MGMT (Band)

Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend

Curious about what's going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don't fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend.

St Ranger Explains "It's 'Appening" Video

Rose Clements​Anyone who's seen Michelangelo Antonioni's mysterious thriller L'Avventura knows Italian filmmakers like Antonioni have a knack for visually striking cinema that will leaves you with more questions than answers. St Ranger's music video for "It's 'Appening" is a lot like that. Th ... More >>

Boys and Frogs Aren't Afraid of the Close-Ups

Glen Campbell, Pusha T, The Darkness, and "I Am AZ Music" Over the Weekend

Glen Campbell at Comerica Theatre Going in, there was a fear that Glen Campbell's Goodbye Tour concert would devolve into little more than a nostalgia act. That Campbell, struggling with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease, would duly try his best to work through carefully guarded and pre-arrang ... More >>

Westley Allen (Erratic! Radio) on Yus, The Eastside Jets, and The Muddy Moneys

Clockwise from top left: The Eastside Jets, Muddy Moneys, Yus, and Westley Allen​If you're into scuzzy rock 'n' roll in this town, you know Westley Allen -- either from his time onstage with The Plainfield Butchers, his gig behind the bar at Time Out Lounge, or as the host of Erratic! Radio o ... More >>

Britney Spears Makes 'S&M' Remix, Signs Nicki Minaj as Tour Opener

​For the first time in a long time, it's finally been a good week to be Britney Spears. Britney has teamed up with Rihanna to make a remix of Rihanna's hit "S&M," according to Consequence of Sound.The power-pop duo has been teasing the track on Twitter, writing both to their fans and back and ... More >>

L.A. Primer: Abe Vigoda, Best Coast, Warpaint, and 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 >>

Top 25 Lists of 13 New Times Contributors

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 >>

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 >>

Yo Gabba Gabba! Co-creator Christian Jacobs Talks Yo Gabba Gabba!, Weezer, and Devo

Yo Gabba Gabba! co-creator Christian Jacobs with Brobee​ As the parent of two toddlers, I've seen every episode of the popular kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! a minimum of five or six times. While being forced to sit through the same episodes of certain children's television programs is torture th ... 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 >>

DJ Manchester Talks Britpop, Shadowplay, Anderson's, The Smiths, Interpol, and More

DJ Manchester​Eddie Lebario (a.k.a. DJ Manchester) is old school, just like his favorite musical genre.As you'll read in this week's version of DJ Dossier, the cat has been spinning up the hits inside local clubs since the mid '90s. And more often than not, said hits have typically been from the e ... 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 >>

Obama Believes Bob Dylan to be Skeptical About White House Gig

​President Obama said Bob Dylan was skeptical about a recent performance at the White House, according to NME.Dylan did not ask for a meet and greet with Obama, nor did he ask to take a picture with the President or even rehearse at the White House before his show. Artists who are invited to perfo ... More >>

Weezer at Fall Frenzy Last Night

Luke HolwerdaWeezer on stage at Arizona Fall Frenzy.​New York magazine put it best: "There are few things more terrifying to longtime Weezer fans these days than the prospect of a new Weezer album."That review of the band's latest album -- sarcastically headlined, "Is Hurley Weezer's Best Album Si ... 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 >>

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 >>

Devo: Something for Everybody

​Artist: DevoTitle: Something for EverybodyRelease date: June 15Label: Warner Bros.You may be asking yourself, "Why does Devo have a new record out?" Is it for the money? Doubtful, because how much money could they possibly make by releasing a major-label record in 2010? And, anyway, aren't these ... 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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

The New Pornographers: Together

​Artist: The New PornographersTitle: TogetherRelease date: May 4Label: MatadorFor me, the equation's always been real simple when it comes to the indie-pop group The New Pornographers: songs with Neko Case taking the vocal reins = yes; songs with the wanna-be British dude singing = maybe. Wel ... More >>

Lily Allen is Wanted... By British Politicians

Lily Allen: Every British politician wants her. They want her bad.​Even if Lilly Allen is not in an extremely public fight with Courtney Love, she still finds ways to make headlines. According to NME, both the Conservative and the Labour Party invited the outspoken British recording artist to ... More >>

Coachella from Behind a Lens

Jonathan McNamaraCoachella 2010​A seething, primal mass of humanity jockeys for position in front of the main stage as the Indio sun beats down on Coachella 2010. They have moved beyond the point of patience and civility. Their shattered minds have but one thought as they claw toward the front of ... More >>

Year in Music: Our List of the 10 Best Albums of 2009 Sadly Features No Local Music

2010 Grammy Nominees Announced- Young'ns Dominate

Taylor Swift may have to keep Kanye off-stage again if she wins at the Grammy's​After getting chummy at the 2009 Video Music Awards, Beyonc é and Taylor Swift will go head-to-head once again at the 2010 Grammy Awards, when they compete in several categories, including Album of the Year. Swift, ... More >>

This Just In: Brooklyn Has Own "Sound," Numerous Bands

Brooklyn has become a mecca of sorts for indie rock in the past decade, with numerous new bands emerging from its brownstone-lined streets​I was listening to Sirius XMU yesterday while driving with the air conditioning on, since it's a balmy November in the Valley. On came a song by new indie/psyc ... More >>

Concert Review: Wait, Peaches is a Gay Icon?

Jonathan McNamara​Stop me when this sounds like a Seinfeld episode: Our leading character, a music critic, decides to indulge an old vice on a Tuesday night, going out to see a foul-mouthed female electronica artist/rapper who amused him back in his college years. Upon arriving, he's surprised by ... More >>

Matt and Kim Play Third Thursday Tonight

​Yes, The Valley's ever-fluxing, erm "format modifying," station FM 103.9, better known as The Edge is still hosting those free Third Thursday concerts that brought acts like MGMT, The Ataris and Alien Ant Farm to the open-air mall Tempe Marketplace. Now a mainstay in Old Town Scottsdale's Craftsm ... More >>

Brazilian Wax

South American DJ duo hit the decks at Rhythm Room

Flaming Lips LP Gets MGMT Karen O Contributions, Pixies Tour With "Dolittle," Fall Frenzy Tix On Sale

Pitchfork: MGMT, Karen O Guest on Flaming Lips LP State Press:  Stardeath and White Dwarfs Electric Mustache: Video: Jay-Z Continues Assault on Auto-Tune Idolator: Michael Jackson Might Have One Last Live Album Wrung From Him NME: Michael Jackson will not be buried at Neverland Ranch Pitchfork: ... More >>