Paul Simon

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Mergence Explains Why They Wrote "White Bark" In The Desert

The atmospheric, bluesy local rockers in Mergence may already be known for keeping it weird with communes, nomads and robots with the release of their first album, Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead--but with their upcoming EP they are taking it to an entirely new level. It makes sense, since th ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend in Phoenix

When people ask what kind of music I like, I'm tempted to say "Good music." I understand the need for musical terminology, but there's really too much good stuff to limit what you listen to. It's a lesson Zero Zero teaches well. Nicole Laurenne and Michael Johnny Walker have the garage rock thing lo ... More >>

Ladysmith Black Mambazo @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Flashback Friday: Factories Talk the '80s

Where we're going, we don't need roads; just a synthesizer, eyeliner, and a touch of androgyny. Welcome to Flashback Friday. In case you missed it, Google commemorated the 78th birthday of electronic music pioneer, Bob Moog, with a wicked-cool doodle earlier this week. Moog left his mark on the w ... More >>

Iron and Wine @ Crescent Ballroom

So What Do Those 15 Favorite Songs Say About Us Anyway?

Lindsay Cates on the 1s and 2s ​Okay, so the 15 Favorite Songs thing. It happened. I freaked out a little (a lot) picking my selections, but it was a fun, in a self-aggrandizing way. I wrote yesterday that it was nearly impossible to do what the event asked: come up with 15 songs that you love a ... More >>

Paul Simon at Comerica Theatre, 10/17/11

​ Paul Simon Comerica Theatre October 18, 2011 On October 13, Paul Simon celebrated his 70th birthday. Judging by last night's performance at Comerica Theatre, the legendary singer-songwriter doesn't appear to be showing any signs letting his age slow him down; He was full of energy and put o ... More >>

Incoming: Paul Simon, Sting, Stone Foxes, Family Force 5, BLESSTHEFALL

​Paul Simon is one of those musicians who might have actually been more successful once he went solo (ditching poor, frizzy-haired Garfunkle), and props to him for that. He's a classic storyteller. And with an album as great as Graceland, his talent is simply undeniable.But that old dog has got so ... More >>

Jim Adkins, What Are You Listening To?

Jim Adkins​ Jim Adkins The singer and guitarist for Jimmy Eat World is playing Tempe Beach Park Friday, September 30 as part of Fall Frenzy. It will be the last show of the band's year-plus long tour supporting their album, Invented. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the ... More >>

Happy Birthday, MTV: 30 Videos to Celebrate 30 Years

I want my MTV back​Music Television turns 30 today, but the network doesn't look a day over 16 and Pregnant. Well before MTV started exploiting the incredibly difficult lives of irresponsible teens expecting a first child and balancing high school algebra, the Viacom-network played music vid ... More >>

Streetlight Manifesto @ Marquee Theatre

Mamady Keïta and Famoudou Konaté -- Grand Masters Bring "Djembe Fever" to The MIM

​ The African djembe drum may be a familiar sight for pop music fans -- it's popped up onstage with plenty of Western artists like Paul Simon, Ben Harper, and Peter Gabriel -- but intrepid percussionists will have a chance to hear the drum played by two grand masters, Mamady Keïta and Famoudou Ko ... More >>

Paul Simon Releases Tracklist, Info on Upcoming Album 'So Beautiful Or So What'

​Folk master Paul Simon has just released details about his upcoming album, according to Consequence of Sound.So Beautiful Or So What will be a 10-track LP, and it's scheduled to be released on April 12.Simon has put out a music video for the first track, entitled "Getting Ready For Christmas Day. ... More >>

New Album From the Strokes on Its Way to Being Complete

​The Strokes have finally finished a long awaited album, according to SPIN.While the mixing and mastering still has yet to be done, the recording process itself has been completed.After working out their differences and deciding to go forth with making a new album, they worked with Beck and White ... More >>

The Pope Loves Michael Jackson? The Vatican Newspaper Tries Music Criticism

You know you wanna find out what his top 10 list is like...​No. This is not the start of a really bad or tasteless joke. Recently, the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano came out with a list of the ten best rock/pop albums. And the results may be surprising. In no particular order they are: ... More >>

Jay Reatard's Cause of Death Determined

​According to the medical examiner in Shelby County, Tennessee, where Memphis is located, 29-year-old Jay Reatard died from "cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death." His real name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., and on Jan. 17 he was buried near Isaac Hayes. At the ti ... More >>

Johnny Depp Keith Richards = New Documentary

​You may remember that little trilogy titled Pirates of the Caribbean, which featured Keith Richards playing the part of Captain Teague Sparrow, the father of Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp. Apparently, Depp's friendship and fascination with Richards goes far beyond that of a pretend father/s ... More >>

Simon & Garfunkel Plan Long Awaited Reunion Tour

Mending that bridge over troubled waters never felt so goodIt makes sense these days for some older acts to get out on tour and start playing some shows. Just looking at this past weekend in the Valley, we saw Springsteen, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen all unravel some shows well in the twilight of the ... More >>

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

By Noah W. Bailey Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen ... More >>

Nick Lowe

Lowe, Lower, Lowest

Vampire Weekend

Adrian Belew

Ladysmith Black Mambazo celebrates Zulu tradition

Wyclef Jean

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

Cellar Beware

They obviously should not have gone in the basement

Various Artists

We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song
(Verve)

Sound Tracks

It's got a good bite

Matt the Electrician

Not too earnest and just reverent enough

Xavier Rudd

Food in the Belly
(Anti)

Adrian Belew

A guitar runs through it

Freestyle Fellowship

Sometimes awesome live bands also make magic in the studio

Xavier Rudd

Solace
(Foundations/Universal)

Various Artists

Songs From the Street: 35 Years of Music (Sony Wonder)

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Covering baby-boomers' classics with a punk twist

Spurs of the Moment

Art exhibit highlights best of the West

Obsessions, Passions, Perversions 2000

Music critics reveal their deepest, darkest record-buying secrets in New Times' annual poll

Critical Mass 2000

Our panel of writers offer up their takes on the top discs of Y2K

Don Henley

Inside Job
(Warner Bros.)

Backstage Past

Cameron Crowe's autobiographical Almost Famous is a classic rock gas

Songs by the Gross

A Report From the Dylan/Simon Tour

Blanket Indictment

King of Pop ill-served by bedraggled Tapestry

Recordings

Regional Doubt

Recordings

PLAYINT THE SKIN GAME

HO-HUM HIP-HOPME PHI ME'S FOLKSY RAP IS A CRUISE DOWN THE EERIE BANAL