Marvin Gaye

New Times' Carnaval Eléctrico Expands With Wooden Indian, Diners, and Stan Devereaux & The Funky Suns

On Tuesday we announced the details of New Times' Carnaval Eléctrico at Crescent Ballroom, the festival which unites garage rocker Hanni El Khatib, psychedelic indie band Mergence, In the Valley Below, and headliners Cold War Kids on Friday, March 8, at Crescent Ballroom. We promised there'd be mo ... More >>

Camp Lo @ Stray Cat Bar & Grill

Tastemaker No. 1

From now 'til we publish the 2012 edition of Best of Phoenix, New Times and Chow Bella present 100 Tastemakers -- Valley residents who make the cut in our culinary scene. Some you'll know; for others, it'll be a first introduction (but likely not the last). While you're here, check out our 100 Creat ... More >>

Five Albums Every Man Should Have In His Bachelor Pad

For those who are really terrible in this life, I imagine a special hell: reality TV hell. This awful place will be populated by the combined casts of Jersey Shore and The Bachelor Pad, two of the most painful shows ever. Why would I want to watch a television show that glorifies ignorance and margi ... More >>

Stan Devereaux & the Funky Suns Cover Marvin Gaye and Dyke and The Blazers

We're getting funky with this week's Take Cover, as Stan Devereaux & the Funky Suns perform soulful jams two songs for your enjoyment. Devereaux asked me to film Marvin Gaye's hit from the Boogie Nights soundtrack, "Got to Give it up," but the band continued jamming with a cover of classic Arizona s ... More >>

Ten Favorite Playlists at Metro Phoenix Restaurants

See Also: 10 Favorite Drive-Thrus in Metro Phoenix Let's face it, the music that streams through the speakers of a restaurant has the ability to make or break your dining experience. We know of a sushi shop that only plays religious music, a Mexican food joint that can't turn down the top 40 banger ... More >>

Destroyer Got Rejected By Jazz Festivals, Which Is Good for Pop Fans

If you are excited about Destroyer coming to town -- and we certainly are -- you can thank the world of jazz. When songwriter/vocalist Dan Bejar, who essentially is Destroyer, set out for another round of touring behind the 18-month-old, critically adored Kaputt, he had a specific goal in mind. "I ... More >>

Gardner Cole, What Are You Listening To?

Gardner Cole Cole, who has written and produced for artists such as Madonna, is the producer for local country pop band Arrowheart, who are schedueld to perform Sunday, May 27 at Hidden Meadow Ranch. For more information, head here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what ... More >>

Three Reasons to See Smokey Robinson This Weekend

It's not everyday that we get to check out a concert put on by one of the greats from our parents' era.I'm proud to say that my dad brought me up listening to music from his early years. My first three concerts were the Beach Boys, and the radio station we always listened to played either played "go ... More >>

Drake's Take Care Is a Conflicted, Compelling Statement

Christmas Songs That Don't Suck: Part III

​Fa la la la la, and all that jazz. Getting tired of holiday music? We're not. Well, that's not entirely true. We're well tired of the lousy, saccharine, abominable Christmas music that clogs the airwaves. Is it worse when a radio station switches over to all-Xmas-all-the-time, or when a radio sta ... More >>

15 Favorite Songs Tonight at Crescent Ballroom

​Stinkweeds dude and bassist-about-town Dario Miranda already illustrated the difficulties surrounding those foolish enough to accept Stateside Presents' invitation to DJ our 15 Favorite Songs tonight at Crescent Ballroom, so I hope you don't mind if I skip the bitching about how hard it is it ... More >>

Them's the Rules, or Why I Like The New Lenny Kravitz

Kravitz, looking tough as a kiddo.​If you honestly love music, you've got rules about it. Here are a few my mine. 1. Non-jazz artists and bands may feature no more than two saxophone solos during the duration of their career. 2. Bass guitars should be strung with two to four strings, bu ... More >>

Marilyn McLeod of The Nu Page on Motown, MoWest, Alice Coltrane, and Flying Lotus,

Motown's Mowest Story: Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love​If you haven't picked up the new Mowest compilation, Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love: Motown's Mowest Story 1971-1973, you are missing out. The anthology features music from Motown's short lived West Coast venture, MoWest, and the tu ... More >>

The Ten Best Posthumous Albums

​Today, Universal Music Enterprises will re-release a handful of albums by the late Tupac Shakur, including the posthumous album R U still Down? (Remember Me). Originally released in 1997 (a year after Shakur's murder), R U Still Down? was one of the rapper's best-selling albums, going quadruple ... More >>

Faux Show Summer Pre-Party @ Brick

The 15 Best Songs About U.S. Presidents

We at Up on the Sun, like Clinton himself, feel your pain. Every year Presidents Day rolls around and you're struggling to plant that cherry tree and buy all the stovepipe hats you can, all so that you can have the best damn Presidents Day party possible. (C'mon, we can't be the only ones.)So to ea ... More >>

Tucson Rapper Releases "1-8-11" - Song About Giffords Tragedy

​A rapper with Tucson roots has recorded a song about the Giffords shooting tragedy.Li'l Zay, an 18-year-old who previously weighed in on SB 1070, has a new song called "1-8-11," which echoes Marvin Gaye's big question: "What's Going On?""Like most people I just couldn't believe it, I wanted show ... More >>

Random, DJ John Blaze Release Free Albums

​The calendar says it's September, but it must feel like Christmas for Valley hip-hop fans thanks to a pair of free, downloadable releases from PHX hip-hop mainstays Random (aka Megaran) and DJ John Blaze. Random recently released a free 10-track album, Heroes, Volume One, as a gesture of thanks t ... More >>

DJ Medik

6 Last Minute Valentine's Day Don'ts

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/374268661/None of this either. ​ News flash: Valentine's Day is in less than 48 hours. If you don't have plans now, you will be tempted to take dangerous paths towards Valentine's Day merriment. Luckily for you, we have experienced all of the possible p ... More >>

At Last...

...Renowned R&B star returns to the Valley

Waiter Confidential: Javelina Nipple Fritters

Before shows like Fear Factor and Bizarre Foods triggered mainstream gag reflexes, I toyed with my own notions of pushing the edible envelope. For much of the '90's, for example, I worked for a guy who allowed me the latitude to turn his specials chalkboards into an outlandish culinary canvas. Co ... More >>

Little Idol Thrill in Jacksonville (Hey, That Rhymed!)

George Ramirez at Gettysburg--Whoops, we mean the Jacksonville American Idol auditions.I've never been able to pinpoint exactly the reason, but I've always had an extreme, visceral dislike of the state of Florida. Maybe it's the alligators, perhaps it's the humidity that turns my hair into a giant p ... More >>

R&B Is “Rap & Bullshit”

Let freedom rock: Ten musical moments that shaped who we are as a country

Fair to Midland

Various Artists

Conquer The World: The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records
(Sony)

Web Spinner

Wyclef Jean

Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
(Sony)

Everlasting Sounds

Ten of the year's most timeless records

The Shop Keeper

Various Artists

Bay Area Funk 2
(Luv N'Haight)

Tanya Morgan

Moonlighting
(Loud Minority Music)

Ohmega Watts

The Find
(Ubiquity)

The Rules

Musical taste reveals more than you think

Mos Def

The New Danger
(Geffen)

A Perfect Circle

eMOTIVe
(Virgin)

Can We Kick It?

Old-school hip-hop is ready for a revival

Jools Holland

Big Band Rhythm & Blues (Warner Music)

Pretty Vacant

New Times' panel of critics searches for musical gems in a disheartening 2001

Standards and Practices

A guided tour of the best releases across the musical spectrum

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Catch a Fire: Deluxe Edition (Tuff Gong/Island/Universal)

Alive Again

Universal Music kicks off its 'Deluxe Edition' series with a pair of frightening and flaccid reissues

Erykah Badu

Mama's Gun (Motown)

Hey, Joe!

Gumbo lines up the most wanted in jazz, blues and heritage

Obsessions, Passions, Perversions

New Times music critics reveal their deepest, darkest record-buying secrets

Risky Business

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

Recordings

FELIX THE WONDERFUL CAVALIERE

THE YOUNG RASCAL GROWS UP TO ADULT CONTEMPORARY. BUT HIS SOUL REMAINS PURE.