Where do you go when the cute wears off? Lee’s teenage band, Noise Addict, overflowed with precocious charm epitomized by his humorous ode to Evan Dando, “I Wish I Were Him.” It earned the Beastie Boys’ patronage, and the Aussie teen recorded two solo albums for Grand Royal, the latter…
After his departure from the Byrds in the mid-’60s, late Americana icon Gram Parsons envisioned “Cosmic American Music,” a savory stew of traditional country with flavors of rock ‘n’ roll, Southern soul/R&B, and gospel. Though some bands striving to follow in GP’s boot prints get the country-twang aspect, too many…
For a while, it seemed as if the only hip-hop action going on in the PHX was being put on by the superfly soldiers of The Blunt Club or our boy Al Page at the Hidden House. Thankfully, the dearth of dopeness has been remedied, thanks in part to the…
We need some Quaaludes. We can’t stop listening to Phoenix rock trio Psych 101’s Attachment Disorder, and it’s totally messing with our heads. All of its danceable dirges are giving us delusions: that Joy Division brought Ian Curtis back from the dead and made a reunion record, that the Moody…
It took us a couple of days before we dragged our bloated bellies out in public after stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving. Instead of hitting a hotspot with expectations of beautiful faces and flat tummies, we decided to hit a casual favorite, Papago Brewing Company in Scottsdale, on Saturday, November 24…
San Francisco trio The Kim Philbys has guts — don’t they realize bands these days are supposed to be predictable, either melodious or arty-abrasive, not both? In this manner, they recall (yet don’t sound like) the Meat Puppets, who encompassed brutal sonic assaults, lysergic twang, and ZZ Top-like boogie. The…
Where is R&B going these days? That is the question posed by this Philadelphia newcomer, whose self-titled CD features guest appearances from Lupe Fiasco, Q-Tip, and Wyclef Jean. The first track that grabs the listener’s attention is the anti-racist anthem “It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me,” which contains some…
It’s hard to know when, or whether, the Australian one-man dance act known as Muscles is being serious. Live, ensconced behind a tower of keyboards and contraptions, he’ll yell to his hipster crowd, “This is my trance song! Do you all like trance?!” Before anyone can respond, he’ll launch into…
Music scribes can appreciate the smart-ass lyrics of Vampire Weekend’s über-groovy song “Oxford Comma,” wherein singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig quips and croons, “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?/I’ve seen those English dramas too-oo/They’re crue-ool” against a bopping sonic backdrop that sounds like a ’70s bubblegum commercial. Music…
Much like free-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, who pioneered an unapologetic sound birthed from classical training, San Francisco-based Thollem McDonas manages to perform solo piano in a unique, powerfully creative way. And, like those unappreciated cats who lived in shabby tenements in New York City during the 1960s, McDonas once put…
It’s not for nothing that this legendary Japanese four-piece, which is largely ignored in its home country, gets greeted with hysterical, slack-jawed enthusiasm by its American and European fans when it tours every two or three years. Melt-Banana gets tagged as noise, punk, hardcore, indie rock, metal, no wave, art…
While Nashville’s Will Hoge may lack the smooth soul grooves of the John Mayer Trio or the witty charm of Ben Lee’s pop rock, Hoge’s soulful voice and introspective lyrics will appeal to many of the same adult-alternative fans. To be certain, there is a level of blue-eyed soul reminiscent…
This Minneapolis duo has been a team since their teens, when DJ Abilities left home, and Eyedea’s mom put him up in their basement, where their partnership flourished. Eyedea began competing in battle rap competitions, taking top honors in the ’99 Scribble Jam before he was 18, and winning the…
The dance floor funkheads behind Outside World Entertainment are always busy cooking up some kinda PLUR-heavy throwdowns for rave fans here in the PHX, whether it’s a shindig like Acid Reign, Diablo, or the annual Philter spectacular. Now you can add another EDM event to the pile, as they’re gearing…
It’s been a while since we hit up Scottsdale for some photo action, so when we heard that Twisted Restaurant was clearing out tables and throwing down a dance floor, we decided to check it out. (Click here for more photos.) On Friday, November 16, we weren’t the only folks…
It’s tough to wake up at 10:45 on a Sunday morning after only five hours of sleep. It’s particularly tough to get up and make it to a noon wedding. In fact, I’m hoping I can just get there without vomiting or shitting my pants (time will tell). Thank God…
After spending this week’s annual food fest (a.k.a. Thanksgiving) figuring out how many yams you can jam down your craw, you’ll probably wanna veg out on the couch watching the Jets and Cowboys pound on each other for football supremacy. But try to shake off the food coma after overdosing…
For simplicity’s sake, there are two cornerstones to Yourchestra’s sound: old-timey, ’20s-era jug band sounds and psychedelic freakout. Now, attempt to sonically bridge the gap between these two ridiculously disparate elements, and you’re close to imagining what their debut effort, Sparkel, Sammy, sounds like. “Water in His Heart” kicks off…
If you’re as sick as we are of hearing trite, toe-the-line renditions of holiday classics on throwaway compilations put out solely to feed the commercialization of Christmas, then Psychostick’s Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride may be just the coal you need in your stocking. The comical metal band throws “tidings…
It’s lucky for Kid Rock that he’s an egomaniacal dipshit, because otherwise, his music would be about as memorable as a Molly Hatchet eight-track sans “Flirting With Disaster.” Still, the former Mr. Pamela Anderson’s good-humored salutes to his own cocksmanship — not to mention his skill at Xeroxing classic boogie…
Recorded with pedal steel/dobro player Ben Keith, bassist Rick Rosas, and drummer Ralph Molina, Chrome Dreams II is the sequel to a shelved 1976 project. It gathers new renditions of previously unrecorded songs spanning the years. With the search for inner peace being the single unifying theme, II holds together…
Psychedelic music — sounds to evoke or accompany chemically enhanced/altered states of imagination/perception — existed long before Syd Barrett or John Lennon dropped their first tab of “sunshine” in the 1960s. In 1830, prompted by the double-whammy mojo of unrequited love and opium, French composer Hector Berlioz composed his masterwork,…
