June Friday Beauty of the Birdsong (self-released) GRADE: D+ June Friday’s Beauty of the Birdsong is a strange melding of many things ’80s, wearing a disguise as a poor attempt to make it seem contemporary. The combination of synthesizers, drum machines, long guitar solos, and quasi-futuristic lyrics are in many…
If there’s ever been such a thing as a two-sided coin, or an ethical conundrum, here it is. It seems that Best Buy stores will be stocking CDs from local bands. And not just ultra-cool, well-selling local bands. Apparently, they’re willing to stock any local band. That means yours too!…
The economy sucks… Let’s party!Yes, these are the sentiments of Pittsburgh punkers Anti-Flag. If you know anything about the band, these sentiments shouldn’t surprise you. The band has made a mark with their strong political views and activism. In fact, The Economy Sucks, Let’s Party! tour has teamed up with non-profits…
Patti Smith has always had the gift of being able create art in different media. From her poems to her songs to her photographs and even her film work, she is constantly creating something that others want to experience. On Tuesday, her memoir Just Kids was released. It is a…
Epic Records, owned by Sony, evidently allowed McDonald’s to use a Franz Ferdinand song without checking with the boys first. Lead singer Alex Kapranos was less than pleased about the decision. While he did state, “I’d rather eat a cowpat on a bun than a bloody McDonald’s,” he’s actually far…
This year’s annual collection of the opinions of thousands of music critics regarding the best albums and singles of the year has arrived. The poll was started in 1974 by famed music journalist Robert Christgau and has been continuously running ever since then. While not everyone on the New Times…
Last night’s performance from New York hardcore punk rockers Agnostic Front was anything but forgettable. Hundreds of people crowded into the Yucca Tap Room in the true spirit of punk rock.To move across the jam-packed floor, you had to pass through a large, rowdy, and intense mosh pit that was…
Seemingly always in the news, Lady Gaga has once again found a way to top all the other pop stars out there. This time her single Bad Romance broke the record for most weekly plays in the history of Billboard’s seventeen years of keeping track. The song was played 10,859…
Revolver Records does a phenomenal job of keeping us connected. Not just with good music, not just with new albums, or with incredibly cool, undiscovered artists; they give us everything. Even vinyl. For those of us who prefer the old fashioned turntable, we can get both the new and the…
The world has watched closely as the effects of the earthquake in Haiti are beginning to reveal themselves, both to the island nation and to the rest of the world. Prominent figures in the entertainment industry have made sure that the media know that they care, and that in their…
Well, according to Ronnie Wood’s ex-girlfriend, Celebrity Big Brother star Ekaterina Ivanova, it’s him! The couple with a 41-year age gap is finito, and Ivanova claims she is totally over it. She also hints that her co-star “Basshunter” may be her soul mate. In other news, Kanye West and Elton…
Dry River Yacht Club The Ugliest Princess (self-released) GRADE: A- Dry River Yacht Club has made a name for themselves as a bold, unconventional band. Their instrumentation, which includes French horn, bassoon, and accordion would seem to make them an unlikely choice to play at places like the Yucca Tap…
For the second year in a row, The Sugar Thieves have won the Arizona Blues Showdown, and will be traveling to Memphis to represent the state in the 26th International Blues Challenge. While they’ll be up against seasoned musicians, the young Thieves bring a whole new energy to the table…
Axl Rose’s latest incarnation of Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy, took over 17 years to complete which quite possibly made it the most anticipated album of the past two decades. You may remember that the folks at Dr. Pepper were so excited and skeptical about its release that they agreed to give…
This opening of Long Wong’s on Apache and McClintock has certainly stirred up conversation. Its authenticity in regard to the original Long Wong’s is in question, and there’s even debate as to whether it should be referred to as a “re-opening” or a “grand opening.” No matter how one may…
While New Times is often the recipient of much criticism, it would be pretty difficult to claim that we, or the subjects of our stories, contain any sort of lack of creativity. This week, in particular, we get a look at unique artists scheduled to perform in the Valley. First,…
Such is the plight of our desert city. We are not a destination for enough musicians. We are merely a stop between Dallas and L.A., Vegas and god-knows-where. Smaller acts are more likely to come to Tucson, and larger ones may skip us altogether. Sadly, it seems that Dr. Dog…
School is almost back in session, but Hoodlums has kept busy even while the students are out of town. Tom Waits is at the top of their sales, local acoustic sereneders Dry River Yacht Club came in second, and Bobby Dylan’s Christmas album is still going strong even though Christmas…
How could a man of such brilliance, who creates such visually stunning pieces of art, who can seemingly do no wrong, allow the likes of Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz to write for the soundtrack of his latest creation, Alice in Wonderland? We may never know,…
Thee Jaguar Sharks Thee Jaguar Sharks (Wahalla Music) GRADE: B+ Surf rock can’t help but be a bit ironic out of the context of the time and space that it was created. That is to say, in the 2000s and in the middle of the desert, the meaning just doesn’t…
M.I.A.’s new record is slated for release this summer, and you can expect that it’ll be a bit different from Kala. She said that on her record she’ll be singing as well as rapping and that her inspirations were a little less conventional than usual. One song, “I’m Down Like Your…
Neil Hamburger has been referred to as “America’s Funnyman,” “the world’s ‘worst’ stand-up comedian,” and as having a sense of humor “drier than the Sahara.” Full of awkward moments, the anti-comedian alter ego of Gregg Turkington (who did, in fact, live in Tempe for some time) comes up with awful…
