Consumer Cyclicals

Comic Figures

Psst, Anybody Out There Wanna Buy the Fresh & Easy Chain?

On Wednesday, Tesco, the English-based company and owner of Fresh & Easy, announced it was getting the hell out of the U.S. and selling its money pit grocery store chain that wouldn't let you touch the fruit, never had the brands you wanted, and made you check out your own damn self. See also: - CL ... More >>

Amoeba's Vinyl Vault: Treasure Trove or Legal Sticky Wicket

By Brett Koshkin While the corpses of corporate music retail chains litter strip malls where outlets like Tower Records and Blockbuster Music once stood, Amoeba Music is an independent juggernaut with three California-based stores the size of supermarkets. They've been a celebrated shopping destina ... More >>

Disappearing Ink: What Will Happen to All the Books?

Phoenix Coyotes Remain Orphaned After Greg Jamison Misses Deadline to Buy Team

Stop us if you've heard this one before -- a deal to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes didn't work out.Prospective owner Greg Jamison had a deadline of yesterday to buy the team and finalize an arena lease agreement with the City of Glendale, and it didn't happen.

Godzilla and Flowers: The Films of Kim Jong-il

Hasbro Announces Gender Neutral Easy-Bake Ovens Are On Their Way

Earlier this week we talked about McKenna Pope, a 13-year-old girl who launched an online petition for Hasbro to market their Easy-Bake Oven in a more gender neutral manner so it would appeal to her younger brother, Gavyn Boscio. Now Hasbro has addressed those concerns directly, inviting the family ... More >>

Famous Chefs Stand With Teenager Over Calls for Gender Neutral Easy-Bake Oven

Manuel Trevino from "Top Chef" is just one of the many chefs who stepped forward in this video address to show their support for one teenager's petition to get Hasbro to market their Easy-Bake Oven in a gender neutral manner. See Also: --Powdered Food DIY Kits From Japan Are Kinda Creepy but Also ... More >>

Arizona's Powerball Winner Staying Anonymous, but Totally Sounds Like a Rich Guy

Arizona Lottery officials held a press conference this afternoon to announce details about the Fountain Hills dude who won half of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot, except the guy's name.Based on the description given by lottery officials, they definitely made it sound like this guy was rich bef ... More >>

The Shins and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes Added to the Expanding McDowell Mountain Music Festival Lineup

The quickly expanding lineup of McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2013 has added two more big names to the roster: The Shins and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes. The 2013 installment of the festival is looking to have the most impressive lineup in MMMF history, as The Shins and Sharpe join Th ... More >>

TheRecordingArtist.com Remakes the Music Biz

With Big-Studio Millions Behind Him, Hotel Transylvania's Genndy Tartakovsky Still Goes It Alone

Roosevelt Row's Tediberto's Has a Liquor License Problem

See also: Tediberto's: Drop Your Vitamix and Put on Your Animal-Friendly Dancing Shoes, Vegans, We're Goin' Out to Eat See also: Vegan Mexican Restaurant Coming to Downtown Phoenix See also: Vegan Mexican Restaurant Owner Not Helping Stereotype of Vegans It's one of the worst kept secrets in the do ... More >>

Kiana Brown Wants to Be a "Normal" Star

Brave: A Family Film About Courage That Actually Has Some

Your Guide to Highly Anticipated Summer Films

Drew Alexander Got Burned By a Major Label, and He Doesn't Mind

The Love Me Nots and Jim Adkins Perform at Stinkweeds for Record Store Day, 4/21/12 (VIDEO)

Whether you got up early to buy the Feist/Mastodon split or went to one of the many free shows in town yesterday, it's safe to say that yesterday was a good day. Stinkweeds celebrated its 25th anniversary and Record Store Day with a barbecue and live performances by Dylan Pratt, Mergence, Source Vic ... More >>

Jason Draper, Accused of Stealing From 25 Walmart Stores, Says He Steals Because He's "Humiliated" Living With His Mom at Age 35

If you're "desperate and humiliated" because you're 35 years old and living with your mother, getting caught stealing more than $45,000 worth of merchandise from 25 different Walmart stores probably won't remedy that.Still, that's what police are saying Jason Dee Draper did to land him in jail on 28 ... More >>

Tech N9ne Discusses The Clubhouse Shooting, The Doors, and Machine Gun Kelly

Aaron Dontez Yates, better known to the world as Tech N9ne, is not a big fan of the typical. "How many black dudes do you see painting their faces and coming out with bishop robes on the stage?" he asks me, speaking from his tour bus "somewhere in New Mexico." He's taken a strange, twisted path ev ... More >>

Would Bill Montgomery and Company Actually Prosecute Porn Actors for Prostitution?

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery sent out a gentle reminder yesterday that anyone paid to appear in a porno flick "may be guilty" of prostitution.He's not saying the County Attorney's Office is going after the porno industry -- or that it isn't -- but with rumors of California-based porno co ... More >>

Bill Montgomery's Warning to the Porn Industry: Filming Nudie Flicks in Arizona May Be Prostitution (Even Though It's Been Happening Here for Years)

​Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's heard the news that several California porn-production companies may be planning to come out to Arizona, partially due to Los Angeles' new law requiring porn actors to wear condoms.Now, Montgomery's warning that bare-backing it on camera in Arizona may q ... More >>

Rep. Steve Court Proposes Alcohol Ban at Strip Clubs, Plus Other Changes to Adult Businesses

​No happy hours at topless clubs for you -- not if State Rep. Steve Court, R-Mesa, has his way.Court, the Legislature's majority leader, introduced a bill today that targets strip clubs and other adult-oriented businesses with a ban on alcohol and private rooms. The proposed law also aims to regul ... More >>

Arizona Lottery Sales Up About $24 Million: Good Marketing or Bad Economy?

Nothing like a bad economy to get people to line up for those lottery tickets. State lottery officials say ticket sales in Arizona totaled $293 million between July 2011 to December 2011, nearly 9 percent over the same mid-term sales figures last year. Arizona lottery officials parceled out the $ ... More >>

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2: More Stories Inspired By the Songs of The Smiths

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2, Record Store Day variant cover by Jason Pedersen​One of our favorite Kickstarter success stories was last year's Unite and Take Over, a graphic collection of songs inspired by the lyrics of The Smiths. Editor and writer Shawn Demumbrum took to the crowd-funding s ... More >>

Facing the Music: How SOPA and PIPA Affect the Music Industry

​​Okay, so Wikipedia may be back, but make no mistake: The passing of the bills SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) would have a major impact on a majority of Internet users. While a free and open Internet hurts the revenue of many companies, it ultimately benefits more peopl ... More >>

Aria Fifty-One

The Valley's 80/20 Records Signs Dry River Yacht Club in the Midst

​Thousands of independent record labels are started each year, some more successful than others. Over the past decade, as major label profits have declined thanks to file sharing and even legal downloading, independent labels have been searching for a new, more effective method to turn a profit.&n ... More >>

As the Stop Online Piracy Act Hits Capitol Hill, Five Artists That Speak Out Against File Sharing

Sigur Ros​Yesterday, we blogged about the ultra-famous musicians that support music piracy in the face of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), recently introduced to the House of Representatives, which aims to protect the copyright laws of music and other downloadable intellectual property. Web ... More >>

Hoodlums Music Turns 13: Reflections From Owner Steve Wiley

​Birthday parties for 13-year-olds are usually pretty awkward (or maybe I'm thinking of my own, just-sorta-pubescent 13th birthday), but that doesn't seem to be the case with Hoodlums Music's 13th birthday bash this weekend. On Saturday, November 5, the local record store institution celebrate ... More >>

Scottsdale 6 Bites the Dust -- the Latest in a Long Line of Shuttered Drive-Ins

Fred's at Barneys New York Closed

​Fred's at Barneys New York, the stylish, modern bistro and brainchild of Fred Pressman, son of Barneys New York founder Barney Pressman, closed today. Located on the second floor of Barneys New York, which opened in October of 2009 in the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, a Barneys' associa ... More >>

Stinkweeds vs. John Maus: Weird-Pop Musician Hates Record Stores, Record Store Hates Him

​Yesterday, Pitchfork did an interview with experimental musician John Maus as part of their Guest List series. Most of the interview was typical stuff from the column, with Maus riffing on his love of South Park, Odd Future, Panda Bear, and Ariel Pink. Things took a weird turn, however, whe ... More >>

Arizona Cardinals 30th Most Valuable Sports Franchise on Earth, According to Forbes

​Prior to the Arizona Cardinals miraculous 2009 NFL playoff run -- and Super Bowl loss -- the team had only one playoff win in 60 years. However, the team's tradition of losing aside, the franchise is still worth some serious coin.According to Forbes' list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises ... More >>

Morning Poll: Should Amazon.Com and Other Online Retailers Pay Sales Tax?

​ Online bookselling giant Amazon.com has three distribution facilities in Phoenix and is planning a fourth. Despite the massive movement of sold books through Arizona, Amazon -- like most other online retailers -- neither collects from its customers nor pays, according to the state, any state ... More >>

The Persuaders' Lawrence Zubia on Major Labels, The Tempe Scene, and New Album

​Featuring former members of Tempe jangle-pop kings The Pistoleros, Dead Hot Workshop, The Gin Blossoms, and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, The Persuaders debuted earlier this year, cranking out the same kind of melodic pop rock that defined the sound of their earlier bands.If you've spent any ... More >>

Publishing Rights Could Hold Back Apple From Releasing Cloud Service Soon

​Just a few speed bumps and stop signs are hindering Apple from releasing its new cloud music service sooner rather than later, according to Prefix.The company has yet to conclude its negotiations with publishers. All that Apple has to left to figure out with the music publishers is how much they ... More >>

Warner Music Group Sued by Shareholders to Block Sale of Company

Wikimedia CommonsWarner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr.​As we reported earlier this month, mammoth Warner Music Group was up for auction  -- supposedly to the highest bidder, but that's not how it went down, according to a class action lawsuit filed yesterday by WMG stock holder Derek Cou ... More >>

Warner Music Group for Sale: The Multi-Billion Dollar Battle for Ownership Winds Down this Week

Wikimedia CommonsWarner Music Group artist Madonna​Warner Music Group -- home to acts like Led Zeppelin, Green Day, and Tempe-based indie rock band The Maine -- is for sale. If you think it's tough outbidding other eBay users for a rare record, you should see the bidding battle currently underway ... More >>

Chadwick Uptain

Fired Up

Grammy winners come to Phoenix

Blogs Teased in Our 4/7 Issue

​This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts... Why did Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst diss Lady Gaga's concert in Arizona? What are Phoenix's most obnox ... More >>

Record Store Day Round Up 2011 : Phoenix Stores Offer Up Exclusives, Live Performances and More on RSD

​"Folks who work here are professors. Don't replace all the knowers with guessors -- keep'em open -- they're the ears of the town." - Tom Waits, on the important of independent record stores. If you're a nerd like me, April 16 isn't just another Saturday. It's Record Store Day, the day independent ... More >>

Food Critic/Blogger Wanted

Activision To Discontinue Guitar Hero and DJ Hero

​The Guitar Hero franchise has officially been canceled by video gaming publisher Activision, according to Blabbermouth.The decline in the game's popularity was significant enough to make the company pull the plug. The DJ Hero franchise will also be coming to an end.Activision Publishing CEO Eric ... More >>

Latest Cake Album Hits No. 1, Sets Dubious Record In The Process

Robert McKnightCakeThis year sure has been a fickle beast thus far -- treacherous weather, Jared Lee Loughner and now a slumping music industry.Showroom Of Compassion, the latest album from venerable rock band Cake, took the top spot on the Billboard charts for the week ending on January 1 ... More >>

Foursquare up, Pandora Down, MySpace Out: Grand Predictions About Digital Music Trends in 2011

​NME's deputy editor Luke Lewis published an interesting article about the future of digital music last week.Lewis made a list of 10 insightful music predictions regarding what the developments of digital music might entail in 2011, and I've got to hand it to him, he did a great job and taught me ... More >>

Arizona Boycott Fail: Resorts See Big Increase This Year; Phoenix a Top Domestic Destination, Survey Says

​ Despite the efforts of anti-Arizonans like Congressman Raul Grivalva, a boycott against the state this year appears to have failed miserably. Grivalva was among the critics of Arizona's harsh immigration law, SB1070, who called for the boycott. City councils across the country ... More >>

Back in Black: Arizona Tribal Gaming Revenue on Rise for First Time Since 2007

​ Can it still be called a recession if Arizonans are dropping wads of cash into tribal casinos? The state's still chock-full of empty storefronts and foreclosed homes, but state officials report the first increase in tribal gaming revenue since 2007. After 10 consecutive quarters of negativ ... More >>

Dia de Los Muertos Celebration @ Desert Botanical Garden