The Shins

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend

This weekend is Prince Eve. We understand that. But if you're unable or unwilling to part with the kind of money it takes to see Prince in something smaller than an arena, you can divert yourself with any of these coming attractions:

The Roots, McDowell Mountain Music Festival, 3/23/13

The Roots @ McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Margret T. Hance Park|3/23/13About an hour into their dominating set, the legendary Roots crew pulled out a trick few other bands could get away with: Drummer Questlove and percussionist Frank Knuckles did a drum solo. An extended one. It's always been ... More >>

Heartless Bastards: Songwriter Erika Wennerstorm Aims for "Clint Eastwood-meets-Nancy Sinatra" Sounds

Timberlake-style audacity aside, it takes some serious stones to open an album with a six-minute-plus slow burning anthem. But that's what Erika Wennerstrom does with "Marathon," the opening track of her band Texas-via-Ohio band Heartless Bastards' 2012 opus, Arrow. See also: -Questlove of The Ro ... More >>

Questlove of The Roots Is So Much Better at Instagram Than You

Of all the stupid things we do with our phones, Instagram might be the worst. Not only has the app falsely convinced us all we're professional photographers, but it's done something even worse: It's encouraged our worst vainglorious tendencies. No one is Amaro-toning his or her real life. There are ... More >>

Yo Gabba Gabba! Is Proof That Kids Like Awesome Music

Can you imagine how you would have turned out if The Flaming Lips -- the same Christmas on Mars/crazy/insane Flaming Lips you're thinking of -- had appeared on Sesame Street? It's a question we'll soon be able to answer. The Lips have appeared on Yo Gabba Gabba!, arguably the hippest children's sh ... More >>

Math The Band, The Trunk Space, 12/03/12

Math the Band @ Trunk Space|11/3/12Imagine if that goofy indie rock cred of The Shins and Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, the "Napoleon Dynamites" of music, hadn't lost so much popularity and had instead evolved, embracing the EDM subculture with sentimental Millenial generation video game sample ... More >>

Tim and Willy Let Go From KMLE; Danny Zelisko Presents Dropped By KDKB

See also: Dave Pratt's Out, MasterChef Contestant Monti Carlo Is In at 103.9, Plus More Radio News It's been a strange week in Valley radio: On Sunday, July 22, KDKB-FM (93.3) personality and local concert promoter Danny Zelisko announced that his program, The Danny Zelisko Presents radio program ( ... More >>

STRFKR and Painted Palms at Crescent Ballroom, 1/10/12

Over the years, it's been hard to peg Portland solo project turned electro-pop trio Starfucker as any one thing. Known for wearing women's clothing during live performances, having song titles like "Biggie Smalls" and "Queen Latifah," and changing their band name more times than they've changed thei ... More >>

Viva Voce's Anita Robinson Talks The Future Will Destroy You, Female Musicians and the Apocalypse

​Indie's Viva Voce, the husband-wife duo of Anita and Kevin Robinson, never had to fall back on "being cute." Music lead them to each other, not vice versa. They've toured extensively over the better part of the last six years, including a stint with The Shins and local boys Jimmy Eat World. To ... More >>

Foster the People Just Wants You to Dance

Kara Roschi, What Are You Listening To?

Kara Roschi​Kara Roschi The local artist is co-owner of Practical Art. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I am proud to be car-free! But when I did have one, it was NPR in the afternoons, KSLX in the evenings ('specially Gettin' the L ... More >>

The Strokes, Angles: Worth the Wait

'Angles' by The Strokes. Could this be the big comeback we've all been waiting for?​After listening to the Strokes' new single, "Under Cover of Darkness" when it dropped, I didn't set my hopes very high for the rest of the album.The single, which dropped a few days ago, was just ta little better t ... More >>

5 Things We Could Expect to See From Meg White Now

The White Stripes​ If you're anything like me, your first thought when you heard that the White Stripes were breaking up was this: "Sucks to be Meg White right now!"After all, it's not like Jack White has got anything to worry about. He's still got The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, collaborations ... More >>

Uncovering the Vast Conspiracy to Kill Nonpoint

The Scourge of Aesthetic Atrophy, and the Top 50 Albums of the Aughts

Throw Me the Statue Might Never Play Creaturesque Live Again If They Don’t Fix Their Windshield Wiper

Amazon Trots out Their "100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time"

Amazon takes their shot at indie rock's 100 greatest albumsThe fine folks over at amazon.com decided that the time was ripe to assemble a list of the best indie rock albums of all time. Indie rock is a genre either really easy to define or kind of confusing to define, but that sentiment did not hol ... More >>

Miniature Tigers: Almost Everyone Loves Charlie Brand

Fleet Foxes To Grace SNL's Music Stage

As reported on this past Friday, Fleet Foxes have been named the musical guest for this Saturday's episode of Saturday Night Live with host Rosario Dawson. Lorne Michaels booked the band to perform a week after sugary-sweet teen pop-star Taylor Swift graced the stage, ushering in the second time Fle ... More >>

Five Pacific Northwest Albums That Made a Difference in 2008

Some of the more well-received albums of 2008 have come from the rainy, bike-loving confines of the Pacific Northwest - a trusty bastion for indie rock and insanely innovative pop. When bands from the two meccas of the Pacific Northwest - Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington - emerge onto the na ... More >>

Coma Little Bit Closer

San Antonio's Girl in a Coma could be just the r'n'r we need

Juices Flowing

Top 10 selling CDs at Zia Record Exchange, 105 West University Drive in Tempe

Chart-busters for the week

The Fray

Fruit Bats

Mt. Egypt

Contact high

Fruit Bats

Spelled in Bones
(Sub Pop)

Unkind Cut

We'd been enjoying emo for years before self-injury stepped into the spotlight

This Week's Day-by-day Picks

Two Much

Tegan and Sara's twin-powered pop is no ordinary sister act

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the top 10 music stories were all about winning the popular vote

Green Party

Being young and raw hasn't stopped dios from writing great pop songs

Fruit Bats

Hoping to stir a buzz in the Valley

Modest Mouse

The Moon and Antarctica
(Epic Records)