Why is it that we crave controversy from our pop singers? Might it be because we love to look at their lives through a microscope? Are our culture and our lives that dull and boring that we are forced to react to every little thing someone like Jessica Simpson does?…
When Slipknot chose the title All Hope Is Gone for their fourth studio album, they definitely weren’t referring to the expectations of their audience. If anything, when the album dropped last summer, the band’s legion of fans got everything it wished for in the form of a hard-rocking collection of…
If you’ve ever drowned your sorrows in suds on a Sunday night at the Yucca Tap Room, you know that DJ Dana gives you the perfect soundtrack for whatever heartbreak ails you, spinning classic country discs from her vast collection of wax as well as hosting a local country act…
Jen Deveroux knows how to put on one hell of a party. Just look at the 30-something scenester’s wildly successful “Adult Swim” shindigs she and indie promoter Psyko Steve presented this past summer at the Hotel San Carlos’ rooftop pool. (The events were so crowded that the Phoenix fire marshal…
Everyone hates emo. Well, everyone who matters hates emo, at least. Ten years after Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity set the standard for the genre, it seems to be on its last legs, creatively and commercially, without any real fans among tastemakers. Since critics, not charts, tend to write music history,…
Attention all appreciators of fine art into making snarky comments when presented with “art” best suited for hotel bathrooms: Chow Bella has your number. “Art Burn” is a new series on Chow Bella that takes a look at various works of artistic expression hanging up in Valley eateries. This week’s…
“Jimmy Eat World is one of those early on indie rock influences for me. Static Prevails and Clarity had a huge hand in shaping a lot of what I do musically today. Its funny because, when asked to write a short review on Clarity, my band KNESSET had just played…
It’s times like this I’m extra thankful for George Washington. It appears Amanda Palmer’s brilliant single “Oasis,” and the accompanying video have effectively banned in Britain for “making light of rape, religion and abortion.” You can read all about it on her blog, where the Dresden Doll gets right to…
Just when you thought the Rocky Horror Picture Show couldn’t get any saucier, Come As You Are and AZ Rocky will host two Mardi Gras-themed nights this month at Chandler Cinemas, 2140 N. Arizona Ave. The two-night spectacular – open to all-ages on Saturday, March 7 and to those 18-and-older…
“I remember being really young when the album Clarity by Jimmy Eat World came out. For me, it was the first realization that a band that lived in the same ZIP code as me could go out and make it. For my friends and me, it was an inspiring album, as I’m…
So, it’d be easy to reduce blind singer Scott MacIntyre to a series of puns about his visual impairment (read: the title of his post). Lots of other bloggers refer to him as Blind Guy, and he’s actually got a good sense of self-deprication about the whole thing, so we…
Phoenix hardcore band The Cover Up announced through a MySpace bulletin that their March 17 show — opening for the equally hardcore Saosin at Tempe’s The Clubhouse Music Venue — has been canceled. The group didn’t offer up many details aside from a “Sorry yallz” on a posted bulletin. Saosin blogged…
After releasing their first album in 1996, power pop purists Fountains of Wayne finally deliver their debut DVD, No Better Place – Live in Chicago, 13 years later. While that may seem a little late in the game, it’s about right on schedule for FoW time. After all, this is…
So, a friend of mine and I have a geeky debate raging over the entertainment at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. Personally, I think it’s annoying to see the same performers doing the same shticks every year. I mean, how many times can you see Ded Bob “bobmotize” some hot chick…
VW TrainwreckDramaturgy(self-released)”Punk rock, comedy, and politics” can be a great combination — look at NOFX. But when a local band declares they’re playing with these elements in their self-penned biography, I get a little nervous. VW Trainwreck’s new album, Dramaturgy, is exactly why. With a band theme song, a track…
“When Clarity entered my life, I had been a part-time fan of Jimmy Eat World, ever since my brother (a member of a local band), took me to see them at The Nile. But Clarity is what changed my life. Along with a group of friends, we all fell in…
“I’m not going to lie, I really wasn’t all that into Jimmy Eat World when Clarity first came out. I was only interested in listening to ska and punk rock and wanted nothing to do with so-called “emo” music.I don’t remember what eventually got me to listen to Clarity but…
Since it seems pretty popular to show up to work hungover on Fridays, we figured Thursday night would be a sure fire way to put together a stellar slideshow. We headed to one of our favorite drinking holes, The Yucca Tap Room, to snap some shots and get the weekend…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival has added a few local acts, who will play on the Creamy Radio Acoustic Stage. According to Creamy, a Tempe-based Internet radio service, local indie acts Black Carl and What Laura Says will play, along with Tucson’s funky The Tryst, Phoenix guitarist Michael Garfield and Tempe…
Taking a mere 18 minutes to start after opening act Project Penny & Project Jan finished, Brighton’s Fujiya & Miyagi graced the stage Monday night at the Rhythm Room to an expectant crowd that most likely wasn’t expecting the show they witnessed. The band jumped right into “Sore Thumb,” off its…
We should probably just declare this Jimmy Eat World Week at New Times. We’ve got an essay about Clarity running in Thursday’s paper, along with my column on the 10 best emo songs of all time. On Up on the Sun, we’ve got a series of posts about Clarity’s impact running…
“Clarity is arguably one of the most important albums of the nineties. Released at a time when grunge had seemingly faded into oblivion, rave was king and rock was getting boring, Jimmy Eat World released an album that had it all — soul, genuine emotion, pop rock sensibility and punk…
