Damien Jurado

Take Cover: Field Tripp Covers Townes Van Zandt

See also: Avery Covers Damien Jurado Steve Earle famously opined: "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that," so it stands to reason that Townes is a tough songwriter to do justice. Yet local psychedelic fo ... More >>

Take Cover: Avery Covers Damien Jurado

See also: The Rolling Blackouts Cover Kongos The cello is a tremendously under used instrument, but perhaps that's a good thing. In most cases, the scarcity of the instrument makes a band's sound that much more interesting. This is the case for Avery, whose unique sound derives from a cello, a tale ... More >>

Rosie Thomas

South By Stateside: Day 2 Last Night at The Sail Inn

​It's a real shame that Mother Nature didn't see if fit to cooperate with Stateside Presents' plans for South By Stateside: Day 2, the annual Phoenix run off of indie-bands on their way to the West Coast from Austin's South by Southwest Festival. The nine band bill was divided pretty evenly betwee ... More >>

Get Primed for Day 2 of South by Stateside

St. Patrick's Day Celtic Punk Cash-In's, Foster The People, Toro Y Moi, Girl Talk and More in This Week's Issue

Flogging Molly will play a green-themed show at Tempe Town Lake today.​Top o' the mornin' to ya! It's Ireland's national holiday, and this year it's a splendid day to spend in church, praying to ol' Patrick, the mighty saint who cured our isle of snakes ages ago. What's that, you plan to take off ... More >>

Incoming: Coheed and Cambria, Flosstradamus, Of Montreal, Rick Ross, Toad The Wet Sprocket

Toad The Wet Sprocket - bastion of the 1990s​Clubs editor Benjamin Leatherman describes this week's just announced shows thusly: "huge fucking week."Things are so fucking huge that Martin Cizmar went ahead and already announced the Janet Jackson show slated for this April -- yet there are still pl ... More >>

15 Good Songs You Might've Missed in 2010

Peter Storch​I listened to more than 3,000 songs in 2010, so I was asked to come up with a list of the best of the year. But you've probably heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood and "Boyfriend" by Best Coast and "Helicopter" by Deerhunter and "Hustle and Cuss" by the Dead Weather, so I came up with a ... More >>

Girl Talk: All Day

​Artist: Girl Talk Title: All Day Release date: November 15 Label: Illegal Art Whether sample-happy mash-up act Girl Talk is "good" or "not good" and whether you "like" or "dislike" Girl Talk are completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding Girl Talk. The only things I care about when it ... More >>

Tierra del Fuego: Queen of the Rendezvous

​Artist: Tierra del Fuego Title: Queen of the Rendezvous Release date: December 11 Label: Scapular Winging Through pure happenstance, I witnessed this local band, Tierra del Fuego, on Saturday night play as they played to a small but appreciative crowd at Trunk Space. It just happened to be t ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Helmet, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Charlatans, Small Black, and more

​It's amazing how much music is released in a year. I've listened to nearly 270 records in their entirety this year, yet I still have a huge stack of unlistened CDs on my desk, several unlistened digital downloads in my iTunes, and a lengthy list of high-profile stuff I never got a chance to h ... More >>

Mini Mansions: Mini Mansions

​Artist: Mini Mansions Title: Mini Mansions Release date: November 2 Label: Ipecac One of the biggest musical curveballs of the year has to be the debut record by the Southern California trio Mini Mansions. I say it's a curveball because I wouldn't have guessed such a Beatles-esque display o ... More >>

Sun City Girls: Funeral Mariachi

​Artist: Sun City Girls Title: Funeral Mariachi Release date: October 26 Label: Abduction Sun City Girls' last-ever record -- they've made dozens since forming in Phoenix way back in the early days of West Coast punk -- comes off as a more somber affair. And some of it is downright -- odd to ... More >>

Daft Punk: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack)

​Artist: Daft Punk Title: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack) Release date: December 7 Label: Walt Disney Records I'm a little surprised by the buzz surrounding the release of a soundtrack to a Disney movie. I understand that the kids love the helmeted French house duo Daft Punk and that said ... More >>

The Parting Gifts: Strychnine Dandelions

​Artist: The Parting Gifts Title: Strychnine Dandelions Release date: November 9 Label: In the Red Last week, I didn't have many good things to say about the new record from Kanye West. This morning, a white co-worker walked into my office and said, "I read what you said about Kanye West. Whe ... More >>

OFF!: First Four EPs

​Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat, ma ... More >>

The Fresh & Onlys: Play It Strange

Fresh & Onlys, Play It Strange​Artist: The Fresh & OnlysTitle: Play It StrangeRelease date: October 12Label: In the RedAnd just like that, I find myself a little bored by the sound plied and, possibly, perfected by San Francisco's The Fresh & Onlys. It's the sound that has passed for g ... More >>

Matt & Kim: Sidewalks

​Artist: Matt & KimTitle: SidewalksRelease date: November 2Label: FaderI suppose I should mention up front that I didn't like Tears for Fears in 1985 and I still don't 25 years later, even in a nostalgic sense. So it stands to reason that I have little use for Matt & Kim in 2010.It's not t ... More >>

Elvis Costello: National Ransom

​Artist: Elvis Costello Title: National Ransom Release date: November 2 Label: Hear Music I really wish it weren't the case, but I'd have to file the new record by Elvis Costello under "For Completists Only" (of which I'm sure there many when it comes to Elvis Costello fans). If you heard hi ... More >>

The 88: The 88

​Artist: The 88Title: The 88 Release date: September 28 Label: Rocket ScienceWhat do you do if you're a band like The 88? You're top-flight songwriters and musicians, you get your songs placed in all kinds of big-name TV shows and high-profile TV commercials, you tour the country opening ... More >>

Warpaint: The Fool

​Artist: Warpaint Title: The Fool Release date: October 25 Label: Rough Trade The musical path taken by L.A. foursome Warpaint is well trodden -- but this kind of ultra-moody, sort of experimental, Joy Division-indebted music is usually plied by men. But Warpaint is a quartet of women, and in ... More >>

Screaming Females: Castle Talk

​Artist: Screaming Females Title: Castle Talk Release date: September 14 Label: Don Giovanni Back in the day, I'd hate to miss a good show (I'm still not happy that my parents wouldn't let me drive to Kalamazoo one Monday night to see Scratch Acid and Big Black play, ditto the time I couldn't ... More >>

Kings of Leon: Come Around Sundown

​Artist: Kings of LeonTitle: Come Around SundownRelease date: October 19Label: RCAI think it's funny that people are getting all bent out of shape over the supposed "selling out" of Kings of Leon, saying their new record sucks worse than that sucky one that sold a bajillion copies a few years ago. ... More >>

Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz

​Artist: Sufjan Stevens Title: The Age of Adz Release date: October 21 Label: Asthmatic Kitty The new record by indie-music deity Sufjan Stevens is an hour-and-12-minute endurance test, one who's raison d'etre is revealed in the closing seconds of the record's final song, "Impossible Soul." A ... More >>

The Corin Tucker Band: 1,000 Years

​Artist: The Corin Tucker BandTitle: 1,000 YearsRelease date: October 5Label: Kill Rock Stars Who else loves Sleater-Kinney and was disappointed to hear they'd gone on indefinite hiatus after the release of one of their best records, The Woods, in 2006? In my opinion, we're one of the finer bands ... More >>

Grinderman: Grinderman 2

​Artist: GrindermanTitle: Grinderman 2Release date: September 14Label: Anti-Most of the indie rock I've heard this year (well over 200 records and counting, with 11 weeks to go in this series) is really pretty toothless. Even the harder-rocking stuff, with its big drums or wall-of-sound guitars or ... More >>

Nothing Not New: Podcast #9

​Welcome to our latest podcast, in which Martin Cizmar and I play some new music and about it, too. On today's program, we discuss the merits of such bands as Wavves, Arcade Fire, The Budos Band, Jimmy Eat World, and local superstars Snake! Snake! Snakes!Here's the playlist:Jaill -- "The Stroller" ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Cowboy Junkies, Winnie Cooper, Grieves, Shelby Lynne, and more

​Holy crap, only five-plus months left of Nothing Not New. I gotta get to a lot more new(-ish) releases. Let's roll . . .Cowboy Junkies -- Remnin Park: Who knew these dour Canadians were even still around? Remnin Park is a concept album inspired the Timmins' family month-long sojourn to China. Out ... More >>

Authority Zero: Stories of Survival

​Artist: Authority ZeroTitle: Stories of SurvivalRelease date: June 22Label: Suburban NoizeI have a friend who's a native Phoenician and longtime fixture in the Valley punk scene, both as fan and musician. He loves West Coast punk, thinks Southern California spawned the best of the best punk, espe ... More >>

13 Must-Hear Songs from the First Half of 2010

Dum Dum Girls​Today marks the halfway point of Nothing Not New. That means I've listen to nearly 140 records in their entirety in the first six months of 2010. Just another 140 or so to go before I can retreat to the familiarity of my record collection.To recognize the occasion, the Up on the Sun ... More >>

Damien Jurado at The Rhythm Room on 6/28/10

​"Feeling the west coast pull. One week left of tour," Damien Jurado wearily tweeted on the 27th, and pulling into the Rhythm Room's parking lot, I witnessed the singer/songwriter sprawled out on the hot pavement behind his van -- a clear sign that the road was taking its toll.But despite a few c ... More >>

Blitzen Trapper at The Clubhouse on 6/28/10

Shawn AndersonBlitzen Trapper's Eric Earley.​It's been my experience that many times fans of a particular band tend to have a propensity to take after the band that they love. Whether it's their general attitude, the way they dress, the way fans (particularly male fans) subconsciously copy the hai ... More >>

Anarbor at Warped Tour, Virginia's Secret Treasure, and Blitzen Trapper on Not Boycotting AZ in This Week's Issue

Anarbor.​This week's music feature is on the local band Anarbor. Though their recent tour to Japan may have been a bit of a flop, involving lost teeth and a select band members lying in a pool of his own blood, they're poised to rock the Warped Tour, and are hoping that they'll come out of it with ... More >>

Damien Jurado

Foals: Total Life Forever

​Artist: FoalsTitle: Total Life ForeverRelease date: June 22Label: Sub PopThough I disagree with a commenter on one of my posts this week (Shawn from excellent local music blog Electric Mustache) about the merits of electro-punk Sleigh Bells, I agree with him that S.B. are a band that you either l ... More >>

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo

​Artist: Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersTitle: MojoRelease date: June 15Label: RepriseHow many of you have acts that you'd never call yourself a fan of, would never buy one of their records, or pay money to see in concert, yet recognize that the acts have been around for so long and written songs ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Delta Spirit, Stereo Total, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Cringe, The Dig, and more

​Let's clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! -- This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It's quirky with a capital "Q" and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is. Still, most songs are un ... More >>

What's Selling: Revolver Records

​One of the coolest things about reading What's Selling every week is seeing how people in different parts of town at different record stores in the same city buy such drastically different kinds of records. Revolver Records attracts a lot of the die-hard vinyl consumers in CenPho, and their taste ... More >>

Incoming: Justin Bieber, Green Day, Paramore, Tim McGraw, Chicago

Justin Bieber. Deal with it.​Oh baby: Phoenix is about to get Bieber Fever! Canadian pop singer/world-dominator Justin Bieber plays Jobing.com Arena this July. It seems you can't swing a dead cat these days without that same cat mentioning something about Justin Bieber. He has an absolute str ... More >>

David Bazan at The Sail Inn

​ David Bazan was worried he'd be marginalized. At least that's what he told me over the phone a few weeks ago, discussing public reaction to his latest album, Curse Your Branches"Honestly, what I actually thought was that the record was going to be so marginal, because anyone who cares so much ab ... More >>

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

By Noah W. Bailey Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen ... More >>

2008's Best Christmas CDs

Rock Squatter

Got futon?

Damien Jurado

Low-key does not equal boring

Richard Buckner

Dents and Shells
(Merge Records)

Damien Jurado and Gathered in Song

I Break Chairs (Sub Pop)

Behind the Music

Damien Jurado's life is nothing like the bleak, miserable landscape he depicts

Damien Jurado

Ghost of David
(Sub Pop)