The Guitar Hero franchise has officially been canceled by video gaming publisher Activision, according to Blabbermouth.The decline in the game’s popularity was significant enough to make the company pull the plug. The DJ Hero franchise will also be coming to an end.Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg noted a recent steep…
Valentine’s Day is the one day out of the whole year when you have the opportunity to show your special lady just how much you care. Technically, there is your anniversary — it’s very important you do that then also. Oh, and there is also her birthday — that’s another…
Can one man exist in the realm of buzz bands his entire career? Well, why the hell not? It’s easier than it seems — simply lead one band to the top of Buzz Band Mountain, ditch that band with your bass player after a critically successful debut album, and lead…
When Oren J. Schuable’s cell phone rang on the morning of September 11 last year, he didn’t want to pick up. His group, Silver Medallion, had staged two off-the-hook gigs the evening prior in Scottsdale, and the 24-year-old hip-hop artist was sleeping off a hangover after a night of performing…
“Under Cover of Darkness” is now available for download via The Strokes’ official website. Offer up your email and birthdate and you’ll get the band’s first new material since 2006’s First Impressions Of Earth — remember that album? Worry not if you’re struggling to name that album’s lead single (“Juicebox”) — Angles,…
One of the touchstones of the short-lived-but-fondly-remembered shoegaze movement, Ride’s debut album, Nowhere, has been given the deluxe 20th anniversary treatment for re-release with a bonus live disc on Rhino Handmade. Along with My Bloody Valentine’s classic, Loveless, Ride’s remarkable bow towers over the rest of shoegaze, including both bands’…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts… What was really behind the White Stripes breakup and where does Meg White go from here?…
Song: Smith Westerns, “Smile”Context: Smith Westerns will be at Rhythm Room tomorrow night with Yuck. Should be an interesting show from a pair of buzzing bands. This song is from the new Smith Westerns’ album Dye It Blonde. Smith Westerns – ‘Smile’ by SpunkRecords…
Folk master Paul Simon has just released details about his upcoming album, according to Consequence of Sound.So Beautiful Or So What will be a 10-track LP, and it’s scheduled to be released on April 12.Simon has put out a music video for the first track, entitled “Getting Ready For Christmas…
Despite the fact he’s one of the Valley’s better DJs, you’ll probably never hear the ultra-humble Jimmy Martin-Nelson (otherwise known as Death to the Throne) singing his own praises.Instead, you should leave that task up to the scribes of Rolling Stone or the members of the blogosphere, who will gladly…
Arizona State University students couldn’t seem to get enough of John Legend at his Black History Month event at Gammage Auditorium last night.Not only did he give a fabulous 10-song performance, but before that he also delivered a beautiful loosely political speech about education and did a brief Q&A session…
Phoenix New Times has a lot to tell you about the making of Silver Medallion’s record No One Ever Really Dies in a feature story that’ll be online tomorrow. In the meantime, however, we broke the news about the allegedly drunk teenage driver who killed Carnegie, half of the glammy…
Song: The Strokes, “Under Cover Of Darkness”Context: Today’s pick was actually chosen on account of how annoying it is. Why would The Strokes choose to release a stupid 30-second snippet of a single they’re going to “give away” for two days next week? I guess they really want to up…
Rumors were flying around last week that the Gorillaz had broken up. However, they haven’t split just yet, according to Consequence of Sound.During a performance in New Zealand back in December, vocalist Damon Albarn gave a lengthy speech about how the show might end up being the band’s last ever…
Zonoscope is quite a departure from 2008’s far-too-brilliant In Ghost Colours. The band pretty much had no choice on the matter. Almost anything similar would pale in comparison — it’s rare to hear a band hit their stride in such a magnificent fashion as Cut Copy did on In Ghost…
Hey there,Today Up On The Sun is stoked (YES, “STOKED” IS THE RIGHT WORD) to debut a new music-related comic by local artist/musician/venue operator Robbie Pfeffer.It’s called Noise Complaint and is awesome.That’s really all the introduction this new feature needs. Come back for more weekly.You can view the entire comic…
Kathryn Elizabeth Hetrick, the teenage driver allegedly responsible for the accident that killed Phoenix hip-hop artist Carnegie last fall was indicted this past week.According to Jerry Cobb, spokesperson for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, a grand jury handed down three indictments on February 1 against Hetrick, including one count of…
Mixed in amongst this week’s indie rock plethora is a Slick Rick show at The Clubhouse. The British born, New York raised M.C. is best known for being a story-rap innovator, coming of age in what many consider to be the Golden Age of hip-hop. Songs such as “Children’s Story,”…
Song: Tennis, “Take Me Somewhere”Context: This buzzing Denver band comes to Rhythm Room tomorrow night. Tennis – Take Me Somewhere by forcefieldpr…
Song: Authority Zero, “Movement”Context: Authority Zero plays Club Red tomorrow night for New Times Soundcheck — a festival which features a bunch of local bands. Authority Zero – Movement by renanvec…
Lil Wayne will be rooting for the Green Bay Packers in this year’s Super Bowl, according to SPIN.Weezy’s all about reppin’ the green and yellow, stating in his newly released Wiz Khalifa rip-off “Green and Yellow,” “I’m a cheesehead/Y’all n****s cheese whiz.” He posted the song on his blog Weezy…
Welcome to What Are You Listening To?, a new weekly feature on Up on the Sun where notable locals talk about their favorite music. Damon BraschBrasch is the owner and chef of Green restaurant in Tempe with a new location coming soon to Phoenix. He is also the guitar player…
