Frank Ocean

Grammy Awards 2013: Katy Clowns Bon Iver, Miguel Shows How It's Done, and Taylor Swift Dissed Her Ex

The Grammys are a huge night for music fans. While we tend to shake our head and wonder how some of these artists won (ie. "Album of the Year"), it's entertaining to watch the live performances and keep fingers crossed for our favorite artists. fun. won big last night, sweeping up the "Song of the Y ... More >>

The Pazz & Jop 2012 Critic's Poll Is Live

Our sister paper, the Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop music critic's poll is live, and the results are in: Frank Ocean's neo-neo-soul record channel ORANGE is the album of the year, and Carly Rae Jepsen's infectious (and impossible to escape) "Call Me Maybe" is the single of the year. This yea ... More >>

Justin Timberlake's "Suit and Tie" Reminds Us Why We've Missed Him So Much

Six years is a long time for a musician to be absent from the field. Unless you've reach "legendary" status, making a comeback after such a long period of dormancy is nearly impossible. With that said, Justin Timberlake's last album, FutureSex/ LoveSounds, is one of the greatest R&B albums of the ... More >>

Blaze Rock: Arizona Hip-Hop Veteran Shares Words of Wisdom

Editor's Note: We'd like to welcome local hip-hop artist and writer Jaron Ikner to Up on the Sun. You're probably familiar with his Black One project, and now he's bringing his voice to the music blog here at New Times. Salute! Longevity and consistency are two things that are considered a rare fi ... More >>

Warren G's Show at Martini Ranch Has Been Postponed

Were you looking forward to seeing what West Coast G-funk pioneer Warren G on Thursday, February 10? Looking forward to seeing if he could bring that old hutzpah to classics like "Regulate" and the curiously titled "Party We Will Throw Now?" Well, we were -- we crowned the guy king of our weekly T ... More >>

The 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012

Download Frank Ocean's Django Unchained Outtake

By now you've probably formed an opinion about Django Unchained, the controversial new Quentin Tarantino film starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo Dicaprio. But don't let that stop you from diving into Karina Longworth's excellent Phoenix New Times cover story this ... More >>

13 Phoenix Bands You Need to Know in 2013: The Complete List

As 2012 draws to a close, we couldn't be more optimistic about the state of music in the Valley of the Sun. With new bands emerging from various scenes and subgenres, it can be hard to keep up with the latest in Phoenix music. What follows are our picks for 13 acts that will make an impact on the S ... More >>

13 Phoenix Artists You need to Hear in 2013

10 Best Things I Heard in 2012

So long, 2012. You were a weird, uncomfortable, and scary year. You were also wonderful, at times so unbearably wonderful that I thought my brain was going to explode as I struggled to wrap my head around your pure, blindingly bright joy. You had all the things a monumental year should: elections, ... More >>

Meet Mexican Summer's Jess Rotter, Whose Art You've Probably Already Enjoyed

By Michael Alan Goldberg Jess Rotter truly racked up the frequent flyer miles this year. The long-time in-house publicist and marketing wiz for Brooklyn-based indie record label Mexican Summer practically lived in airplanes, repeatedly jetting out west and back to handle her duties repping Best Coa ... More >>

G-Owens: R&B Singer's The Feeling Has Pop Appeal

G-Owens' full-length debut, The Feeling, is dizzying. Owens croons, raps, and emotes over 11 tracks that deftly mix jazz, soul, R&B, boom-bap hip-hop, and sensual quiet storm aesthetics. See also: -13 Bands You Need to Hear in 2013 -[Archive] That Was 2012

Ask Fan Landers: Should I Stay in the Closet for the Sake of My Rap Career?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop doing it wro ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Week

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it. Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week.

The Weeknd @ Celebrity Theatre

Is a Nirvana-Style Breakthrough Looming with '90s Revival?

Your Music Guide to the Arizona State Fair

Kanye West Brags About (and Hangs Out With) Kim Kardashian In New Video

See also: Kanye West's "Mercy" Explained By Phoenix Producer Lifted If you've had "Mercy" on repeat for the past couple of months, you'll be pleased to know that Kanye West and Rick Ross appear in the double-video/double-single, "I Wish You Would"/"Cold." Hype Williams combined both of these songs ... More >>

Top Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one -- at least that's what we read somewhere -- so it's perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of our biggest stories f ... More >>

Kanye West's "Mercy" Explained By Phoenix Producer Lifted

See also: Phoenix Producer Lifted Aims for Timeless Pop, Like His Boss Kanye West See also: The New F-O's Explain "Town" See also: The New F-O's to be Featured on FX Sitcom Wilfred and MTV's Jersey Shore Despite a release date of Tuesday, September 4, and recently unveiled cover art, it's hard to s ... More >>

25 Gorgeous GIFs from Lollapalooza 2012

See also: Lollapalooza Suspended, Resumed After Dangerous Weather Conditions See also: 10 Things Your Lollapalooza Outfit Says About You By Reed Fischer Ready for some GIFs? To quote Ozzy Osbourne, "I can't fucking hear you!" I said, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME GIFS?! This past weekend's running of Lo ... More >>

Lollapalooza Suspended, Resumed After Dangerous Weather Conditions

BY ERIK THOMPSON The 2012 installment of Lollapalooza has thus far brought the requisite extremes, in terms of performances and potent weather. A two-hour delay cut through the middle of Saturday's entertainment at Chicago's Grant Park, and a good many people were wishing they had just the record h ... More >>

Lifted Aims for Timeless Pop, Like His Boss Kanye West

Top Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one -- at least that's what we read somewhere -- so it's perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of our biggest stories f ... More >>

Frank Ocean and Michael Kiwanuka Craft Two Different "Traditional" Soul Records

His major label debut, channel ORANGE, was only released digitally a week ago and physically yesterday, but I'm going to wager a guess: You're sick of hearing about Frank Ocean. The singer/songwriter has been the subject of hundreds of insightful think-pieces, a talking point in the (necessary) di ... More >>

You Ready for the State Fair? A Guide to the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Schedule

See also: Snoop Dogg at the Arizona State Fair See also: Judas Priest at the Arizona State Fair It used to be that playing the state fair circuit meant you were a has-been, that your rock 'n' roll career had gone belly up (you know, like billed after the puppet show, Spinal Tap-style). Maybe it' ... More >>

Open Mike Eagle on Indie Rap's Breakthrough Year

So there's punk-rap, nerd-rap, avant-rap, and...oh, only about a gazillion other hyphenated hip-hop subgenres. Open Mike Eagle describes his style as "art rap." At least for now. "I'm unable to replace it," he laughs, speaking with me via phone from his home in Los Angeles. "And it's not even that ... More >>

Best of Coachella Weekend One: Friday, April 13

Day one of The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival brought something more unusual than ironic outfits or that poor guy who couldn't get his flip flops on for the life of him: this year there was rain. The festival held in the Southern California desert is known for scorching, someti ... More >>

Toro Y Moi at Crescent Ballroom, 3/5/12

Toro Y Moi Crescent Ballroom Monday, March 5, 2012 Chillwave/glo-fi/funk/[insert blogger-generated genre here] pioneers Toro Y Moi knows how to get people moving. At last year's South by Stateside Festival, the band played a short, delayed set thanks to Foster the People's lengthy set-up time. I ... More >>

Odd Future Release New Video, to Play Marquee Theatre Friday (Probably NSFW)

See also: Odd Future's Most NSFW Videos See also: Odd Future Live at the Marquee Last year the hype machine was in full effect for the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or just Odd Future for short. It seemed as if just about everywhere you went on the Internet -- ... More >>