old have gathered around the Johnny Ramone memorial statue at Hollywood Forever cemetery to celebrate the legendary rocker's memory since his death in 2004. When you visit the 8-foot-tall bronze statue, be sure to look on its base for inscriptions by Eddie Vedder, John Frusciante, Rob Zombie, Lisa Marie-Presley and others. The annual tribute event is presented by Linda Ramone and all proceeds go to prostate cancer research by Dr. David Agus. 

LA music producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and sharp-dressed man Adrian Younge visited Amoeba Hollywood recently and talked with us about his introduction to jazz, the influence of David Axelrod's compositions on hip-hop, and the band that inspired him to learn how to play instruments in our latest What's In My Bag? episode.

Often fusing the genres of soul, hip-hop, funk, and jazz, Adrian Younge first attracted critical acclaim for his score to the 2009 blaxploitation flick Black Dynamite. In addition to his roles as producer and composer, Younge was responsible for the majority of the music on the score, performing over a dozen instruments himself with support from a handful of vocalists and instrumentalists. Wax Poetics released Younge's score later that year. The success of Black Dynamite led Younge to relaunch his earlier Venice Dawn project; as a result, Wax Poetics released his atmospheric Something About April LP in 2011.

In 2013, Younge teamed up with The Delfonics, a major influence on Adrian, for the LP Adrian Younge Presents the Delfonics. Shortly afterward, Younge joined forces with Ghostface Killah for Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die. His next high-profile collaboration was 2014's Adrian Younge Presents There Is Only Now with Souls of Mischief. Working tirelessly, Younge followed this up with work on Bilal's In Another Life and Ghostface's Twelve Reasons to Die II. In 2016, Something About April II came out, with contributions from Raphael Saadiq and Laetitia Sadier. That same year, Younge released The Electronique Void, a synth-heavy concept LP featuring narration from Jack Waterson, and joined forces with Ali Shaheed Muhammad on the Luke Cage soundtrack. Younge has also worked with or been sampled by Kendrick Lamar, Common, and Jay-Z. In 2019, he released Produced By Adrian Younge, which features vocals by Black Thought, Estelle, Georgia Anne Muldrow and more.

One of our favorite summer activities is catching a show at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. We're especially excited to be at the Bowl for a night made in indie rock heaven! Amoeba Music is proud to sponsor an evening with Death Cab For Cutie and Car Seat Headrest at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, August 11th! We'll be there giving away Amoeba gift certificates, tote bags, and other goodies. Be sure to stop by our booth and say hi on your way in to the show!

Over their 20+ year career, Seattle indie rockers Death Cab For Cutie have created a signature sound that blends singer Ben Gibbard’s bittersweet melodic sense with emotionally powerful and musically inventive rock. They released their ninth studio album, Thank You For Today (Barsuk Records), in August 2018 and they just announced The Blue EP, which will be available September 6, 2019 and is a tribute to the three children who died in the 1999 Olympic Pipeline explosion in Bellingham, WA.

Seattle-based indie band Car Seat Headrest takes its name from frontman Will Toledo's decision to record the vocals for his early albums in the back of his car for privacy. The prolific singer-songwriter recorded his first four albums within a span of a few months over the course of 2010. In 2015, he signed to Matador Records and released Teens of Denial in July 2016. In 2018, he reworked Twin Fantasy, arguably the most revered album from his early years, recording it with a full band in a proper studio.