So, you’re totally sick of Lady Gaga, and if you hear her version of “Telephone” one more time…Relax. Now you can still listen to what could be the catchiest pop song of 2010 without it coming from a Christina Aguilera-sound-a-like. That’s right, Britney fans–Ms. Spears’ version of the hit, which…
Every single one of these preening peacocks is hungry to be noticed or photographed, eager to grab onto to their 15 minutes of fame. So, yeah, there are a number of reality show casting calls staged every year in the ‘Dale. That includes the folks behind the ultra-popular sexploitation video…
While some of our writers are fans of Owl City, others are clearly not.Idolator reports that Owl City’s frontman Adam Young has started a side project titled Sky Sailing with an album due out on July 13. And guess what? People are already calling it “Owl City Unplugged.”If you just…
Artist: Gogol BordelloTitle: Trans-Continental HustleRelease date: April 27Label: AmericanHow many of you have listened to someone tell you, “Aw, you just gotta see ’em live to appreciate them”? I know I’ve said that before. And I think I’ve heard more than one person say it in regard to Gogol Bordello,…
This week’s music feature is a cold, hard look at why your cocktail waitress hates you, written from the perspective of a drink-slinging, cork-topped tray carrying, waitress.Martin Cizmar does an interview with none other than country music legend Merle Haggard where he asks him about SB 1070.Plus we’ve got show…
Former Phoenician Ryan Breen, a.k.a. Back Ted N-Ted, just finished a world tour with Imogen Heap, who is probably best known for singing “Hide and Seek,” the haunting song sampled on Jason DeRulo’s smash “Whatcha Say.”As the house producer for Modern Arts Records he moved to NYC with the rest…
Song: Megadeth’s Youthanasia (Condensed)Context: That video of W.A.S.P’s Chris Holmes drinking vodka in a pool makes me crave some metal. What fits the bill better than an album’s worth of searing Dave Mustaine riffs, condensed into seven minutes, with no Dave Mustaine vocals? …
My name is Sarah and I am a cocktail waitress. For two years, I’ve been slinging drinks at a popular Phoenix music venue/bar that shall remain nameless. Armed with only a cork-topped plastic tray, I encounter the best and worst people on Earth. Every night. I’ve seen people who are…
There was a time when Merle Haggard defined defiantly prideful pro-Americanism better than anyone. During the dark days of the Vietnam War, the gruff California country singer penned two songs, “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” that answered Bob Dylan and Joan Baez about as well as…
With that all said, LP4 picks up right where Ratatat’s previous album LP3 left off — and damn is it good…
Artist: Broken Social SceneTitle: Forgiveness Rock RecordRelease date: May 4Label: Arts & CraftsWe just entered our fifth month here at “Nothing Not New” — just under eight months to go on this yearlong new-music journey. I’m a couple of days late on this, but I have to give you my…
This week, New Times ran a box 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. Is M.I.A.’s controversial “Born Free” video an allegory about Arizona? Who is headlining Arizona’s 2010 Fall…
So apparently, Scarlett Johansson, who, in case you forgot, collaborated with Pete Yorn on a record last year, is a fan of Courtney Love.According to NME, ScarJo likes Love so much she would find the notion of playing her in a forthcoming Kurt Cobain biopic “interesting and intriguing.”Don’t get too…
Once upon a time — in a time we’ll call The Good Old Days — so-called “college survival kits” included notebooks and detergent and shit like that. That was before kids were all stupid little losers, though. Now, they apparently need help figuring out all the fancy ass pop culture…
Tempe kiddie-poppers The Maine have announced the release date for their new record, Black & White, the major-label followup to Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. Sire will drop the record, produced by Howard Benson (Papa Roach, Creed, Hawthorne Heights), on July 13. In the least surprising news of the week, the…
Song: Crystal Castles’ “Vietnam” (Lightsoverla Remix)Context: It’s been 40 years and one day since the Kent State shootings. …
Song: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”Inspiration: A delightfully sub-quality “bootleg” of the group’s show at Celebrity Theatre Sunday. Damn, I should have gone…
So it seems that our president may have a slightly outdated sense of humor. Sound of the City reports that Obama had a carefully planned out comedy routine, using Biggie as the punchline. Apparently he referred to the head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, as the “Notorious G.O.P.””Why?”…
Remember that Surfer Blood show at Trunk Space that got canceled? Yeah, well, that was the closest the band will come to playing here. Ever.Yup, that’s a fact. How do we know? Umm, well, we just got a press release which says the band will never, ever play the Grand…
Artist: The New PornographersTitle: TogetherRelease date: May 4Label: MatadorFor me, the equation’s always been real simple when it comes to the indie-pop group The New Pornographers: songs with Neko Case taking the vocal reins = yes; songs with the wanna-be British dude singing = maybe. Well, maybe it’s not that simple,…
Let’s cut the bullshit: May is going to be a huge month for new music. People are rightly circling the entire month on their calendars, frothing at the mouth in expectation of all of the quality releases due in the next 30 or so days.Los Angeles’ DJ/producer/electronic music impresario Steven…
The lineup for Arizona Fall Frenzy 2010 has been announced and it’s a huge step-forward for the festival, in its second year at Tempe Beach Park.Stone Tempe Pilots and The Cult top the bill on Friday, September 17. Tickets are $75 or $80 at the door. Weezer, “Sublime” (with scab…
