The lowest common denominator having been achieved in 2005 with the release of the Black Eyed Peas’ Monkey Business, popular musicians have had to work extra hard in recent years to find new and inventive ways to be inane. They found great success in 2009, with artists as varied as…
I really wanted this column to be about the best local records of 2009 — that’s what I did last year around this time, putting bands like Kinch, Miniature Tigers, and The Loveblisters on the top of a very solid list of albums from 2008. Sadly, I couldn’t manage such…
The last time we were at Monkey Pants, it was a weird sports bar with enormous televisions, fluorescent lighting and carpeted flooring.My, how things have changed.We’ve been hearing favorable things about the little bar (that, incidentally, shares the same strip as hipster favorite, the Time Out Lounge) so we figured…
We don’t normally cover tribute bands here at Up on the Sun, but from time to time there’s an act that’s so stellar it breaks through to capture our attention. Purple Reign, a Vegas-based show which comes to Casino Arizona this weekend, is such an an act. We’ve got a…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about…
No You Don’t – Islands…
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…”…
“Thanks,” Thurston Moore of legendary noise-rockers Sonic Youth laughs, hoisting up a Bethel Wildcats letterman jacket, an unusual gift from a crowd member at the group’s packed performance at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre. Moore, a 1976 graduate of the Connecticut high school, seems bemused by the offering. “You know, in high…
I’ve been a huge fan of the Valley improv scene for years now and have taken classes with The Torch Theatre and performed as part of Jester’z at Theater 168.Now a couple of my former Jester’z buddies are teaching classes of their own at Art on Boston at Chandler. It’s…
For this list, I have compiled my favorite albums of the past decade — the oft-terrible Aughts. While the decade itself might have sucked a big one, the music that was produced was incredible — perhaps the only upside to an otherwise disheartening 10 years. In my top ten you…
Maybe it’s the karaoke. Maybe it’s increasingly harsh DUI laws. Maybe it’s the fact that every douchebag hipster with a Mac and blogger buddies thinks he’s a DJ. Whatever the reason, it’s been a bad era for the rock club. Anyone who likes to listen to live music on a…
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…
[jump] Here we can see the original picture, taken by Ben Eubank (flickr user benisntfunny): Now, I present booklet page 2 from Owl City’s most recent album Ocean Eyes: As you can clearly see, Young just up and took Eubank’s photo and made it is own, not before adding a…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Why? Because in the words of his editor, Martin Cizmar, he suffers from “aesthetic atrophy,” a wasting away of one’s ability…
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…
I used to be a HUGE fan of Tempe’s electronic pop act The Medic Droid, which sadly broke up last year after singer Chris Donathon walked off-stage in Tucson mere days after ‘Phoenix New Times’ ran a cover story on them.Darn you!So, when he MySpace messaged me this, it piqued…
OK, by now you’ve perhaps read on our food blog that there’s a new Long Wong’s planned for Apache and McClintock. “Big Deal,” you may be thinking, “those wing joints are everywhere.”Not so fast. A close inspection of the zoning documents reveals that this Long Wong’s is planning to have…
Contra will be released January 12 on XL…
Everyone’s favorite band of early 2008, Vampire Weekend, will play the the Marquee on April 13. As I said when the band last played here, for what ended up being “Take Your Kids to a Concert” night in September 2008, their new record is make-or-break for the once hotly tipped…
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…
Artist: Texas TornadosAlbum: Está Bueno!Release Date: March 2, 2010Label: Bismeaux Records…
