René Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” But he was afraid to classify himself a “rational animal” because “then I should have to inquire what an animal is, what rationality is, and in this one question would lead me down the slope to other harder ones.” Heady queries…
It’s a very good time to be a hapless fuzz-rock magnate: Youthful disaffection is at an all-time high as unemployment and student-loan debt reach peak levels. Groovy rippers like Hunx and Mark Sultan dot the landscape with throwback rock maneuvers, while punk burnouts like Wavves’ Nathan Williams pack the bowl…
Lee Hazlewood cuts an imposing figure on the cover of the 2012 collection The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes, & Backsides (1968-71). Clad in undertaker black (with a white turtleneck under his coat), he stands with his head cocked slightly, a shaggy bowl-cut hairdo adorning his famously mustachioed face. He’s surrounded…
It may not feel like it right now, what with all the brain-bending and skin-scalding heat, but we’re actually more than halfway through with summer. It means that not only is there only a certain number of weeks left until temperatures start to chillax (we’re guessing around early October), but…
Thursday 16 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bobby Q’s: DJ Dark Vader, DJ Skoolboi, DJ Phlava, & Focus (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Crescent Ballroom: Discothèque Thursdays with Sean Watson, Hoodwink, & more (disco) Dollhouse: Ladies Night Thursdays feat. DJ Design (various) Hanny’s: Freestyle Thursdays with Mark…
About 345,000 electronic dance music fans packed June’s Electric Daisy Carnival festival in Las Vegas, 100,000 more than attended last year. It’s an impressive figure, to be sure, dwarfed only by an even bigger number: the millions of disappointed souls who didn’t go, forced to be content with merely listening…
Though its name has become nearly ubiquitous on concert flyers and Facebook invites, it’s important to note that it hasn’t quite been a year since Crescent Ballroom, the 400-capacity venue spearheaded by indie promoter Charlie Levy and his Stateside Presents company, opened in downtown Phoenix. Why is it important to…
See also: Sound Wave Music Festival 2012 Announced for September 29 See also: Calvin Harris Announced as Headliner for Sound Wave Music Festival The next couple months are going to be a great time to be an EDM fan here in the Valley. Not only is the Identity Festival making…
See also: Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson: “Why I’m Trying to Become a Pastor” See also: Dave Mustaine’s Advice for Starving Women in Africa: “Put a Plug in It” See also: Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine is Metal’s MVP See also: Rusty Assault Rifles Found in Madera Canyon Not Part of Fast and Furious,…
See also: The R. Kelly Love Letter Cruise Sets Sail in October! It’s a pretty damn pleasurable idea: R. Kelly, a bunch of partiers, on a boat. But R. Kelly announced via his website on Friday, August 10, 2012 that the R. Kelly Love Letters Cruise was off, stating the…
“Chandler nightlife” sounds like an oxymoron. Sure, the city is home to a skatepark and a big mall, but unless you’re a teenager borrowing your parents’ car, the town isn’t exactly a nightlife hot spot. Because of this, Chandler benefits from businesses that stay open past 10 p.m. There are…
Daniel Hart @ Trunk Space| 8/14/12 Perhaps the New Times staff ought to add a new review classification– something along the lines of “You Shoulda Seen It.” Unfortunately, Daniel Hart’s performance last night at the Trunk Space would fall into that category…
Piñata Protest @ Rhythm Room | 8/14/12 See also: Los Tigres del Norte, Wild Horse Pass Casino, 8/3/12 Much as in the United States, Mexican music is very regional. Our border brothers in the northern Mexican states for example, have a predisposition for accordion-filled norteños, while rural areas are known…
See also: Kanye West’s “Mercy” Explained By Phoenix Producer Lifted If you’ve had “Mercy” on repeat for the past couple of months, you’ll be pleased to know that Kanye West and Rick Ross appear in the double-video/double-single, “I Wish You Would”/”Cold.” Hype Williams combined both of these songs in a…
See also: Green Day’s New Song “Epic as Fuck?” Not Even Close. See also: Throwback Thursday: Green Day’s Dookie Last week at a live show in Los Angeles, Green Day revealed another three power punk tracks from their upcoming album, ¡UNO!: “Nuclear Family,” “Wild One,” and most importantly, “Kill The…
She might be person most to blame for the misuse of the word “ironic” in America, but who cares? We’ve always had a soft spot for Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill was such an unforgettable album from the ’90s, and its “pissed off at the world” attitude felt relatable at…
Nashville Pussy @ Rhythm Room| 8/13/12 After last night, I can’t get enough Nashville Pussy. I have a confession. I’ve fallen in love with almost every female guitarist I’ve ever seen. Last night was as good as it gets. Guitarist Ruyter Suys — pronounced “rider sighs” — wails on her…
See also: Phife Dawg at Club Red, 6/22/12 See also: Talib Kweli, Club Red, 7/21/12 See also: Elzhi and RoQ’y TyRaid, Chasers Bar & Night Club, 8/1/12 It’s been a good time for Valley hip-hop fans lately. Over the last few weeks major rap players like Phife Dawg, Talib Kweli,…
See also: Johnny Volume Brings the “Delinquency” Punk Rock DJ Night Back to Yucca See also: DJ Johnny Volume Talks Local Punk, Avail, and More See also: Johnny Volume: “[Waylon Jennings] Truly Did Not Give a Fuck…” One of the Valley’s longer-running punk rock nights is about to go D.O.A…
See also: Beck, Modern Guilt (Review) See also: Beck, The Information (Review) Beck is the Tom Sawyer of modern music: he never grows up, and we love him even when he’s annoying or faking his own death. And now, like Sawyer’s famous white fence episode, Beck is getting someone else…
See also: EL-P’s Dystopian Hip-Hop is No Sci-Fi Fantasy See also: Asher Roth Is Bro Rap Incarnate, but Don’t Hold It Against Him See also: Action Bronson @ Club Red See also: Ten Awesome Mixtapes To Download Right Now (NSFW) What are the first names to come to mind when…
Ever since Curiosity survived the seven minutes of terror and landed on Mars last Sunday, we continue to be fascinated by the rover’s pictures. Last week the device, which looks like it could be Wall-E’s cousin, took a cool black and white panoramic shot of the red planet. The environment…
