Ah, Nicki Minaj. She’s a woman of pure beauty and pure poetry. In honor of her appearance opening up for Britney Spears Wednesday, June 22, here are 10 of her most thought-provoking raps. Eat your heart out, world!…
Aside from perhaps Lynyrd Skynyrd, you’d be hard pressed to find a classic rock band that’s been through more tribulations than Mountain. The Long Island, New York-based band is perhaps best known for their 1970 hit “Mississippi Queen,” but there’s some ugly lore in the band’s story, too. After leaving…
In a similar fashion, we bring you this week’s pick for Tumblr of the Week: Album Tacos, a blog collective of Photoshopped album covers that all managed to work tacos into the album artwork.More on what’s awesome about this week’s Tumblr of the Week after the jump…..
, according to Stereogum.”Apple Carts” is the first track that Albarn has released from Dr. Dee. He recently performed an acoustic version of the piece on the Andrew Marr Show.Dr. Dee is an opera about John Dee, an alchemist, spy and astrologer.The opera will run from July 1-9 at the…
These days, people are plugged in like The Matrix — only they’re plugged into their iPods, smart phones, and mp3 players rather than machines on an underground ship. Our detachment from the real world is never as obvious as when strangers are jumbled together in a public space. And this…
The Whisperlights have released plenty of catchy songs between their debut EP, Wake up Dead, and their upcoming full-length album, Surfaces. The new album explores new sounds with violinist/singer Tobie Milford picking up a guitar on tracks that shift away from themes of death to subtle love songs. What makes…
, according to Rolling Stone.The rider was made by Gus Brandt, the Foo Fighters’ tour manager. A section of the rider entitled Catering Visual Enhancement & Activities depicts the differences between a lame entree and an awesome entree, the differences between a good salad and a bad salad, what constitutes…
Kara Roschi The local artist is co-owner of Practical Art. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I am proud to be car-free! But when I did have one, it was NPR in the afternoons, KSLX in the…
The Musical Instrument Museum already boasts some cool rock ‘n’ roll relics, including an Eric Clapton guitar and John Lennon’s piano. But on Sunday, June 19, the museum will unveil perhaps its most iconic instrument yet: a 1975 Martin D28 acoustic guitar that belonged to Elvis Presley.Presley played the guitar…
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 happened back in 1971, when Alice Cooper says Elvis asked him to put a gun…
“Homegrown” and “organic” are not words normally associated with Phoenix. After all, what the hell could possibly grow from soil that rivals the sun in heat? How about “acoustic-driven indie folk” artist Charles Barth from local band Saddles. Barth, 24, is something of a one-man army of musical talent. All…
, according to Consequence of Sound.Dexter Isaac, who is already an inmate, confessed to the shooting. Isaac’s shooting took place two years prior to Tupac’s death. Isaac has claimed that he was hired to shoot Tupac by one of Tupac’s associate MCs. He says James “Jimmy Henchan” Rosemond, the CEO…
A little more than three years ago, The Format shocked the Valley with the announcement of their breakup. The duo of Nate Ruess and Sam Means seemed poised to put Arizona music in the national spotlight. They had established their own imprint, The Vanity Label, with national distribution through Nettwerk…
You know your band is cool when indie folk hero Devendra Banhart “opens” for you at a house party. It was pretty exciting for local rockers The Tremulants, anyway, when they found themselves playing after Banhart in the basement of a Mesa home one Saturday night in early June. “I…
On paper, a concert featuring Mavis Staples and Dr. John, also known as Mac Rebennack, seems like a natural pairing. The two have become elder statespeople of the soul genre. Staples solidified her rep last year, winning a Grammy award for Best Americana Album for You Are Not Alone, her…
Last Year, America got a pumping rock-fist of Japanese Music when X Japan, the most popular J-Rock band ever, played their debut U.S. show at Lollapalooza before rocking through a few major cities on their first North America tour. I witnessed their fiery pyrotechnics and emotionally-charged duality between tearful ballads…
On hip-hop supergroup The Roots’ 2002 album, Phrenology, there’s a track called “WAOK (Ay) Roll Call,” wherein the band gives shout-outs to 230 of their favorite and most influential music artists, including Grandmaster Flash and Common. At the very end of this illustrious list, the track ends with the words…
Rapper, proucer, and The Voice vocal coach Cee Lo Green will kick off his own talk show on Fuse on June 22, according to Paste.The upcoming show, entitled Talking to Strangers, is a performance and interview series that’s all about Cee Lo sitting down to interview indie, rap and R&B artists…
Plenty of people can appreciate good writing when they recognize it. I particularly appreciate reading good pieces about music. If I’m reading something that’s not about any of my favorite bands, that’s even better because maybe I’ll learn something, and perhaps you will, too. Welcome to our first installment of our…
, according to MTV News.In the brand new video, Perry throws a kick ass ’80s house party at her home with the help of party co-host and my homegirl Rebecca Black, house band Hanson, and sax master Kenny G, who plays Uncle Kenny. Plus, ’80s stars Debbie Gibson and Corey…
Those instrumental breaks certainly add a wild-card element to Sun and Shade, furthering the band’s sound rather than allowing it to rest on past laurels. That eye on progress is something that the members of Woods have quite the knack for, yet the band hasn’t, by any means, forgotten their…
Swedish indie pop band Acid House Kings have garnered quite a bit of praise for their latest album, Music Sounds Better with You. Pitchfork called the twee pop quartet’s album “their strongest-sounding record,” and Pop Matters says “it’s nearly impossible to resist them.” But as they saying goes, “Imitation is…
