The National (Band)

Coachella's "Bloom" Video: WTF Does it Mean?

Yesterday afternoon, the home page of the Coachella website changed to a video called "Bloom," which shows plants and art exhibits sprouting from the ground. Some look pretty creepy--did those worm/slug things 30 seconds into the video really just form a structure? At least the rest are fairly cute ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten: Personal, But Not Too Personal

Sharon Van Etten's Tramp is a study in directness. Beyond Van Etten's voice, a clear, present, hum, there's the sounds -- sparse, and focused, produced by of Aaron Dessner of The National. The record is centered on the idea of clarity, illustrated by song titles like "I'm Wrong," "We Are Fine," an ... More >>

Kronos Quartet at the Musical Instrument Museum

Photos by Niki D'AndreaKronos Quartet playing "Aheym."​Kronos QuartetMusical Instrument Museum May 20, 2011San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet occupies an interesting niche in classical music. All four are adept players, and make their instruments (some of which are more than 300 years o ... More >>

Coachella 2011 Set Times Are Up, Let the Conflicts Begin

Coachella set times have been announced. The Chemical Brothers vs. Boys Noize? Sigh...​The 2011 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival set times were announced ast night at a little past 11pm, as was rumored. The much-anticipated announcement was a big wave of relief for some and a harbinger o ... More >>

Lollapalooza Chile Announces Solid Lineup

​The lineup for the first annual Lollapalooza in Chile has been announced, according to Consequence of Sound.The Killers, Jane's Addiction, and Kanye West are among some of the top names on the artist roster. Other big names include The Flaming Lips, Ben Harper, The National, Cold War Kids, Devand ... 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 >>

Top 25 Lists of 13 New Times Contributors

Locals Only: The Best Albums and EPs From Valley Bands in 2010

Neil Young: Le Noise

​Artist: Neil Young Title: Le Noise Release date: September 28 Label: Reprise Neil Young is a first-rate iconoclast and one of the few successful rock artists who has remained truly uncompromising throughout his long and storied career. Of course, uncompromising can result in inconsistency, ... More >>

Girl Talk: All Day

​Artist: Girl Talk Title: All Day Release date: November 15 Label: Illegal Art Whether sample-happy mash-up act Girl Talk is "good" or "not good" and whether you "like" or "dislike" Girl Talk are completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding Girl Talk. The only things I care about when it ... More >>

No. 5 The National - Countdown of the Best Concerts of 2010

Luke Holwerda​Over the last days of the year Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010. Today we look at the No. 5 show of the year, The National at Marquee Theatre.

Tierra del Fuego: Queen of the Rendezvous

​Artist: Tierra del Fuego Title: Queen of the Rendezvous Release date: December 11 Label: Scapular Winging Through pure happenstance, I witnessed this local band, Tierra del Fuego, on Saturday night play as they played to a small but appreciative crowd at Trunk Space. It just happened to be t ... More >>

DJ Roya Talks Obscura, Tron Legacy, Daft Punk, Temper Trap, Pussycat Dolls, and More

DJ Roya​Name: Michele Chinichian AKA: DJ Roya Current gigs: Obscura, held at Rips Bar every second Saturday of the month. Genres spun: I play a blend of indie, New Wave, and Britpop at Obscura. I also enjoy spinning '80s pop, old school, electro, and the occasional Top 40 guilty pleasure. How ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Helmet, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Charlatans, Small Black, and more

​It's amazing how much music is released in a year. I've listened to nearly 270 records in their entirety this year, yet I still have a huge stack of unlistened CDs on my desk, several unlistened digital downloads in my iTunes, and a lengthy list of high-profile stuff I never got a chance to h ... More >>

Mini Mansions: Mini Mansions

​Artist: Mini Mansions Title: Mini Mansions Release date: November 2 Label: Ipecac One of the biggest musical curveballs of the year has to be the debut record by the Southern California trio Mini Mansions. I say it's a curveball because I wouldn't have guessed such a Beatles-esque display o ... More >>

Sun City Girls: Funeral Mariachi

​Artist: Sun City Girls Title: Funeral Mariachi Release date: October 26 Label: Abduction Sun City Girls' last-ever record -- they've made dozens since forming in Phoenix way back in the early days of West Coast punk -- comes off as a more somber affair. And some of it is downright -- odd to ... More >>

Daft Punk: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack)

​Artist: Daft Punk Title: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack) Release date: December 7 Label: Walt Disney Records I'm a little surprised by the buzz surrounding the release of a soundtrack to a Disney movie. I understand that the kids love the helmeted French house duo Daft Punk and that said ... More >>

The Parting Gifts: Strychnine Dandelions

​Artist: The Parting Gifts Title: Strychnine Dandelions Release date: November 9 Label: In the Red Last week, I didn't have many good things to say about the new record from Kanye West. This morning, a white co-worker walked into my office and said, "I read what you said about Kanye West. Whe ... More >>

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

​Artist: Kanye West Title: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Release date: November 22 Label: Roc-A-Fella Fitting, perhaps, that Kanye West's new record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is one of the final 15 or so new records that I'll be listening to before this Nothing Not New project t ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten: Epic

​Artist: Sharon Van Etten Title: Epic Release date: September 21 Label: Ba Da Bing! If you're relatively unknown as a musical artist, as is Sharon Van Etten, and you name your record Epic, you'd better be damn sure your record doesn't suck. The good news for Van Etten is that her seven-song r ... More >>

OFF!: First Four EPs

​Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat, ma ... More >>

Robyn: Body Talk

​Artist: Robyn Title: Body Talk Release date: November 22 Label: Interscope The critics sure do love the Swedish dance-pop star Robyn, who's been releasing Body Talk in chunks throughout 2010 and now has finally dropped the entire album as one 15-song compendium. But there seems to be a commo ... More >>

The Fresh & Onlys: Play It Strange

Fresh & Onlys, Play It Strange​Artist: The Fresh & OnlysTitle: Play It StrangeRelease date: October 12Label: In the RedAnd just like that, I find myself a little bored by the sound plied and, possibly, perfected by San Francisco's The Fresh & Onlys. It's the sound that has passed for g ... More >>

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 >>

Gospel Claws: C-L-A-W-S

​Artist: Gospel Claws Title: C-L-A-W-S Release date: October 26 Label: Common Wall Media Gospel Claws are a local band (Tempe, I've been told) that is currently enjoying a little bit of national exposure, residing in a reasonably high position on some relatively obscure indie-rock-tallying ch ... More >>

Elvis Costello: National Ransom

​Artist: Elvis Costello Title: National Ransom Release date: November 2 Label: Hear Music I really wish it weren't the case, but I'd have to file the new record by Elvis Costello under "For Completists Only" (of which I'm sure there many when it comes to Elvis Costello fans). If you heard hi ... More >>

The National at Marquee Theatre Last Night

Luke HolwerdaThe National live at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.​The NationalOctober 14, 2010Marquee Theatre in TempeThe National's singer, Matt Berninger, has a reputation for performing drunk. It hasn't been a huge problem -- never leading to a canceled tour or even ruining a high-profile show as far ... More >>

The National Let Their Fans Sing for Them at Marquee Theatre

Mike WestAs expected a great show last night. Ended on a totally unplugged version of Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks that came off really well.​The National proved why they're veterans in the music business last night at their show at Marquee Theatre. The band didn't even need a microphone for their fin ... More >>

Owen Pallett at Marquee Theatre Last Night

​Everyone's heard of the Final Fantasy video game series, but few people have heard of the Final Fantasy I'm writing about: Owen Pallett. What does one have to do with the other, you may ask?Pallett, who opened for The National at Marquee Theatre last night, the Canadian violin virtuoso, used to p ... More >>

Sufjan Stevens: The Age of Adz

​Artist: Sufjan Stevens Title: The Age of Adz Release date: October 21 Label: Asthmatic Kitty The new record by indie-music deity Sufjan Stevens is an hour-and-12-minute endurance test, one who's raison d'etre is revealed in the closing seconds of the record's final song, "Impossible Soul." A ... More >>

The National Make American Music

The Corin Tucker Band: 1,000 Years

​Artist: The Corin Tucker BandTitle: 1,000 YearsRelease date: October 5Label: Kill Rock Stars Who else loves Sleater-Kinney and was disappointed to hear they'd gone on indefinite hiatus after the release of one of their best records, The Woods, in 2006? In my opinion, we're one of the finer bands ... More >>

Bryan Devendorf of The National Talks SB1070, Sounding British and Chick-fil-A

​Few bands are better suited to soundtrack a stiff drink and a contemplative stare than The National, who have been issuing literate, dark records for the past decade. High Violet, their latest, is another notch on their belt, full of powerful songs that combine their Midwest gravitas with New Yor ... 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 >>

Lollapalooza 2010: Everything That Rises Must Converge

Look! It's the Cribs (and that guy who used to be in the Smiths)!​Lollapalooza 2010 on Sunday was a little off from the other days from the start.  At the begininng of the day, it looks like the elements were going to ruin the day with a nasty storm running through downtown Chicago.  Th ... More >>

What's Selling: Revolver Records

Ratatat's LP4​Revolver Records is often known for having some of the more unconventional lists for their ten best selling records of the week. (Once, their #1 slot was occupied by recordings of street music from an outdoor market in Morocco.)This week, indie cool takes over, with Ratatat on top, T ... More >>

The National: High Violet

​As May starts to heat up here in the Valley, the new releases are following suit. Brooklyn rockers The National release their fifth album today, High Violet, to very lofty acclaim.Anything the band lays down these days seems to turn to gold. The National has indie rock by the balls, and High Viol ... More >>

Q&A: Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors sure does like Wikipedia

​It was early morning when I got the e-mail confirming my phone call with Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors. It was to be at 9a.m. my time, the following day. I went to work and went about my business as usual when it hit me. What does one ask the Dirty Projectors anyway? I went online to do s ... More >>