Shanghaiist finally made it back from the Beijing Pop Festival and had a great time. We give respect to the organizers bringing some great international bands to China, but do recognize that this festival has a lot of logistical and organizational flaws to work out before it can claim to be of global standards. Being great at weaseling our way into places we don't exactly belong, Shanghaiist was able to get on stage during the Marky Ramone set which was all the more exciting by the presence of Joe and Dave of the Queers on guitar and bass. The Queers are excited about a China tour that might happen next year. more ›

Hardcore Public Enemy fans in China, don't attempt to kill yourself or your flat mate just yet. According to Beijing promoters, Public Enemy is not canceling their BJ Pop Festival appearance scheduled for the 8th of September. So put in your gold teeth, hang some bling around your neck and get your ass on a plane. more ›

Two days ago, we received this email from a local event promoter: more ›

Punk might not be dead, but it seems that, due to permit issues, the Exploited tour is. What Shanghaiist can't figure out is why the Exploited, in all their anti-government glory, would even apply for permits (many of the bands who come for China tours do it on tourist visas). Any one who has already purchased tickets for the show will be able to take them back to 4Live for a full refund. more ›

Shanghaiist loves good music gossip, and we are tickled purplish-red (our face usually turns this color after being overly tickled) to be the first to report that Busdriver, underground rapper extraordinaire, will be coming to China in October. Don't know who Busdriver is? Well, damn it, you should. more ›

With heads still rolling from this year's tainted exports scandal and the downfall of Shanghai's ex-party-leader Chen Liangyu (he of bribe-taking and sexual-favoring-seeking fame) reaching completion, China's public enemy du jour appears to be corrupt government officials. more ›

Yeahhhhh, boyyyyyyy! more ›

Alright, it was probably a marketing gimmick, a poorly conceived and ridiculously expensive one at that, though more likely Dazhong was merely taking orders from senior city officials who, in their infinite wisdom, had thought that the move would spiff up Shanghai’s image as a modern and international metropolis. But, now that Chen Liangyu is public enemy No. 1, time to can the idea! Interestingly, back in June, Hangzhou quietly took its fleet of luxury cabs off the street, Shanghaiist doesn’t want to speculate on that city’s mayor’s political future … more ›

Gothamist gets us started with "Law & Order", muppet style. Oh, you know what isn't a crime? Taking pictures on the MTA. So, why are cops stopping photographers? In other Gotham crime, a group of Asian men was attacked by a group of white guys in Queens. Finally, Boy George reports for his court mandated community service. Sweet. more ›

The Chinese internet that we all curse and tolerate know and love sure has been grabbing international headlines of late. Of course, there's that whole Google thing. And before Google was single-handedly wiping out any chance of democracy in China, Microsoft was public enemy No. 1. In the wake of the worldwide public outcry over its shutdown of popular Chinese blogger Michael Anti's MSN Spaces blog, Microsoft this week announced it has revamped its policies on how it deals with sites that run afoul of local laws: more ›