Nick Lowe

Robyn Hitchcock's Strange World Is a Tuneful Place

Robyn Hitchcock Talks Tomatoes and Psychedelic Pop

Speaking with Robyn Hitchcock back in 1996, the conversation quickly diverged from music to the difficulties of growing tomatoes at high-elevation. It was not his issue, but mine, as he lives in England where growing tomatoes is much easier, and I was in Colorado. Still, that conversation made it cl ... More >>

Nick Lowe, The Musical Instrument Museum, 10/1/12

Nick Lowe @ The Musical Instrument Museum|10/1/12If the tag "The Jesus of Cool" strikes you as hyperbolic or overblown, you've never watched 63-year-old Nick Lowe strut onto the stage, strap on his big Gibson J-200, and proceed to crack jokes and break hearts for 90 minutes. Lowe, with his easy En ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Week 123

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week.

Nick Lowe on Crafting "Swinging" Pop in His 60s

Nick Lowe has worn more than a couple stylistic hats in his over 40 years as a songwriter, performer, and producer. He played ambling country rock with Brinsley Schwarz, ushered in pub rock, punk, and new wave with solo records and production for Stiff Records, and eased into a remarkable career as ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend

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

John Hiatt @ Crescent Ballroom

OFF!'s New Album is 16 Minutes Long (And That is Good Length for an Album)

See also: OFF!'s Dimitri Coats Talks Phoenix Oil Theft Charges Years ago, I saw Nick Lowe (probably my favorite songwriter) at the Rhythm Room. Right before he played a devastating new song called "I Read a Lot," he prefaced it with a warning, saying something like "This is a new song -- the proble ... More >>

Squeeze's Chris Difford on England, John Cale, and the Paul McCartney-Produced Record That Never Came to Be

Coachella is a weird beast: In addition to hotly tipped acts like Avicci and Justice, big name standard bearers like Radiohead and The Black Keys, and holy-hell-they're-reuniting bands like Refused and At the Drive In, there's always a few bands that have just kept soldiering on, whose break-ups and ... More >>

Motorhead @ Comerica Theatre

Record Heat: New to Me, Anyhow by Brad Dwyer

In 2010, our New Times operations manager and Up on the Sun contributor Jay Bennett wrote a column about listening to only new music called Nothing Not New. For a whole year. Some time has passed, but not the lesson that column taught me. There's nothing wrong with favorites, but it's shocking how ... More >>

Top Cover Songs of 2011

Charles Bradley​Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. We've been counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. This installment takes a look at 2011's best videos. Enjoy! The idea of The Beatles, The Pixies, Tom Waits, and Elton John sh ... More >>

Top 15 Albums of 2011: Jason P. Woodbury

Ty Segall​Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. Over the next week, we'll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. Enjoy! Is it just me, or was 2011 weird? Like, really weird? Lou Reed and Metallica made an album together. It w ... More >>

15 Favorite National Songs: Jason P. Woodbury

Michael Kiwanuka​Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. Over the next week, we'll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. Enjoy! I'm already regretting this one. I left so much off this list it hurts, deserving songs from the li ... More >>

Fatboy Slim Talks Las Vegas, Detroit, Quitting Drinking, and How Cool Americans Think They Are

​ Norman Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim, has been rocking beats hard since the late '70s, when he played in bands like Disque Attack and the Housemartins. He achieved mainstream popularity in the '90s, when "Praise You" blew up as a radio staple. In recent years, Cook has focused on production, stepping ... More >>

Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust Reissued At Last

Yep Roc Records​The wait has been cruel -- it's been two-years-plus since we reviewed Jesus of Cool, Nick Lowe's first solo album and the debut of a long overdue reissue series of the singer-songwriter's catalog -- but the re-release of Labour of Lust, Lowe's second solo outing, is kind. Out ... 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 >>

A Perfect Circle @ Marquee Theatre

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 >>

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ The Rhythm Room

M.O.T.O.

Elvis Costello at Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater: British Legend Debuts New Songs and Rocks Old Favorites

​When an artist's repertoire is as wide and varied as Elvis Costello's, it's hard to know exactly what one will get when attending his concert. Last night's show at Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater had all the trappings of a toned-down affair: The amphitheater's lush lawn was covered in bl ... More >>

Will Someone Please Join Dfactor's Band?

Eels: End Times in "Nothing Not New"

Welcome to "Nothing Not New," a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert re ... More >>

Pop Fans Rejoice: There's a Brand-New Tommy Keene Record!

Second Motion RecordsIt's one thing to have a musical career that's lasted more than a quarter-century. Impressive? Sure. Noteworthy? Not really -- plenty of popular artists have pulled it off by this point. It's quite another thing to have a musical career of comparative anonymity that lasts more ... More >>

Concert Review: Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe

Lowe, Lower, Lowest

Nick Lowe

Jesus of Cool
(Yep Roc)

Overlooked in '05

Ten great discs that were, shall we say, underserved by the media but are more than worthy of your money and close attention

A Perfect Circle

eMOTIVe
(Virgin)

John Hiatt

Veteran songwriter sings his own

Reubens Cubed

Reubens Accomplice makes a bi-coastal album while still keeping a desert address

Sugar High

Saccharin & Trust

Nick Lowe

The Convincer (Yep Roc)

Teddy Morgan and the Pistolas

Crashing Down Live @ 7 Black Cats (Mongrel Music)

Retro No More

Singer-songwriter Neko Case and her musical pals bring country music out of the curio cabinet

Fill 'er Up

10-gallon hats and 10-gallon gas tanks come to mind when BR5-49 plays

Unconsciously Brilliant

Restless Records' Flaming Lips anthology recounts the early chapters of one of indie rock's finest

Popsicle in the Desert

Gloritone finds success by keeping it simple and loud

Austin Stories

Confused agenda of SXSW can't obscure the many musical highlights

Contract and Expel

Famous parting shots from artists formerly "under exclusive arrangement" with their labels

Wall to Walternative

CRAWLING FROM THE WRECKAGEWELL, MAYBE NOT WRECKAGE, BUT DAVE EDMUNDS IS BACK ON CD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS

FLIP-SIDE STORY

CDS HAVE MADE THE B-SIDE OBSOLETE. FOR BETTER OR WORSE.

LAST WEEK, LIVE

WELCOM BACK, CARTERCARLENE CROSSES THE COUNTRY LINE AGAIN

YOKO BRINGS JOHN'S ART TO SCOTTSDALE?

ROCKIN' PAST 40

JOHN HIATT'S NOT DEAD, HE'S JUST PLAYING IN AN ALTERNATIVE BAND

ROCKABILITY REGAINED

AFTER A LONG HIATUS, COLIN WINSKI REDISCOVERS HIS MUSICAL ROOTS