Music Retailers

Record Store Day's Hot Heavy Metal Vinyl Releases

It looks like all these Record Store Days are paying off. In 2012, global sales for vinyl records hit $171 million, their highest point since 1997--the same year that Hanson's "MMMBop" topped the charts. This Saturday, April 20, marks the sixth annual Record Store Day, when artists and labels dish ... More >>

Amoeba's Vinyl Vault: Treasure Trove or Legal Sticky Wicket

By Brett Koshkin While the corpses of corporate music retail chains litter strip malls where outlets like Tower Records and Blockbuster Music once stood, Amoeba Music is an independent juggernaut with three California-based stores the size of supermarkets. They've been a celebrated shopping destina ... More >>

The Shins and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes Added to the Expanding McDowell Mountain Music Festival Lineup

The quickly expanding lineup of McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2013 has added two more big names to the roster: The Shins and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes. The 2013 installment of the festival is looking to have the most impressive lineup in MMMF history, as The Shins and Sharpe join Th ... More >>

The Love Me Nots and Jim Adkins Perform at Stinkweeds for Record Store Day, 4/21/12 (VIDEO)

Whether you got up early to buy the Feist/Mastodon split or went to one of the many free shows in town yesterday, it's safe to say that yesterday was a good day. Stinkweeds celebrated its 25th anniversary and Record Store Day with a barbecue and live performances by Dylan Pratt, Mergence, Source Vic ... More >>

Tech N9ne Discusses The Clubhouse Shooting, The Doors, and Machine Gun Kelly

Aaron Dontez Yates, better known to the world as Tech N9ne, is not a big fan of the typical. "How many black dudes do you see painting their faces and coming out with bishop robes on the stage?" he asks me, speaking from his tour bus "somewhere in New Mexico." He's taken a strange, twisted path ev ... More >>

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2: More Stories Inspired By the Songs of The Smiths

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2, Record Store Day variant cover by Jason Pedersen​One of our favorite Kickstarter success stories was last year's Unite and Take Over, a graphic collection of songs inspired by the lyrics of The Smiths. Editor and writer Shawn Demumbrum took to the crowd-funding s ... More >>

For the Record

National Record Store Day's "Back To Black" Friday: 10 Releases Worth Leaving The House For

Black Friday. One of those days when people like me hole up for one more day of food-coma bliss, fearing the heightened level of commercialism that turns consumers into zombified shopping maniacs, out for blood over $30 plasma televisions. But the upside to Black Friday is when the words Record S ... More >>

Hoodlums Music Turns 13: Reflections From Owner Steve Wiley

​Birthday parties for 13-year-olds are usually pretty awkward (or maybe I'm thinking of my own, just-sorta-pubescent 13th birthday), but that doesn't seem to be the case with Hoodlums Music's 13th birthday bash this weekend. On Saturday, November 5, the local record store institution celebrate ... More >>

Stinkweeds vs. John Maus: Weird-Pop Musician Hates Record Stores, Record Store Hates Him

​Yesterday, Pitchfork did an interview with experimental musician John Maus as part of their Guest List series. Most of the interview was typical stuff from the column, with Maus riffing on his love of South Park, Odd Future, Panda Bear, and Ariel Pink. Things took a weird turn, however, whe ... More >>

Two Minutes of Lady Gaga's 'Judas' Leaks

Lady Gaga's new single "Judas" from her upcoming album Born This Way has leaked a two-minute preview​, according to Idolator."Judas" will be released on Tuesday, April 19 as Gaga's followup single to the track that shares a name with the album. The song clip sounds like a low-quality preview. ... More >>

Blogs Teased in Our 4/7 Issue

​This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts... Why did Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst diss Lady Gaga's concert in Arizona? What are Phoenix's most obnox ... More >>

Record Store Day Round Up 2011 : Phoenix Stores Offer Up Exclusives, Live Performances and More on RSD

​"Folks who work here are professors. Don't replace all the knowers with guessors -- keep'em open -- they're the ears of the town." - Tom Waits, on the important of independent record stores. If you're a nerd like me, April 16 isn't just another Saturday. It's Record Store Day, the day independent ... More >>

Lady Gaga's Apartment Used to Be Covered in Cocaine, Cockroaches

​Lady Gaga has revealed to Neil Strauss that her apartment used to be covered in cocaine and cockroaches, according to NME.American and Kittian author Neil Strauss's upcoming novel, Everyone Loves You When You're Dead: Journeys Into Fame and Madness, has included exclusive Gaga excerpts in his boo ... More >>

Stars Performed For Qaddafi's Family

​Usher, Mariah Carey and Beyonce are among some of the artists that have been performing for the family of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, according to Rolling Stone.Qaddafi's sons Muatassim and Seif al-Islam al-Qaddafi hired the afformentioned artists for their consecutive New Year's parties. M ... More >>

Zia Prepping Annual Local Music Compilation Disc

​Record Store Day is still a few months off, but local chain Zia Records has already put out a call for songs to include on their annual You Heard Us Back When compilation.Bands have until March 7 to get their material in, and they've got a good shot of getting on the album as last year's comp ran ... More >>

Jimmy Eat World @ Marquee Theatre

MGMT, Manchester Orchestra, Roky Erickson and Other Top Sellers at Local Record Stores

Who would've thunk that this guy would outsell Coheed and Cambria at the Tempe Zia?​Here's a look at what's selling this week at local record stores.MGMT's Congratulations holds steady with several number one spots, Record Store Day exclusives manage to still be selling well, especially at Revolve ... More >>

What's Selling: Record Store Day Roundup

​This week, looking at What's Selling is a little different. That's because Saturday was the long-anticipated Record Store Day, and hopefully you didn't miss out.Not only did all of our favorite local record stores have live in-store performances, but they sold a ton of exclusive material only ... More >>

Record Store Day Roundup: Phoenix Record Stores Offer Up Exclusives, Live Performances on RSD

Tech N9ne wants you to visit Stinkweeds​Record Store Day is upon us this weekend, the day set aside by, well, record stores, to showcase their goods, and debut a whole mess of exclusive collector items.  Phoenix-area shops are planning all sorts of special events to sweeten the deal.  In ... More >>

Death of a Record Store: Robrt Pela Spins Through His Life as a Vinyl Geek at the Soon-Defunct Associated Distributors

Local Record Store (Hoodlums) Fighting With Local Venue (Marquee) Over Ticket Prices

The owner of Hoodlums music store in Tempe is taking on the Marquee Theatre over ticket prices. Ticket price stories tend to make my eyes glaze over pretty fast (I'm a critic, I don't pay!) but Arizona Republic freelancer Serene Dominic did an interesting little piece on the matter. The debate ... More >>

2008 Music Sales Less Than Encouraging For Artists

You can apply this graph to a myriad of possibilities in today's economy, but let's stick to music sales for now​The Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit took place this past Sunday through  Tuesday in Washington, D.C. and the news coming out of everything was music sales in 2008. Specific ... More >>

Record Store Day: Why You Should Care

Record Store Day - it exists and it is happening this SaturdayBelieve it or not, record stores still function in this digital day and age. On top of that, this Saturday is Record Store Day, or "Time to Give a Shit About Record Stores." While record stores are a debatable topic, a day that celebrates ... More >>

Stinkweeds Offers a Killer Comp of Local Music for Record Store Day

The unique CD artwork for Phoenix: We Love It Just in case you weren't already enticed into participating in tomorrow's Record Store Day after reading Steve Jansen's and Michael Lopez's scribblings on the nationwide event (which celebrates the independent spirit of mom-and-pop music emporiums), we ... More >>

Five Reasons to Support Record Store Day

Stick it to the Man

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What's happening in Phoenix for Record Store Day on April 19

String Cheese

Rage Against the MP3s

The expensive stripper speaks out

Rap Attack

Sheriff Joe Arpaio creates a musical monster

BEST PLACE TO BUY NEW CDs

Circles Records & Tapes

Backdoor Boogie

30,000 bands can't be too wrong -- CD Baby hands 'em independence

System of a Down

Steal This Album! (Sony)

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