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Former New Times Music Intern Cops to Never Having Heard Pet Sounds on NPR Blog

​Sarah Ventre seemed like a great intern.She was hard-working, talented and friendly. Many of us at Phoenix New Times grew quite fond of her. The team of bloggers that brings you Up On The Sun was all incredibly happy for Sarah when she was offered a coveted internship at NPR's All Songs Considere ... More >>

John Mayer Leaves Twitter For Good

​John Mayer is the type of guy who has better things to do than tweet, so maybe it's no surprise that social media has gotten him into some trouble in the past.Despite his busy schedule, I've always imagined Mayer to be this solo artist who has all day to think about whatever kind of nonsensical r ... More >>

Album Stream: Chromeo, Blonde Redhead, The Walkmen, Of Montreal

​​September 14 is a black Friday of sorts for the music world. There is an embarrassment of riches, new release-wise, set for that Meg Tuesday. NPR realizes this, so they're giving you a head start by offering album streams of 14 albums to be released next Tuesday. Which just so happens to be th ... More >>

Tapped Out

Eavesdropping made easy with Jonathan Goldstein

NPR Takes on Sound Strike Issue, Quotes Local Music Types

​NPR's All Things Considered ran a story about musicians boycotting Arizona over SB 1070 called "Sound Strike' Targets Arizona Immigration Law" yesterday.The story includes soundbites from Alycia Klein, the general manager of Celebrity Theatre, local promoter Psyko Steve Chilton, Yolanda Bejarano ... More >>

Raw Milk: Buy It in Arizona, But Buyer Beware

Though raw milk is legal in Arizona, when sold, it must be affixed with a warning label such as this one.​While it may sound foreign to some, the sale and consumption of raw, unpasteurized milk is going on right under your nose. Well, maybe not that close -- but definitely in our fair city.&n ... More >>

Weird Al Yankovic Coming to Celebrity Theatre

The King of All Song Parodies.​Show me a person who doesn't like parody king Weird Al Yankovic, and I'll show you someone who doesn't have a pulse...or a sense of humor for that matter. I'm willing to reckon that even the most jaded of music elitists dig at least one or two songs in Weird Al's out ... More >>

Ry Cooder's Anti-SB 1070 Song, Courtesy of NPR

​ Legendary slide guitarist Ry Cooder (he's played on records by everyone from Randy Newman to the Rolling Stones) has recorded an anti-SB 1070 song called "Quick Sand." Cooder is one of those country(ish) guys the lefties love -- not only is that track available exclusively from NPR until tom ... More >>

Album Stream: Ratatat - LP4

​God forbid you offer a 40 second preview of a track off an album that has already leaked -- do so and you subject yourself to the wrath of some self-righteous British dude named "WEBSHERIFF."Such is the fate of yours truly and the newest album from Ratatat, LP4, which leaked about three weeks ago ... More >>

Patrick Watson to Play Happy Hour Show at Rhythm Room Friday

Patrick Watson to Play Happy Hour Show at Rhythm Room Friday

​Sweeps week is just around the corner which means you'll soon be left without Grey's Anatomy's indie rock picks for a few months. Feast before the famine as Patrick Watson comes to Rhythm Room Friday. The Californian/Canadian has been called "strange, beguiling, beautiful, moving" by NME and ... More >>

Album Stream: Sleigh Bells - Treats

​As was stated in one of today's earlier posts, May is a gigantic month for new music. I damn near pissed myself last night when the new Sleigh Bells album Treats hit the internet. The album is out today digitally and will be available in physical form June 22. The album has gained Exclusive First ... More >>

Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center

​Go to see a few country legends in concert and you begin to notice a strong correlation between the number of drinkin' songs in those artists' catalogs and the condition of the specimens on stage. George "No Show" Jones, for example, looked about how you'd expect a man who first had a hit in 1959 ... More >>

Stream Jeff Beck's Emotion & Commotion and Bask in its Magnificent Album Art

This is the second time I have been able to use this album cover as the image for one of my posts...sweet!​It's well-documented that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Baja California yesterday afternoon. People in Phoenix are feeling some mild shaking, and the quake may be a factor, but methinks it w ... More >>

Album Stream: She & Him - Volume Two

Taea ThaleStream She & Him's latest album Volume Two over at NPR Music​Actors and musicians often make strange bedfellows, yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. It must be the whole being artistically inclined thing. Take Zooey Deschanel, one half of She & Him and star of numer ... More >>

10 Things Under $10 This Weekend: Valentine's Day, Victoria's Secret, and More

Victoria's Secret model Jamie Lee Darley will be sitting pretty tonight at the W Scottsdale.​If you're single, Valentine's Day kinda sucks. You'll likely spend this weekend sitting on your ass, alternating bouts of drinking with visits to online porn sites, while your friends and their respe ... More >>

Bob Dylan Opens White House Concert Series

​Last night began the "In Performance at the White House" concert series, and focused on music from the civil rights era. Both Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed, though not in fact together. (Initial buzz had specualted that they would be singing a duet.) Smokey Robinson, Yolanda Adams, the Blind ... More >>

10 Things Under $10 This Weekend: Third Friday, Drinking Marathons, Everclear, and More

Cassie MarmasThe madcap madness from last year's Marathon Pub Crawl.​We hope you've been training hard in anticipation for this weekend. Building up endurance, strengthening stamina, and basically preparing yourself for the long haul. So, are we talking about this year's edition of the ultra-grue ... More >>

Year in Music: Phoenix, Passion Pit, Neko Case, and the Rest of the Village Voice Music Editor's Rob Harvilla’s Records of the Year

Kennedy and Roosevelt

DJ spins regal tunes at downtown bar

10 Things Under $10 Christmas Weekend: Bettie Blood Burlesque, Coats & Villa, Groove Candy, and More

The Bettie Blood Burlesque Troupe is scheduled to perform at Rogue Bar in Scottsdale tonight.A​fter six endless weeks of endless hype, treacly commercials, and non-stop carols, we're only 48 hours or so from the arrival of Christmas morning. But you don't have to wait until then to get your presen ... More >>

Stray Cat Theatre’s “Speech & Debate” Smells Like Teen Angst

D'oh, Pioneers!

Author/NPR contributor takes on the Puritans

Joe Arpaio a "Torturer on U.S. Soil," Says NPR Opinion Piece

Torturer with a badge? You don't have to convince us...​An opinion piece published yesterday on National Public Radio's Web site, written by Hector Sanchez, Director of Policy and Research for the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, calls Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio "a ... More >>

Too Cool for Public School

A feel-good education story? Here it is.

Thank Raffi! Zooglobble.com’s Stefan Shepherd Will Review The Wiggles

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Body of Work

“Guinea pig journalist” puts his chassis through the wringer for science

David Ewing Duncan

KJZZ's "Here and Now" Features Sarah Fenske This Morning

New Times columnist Sarah Fenske explained her concerns about the Arizona Clean Elections System this morning on the local NPR affiliate's Here and Now, hosted by Steve Goldstein on KJZZ 91.5 FM.  Fenske's appearance on the program comes two months after the publication of ... More >>

ATF Agent Jay Dobyns, Infiltrator of Hells Angels, Says Feds "Abandoned" Him in Tucson House Fire Investigation

  Image: www.youtube.comAn undercover agent who infiltrated the Arizona Hells Angels basically called his federal superiors cowards this morning on NPR for not doing more to find out who burned down his Phoenix home last year. Jay Dobyns, a University of Arizona grad who has been promoti ... More >>

Rogue Wave surfs on a swell of infectious pop bliss

New National Anthems, By George! (Wherein we ruminate on the ridiculousness of Janet Reno rockin’ our worlds)

The Glass Menagerie

NPR personality presides over a cast of odd characters

Future Shock: The Hold Steady, Regina Spektor, Saosin, and more

Smooth Criminal Fingers

Step away from those chords

Letter-Box Edition

Wordplay explores the cult of the crossword puzzle

Nickel Creek

Mood pop

Closet Case

Valentino and Rambova shared a passion -- for fashion

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Ballethoo

Balanchine Festival honors lord of the dance

Al Green

I Can't Stop (Blue Note)

Standards and Practices

A guided tour of the best releases across the musical spectrum

Mow Better Blues

Dull-edged show at Mesa Contemporary Arts tries to cut the American lawn down to size

Best Jazz/Blues Radio Station

KJZZ-FM 91.5

Uncertain Smile

The The's Matt Johnson is back with a new record, a new label and something close to optimism

Spelunk, Spelunk, Fizz, Fizz

State parks worker canned over Kartchner Caverns column

New Twang

THE DOWNBEAT GENERATION