Hall & Oates

A Brief History of White Boy Soul

A Brief History of White Boy Soul

Mayer Hawthorne is a terrible, terrible rapper. Should you decide to hear "Haircut" drop a quick 16, be forewarned. But the man has pipes. The sharp-suited crooner showed a deep, well vetted knowledge of African-American music--most principally Stax and Motown soul--on last year's How Do You Do (Uni ... More >>

Dead Eyes of London Aim for Loose Grooves

Want to Write a Song for Bears of Manitou?

​Not content to earn a few comparisons to Hall & Oates, a few listens, and a few laughs, Tempe-based folkies Bears of Manitou have wasted no time in following up their 1-866-25-BEARS hotline with another promotional stunt. That's right, according to the band's Fiverr page, for just $5, you can su ... More >>

Bears of Manitou Launch Call-In Hotline

As a rule, I think band's should rip off as much as they can from Hall and Oates. I'm not talking some goofy, ironic appreciation of the fashion or mustache, I'm talking musically -- Hall and Oates are badass, and their string of hit singles is an enduring example of how to do it right: compact, tun ... More >>

Duos With More Chemistry Than Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher

​ Last week's season premiere of Two and a Half Men had nearly 28 million viewers due to sheer curiosity. It played out like a revenge fantasy of Chuck Lorre killing off Charlie Sheen without the gore or entertainment of Kill Bill. Alan (Jon Cryer) wasn't the least bit upset about his brother ... More >>

Soul Punks: Seven Artists Who Mixed Soul and Punk Before Patrick Stump

​ "This City," the first single from Patrick Stump, previously know as "that guy in Fall Out Boy who doesn't flash his wang on the interwebs," drops on iTunes today.The single, which features Lupe Fiasco, is from Stump's upcoming solo debut, Soul Punk. The record has been plagued with delays, but ... More >>

The Gay Blades May Want to Look at These Duos for Further Inspiration

2 Tone Lizard Kings, Everlast, the Gay Blades, and More in This Week's Issue

2 Tone Lizard Kings: Spicing up the AZ ska scene.​Although there isn't particularly an abundance of ska bands in Arizona, local ska band the 2 Tone Lizard Kings are keeping the genre fresh. They incorporate the energy of Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore, a maturing sound, and the vibes of a raucous ... 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 >>

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 >>

Chromeo: Business Casual

​She'a a bountiful lady, that Tuesday September 14. With plentiful new music from most every genre, today is a cornucopia of musical offerings, a rare instance where picking one album is actually somewhat difficult -- lord knows that wasn't a problem on July 20. I digress -- today marks the t ... 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 >>

Pat Benatar: Soon-to-Be Hipster Icon?

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 >>

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 >>

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today

​Today has finally, finally arrived and it is glorious. This Tuesday marks a mega-ginormous day of stellar new releases, the likes of which the much-ballyhooed month of May never quite reached.Leading the way is L.A. lo-fi indie rockers Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti with their fantastic effort Bef ... More >>

Band of Horses: Infinite Arms

​Artist: Band of HorsesTitle: Infinite ArmsRelease date: May 18Label: ColumbiaTake a look at the cover art to the right of these words. If you were browsing through the racks at your local record store, this cover is nearly all that you'd need to know about the new of Band of Horses.From the band ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: CocoRosie, Natalie Merchant, Disco Biscuits, The Sadies, Small Black, and more

​It's been a pretty big past two weeks for indie rock: Hold Steady, New Pornographers, Flying Lotus, The National, The Dead Weather. That's a lot of heavy-hitters. Meanwhile, some lower-profile stuff has been piling up on my desk, so it's time to give you a rundown of the other stuff I've been lis ... More >>

Glee Is Second Only to iTunes as Music Retail's Biggest Force

Music Retail’s Second Biggest Force

Fox’s Glee is Second Only To iTunes Nowadays

Male Bonding: Nothing Hurts

​Artist: Male BondingTitle: Nothing HurtsRelease date: May 11Label: Sub PopRemember all the buzz about Wavves last year? I thought they were just okay. Hopefully, their next record (slated for release this year) will be better. In the meantime, I'll be listening to the new record by Male Bonding, ... More >>

Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma

​Artist: Flying LotusTitle: CosmogrammaRelease date: May 3Label: Warp RecordsA while back, a reader posted a comment on one of my Nothing Not New posts asking why I continued to listen to electronic/laptop music even though I don't care for it all that much.Well, first of all, in the spirit of the ... More >>

More Modified Memories, Stevie Wonder Joins U.N., Animal Collective Film

So Much Silence: Modified memories: Ami Johnson (booking manager)Idolator: Green Day Premiere The Stage Musical Version Of '21 Guns'NME: Stevie Wonder becomes United Nations Messenger of PeacePitchfork: Animal Collective's Highly Anticipated Film to Premiere at Sundance 2010Rolling Stone: Dave Grohl ... More >>

Sonic Youth Singer Disses Radiohead, T.I. Gets Hitched, Mini T's on AOL

Pitchfork: Kim Gordon Disses "The Radiohead Model" So Much Silence: Miniature Tigers on The Interface Spin: Coldplay's Next Record "Might Be Bad" NME: T.I. marries longtime girlfriend 'Tiny' Rolling Stone: Daryl Hall on His "Oddball" Life in Hall & Oates, Web Series Waved Rumor: Rock Clip of the Wee ... More >>

Holy Post-Easter Miracle! Matt Giraud is Saved on 'Idol'

You'd better bring your A-game next week, Giraud!As far as 'Idol' results shows go, last night was actually semi-exciting, no? After Matt tanked Tuesday night (and he really did tank), it was pretty obvious he was going to be in the bottom three, if not last place. The judges' decided to take advant ... More >>

Ship Happens

DJ Mig50 hoists anchor on SoCal soft-rock series

Pat Benatar: Soon-to-Be Hipster Icon?

The Foxglove Hunt

Stop Heartbeat
(Common Wall Media)

How does Man Man stack up to other Philly bands?

Smoothest Sounds in Town

Make tonight a wonderful thing

Hushed Heroes

Speaking of snake-eyes . . .

Come Sail Away

Cap'n DJ mig50 says cut loose, kick off your Sunday shoes

Bad Revues

For your commiseration

On the Down-Low

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures

I ♥ Bono

How to deconstruct U2's Bomb? Let Mom review it.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Without Him -- or Them

Internet mashers give new, weird lives to Eminem's "Without Me"

Recordings