As we’re all painfully aware, Monday, April 17, is this year’s tax deadline. For the average 9-to-5 schmo, that means scrounging through a pile of employment forms, bank statements and gas receipts for stuff to write off. Of course, some people try deducting every receipt in the house, from so-called…
In a bar somewhere on the West Coast, a presumptuous punk-rock fan approached a woman who looked familiar. “Hey, you look just like Exene Cervenka. What are you doing here?” The woman, taking pleasure in the opportunity to shut down this clueless tool, flatly said, “I am Exene. I just…
Whenever indie rock has veered too close to becoming like a traditional form of music — whether it’s by-the-book Class of ’77 punk, emo with sanctioned sad chords, press-the-distortion-pedal-here grunge, or power-pop that eschews anything Big Star or Cheap Trick hasn’t already tackled — that’s when it’s failed us as…
Chicago’s Carl Mitchell, a.k.a. Twista, isn’t a musical or lyrical innovator, but he’s got the fastest tongue in hip-hop, and his quick spitting — and the collaborators he’s attracted as a result — helps explain why his career’s on the upswing after nearly a decade in the game. His verbal…
Lila Downs wowed audiences as the tango singer in Salma Hayek’s Frida and won a Latin Grammy for Best Folk Album for Una Sangre (One Blood), which blended Mexican folk music with hip-hop and world beats from the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. The arrangements on La Cantina:…
Opportunities for guilt-free — no, make that philanthropic — partying just don’t seem to happen enough, but this Saturday night’s MasquerAID gives you the chance to do just that. MasquerAID, at the Icehouse (429 West Jackson Street), is a benefit for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the…
Thursday 13 Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: DJ Brooklyn (hip-hop, Top 40) AZ 88: Mr. P-Body (synth pop, electro) Camus: KURRENT_affairs with Pablo Gomez (electronic, rock, pop, avant-garde) The Crown Room: DJ Gable (rock, house, hip-hop) Deadbeats: EZ Thursdays with DJs Robin Lepel & Josh Nelson (house, techno) e4: Limelight with DJ…
It’s not uncommon to see art galleries doing double duty as live music venues around town, but music and art museums still don’t seem to mix. Not unless you count the unsung jazz and chamber music ensembles that give ambiance to events where guests are more into the cheese platter…
The title of this one’s a scam, as the 19-track comp only includes the earliest and latest of Johnny Thunders’ post-New York Dolls output, prior to his falling ill of leukemia, which caused complications that led to his death in ’91. But it does hit the obvious sweet spots (and…
A lot has been said about this Tucson man and his trademark public address system/helmet. Like, if Evel Knievel had been wearing Bob Log headgear back in the day, we would’ve heard “SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!” a whole mess of times as he plummeted down Snake River Canyon. And if Bob…
Watching the Loveblisters play on the small stage at Last Exit in Tempe, you kind of have to feel sorry for Ethan Hillis, the curly-haired drummer and youngest member of the band. He’s barely visible behind the line of the five other musicians — flanked by keyboardists Jessica Stanley and…
Rock bands, as anyone who’s been in one for more than a week will tell you, can be as contentious as an episode of Hardball. Boston’s arena-rock quartet Damone is no exception, having divorced both its label and its main songwriter, Dave Pino, under circumstances ugly enough to be kept…
New Times has been throwing this bash since 1996, and somewhere along the way, a clever employee must’ve figured out that early evening is a good time for everyone to come hang out — night owls and early birds included. Need proof? Just get a look at the 12,000 music…
For record labels, video games and music are a match made in target-audience heaven. EA Sports pushes major-label names in rock and hip-hop on the company’s yearly Madden and NBA updates, and Tony Hawk games sport underground punk and metal soundtracks, but while those are somewhat appropriate, this week’s latest…
Despite the persistent hints of dread on Garden Ruin, Calexico manages its worried blues on these gracefully stripped-down acoustic numbers. After 10 years of sorting through multicultural influences, this Tucson collective has simplified its sound, allowing the occasional glockenspiel or Spanish lyric to gain a world-weary grandeur. Amidst the record’s…
Murs’ new album, Murray’s Revenge, is a follow-up to his last collaboration with underground producer 9th Wonder, 2004’s critically acclaimed Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition. While that album was moodily introspective — its cover image featured Murs under a freeway, tipping his hat toward the night sky — Murray’s Revenge…
Please excuse Nick Diamonds and Jaime T’ambour while they resurrect themselves. If you’ll recall, they bought the proverbial farm at the conclusion of The Unicorns’ landmark Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?, a sort of fey, goofy, indie rock Final Exit. The Canadian pair have since jettisoned Alden…
Edvard Munch once wrote, “Illness, insanity and death are the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.” The Black Angels tuck this cheery little epigram into the triptych of the beautifully eye-popping design of their debut album. They make good on their implied…
A monument stands at the center of What the Toll Tells, Two Gallants’ sophomore album, and like any dramatic reminder of a dark era passed, it inspires some serious introspection. At almost 10 minutes in length, “Threnody” is exactly what its title suggests, a poetic song of lament — specifically,…
I’ve seen the future of hippie music, and it’s called Sound Tribe Sector 9. Moreover, this phrase isn’t nearly as much of a backhanded insult as it initially appears. Sure, the Atlanta-based quintet is beloved by the I-swear-hemp-underwear-doesn’t-itch crowd. But unlike acts that spend their careers trying to rewrite “Sugar…
When it comes to turntablists in this town, nobody can fuck with DJ Radar. Not only has Radar composed and performed his classical Concerto for Turntable at Carnegie Hall, but the scratchmaster’s designed and built his own custom looping machine for making his beats, scratches, and wahh’s cascade over one…
Cincinnati/Brooklyn hip-hop trio Tanya Morgan’s debut album, Moonlighting, sounds ebullient. Its tone seems influenced by both West Coast indie rap (and that coast’s penchant for making freewheeling, carefree music) and the punch-line-heavy battle rhymes of East Coast underground hip-hop. Whether intentionally or not, the unusually named Tanya Morgan (the names…
