Elephant 6 stallwart Julian Koster, formerly of of Neutral Milk Hotel, has been doing weird shows with his new band The Music Tapes for years. For example, playing “White Christmas” outside random apartments in New York as part of an annual Christmas Carol tour.These are the sorts of tours that…
Song: Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Our Hearts Are Wrong” Context: Jessica Lea Mayfield’s now album is due in February, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and out on Nonesuch. This first single is pretty damn good. Jessica Lea Mayfield – Our Hearts Are Wrong…
Taylor Swift may be headlining the 2011 version of the Country Thunder music festival in Arizona.The event’s organizers sent out a press releases today announcing the dates for the annual hootenanny: April 7-10, in Florence where the festival has been staged at Canyon Moon Ranch since outgrowing Schnepf Farms in…
Song: Weezer, “Tragic Girl”Context: This is the last song on the excellent and informative two-disc re-issue of Pinkerton which came out last week. Weezer – Tragic Girl (Pinkerton Reissue) by mmcizmar…
Song: The Aggrolites, Free TimeContext: You’ve got your choice of American reggae bands this week with both The Aggrolites and Pepper coming to town. Both have shows on Friday — choose wisely. The Aggrolites – Free Time by KROQ…
Best CoastRhythm Room, PhoenixNovember 9, 2010A comment left on my Facebook check-in at last Night’s Best Coast concert at Rhythm Room:”Good luck listening to the same song with different lyrics over and over!”The friend who left that is half right about the LA-based garagey, surfy, lo-fi indie pop band in…
Song: Paul McCartney and Wings, “Band on the Run” Context: If you don’t yet have a copy of Band On The Run, the album, the new remastered version is worth picking up. It certainly sounds a lot better than this mp3. Paul Mccartney & Wings- Band on the Run…
Last week Phoenix New Times ran a big ol’ story on Best Coast in our print edition. We were topped by our sister paper in LA that same day, however.Gustavo Turner, the Weekly’s music editor, had a 6,000-word cover story on the band’s main lady Bethany Cosentino which might just…
Song: Kid Cudi, “REVOFEV”Context:I’m surprised there’s so little hype for the release of Kid Cudi’s second album, Man On The Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager, tomorrow. This is the first single. REVOFEV by ITSTHEMANSION…
It’s no secret that blogger-generated genre names keep getting weirder. It’s also no secret that kids with laptops are recording “music” that’s getting weirder and weirder.And so we have Hoop Dreamz, the first “Dunkwave” EP from a Tempe-based outfit called Vladee Divacc. You can stream or download the whole thing…
Bill Wyman — a valued member of Phoenix’s blogging community held in high esteem by all those who know him — has successfully perpetrated a humorous ruse upon the news media.Mr. Wyman, you see, shares his name with the former bassist of The Rolling Stones, one of the world’s most…
Song:Girl Talk – Bounce ThatContext: Girl Talk will play Marquee Theatre on March 23, it was announced today. w00t! Girl Talk – Night Ripper…
Song: Coconut Records, “West Coast” Context: I’m apparently the last man on earth to realize Jason Schwartzman’s musical project Coconut Records is actually pretty awesome. What a great song. West Coast- Coconut Records by gagowyou…
Song: Barbra Streisand, “Send in the Clowns” [Live]Context: Today’s soundtrack is dedicated to John Boehner. And to the spineless Democrats in California who failed to back Prop 19. And to the people of Iowa who removed the Supreme Court justices responsible for the state’s landmark gay marriage decision. And to…
Song: David Guetta featuring Kid Cudi, “Memories”Context: What’s the better current hit single called “Memories,” this one from French house producer David Guetta or the song by Weezer? Actually, here’s a better question: Why has no one mashed them together yet? David Guetta – Memories by larsvoogsgeerd…
Song: Deerhunter, “Helicopter” (STAR SLINGER REMIX)Context: Deerhunter plays Clubhouse Music Venue on Wednesday. Deerhunter – Helicopter (STAR SLINGER REMIX) by Star Slinger…
Arizona Foothills magazine has blown The Arizona Republic away in the 2010 “Most Awesome Selection of Bands For a Reader’s Choice Contest” contest held by local news outlets.Check out this screenshot for their Best Of Our Valley contest. Have you heard of any of these bands, besides maybe Rock Lobster,…
Remember when MC Hammer went all thug and changed his name to Hammer to get a little edge? He recorded that awful “Pumps and a Bump” song and turned his backup dancers into a newly-hard posse of wannabe street thugs? History is repeating itself.Hammer — last spotted as a Social…
This news should make some sad kids a little happier at the start of Halloween Weekend: Kansas City’s emo legends The Get Up Kids will put out a new record in January 2011.There Are Rules will become the the band’s fifth full-length and is set to be self-released on an…
Song: Built To Spill, “Ripple” (Grateful Dead Cover) a bootleg from Tuesday’s show at Marquee Theatre. Context: The bootleg of BTS’s Tuesday show in Tempe (shared in the comments section of my review) on Tuesday is awesome. This was my favorite moment of the show, just because it was such…
Song: Small Black, “Search Party” Context: Brooklyn’s Small Black is playing Trunk Space on November 2. “Search Party” is the first single off the band’s record New Chain but you can actually stream the whole thing here for a limited time. I really dig their stuff — they sound like…
Is that venue in Mesa called Nile Theatre or Nile Theater?This is actually a confusing question. The venue’s URL is TheatRE. But the big logo on their homepage is TheatER. Most of the fliers for shows at the venue are TheatER. However, the listings on the site say TheatRE. The…
