OK Go

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Week

First, a "dumb drummer" joke: How do you get a drummer off of your porch? Pay him 10 bucks for the pizza. Now, our Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Week.

Are Casino Concerts Guaranteed to Suck?

See also: You Ready for the State Fair? A Guide to the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Schedule (feat. Adam Lambert, Weezer, Jane's Addiction, and More) See also: Joan Jett @ Talking Stick Resort I've always considered casino venues at the bottom of a musician's career, just above the state fair circ ... More >>

Radio Days

Brad Steinke, What Are You Listening To?

Brad Steinke​Steinke is a host and reporter for FOX Sports Arizona. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Sirius XMU. It features great new indie artists -- I've heard Lykke Li, Neon Indian, Chapel Club and Lana Del Rey on this station. W ... More >>

Top 10 Music Videos of 2011

It's a Katy Perry kind of year...​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! Quite a few bomb-ass videos have been released ... More >>

David Hilker, What Are You Listening To?

David Hilker at Rhythm Room, with Fervor Records band Super Stereo playing​David HilkerHilker is the CEO of Fervor Records.  When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? KWSS, of course. What's the first album you bought?  ... More >>

Jeff Moriarty, What Are You Listening To?

Devon Christopher AdamsJeff Moriarty​Jeff Moriarty Moriarty is the organizer of Ignite Phoenix. The next Ignite Phoenix is Friday, October 28 at the Virginia G. Piper Theater. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I haven't list ... More >>

Army Navy, Locksley and The Postelles Vie for Best Power Pop Release of Summer 2011

Big Hassle MediaThe timeless power pop of Los Angeles' Army Navy makes for a great summertime soundtrack.​Like your favorite comfort food, power pop music is familiar, tasty and satisfying... and, sometimes, it's the only thing you want. If you consider The Raspberries' 1972 self-titled debut ... More >>

Details Revealed About 'Muppets: The Green Album'

Jason Segel's forthcoming movie The Muppets will feature a stellar soundtrack, according to Consequence of Sound.Muppets: The Green Album is a collection of classic Muppet hits being covered by some pretty talented rocker stars. The soundtrack, titled The Green Album, gets a slightly ironic twist, c ... More >>

OK Go FTW With Toasty New Viral Video

​OK Go is back with a brand new soon-to-be-viral video, according to SPIN.The video for the new song, entitled "Last Leaf," shows that the band has gone in a new direction with their visuals. Rather than another video that showcases the Rube Goldberg Machine (which was shot 89 times), a treadmill ... More >>

Smashing Pumpkins Coming To Gila River Casino's Wild Horse Pass in December

Watch Billy Corgan and then hit the blackjack tables.​What's more humbling for an alt-rock band whose better days are behind them? Playing a free concert being put on by a radio station or performing at a casino. In a few weeks, Smashing Pumpkins will have the dubious distinction of having done bo ... More >>

Nov. 10 In Blogs: United Nations, Pussy Cat Lounge, OK Go, George and Dragon, and Keith Olbermann

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Kings of Leon Announce Track List for Upcoming Album

​Kings of Leon is preparing to take over the world on October 19 with the release of their upcoming album, Come Around Sundown.According to Spinner, the album has 13 tracks, with the song "Radioactive" as the first single.Fans will be able to view the music video for "Radioactive" when the band pr ... 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 >>

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 >>

Watch New OK Go Video for "End Love"

OK Go's string of badass music videos are assisting Lady Gaga in keeping the medium alive. The super-cool Rube Goldberg styling of the "This Too Shall Pass" video has everyone talking earlier this year (it even made the Yahoo! homepage).While "End Love" isn't quite as jaw-droppingly unique, i ... More >>

June 15 In Blogs: SB 1070, OK Go, Phoenix Magazine, Cat Cora, and John McCain

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

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 >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Delta Spirit, Stereo Total, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Cringe, The Dig, and more

​Let's clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! -- This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It's quirky with a capital "Q" and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is. Still, most songs are un ... 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 >>

Odds 'n' Sods: CocoRosie, Natalie Merchant, Disco Biscuits, The Sadies, Small Black, and more

​It's been a pretty big past two weeks for indie rock: Hold Steady, New Pornographers, Flying Lotus, The National, The Dead Weather. That's a lot of heavy-hitters. Meanwhile, some lower-profile stuff has been piling up on my desk, so it's time to give you a rundown of the other stuff I've been lis ... More >>

Male Bonding: Nothing Hurts

​Artist: Male BondingTitle: Nothing HurtsRelease date: May 11Label: Sub PopRemember all the buzz about Wavves last year? I thought they were just okay. Hopefully, their next record (slated for release this year) will be better. In the meantime, I'll be listening to the new record by Male Bonding, ... 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 >>

Growing: Pumps!

​Artist: GrowingTitle: Pumps!Release date: April 6Label: ViceNo less an authority than Pitchfork.com, the Bible of indie rock, declared the Brooklyn experimental group Growing to be "cruising music for Brian Eno fans." Better watch what you say, Pitchfork, or you're gonna have a lot of pissed-off ... More >>

She & Him: Volume 2

​Artist: She & HimTitle: Volume 2Release date: March 23Label: MergeMy editor has claimed this project a triumph for no other reason than I've chosen the new over the old -- sort of. See, I told Martin Cizmar a while back that I wanted to review tonight's Ray Davies concert. I love the Kinks. T ... More >>

Iraqi Metal Band Acrassicauda on Moving to Brooklyn and More

Iraqi metal rockers Acrassicauda.​Every band has its set of problems. Feuding guitarists, trouble getting gigs, issues with scraping up enough money to record a record or go on tour.Few American bands face the same struggles as Acrassicauda -- an Iraqi metal band that recently moved to Brooklyn. T ... More >>

Nothing Not New: I'm No Critic But I'm Also Not a Fan. I'm a Listener

Sasquatch Announces 2010 Lineup

The 2010 lineup for the Sasquatch! Music Festival has been announced, and it is, my friends, rather impressive (finally)​​It's been a long time coming, but the Sasquatch! Music Festival -- held annually at Washington's Gorge Amphitheater over Memorial Day weekend -- has come of age. Too long the ... More >>

Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup Announced: Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Weezer, Stevie Wonder and More

​Tennessee's Bonnaroo music festival has announced a full line-up for this June. No real surprises here: Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, and the Flaming Lips are the top of the pile.The Dead Weather, Phoenix, John Fogerty, Jimmy Cliff, Tenacious D, Zac Brown Band, ... More >>

Beach House: Teen Dream, 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 >>

January 14 In Blogs: Walmart, Drinx, OK Go, Cupcakes, and E-Cigarettes

​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Walmart Gun Incident: Videos from Nativist Lynne Stevens and Pro-Immigrant Activist Denni ... More >>

Dr. Dog to Skip Phoenix?

But will the van make it to Phoenix?​ Such is the plight of our desert city. We are not a destination for enough musicians. We are merely a stop between Dallas and L.A., Vegas and god-knows-where. Smaller acts are more likely to come to Tucson, and larger ones may skip us altogether. Sadly, it ... More >>

New Moon Soundtrack Hits the Interwebs

The New Moon Soundtrack features contributions from Grizzly Bear, Muse, Thom Yorke and Death Cab For Cutie​All of the sudden, the soundtrack for the newest movie in the Twilight Saga, New Moon,  turned into an indie rock/hipster collective. Jump-started by the Death Cab For Cutie single "Equi ... More >>

The Spinto Band

Spinto Win

OK Go, Motion City Soundtrack, and Plain White Ts

Psychedelipunkpop