Features

Song: Black Sabbath, “Warning”Context: Did you know Black Sabbath’s debut was released on Friday the 13th? Me either. Records normally come out on Tuesdays, so that took a bit of extra effort.  Warning – Black Sabbath…

Proving that being on one of the most popular television shows in America hasn’t gone to their heads, the contestants from American Idol were very anti-diva-like at their show at US Airways Center last night. Fans got to mingle with the performers at meet-and-greets after the show, which had to…

Artist: Jimmy Eat WorldTitle: InventedRelease date: September 28Label: DGC RecordsCan any good come from my criticizing the work of hometown heroes/local legends/scene benefactors/all-around nice guys Jimmy Eat World? Answer: No. They’re more important than me, richer than me, more musically talented than me, and have millions more fans than me. When…

Country singer David Allan Coe is an ex-con, a self-proclaimed “redneck,” and a guy who recorded several racist and misogynist X-rated albums in his early career. So where do you book him in Phoenix?How about a bar that caters to Pittsburgh Steelers fans?As I chronicled in a cover story before…

Virginia metal band Lamb Of God is not playing a secret show in Tempe anytime soon. How do we know? The band sent out a press release clarifying that a Lamb Of God-related event in metro Phoenix is actually some religious thing. LAMB OF GOD would like to officially denounce…

Song: No Age, “Glitter” Context: Very excited to hear the next full-length from this kick-ass LA band. No Age – Glitter by subpop…

We all know that the Sound Strike has taken on a life of its own, with a few notable and hundreds of hopelessly obscure acts attempting to punish Arizona by refusing to play it. This week’s music feature is about one of those bands — Smokus Pocus. There’s just one…

The name Smokus Pocus doesn’t exactly stand out on the list of Sound Strike artists, next to acts Taboo (a.k.a. The Other Black Eyed Pea) and Trent “My Band Is Actually on Hiatus Anyway” Reznor. It’s nestled in there among “over 300” mostly obscure and unimportant acts, innocuous enough that…

“Oh, that ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic,” they said. “He’s just a novelty, a gimmick, poking fun at the superstars with those silly parody songs of his. He and his accordion will never last!” Yeah, well, they were saying that close to 30 years ago, and now 50-year-old Alfred Matthew Yankovic is…

“I’ve got a Benetton heart, and a fuckin’ David Duke cock,” John Mayer told Playboy magazine earlier this year. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter was attempting to justify his sexual preferences in a way that didn’t make him sound like a bigot. Later, he unleashed the “n” word and described ex-girlfriend Jessica…

Artist: Snake! Snake! Snakes!Title: Snake! Snake! Snakes! EPRelease date: August 10Label: Common Wall Media/Modern ArtA friend e-mailed me a few days ago, hinting that I should write about more local bands in Nothing Not New. Though I’ve written about Authority Zero and Eyes Set to Kill (and I will be…

It’s still over a month until The Walkmen join Japandroids at Clubhouse for what will probably be one of autumn’s best club shows. Likewise, the band’s new album, Lisbon, isn’t due until September 14, a three days before the show in Tempe.Want a sneak peak so you know some of…

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 did Trace Adkins have to say about SB 1070 while opening for Toby Keith at…

Big news from last night/this morning — The Suburbs, the third album from Montreal indie rockers Arcade Fire, landed on the top of the Billboard 200 this week.The Suburbs sold 156,000 copies in its initial week, edging out Eminem’s Recovery by 4,000 units. Thanks to a lofty $3.99 pricetag at…

File this one under: ‘Way too arty for most readers but pretty cool anyway.’ Garage A Trois, a four-man improvisational jazz/funk/rock combo comes to The Compound Grill on Tuesday. The New Orleans group, which features the famous-if-you-follow-the-genre names of Skerik, Mike Dillon, Marco Benevento and Stanton Moore, just played San…

Song: Michael Bublé, “I Wanna Go Home” Context: I have to admit I never actually bothered to listen to Bublé until reading about his man-gagement ring. ‘Bout what I expected. This song doesn’t take much to sing but at least he doesn’t mess it up by going over-the-top, Idol-style. Michael…

Artist: The Budos BandTitle: The Budos Band IIIRelease date: August 10Label: DaptoneIf you’re one of those folks who’s gotta hear singers — who needs words in their pop music — you’re forgiven if you don’t have much use for The Budos Band. The rest of you? Tune in to this…

The most important, wildly popular Arizona band in the last year — so says the always on top of things, meticulously up-to-date Arizona Republic — Jimmy Eat World announced via twitter today that the band was streaming a new song from their upcoming album Invented.The song, “My Best Theory,” picks…

Song: Hyetal, “Phoenix”Context: Drawn to Hyetal’s latest single because of the name. Pitchfork says this is car music. I’m not sure what they drive. Hyetal – Phoenix…

What happens when a previously instrumental band decides to add some vocals to the mix? The jury is still out on that — just ask RJD2 — although the reception is never quite as positive as it could be. Australia’s PVT (formerly Pivot) are going through these exact same vocal…

As if Lady Gaga hasn’t saturated the music business enough already, last week, she released her latest album, The Remix, in the U.S. It’s a whole lotta Gaga (two albums and an EP) for less than 2 years, but she may as well milk her schtick while she’s hot, right?It’s…

Song: The National, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”Context: Reading Dan Gibson’s dispatches from Lollapalooza, The National’s set seems to have been one of the highlights of the weekend. 06 Bloodbuzz Ohio…