Kings of Leon has stooped to a new low by bringing a potentially offensive yet interesting idea to the table, according to NME.The band posted an ad in an effort to recruit “characters with scars, pockmarked skin, physical abnormalities or deformities” for their next music video.In the ad, Kings of…
Portland-based indie band The Thermals gave the world a piece of their mind yesterday on Twitter before playing the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, going on a rant against the Arizona Sound Strike boycott and any bands who don’t play Arizona because of SB-1070.Among the Tweets that helped add fuel to…
We all agree that Nat King Cole’s 1951 version of “Unforgettable” is a wonderful piece of music. Timeless. Velvety. A real soul-warming hymn of devotion. Can we also agree that the song is more overused than Michelle Duggar’s uterus? Kenny Rogers recently covered it. So did Jackie Chan. And let’s…
It helps to have friends in high places. Just ask This Century, a Phoenix pop-rock band that, thanks to its pals in another local pop-rock group, The Maine, recently scored a record deal with a Warner Bros. subsidiary. The Maine, which released its 2010 album, Black & White, on Sire…
Vincent Gallo has done a lot of weird stuff in his day. The on-screen fellatio, the hexing of Roger Ebert, the marketing of his own reproductive fluids — these are just a few of Gallo’s performance-weirdness masterworks. So the actor-director-screenwriter-painter-musician-model (and part-time astronaut-obstetrician?) had something of a reputation to uphold…
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.Has My Chemical Romance also abandoned the Sound Strike boycott of Arizona?Which song by local band Gospel…
Song: Mini Mansions, “Thriller Escapade”Context: Mini Mansions, an LA-based trio featuring Queens of the Stone Age bass player Michael Shumanthat, are playing Nov. 30 @ the Yucca Tap Room The Mini Mansions – Thriller Escapade by Vlady Turner…
The Strokes have finally finished a long awaited album, according to SPIN.While the mixing and mastering still has yet to be done, the recording process itself has been completed.After working out their differences and deciding to go forth with making a new album, they worked with Beck and White Stripes…
Wishy-washy Sound Strikers My Chemical Romance have posted a short and sweet statement about their re-boycott of Arizona.We want to apologize to all our fans for the cancellation of our Phoenix show on May 24, 2011. This show should have never been booked due to our affiliation with Zach de…
Artist: StereolabTitle: Not MusicRelease date: November 16Label: Drag CityNo, Stereolab, the long-running and influential indie-pop band, is not necessarily “back.” (In fact, the band is still reportedly on indefinite hiatus.) The near-hour of music found on Not Music comes from the sessions that produced the 2008 record Chemical Chords. The…
Song: Digable Planets, “Nickel Bags”Context: Not only are Digable Planets coming to town, Nickel Bags are, too. Up On The Sun is so proud of how our sister blog Valley Fever is quickly becoming Arizona’s paper of record for the coming medical marijuana program. Digable Planets – Nickel Bags…
My Chemical Romance may be re-boycotting Arizona over SB 1070. Yesterday we pointed out that the band had formerly joined The Sound Strike during the height of the outrage over our state’s crazy immigration law, SB 1070. Then they announced a date at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre (without any comment) and…
In case you haven’t heard or come from a foreign land, Thanksgiving is next week. That means the holidays are upon us, and show announcements are becoming more and more scarce.This week’s group is lead by the Smashing Pumpkins playing a casino. That is literally the most compelling show in…
Stop the world. Apple has announced that the Beatles catalog is finally available on iTunes, according to Billboard. I love when Christmas comes early.After plenty of rumors went around yesterday about what Apple’s big announcement regarding iTunes was going to be, practically everything under the sun that the Beatles ever…
For a band that was the first to be truly labeled as “post-rock,” Stereolab has kept things going solid since their inception in 1990. Not Music may have its momentary lapses, but fans of the band will feel right at home amongst the baroque-esque aural landscapes and, most importantly, Sadier’s luscious vocals.What…
Artist: The Fresh & OnlysTitle: Play It StrangeRelease date: October 12Label: In the RedAnd just like that, I find myself a little bored by the sound plied and, possibly, perfected by San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys. It’s the sound that has passed for garage rock for over a half-decade…
Song: The Decemberists, “Down By The Water” Context: The Decemberists announced tour dates for early 2011 today. Sadly, Phoenix will once again be Decemb-less as the band’s closest show is in San Diego on February 13. Book your flight to California aboard a steam-powered zeppelin now. This is the first…
New Jersey-based pop-punk-emo band My Chemical Romance seems to have deserted the Sound Strike.The band was on an old list of acts boycotting Arizona over the super-stupid immigration law SB 1070 — which was gutted by the courts before it took effect — but announced today a Marquee Theatre show…
Seemingly out of nowhere, Gregg Gillis has made his fourth Girl Talk album, All Day, freely available via illegal-art.net.Do you like Jay-Z rapping over General Public’s “Tenderness?” How about Dorrough’s “Ice Cream Paint Job” over some Brothers Johnson? Girl Talk gotchu, son! Gillis is masterful in outdoing himself album after album, and…
ould overnight British superstar Susan Boyle have the top album in the UK two years in a row?It’s very possible, according to Billboard.Boyle just released her second album, The Gift, which debuted at the top spot on the UK charts. Her first album, I Dreamed a Dream, which was a…
Oh, how we’ve missed podcasting to the music fans of the Valley. Well, music editor Martin Cizmar and I are back with a new one, with nine new-ish songs and lotsa banter about music, including the artistic achievements of Sufjan Stevens, a great new song by local band Gospel Claws,…
Song: Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Our Hearts Are Wrong” Context: Jessica Lea Mayfield’s now album is due in February, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and out on Nonesuch. This first single is pretty damn good. Jessica Lea Mayfield – Our Hearts Are Wrong…
