Two married pop-country superstars, one stage, one burning question: Who would win in a celebrity death match between these two happily married artists? Why Faith Hill Will Win: With hits like “Wild One,” “This Kiss,” “Breathe,” and “Mississippi Girl,” Hill has established herself as one of the greatest country music…
Curly, raven-haired Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent) is a beautiful dork and potential prom queen of the science and math magnet school, seemingly groomed like the protagonist of Princess Diaries for the indie-pop throne. A quirky, imaginative musician, Clark’s played guitar for Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens and Glen Branca, which…
It took the hills of Tennessee to shake The Comas’ singer and guitarist, Andy Herod, of his bad habits. But the story goes back farther, to 2004’s breakout release, Conductor, penned in the wake of his breakup with Dawson’s Creek star Michelle Williams, a heartbreak immortalized in the woozy song…
Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit likes to annoy. Scratch that. The bloody bastards love to freaking annoy. Whether it’s provoking MySpace’s Tommy boy to delete their original profile because of their apparently grotesque band name, or their anti-press release stating that “my mom doesn’t like us,” the Mesa-based three-piece makes…
Descriptions such as “quaint” and “charming” are not the way a hip-hop artist would like to have his music explained. But if the kicks fit, then all you can do is flaunt ’em. In Jelts’ most recent release, Sunset in the City (available for free download at www.wildlifecrew.com), the graffiti…
Who can solve Turbonegro’s riddle of the sphincter? The six-piece punk band from Oslo, Norway chose a moniker that evoked “a large, well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance.” Yet they’ve described themselves as “threatening gay men playing loud rock music.” And they do resemble some…
Every music lover has a line beyond which material that had been intriguing becomes self-indulgent. On In Glorious Times, the Museum members don’t just cross this line; they flip back and forth over it like Carly Patterson on angel dust, daring listeners to decide from one moment to the next…
Eight years have passed since DJ Mayonnaise’s debut LP, and while the Portland, Maine producer piled droning keyboards, brass, and ample noise on downtempo beats for Still Alive during this hiatus, he held fast on an apparent refusal to choose a less embarrassing moniker. Mayonnaise — er, let’s use his…
Like a well-kept vacuum chamber, the Rhythm Room seems to have a spot-on knack for sucking in each and every sincere, deep-souled bluesman our venerable national swamp is able to cough up. Picking through the lot could be a real chore, but hell, in the end, what’s the difference? Twelve…
There are some things in life that most people agree are worth experiencing. The duration of a sunset, airplane sex, and an in-person peek at the Grand Canyon are all commonly agreed upon as must-do things by everyone, even if only done just once. Local residents will soon be able…
The difference between noise and noisy rock is in the ear of the beholder, something Pterodactyl realized after initially aping a drunken, cacophonous wreck. Adding structure to their throttling throb, they couch little gems of guitar creativity in jagged squalls of feedback, and stray scraps of melody beneath the cushions…
With its ramshackle buildings, barren lots, and dodgy reputation, south Phoenix ain’t exactly the kinda place we’d normally suggest you hang around after dark. But on Friday, August 3, you’ll definitely wanna make the trip south of Interstate 17 to experience a thunderous, thump-filled evening of drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep,…
This week, Club Candids decided to hit up our favorite pre-party place in Phoenix, Zen 32. The sushi restaurant has a late-night menu and stellar bar service, so we often make a pit stop there before heading out for the evening’s real shindig. On Saturday, July 28, this swanky place…
Thursday 26 Andersons: S.W.A.G. Thursdays with DJ Essence, DJ Astonish, & Bryce Breeze (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Mardi Gras: DJ Dana (outlaw country) Crown Room: DJ Gable (mash-ups, dance, rock, Top 40) Dirty Pretty: D-JR (rock, hip-hop) The Door: DJ Flava (R&B, reggae, dancehall) DrinX: DJ…
Ladies, if you want some attention, hit Bruno Mali’s on a Monday night. We were there for the two-year anniversary of the DJ night A Foreign Affair on July 16, and the place was a total sausage-fest. (Click here for more photos.) But be warned, many of these dudes are…
Buy a ticket to the Projekt Revolution concert and your purchase could help eliminate an estimated 167 tons of carbon emissions this year. That should make you feel pretty good about yourself. In fact, give yourself a pat on the back for hitting up a tour that donates $1 of…
While it’s become standard practice for bands to slog through the same old set list night after night, Portugal. The Man has come up with a novel approach to providing audiences with a unique experience each and every time it takes the stage. Nowadays, coming up with a new song…
Perhaps more significant to today’s audiences than Sgt. Pepper’s 40th anniversary was the Beatles’ contribution that same summer to the program Our World. As part of the very first live global television link, the show was broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 350 million people via satellite on June…
Ryan Adams was needled throughout 2005 for releasing three CDs’ worth of songs without seeming to consider whether the tunes met his standards. In interviews, Adams shrugged off such criticism, but lo and behold, he waited more than 18 months — an eternity for him — to release Easy Tiger,…
This Tempe-based indie band’s new release shows that it has two positive points: plenty of enthusiasm and a refreshing willingness to be open and goofy between tracks, à la The Beatles in Let It Be. During one moment, you can hear studio chatter about what one member of the band…
What the Clink? My Machine is Crushed’s debut full-length venture into the world of heavy metal, with producer credit going to none other than Mike Clink of Guns N’ Roses and Metallica fame. And that’s where the impressive points end. While claiming prog rock, the album is a consistent flow…
In the mid-’50s, while Sinatra swung and Elvis and Chuck Berry showed the world how to rock, black Louisianans of Cajun extraction — Clifton Chenier, for one — were plugging in and pumping crackling rhythm and blues into traditional Cajun dance music. The result was tagged “zydeco,” an ebullient and…
