neon punks

-In today's Los Angeles Times I take a look at this weekend's Hard Summer Festival, which aims at a demographic I call "those neon punks in American Apparel." The Saturday concert at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A.'s Exposition Park features N.E.R.D., MSTRKRFT, A-Trak, Kid Sister and more. Gary Richards (a.k.a. DJ Destructo, pictured above), a mover-and-shaker from rave's past, is behind the annual event. He thinks this kind of eclectic lineup represents the future of dance music. "These are not rave kids," he tells me. "I think we're at the beginning of something that's just getting started."

-Meanwhile, LA Weekly has checked in with some neon punks -- the local act on everyone's tongue -- LA Riots. This week's paper looks at the relationship between car maker Scion and the hipsters acts -- such as the Riots -- that it sponsors. The piece also doubles as a preview of the Hard fest, where LA Riots is performing.

-Finally, the Los Angeles Times' Paris bureau catches up with the mainstreaming of the French dance craze known as tecktonik.