Kraftwerk

Label of the Month: The EDM Pioneers Behind Ghostly International

Welcome to our Label of the Month feature, where we'll expound on some of our favorite music manufacturing companies, the folks that help mold the entire picture for amazing artists and shoot those ideas out into the world. This month, we're aiming our sights on Ghostly International, the Ann Arbor, ... 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 >>

Does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Matter At All?

So, hey, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame went ahead and announced their Class of 2013, which this time around, includes Rush, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and someone called the Disco Queen, Donna Summer. Those that were nominated, but didn't make the cut included Kraftwerk, Deep Purple, Joan Jett and ... More >>

Swans' Michael Gira Returns With The Seer

See also: Swans Reboot Sinister Grandeur with The SeerSwans frontman Michael Gira is an underappreciated impresario. He led one of the most pioneering acts of the early '80s until their initial dissolution in 1997. Their early grim, repetitive throb had the same menacing quality as the factory in Da ... More >>

Carrie Benton, What Are You Listening To?

Carrie Benton Benton is an improviser with The Torch Theatre and invites you to the Skewed News Hour, Friday nights at 7 p.m. at The Torch Theatre. She also performs with Chaos Comedy at Dearing Acting Studio at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday's. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the ... More >>

Record Heat: Avant-Garde by Brad Dwyer

Yesterday, while cleaning my apartment (too rare an occurrence, lemme tell you) I listened to a recent broadcast of Henry Rollins' excellent radio show on KCRW. Rollins is a man of many talents: In addition to his excellent program, he writes for our sister paper, LA Weekly, and he tours the worl ... More >>

Maynard James Keenan (Puscifer, Tool, A Perfect Circle) on The Importance of Keeping It Local

​Maynard James Keenan is a successful guy: he's fronts two massive rock bands, Tool and A Perfect Circle, owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, Arizona, where he lives. Though ostensibly a "side-project," Keenan's band Puscifer seems to be increasingly be where Keenan's hear lies. ... More >>

Dayvid LeMmon, What Are You Listening To?

Jesse RieserDayvid LeMmon​Dayvid LeMmonThe photographer, who also shoots photos for our sister blog, Chow Bella, is the recipient of the Arizona Commission on the Arts' 2010 Artist Project Grant, is currently one of the City of Phoenix's selection for this year's ongoing 7th Avenue Streetscape pub ... More >>

Doing the Robot: Nine Great Songs to Ring in the Robot Revolution

Robots: friend or foe?​One of our favorite weirdo acts is Captured! By Robots, and the gang of automatons and their human slave JBOT are back in town tonight at the Rhythm Room. In honor of their inevitable rise, we thought we'd try to appease the cold and heartless droid rage by demonstrating how ... More >>

Wilco Is Coming to Tempe in January! Hooray!

​In one of my favorite pieces he wrote at New Times, former music editor Martin Cizmar argued that Wilco, one of my favorite bands, was, for all intents and purposes, no different than Dave Matthew Band, a group I don't like. (Anymore, at least. I was a pretty big fan of Before These Crowded Stree ... More >>

Ryan Rousseau -- The Busiest Rock 'n' Roller in Phoenix?

Tyrone Taylor​ Ryan Rousseau doesn't sleep. At least that's the only explanation I can come up with to describe his constant flurry of activity. The guitarist/vocalist has an extensive resume, having spent time in The Reatards, The Wongs, played solo as Yuma Territorial Prison Guard, and fronted E ... More >>

British Sea Power: Valhalla Dancehall

British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall​Not much -- if any -- new music is being released today, so I must jump ahead a week an pick and album from that slate of releases. Among those is the fifth album from Brighton indie rockers British Sea Power, Valhalla Dancehall. How does the band follow ... More >>

Why Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh Befriended Local Circuit Bender Corey Busboom

Scissor Sisters: Night Work

​A funny thing happened to NYC glam-poppers Scissor Sisters on their way to recording their third album, Night Work -- the band scrapped 18 month's worth of effort in order to finalize the album. Lead singer/utterly charismatic young man Jake Shears noted that the year and half of work left him "a ... More >>

Paul McCartney's Five Songs Sillier Than "Silly Love Songs"

Paul McCartney famously sang, "Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs," on 1976's "Silly Love Songs."Love songs aren't the only silly songs, though. Over the course of his storied career, McCartney has indulged nearly every artistic impulse, from forays into classical music to avant- ... More >>

Beastie Boys, The Rolling Stones, and America's Other Oldest Bands

Birdy Nam Nam: More Delightful French Electronic Dance Music

I was recently introduced to French electronic dance music quartet (I know, four dudes seems a bit much) Birdy Nam Nam last week, and after soaking in (absolutely loving) their new album Manual for Successful Rioting, I must say I am impressed. Their name is super stupid, but do not let that deter ... More >>

Pitchfork Stays Sub-Par and Pretentious with New "Greatest Songs" Guide

The horde of amateur music critics at Pitchfork Media has just crapped out a tome titled The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present (Fireside). The book purports to present "edifying essays" about the greatest 500 songs of the past thirty years and "all-new reviews" ... More >>

Afrika Unite

Hip-hop legend puts the PHX on the good foot

The B-52's

Funplex
(Astralwerks)

Music for the Eyes

A bevy of new music DVDs, just in time for the holidays

Industrial Strength

Alter Der Ruine grins through the goth

The Art of Darkness

What's inside

Supergrass

Britstream

New Times' top DVD picks for the week of December 6

Caribou

Expect pleasant surprises

Afrika Bambaataa

Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light
(Tommy Boy)

Mirage

Getting nostalgic at Coachella

Einstürzende Neubauten

No Love Lost

XOXOXO has a message for ingrates across the Valley: Kiss their avant-garde asses goodbye.

Kreator

The German band comes to the Valley

Señor Coconut and His Orchestra

Fiesta Songs (Emperor Norton)

Supreme Beings of Leisure

Divine Operating System -- DOS (Palm Pictures)

Fischerspooner

No. 1 (FS Studios)

Hopping Up the Hip-Hop

Timbaland and Organized Noize are making the music go bang, and rap radio's never sounded so good

Nothing but Love

Things are looking up for Southern California electro-break pioneer Überzone

Neu! School

Having educated and influenced three generations of musicians, the Krautrocking duo of Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother finally receive their due with a trio of classic reissues

Neil Young

In Berlin (Rhino Video/DVD)

Air

10,000 Hz Legend (Astralwerks)

The Faint

Blank-wave arcade (Saddle Creek)

Are You Ready to Testify?

Delta 72 bears witness to the enduring power of rock 'n' roll with 000

The Journey

Markus Schulz's growing DJ empire has been a lifetime in the making

Coin Toss

Thermos Malling's new project, COiN, makes a strangely intriguing symphony out of the video-game sounds of the past

Desert Sons

Shoeless Joe makes twangy art out of broken dreams

Tomorrow Never Knows

With its recent U.S. tour, Kraftwerk stakes its claim as the most important group since The Beatles

Risky Business

Seventeen years after its advent, sampling remains mired in legal and aesthetic controversy

Recordings

One Night in Marrakesh

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