Features

Song: Calexico, “Two Silver Trees” Context: Getting excited for the big Artists For Action show this weekend. Two Silver Trees…

You could never really call Katy Perry original. From the moment she broke onto the scene with her first mainstream single, “I Kissed a Girl,” she was criticized for copying the title of the track by Jill Sobule. Her songs have always been sticky sweet pop that’s radio-ready, but on…

As Idolator points out, John Legend and The Roots are typically known for their socially conscious music. So it was a bit surprising to hear that Legend performed the music for the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant. The performance featured the skinny girls in heels performing choreography that was more like…

Local rockers Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers tweeted the unsurprising news that the GreenStock has been canceled this afternoon.I’ve been unable to confirm this with organizers — who don’t seem to have voicemail and haven’t answered an e-mail — but there’s little reason to doubt it’s true…

It’s not often a world-class musician is kicking off their American tour in Arizona, so try to understand that the recent announcement that Joanna Newsom has a fall tour planned and is starting out in Arizona is a big, big deal. Newsom will play Tucson’s Rialto Theatre November 6 before…

Hanson — the 90s kiddie band known for “MMMBop” — is coming to town. Pretty swell, right? Well, it gets even sweller. Believe it or not, bands are falling all over themselves to win a contest that will allow them to open for the band at their Phoenix show.The apparent…

Welcome to our latest podcast, in which Martin Cizmar and I play some new music and about it, too. On today’s program, we discuss the merits of such bands as Wavves, Arcade Fire, The Budos Band, Jimmy Eat World, and local superstars Snake! Snake! Snakes!Here’s the playlist:Jaill — “The Stroller”Arcade…

Song: Gucci Mane ft. Swizz Beatz, “Gucci Time”Context: Just got an advance copy of the new Guc record, The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted. This is the first single. Hands up: It’s Gucci time. Gucci Mane ft. Swizz Beatz “Gucci Time” by Warner Bros. Urban…

Why all the effort for just one album? There’s really no rhyme or reason to it — the fact that it leaked so early helped me write a post about the album when it was still fresh to my ears. By this point, however, I have completely consumed the thing…

Artist: Magic KidsTitle: MemphisRelease date: August 24Label: True PantherPaying tribute to Pet Sounds seems to be passé among the new crop of indie bands. Now, it seems a lot of these kids are all about a post-Pet Sounds era, one in which the Baroque elements of Brian Wilson’s masterpiece take…

“Mesa’s only known ska-rock septet,” Captain Squeegee has a pretty cool video of them recording their new album at Glendale’s totally-weird Pyramix Studios.Looks like they’re having a lot of fun working on Lucidity.The first fruit of their labor, a song called “Your Own Invention” can be downloaded for free here…

If you head over to the MySpace page for Phoeenix sceamo act The Word Alive you’ll see a nifty counter displaying a countdown to the release of the band’s new record, Deceiver, currently at seven days and change.The Fearless-signed band, which celebrates the release with a show at Mesa’s Nile…

Song: Toubab Krewe, “Holy Grail”Context: Hearing that a band combined “indie rock” and “West African music” puts me on high alert. Toubab Krewe manages to do it very well, however. Looking forward to TK2 in September. TBKTrack by Shore Fire…

How about some Italian DJs who wear Spider Man masks onstage at every performance and call themselves Bloody Beetroots? October 29 marks their performance at the Marquee Theatre, just in time for those not in the know to figure, “Oh, they must be wearing those things since Halloween is two…

By now you’ve probably heard the news that Haitian presidential hopeful Wyclef Jean was disqualified from the race, as determined by the Haitian board of elections. The latest word on the blogosphere though is that Wyclef ain’t quite ready to give up yet. According to E! Online Jean plans to…

Amazing was the word of the night at the Something Corporate concert at Marquee Theatre last night. The band, who was on a reunion tour after being on hiatus since 2005, had no opening act, allowing the guys to play an extensive, 2-hour-plus set. Singer/pianist Andrew McMahon gave the crowd…

Heard of GreenStock™?  Me either, but the expo, scheduled for September 17-19 — the exact same dates as Arizona Fall Frenzy, as it happens — has a pretty decent selection of acts.They’ve got big local names (Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Gin Blossoms, The Wiley One) and two veteran national…

To say that Pete Salaz wears a lot of hats would be a major understatement. The dude’s not only trained in both Tai Chi Chuan and kung fu, but he’s also a full-time parent, prize-winning salsa maker, and one of several managing partners of Bar Smith. (In the spirit of…

It’s pretty clear Katy Perry is all woman–the pop star was even named 2010’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” by Maxim magazine. But even the singer herself has admitted there have been many times where she’s felt like a drag queen. Just how can a woman as beautiful as Perry turn into…

Song: The Ataris, “San Dimas High School Football Rules” (Live Acoustic)Context: The Ataris play Mesa’s Underground tonight. The Ataris – San Dimas High School Football Rules Live Acoustic by goodtunes…

The Maine are playing a much-hyped show at The Nile Theatre in Mesa next Friday.Actually, though, that’s just the mid-point in a massive tour to promote their Billboard-charting second album Black & White. They team up with Never Shout Never for a tour of small theaters and large clubs starting…

Song: Jens Lekman, “The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love”Context: Jens is back, hopefully a full-length album is hot on the heels of this single. Jens Lekman – The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love by stripeyjumper…