Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 is not just some re-mastered re-issue. It ain’t no run-of-the-mill recording. This is the first time that Cohen’s entire performance at the historic festival has been released. Why is this exciting and noteworthy, you may ask? For several reasons. Firstly, Leonard Cohen…
I realize this may be a highly unpopular thing to say, but I think it’s time for the Kings of Leon to go on sabbatical. The Tennessee quartet and their overplayed songs have found just one more way to make being a hipster more obnoxious and, yes, more expensive. The…
Evidently, this is the week for shocking celebrity engagements. Less than 48 hours ago, it was Russell Brand and Katy Perry. Now this. As Spin mentions, the news is a whole new kind of creepy. He’s said publicly that he fantasizes about smashing her skull in. In one of his…
We can officially look back at 2009 in the dust trail behind us. It’s over and done, and we are just finishing up contemplating what the year brought us. For the music crowd, that means a reflection of any and all recordings that made 2009 what it was. Music editor…
Jack White has quickly attained a legendary, iconic status, even without the aging it typically takes for one to achieve such accolades. In the last decade, he has rocked our world, and is something of a King Midas of indie music. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold. He…
Does anyone else find this to be a “What the fuck?!?” moment? I was surprised that they were dating, and now just four months later, they’re engaged. The most sickening part: The picture you are viewing was posted on Perry’s Twitter page with the caption, “He built this for me…”…
For me — and I suspect for you — a truly great song is three-to-five odd minutes of pure, unadulterated bliss. The state of euphoria you attain when listening cannot be tampered with. You would never want someone standing in front of you talking during a concert. You would never…
Let’s face it. Cover albums are usually a bad idea. While it’s wonderful to see one artist admire another so much that (s)he wishes to have a recording permanently linking the two together, most of the time the art of the craft is lost. David Bowie’s Pin Ups is an…
The general rule for New Year’s Eve is to try and top every outlandish thing that you’ve done at a party in the last year. That’s kind of tough if you’re the Flaming Lips and you’ve already topped yourself more times than you can count. So Wayne Coyne and the…
Undoubtedly, one of the coolest things about the Yucca Tap Room is the community of people that congregates there. Starting last summer, a core group of musicians from that community began putting together special concerts as a tribute to some of their favorite musicians. Each designated night, the group picks…
Patti Smith, in her own words, is “an American artist . . . [who has] no guilt.” Though she has been making music for over 35 years, her thick, unapologetic voice can still stir you to the core. In each note is her every experience. Her joys, her sorrows. Her…
In Caribbean culture, the “calypsonian” holds the responsibility of being a social commentator, a collective voice for the people. Calypsonians’ music has altered elections, sparked social revolution, and uplifted repressed minorities. The unique thing about calypso is that while the message is often related to social consciousness, the music is…
Last month Neba, Underwater Getdown, Kinch, Black Carl, Kirkwood Dellinger, and Lisa Savidge all donated their time to the grassroots, DIY, volunteer-based, non-profit organization that is beginning to fill a void that Phoenicians so desperately crave. They call it Radio Phoenix, the only community-based radio station in town. Radio Phoenix’s…
While there’s been much talk about the changing Phoenix area, Tempe is the part of town perhaps the most under siege. Long-timers remember the days when Mill Avenue was a cool place to be – when mom-and-pop businesses and live-music venues lined the street. Now . . . not so…
It’s not often that a local band gets national recognition. It’s also not often that a local band has a song featured in a movie released internationally. Yet that’s exactly what Tramps and Thieves has done, all in about four months. In June, the group that guitarist/vocalist Emmett DeGuvera refers…
Ranging in style from hip-hop to punk to, arguably, metal, The Stiletto Formal is creating quite the buzz. Sure, it could be because it’s one of the few signed local bands, or it could be because of its forthcoming CD, ¡Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta!, or it could be because its…
Ranging in style from hip-hop to punk to, arguably, metal, The Stiletto Formal is creating quite the buzz. Sure, it could be because it’s one of the few signed local bands, or it could be because of its forthcoming CD, ¡Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta!, or it could be because its…
Green Jellÿ (pronounced “Jell-O”) is a low-budget, 217-member band that was hailed by Joey Ramone as the worst act ever to open up for the Ramones. That’s pretty much the point, as Green Jellÿ proudly bills itself as “The World’s Worst Band.” It’s a wretched, revolving-door group whose sound is…
The duo named Dresden Dolls is slightly more than a bit unconventional, by which me mean to say, “Duh.” Any band that labels its oeuvre “Brechtian punk cabaret” and names itself after the site of one of the most horrible war crimes of all time, well, it’s probably not gonna…
While there’s been much talk about the changing Phoenix area, Tempe is the part of town perhaps the most under siege. Long-timers remember the days when Mill Avenue was a cool place to be – when mom-and-pop businesses and live-music venues lined the street. Now . . . not so…
Phoenix punk band Glass Heroes has been around for more than 17 years. They performed with Nirvana at the long-lost (but not forgotten) Sun Club, and have played with and become friends with a host of other famous folks, including the Sex Pistols, the MC5, the UK Subs, and Motörhead…
Now in its sixth year, the Tempe Music Festival brings an annual spotlight to town. As always, the headliners are national acts, meant to draw in a crowd of people who probably have little interest in local music and are far more likely to see a show at the Dodge…
