Spotify Ltd.

Google Play Music All Access Is The Goofiest-Sound Spotify Competitor Ever

There's a new Spotify competitor in town, and its name is--take a breath here, if you're reading out loud--Google Play Music All Access. What separates it from Spotify, besides the increased time it will take to type (or speak into your Google Glass)? It always costs money--$9.99 a month, after a 30 ... More >>

Jimmy Eat World - Paramount Theatre, Casa Grande - 5/9/13

Jimmy Eat WorldParamount Theatre, Casa Grande, ArizonaThursday, May 9, 2013 Jimmy Eat World's Arizona tour turned out to be excellent news for local fans of the band, who get a belated chance to see them in the kind of venues they played before their national breakout more than a decade ago. The gr ... More >>

Will Pandora and Spotify and the Internet Ever Figure Out How to Pay Artists?

Music-discovery apps like Spotify and Pandora are free, but they have social costs. Among them: Every six months or so, we get an open letter from an artist who is being cut comically tiny checks for thousands of plays on one service or another. This week, it's musician and label-owner Blake Morgan, ... More >>

John Williams Is Coming to Phoenix; Here Are His Five Most Iconic Scores

Legendary film composer John Williams is scheduled to appear at a benefit performance by the Phoenix Symphony on September 28. It's not like he needs to tour to help raise money for his kids' college fund, and he's probably busy with the Jurassic Park IV and new Star Wars soundtracks. There's no rea ... More >>

Twitter #Music Doesn't Get Why Friends Give Friends Music

Twitter #Music -- the music-discovery service from the people who brought you #SomaliDirectionersLoveZayn-style declarations of collectivist fandom love -- rolled out this week, and people are . . . not especially happy with it. A blunt summary of the problems with it was passed around among tech-li ... More >>

Otep On "Hydra," Piracy, And Leaving Heavy Metal Forever

Imagine taking a demonic ride through a girl's mind, filled with fantastic illusions, haunting, heavy melodies, and vengeance against a world that has forgotten her. To get there you could spend an evening with Otep, one of the most prolific female-fronted bands of the last decade--or have a liste ... More >>

The Faint to Bring Dance-y Sing-Alongs to That Damn Show

The roster of touring acts of That Damn Show gives the festival the appearance of something that happened a decade ago. I remember being stoked to see acts like Bad Religion, Face to Face, and Fenix Tx for the first time in the early Aughts -- and, in some cases, at Mesa Amphitheatre. Wasn't Bad Rel ... More >>

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 >>

Amber Rae Harrold, What Are You Listening To?

Amber Harrold Harrold is the owner of CamelBackpackers: A Phoenix Hostel. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? NPR or 106.7 KWSS-FM. What's the first album you bought? Salt-n-Pepa, Very Necessary. I remember ... More >>

Nobody's Tool: Maynard James Keenan Would Rather Talk About His Other Bands

Holy Ship!! Wrap-Up: It Was the Best of Times....

There were a lot of grim faces on Monday morning as the electro-loving masses emerged off the MSC Poesia -- a.k.a. the EDM party boat Holy Ship!! -- and did a slow zombie shuffle through U.S. customs and back into the real world (a.k.a. Fort Lauderdale). Here in the industrial port, the sky was over ... More >>

What Would Life Be Like Without Technology? A Onetime Addict Finds Out

New Phoenix Mixtape Pairs T.I., Lil Wayne, and E40 with Phoenix Rappers

Rapper T.I. must have seen something he liked when he stopped by Phoenix this past weekend. His Atlanta-based record label Grand Hustle is showing Arizona some love with a new mixtape, The Phoenix Edition Mixtape. The 17-track release showcases some of the Valley's up and coming hip-hop acts inclu ... More >>

Jason Hildebrandt, What Are You Listening To?

Jason Hildebrandt Hildebrandt is the executive sous chef for Ocotillo Golf Resort. Meet him Thursday, October 18 at San Tan Brewery for a beer dinner at 6 p.m. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? KUPD 97.9-F ... More >>

Maynard James Keenan: Up on the Sun's New Columnist

Maynard James Keenan has a lot on his resume. He's a musician, known for leading Puscifer, Tool, and A Perfect Circle, an actor, record producer, comedian, multimedia artist, and winemaker in Northern Arizona, where he co-owns Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, and oversees Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vi ... More >>

Allah-Las: Analog Garage Rock With Actual Soul

By now you've no doubt read, re-read, shared on Facebook and Twitter, and angrily commented on our friends at West Coast Sound's monster of a list, The 20 Worst Hipster Bands. Like it or hate it, it's hard to debate one key fact brought up by Ben Westhoff: "...most of today's 20 and 30-something b ... More >>

Marnie Wong, What Are You Listening To?

Marnie Wong Wong is the co-owner and trainer at Boot Camp Babes, a fitness program for women. Find out more information at www.BootCampBabes.com. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I'm totally digging Spotify right now. I'm all over ... More >>

ArizonaTunes: River Jones Launches a Hopeful "Local Alternative to iTunes"

See also: River Jones, What Are You Listening To? See also: River Jones Music Featured in NPR's Wavelength MagazineChances are, you've heard the name River Jones thrown around, either surrounding the many artists his label represents (such as Courtney Marie Andrews, Sareena Dominguez or You Me and A ... More >>

Five Must-See Shows This Week

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.

Paul Ryan, You Might Wanna Relisten to These Rage Against the Machine Songs

Dear Paul Ryan, Congrats on getting the nod for Romney's VP. Must be a big month for you. While you and I probably won't ever agree politically, I realize we have a few things in common. You and I are both male carbon-based lifeforms that breath oxygen and the melanin in our epidermis means we don' ... More >>

Pop Isn't Dead: Here's Seven New Songs That Prove It

If you've ever felt like all music on the radio is the same, you're not alone. Your grandmother felt the same way once. It's an old complaint that has always bugged me, because sure, the latest Rhianna single is a pile of dogshit, but I hate blanketing all music with this strain of despair. There ... More >>

Spotify Ruffles Feathers, Promises Paradigm Shift

Does Baroness' Yellow and Green Sound Like Nickelback?

Hell hath no fury like metal fans "scorned." On July, 17, Savannah, Georgia, Baroness released its anticipated double record, Yellow and Green. Embraced by the kind of people who often ignore metal and backhandedly complimented as a "thinking man's metal band," Baroness' string of recordings -- F ... More >>

Bears of Manitou Wants to Fight the Colorado Wildfires (And You Can Help)

See also: Take Cover: Bears of Manitou Cover Damien Rice See also: Want to Write a Song for Bears of Manitou? Tons of bands use Kickstarter to secure funds to finish an album, but how many of them offer to take you camping and plan on donating excess funds to charity? Tempe folk rockers Bears of Ma ... More >>

As The Black Keys Take on Pizza Hut, We Wonder What Selling Out Even Means Anymore

See also: What Are the Ten Most "Spotified" Songs in Phoenix Last week, NPR blogger Emily White got a whole bunch of discussion started about how musical artists are and aren't getting paid. (We chimed in too, discussing music streaming service Spotify.) If White's thought, that my peers and I will ... More >>

Roll Acosta Teams With John Vanderslice For This Dreamt Existence

Tucson indie poppers, Roll Acosta recruited John Vanderslice to produce its forthcoming debut full length album, This Dreamt Existence. Vanderslice's touch can be heard in the album's intricate instrumentation, which falls somewhere between fun.'s acrobatic melodies and Cold War Kids' strained funk, ... More >>

What Are the Top 10 Most "Spotified" Songs in Phoenix?

You have to look pretty hard for someone who doesn't have an opinion about Spotify, the Swedish music streaming service that launched in 2008 and hit the States in 2011. It's hard to deny its ease, selection, and um, free-ness, but it's also been a magnet for controversy. In both the controversial ... More >>

Sunorus Displays (Almost) All Its Faces on Sixth Record

Chef Josh Hebert Dishes on Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain and the Cheat Ingredient

Josh Hebert Posh Improvisational Cuisine 7167 E. Rancho Vista Drive, Scottsdale 480-663-7676 www.poshscottsdale.com How long has Josh Hebert been obsessed with food? Let's put it this way: one of his first words was "breakfast." It's an elaborate family story his mother loves to tell, he says, addi ... More >>

Ladylike Approaches '70s Pop With Sharpened Tools

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 >>

KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (Via the Internet)

Legendary Valley alternative radio station KUKQ is back -- on the Internet, that is. A operators of the a site boasting those famous call letters, synonymous with Phoenix jocks like Jonathan L and John "Johnny D" Dixon (both have shows on terrestrial station KWSS 106.7 these days), announced via F ... More >>

Help Bad Lucy Choose Their Album's Cover Art

Making a record is an involved, laboring process. There's writing, recording, mixing and mastering. Sometimes it can be the little things that vex an independent band. Currently, alt pop-rockers Bad Lucy find themselves mulling over the artwork for their upcoming EP. The guys held a cover shoot wi ... More >>

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 >>

Valentine's Playlist: We Select New Release Tracks To Soundtrack Your V-Day Night

​See also: Keep These Tunes Away from Your Valentine's Playlist You know, i's not just Valentine's Day and Arizona's Centennial Birthday: It's also New Release Day, a special day that happens once every week when the record labels sound out shiny discs to stores and let you start listening to ... More >>

Jason P. Woodbury on How Bands Tapped Into Crowd-Funding in 2011

NOFX's Fat Mike on Cokie the Clown, Drinking, and Occupy Wall Street

​ NOFX has been a mainstay of punk rock for almost 30 years. The band has gained notoriety for its antics and activism, recently getting banned from Emo's in Austin because frontman "Fat Mike" Burkett tricked the audience into believing he served free tequila shots mixed with his own urine. ... More >>

David Bickford, What Are You Listening To?

David Bickford​David Bickford Bickford writes two prominent local blogs, PHX Rail Food and PHX Trail Dude. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I listen to KJZZ for news by day and jazz by night. I grew up listening to rock, and it still ... 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 >>

Light in the Attic Records and Rhino Handmade Team Up

Even with rumors rumbling that the Big Four (soon to be three?) will cease producing CDs at the end of 2012, Seattle-based label Light in the Attic has teamed with Rhino Handmade to help distribute ultra-deluxe compact discs. Turns out, certain people (collectors) still want some physical, musical p ... More >>

Spotify Finally Lands in the U.S.

Spotify is now available in the U.S.​Do you like your music collection? Do you wish you had it on you at all times? Does it bug the shit out of you when you go to a friend's house for a small gathering and they play their special 2-hour mix of Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Michael Franti and Cou ... More >>

July 14 In Blogs: Harry Potter, Spotify, La Tolteca, and Joe Arpaio

​​​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:

The Raconteurs Are Back!

Now that he's got all that hilarious and awesome palling around with Stephen Colbert, out of his system, Jack White is getting back to business. The Raconteurs, arguably the dude's main gig now that The White Stripes have called it quits, are back, according to Consequence of Sound.The Raconteurs ha ... More >>

Tom Hanks to Bring American Idiot to the Silver Screen

​Tom Hanks has big plans to move American Idiot into movie theaters, according to Consequence of Sound.Considering that Hanks and the guys of Green Day are involved in the film, there's little doubt that it'll bring a lot of people into theaters. Plus, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is ru ... More >>

Foursquare up, Pandora Down, MySpace Out: Grand Predictions About Digital Music Trends in 2011

​NME's deputy editor Luke Lewis published an interesting article about the future of digital music last week.Lewis made a list of 10 insightful music predictions regarding what the developments of digital music might entail in 2011, and I've got to hand it to him, he did a great job and taught me ... More >>

The 10 Stupidest Music Stories of 2010

​Every year a few ridiculous stories get squeezed in between the serious ones. In honor of the year coming to a close, it's time to poke some fun at those who entertained us by making the stupidest headlines in music news in 2010.In no particular order, here are some real winners... err, well, act ... More >>

Toni Braxton Up to Her Eyes in Unbelievable Debt

​R&B singer Toni Braxton has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy again, according to TMZ. She owes between $10 million and $50 million.The companies to which she is indebted include Tiffany & Co., AT&T, The Four Seasons Hotels, and Neiman Marcus. Maybe diamonds aren't a girl's best friend a ... More >>

U2's Manager Fights Illegal Downloading

​Paul McGuinness, U2's manager, is blaming Internet service providers for not working harder to put an end to illegal music downloading, NME reports.However, McGuinness has faith in Spotify, a paid online music subscription service that actually distributes royalties properly.While McGuinness's ar ... More >>