Retail Trade

Bank Bends

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 >>

Safeway Pulls the Plug on "Pink Slime" Textured Beef

Ah, there's nothing like ammonia-treated meat. Lovingly called, "pink slime," it's been the recent subject of celebu-chef Jamie Oliver, fast food, school lunches, and of course, our nightmares. Apparently consumer pressure on this meat monstrosity -- specifically beef with the controversial filler ... 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 >>

Fry's Electronics Employees Take Computer In for Repair, Find Child Porn

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's OfficeJames Long, 57, of Glendale, took his computer to Fry's Electronics for repair -- and was arrested yesterday after technicians found child porn.​Fry's Electronics employees discovered child porn on a computer brought to the store for repair last April, leadin ... More >>

Morning Poll: Should Amazon.Com and Other Online Retailers Pay Sales Tax?

​ Online bookselling giant Amazon.com has three distribution facilities in Phoenix and is planning a fourth. Despite the massive movement of sold books through Arizona, Amazon -- like most other online retailers -- neither collects from its customers nor pays, according to the state, any state ... 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 >>

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 >>

Oh, Fudge! Bass Pro Shops Tackles Cabela's Homemade Sweets

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The way to a woman's heart is just as simple. In fact, it can be summed up in one little word: chocolate. Doctors even compare the endorphins secreted during chocolate consumption to the ones produced during sex. Oh, my! Is it hot in her ... More >>

Chang Gang

Huff and puff on the Valley’s city streets

Back in Black

Go local for holiday shopping

Back in Black

Go local for holiday shopping

Jimmy Eat World @ Marquee Theatre

Chef Aurore de Beauduy's Summer Salad

Photo courtesy of Chef Aurore de Beauduy. Chef Aurore de Beauduy's summer salad.​This week's Chef Talk was with Aurore de Beauduy of Vogue Bistro. Below is a recipe for her simple, fresh salad featuring heirloom tomatoes and purple basil. Bon Apetit!

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 >>

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 >>

Aiello's Celebrates its Two-Year Anniversary With $2 Pizzas

Whether you plan on waking up at the crack of dawn to get your shop on, or just hide under the covers digesting that big turkey dinner, there's something else to look forward to on Black Friday: two-dollar pizzas at Aiello's. This charming, family-owned Italian restaurant has been serving the neighb ... More >>

Illegal Alien Costume Gets Yanked From Store Shelves for Being Offensive

www.hamptonroads.com​It turns out illegal alien Halloween costumes aren't even welcome in Arizona -- or America for that matter.Two different "illegal alien" Halloween costumes have been yanked off the shelves of retail stores because consumers say they are offensive. As far as we know, the remova ... More >>

Fred's Opens Along With Barneys New York at Scottsdale Fashion Square

Jamie PeacheyBarneys New York at Scottsdale Fashion Square​Yesterday, luxury department store chain Barneys New York opened its first Arizona location ever at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Along with high-end fashion Barneys brings Scottsdale the culinary creations of Fred's Restaurant. This marks th ... 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 >>

Friday Night Frights

Goths and horror geeks just wanna have fun

Virgin, Universal to Offer Unlimited MP3s

Can Virgin - with the help of Universal Music - effectively end online music piracy? We'll have to wait and seeIn an effort to help and curtail online music piracy, Universal Music will partner up with U.K. telecommunications ("telco," if you're British) provider Virgin Media to launch an unlimited ... 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 >>

Detention Shoppers

John Bender and crew live on at Biltmore’s Movies in the Park

Cigar Shop Owner Accused of Contracting to Have Wife and Her Family Killed

A local cigar shop owner has been arrested by Phoenix police and accused of trying to hire a hitman to assassinate his wife, plus her parents and 17-year-old sister.Maricopa County Sheriff's Office mug shotDimitri Rozenman of Mesa had been upset at the terms of his divorce (recently finalized) when ... More >>

Waiter Confidential: from Car Sales to Table Side

Tanya Cruise is a trickle-down casualty of our piss-poor economy. With her boom years in car sales gone bust, she's waiting tables, tending bar, and learning the tricks of a new trade. "I was pulling down 7K a month," says Cruise, 26, shifting her career story in reverse while she and I idle in c ... More >>

Janet Napolitano at DHS Equals Russell Pearce with Skunk Hair and Shoulder Pads

Embedded video from CNN Video What's the difference between neo-Nazi hugger, and forwarder of white supremacist e-mail, state Senator Russell Pearce and Gov. Janet Napolitano on immigration? Well, to judge by this CNN excerpt from Nappy's DHS confirmation hearings yesterday, I'd say, not much. A lo ... More >>

Hot Links: Mom leaves kid home alone; Fire destroys 100 California homes; Brown cloud is back

By Ray Stern Parent-of-the-year story in the Repub: Wasted mommy shows up at a daycare to pick up her 4-year-old daughter, but she had already driven the kid home hours before. Back at home, a neighbor finds the girl alone, eating Ovaltine powder from a can. Other news today: A wildfire in the Sant ... More >>

Dork Victory

Nerds of a feather flock together at the Cronkite

Court Gives Green Light to Bashas' Defamation Lawsuit Against UFCW Local 99

Get Paul Westerberg’s new album for only 49 cents

Heard Mentality

Don’t shop around. Go here.

Wiener's Circle

Contestants try to eat their way to Coney

Wine & Cheese Festival this weekend

Tee and Sympathy

Well . . . maybe not sympathy

Revolting Development

The CityNorth project hosed Phoenix taxpayers, but don't look to city leaders for an apology

Nursery's Cool

The caustic canary on geezer power downtown, car dealers scratching a Scottsdale council candidate's back and the dodo RESIST tagger's latest prank

Jerry's Law

There's one set of rules for downtown businesses associated with the Godfather and another for everybody else

Spun Out

Zia's still in business. So what?

BEST BONDAGE BOUTIQUE

Tuff Stuff Custom Leatherware

Best Place To Buy A Christmas Tree

The Home Depot

Best Hangout For The 18-and-under Crowd

Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center

Best Video Rentals

Movies on Central
4700 North Central
602-274-0994

Best Place to Wax Poetic About Eyeliner

philosophy
510 South Mill, Tempe
480-968-2424

It's Hard to Thai One On

Singha beer, a staple of Thai food aficionados, is suddenly a rarity

OUTLETS of Hostility

Egoconsumed developers, lobbyists, flacks, detectives and lawyers generate fear and loathing a la Barbarians at the Gate. The reason? Two proposed outlet malls the Valley doesn't really need.