Song: 2 Tone Lizard Kings, “The Bail Song”Context: Here’s a little taste from the local ska band that was the subject of this week’s New Times music feature in our print edition. The Bail Song — from Primeval Itch…
Method Man made a lot of Arizonans happy last night at the Wu-Tang Clan concert at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Not only did he smoke a blunt on-stage, he also dissed SB 1070, calling it whack and inviting local politicians to suck his dick. He wasn’t the only one smoking…
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 are the keys to deciphering any music critic’s list of the top 10 albums of the…
Aretha Franklin’s family has confirmed that the singer has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to Billboard.After being ordered by doctors to cancel six months of appearances and going through a very successful recovery from an unknown surgery last Thursday, we can only hope she’ll beat this cancer.The soul and…
Evolution is a tough trick for any band. Savages, the sophomore record by New York duo The Gay Blades (think Errol Flynn, not Glee) shows a marked progression from their debut, Ghosts. The record finds them trying to blend glam rock, janky blues riffs, and arena-ready melodrama into their post-emo…
Everlast is coming to town on December 9. He is playing Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. First of all, these two sentences put together . . . pretty hilarious. The fact that Toby Keith has a bar and grill is funny, and calling it “I Love This…
It’s a chilly night in early November, but the crowd of kids gathered outside 910 Live in Tempe is feeling plenty warm. It isn’t surprising, given that they’ve spent most of the past hour skanking up a storm to the beats of local ska septet 2 Tone Lizard Kings. Bathed…
Artist: Sun City Girls Title: Funeral Mariachi Release date: October 26 Label: Abduction Sun City Girls’ last-ever record — they’ve made dozens since forming in Phoenix way back in the early days of West Coast punk — comes off as a more somber affair. And some of it is downright…
Song: T.I., “How Life Changed” Context: Everyone’s apparently too busy wetting themselves over the new Kanye West record that they’re not thinking much about the fact that T.I. just dropped a new album, No Mercy, yesterday. It’s excellent. This track, “How Life Changed,” stands up to anything on My Beautiful…
Heather Mills may be the one to thank for getting the Beatles’ music catalog up on iTunes, according to Consequence of Sound.Mills, Paul McCartney’s ex-wife, claims she talked to Steve Jobs and organized the deal to finally get the digital Beatles albums onto iTunes.Also, she said she won’t be going…
Things are about to get real religious up in here, thanks to a just announced Amy Grant show this coming February.Other artists may have released their own successful Christmas albums in the past, but Grant’s 1992 yuletide juggernaut Home For Christmas resides in the upper echelon of holiday albums –…
Artist: Daft Punk Title: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack) Release date: December 7 Label: Walt Disney Records I’m a little surprised by the buzz surrounding the release of a soundtrack to a Disney movie. I understand that the kids love the helmeted French house duo Daft Punk and that said act…
Song: Matt & Kim, “Cameras” (Mike D Remix) Context: I’m not sure I actually like this version of Matt & Kim’s new single by Beastie Boy Mike D, but I salute his effort to bring attention to the Brooklyn duo. Matt & Kim – Cameras (Mike D Remix) by mattandkim…
Just when you thought Phoenix pop/rock band The Maine couldn’t push themselves any further as a band (they already have their own keepsake book and imprint label), the group has managed to make it into the movie business, with their new short film, In Darkness and In Light. They’re screening…
It seems Gillis’ recent performances this past weekend in Pittsburgh have a broader influence than many realized. The resolution cites that Gillis “now resides in the Polish Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh,” as well as having “recently opening the new Stage AE club and amphitheater with two sold out performances.” Gillis’…
Looks like Dweezil Zappa did his dad, Frank, proud last night at the Comerica Theatre. He and his Zappa Plays Zappa tribute band played a massive 2 1/2-hour set, including Frank’s entire Apostrophe (‘) album for a crowd full of both older and younger Zappa fans. Here’s what they had…
No, this album is not a thumping, ode-to-late-1990s-techno banger, as the kids say. Tron Legacy is, first and foremost, a film score. It is Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Cristo trying to weave a narrative with an 85-piece orchestra. There is a clear electronic influence over the soundtrack, but Bangalter…
Consider yourself lucky if you got to see Gorillaz on tour this year. The band has announced that they might be through with playing huge shows, according to NME.The band can’t “keep going at this size and pace,” Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn said. He says he feels that the band…
Minibosses have been doing their annual Shotfest concert for four years now. That’s a little surprising since the concert, which features local bands doing a shot before each song they play, probably should have sent someone to the hospital by now…Shotfest 4: The Quest For Peace (it’s a play on…
Artist: The Parting Gifts Title: Strychnine Dandelions Release date: November 9 Label: In the Red Last week, I didn’t have many good things to say about the new record from Kanye West. This morning, a white co-worker walked into my office and said, “I read what you said about Kanye…
PHOENIX – (June 30, 2011) After nearly two decades of hosting concerts and sporting events, the US Airways Center was completely and utterly destroyed this evening by what is being described as a “gigantic black hole of suck.” According to witness reports, at approximately 7:30 p.m. this evening, the 19-year-old…
Song: Janelle Monáe, “Cold War”Context: Getting caught up on best of 2010 albums. Paste put Monáe’s The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) at #2. Feels like a reach to me so far. Janelle Monáe – Cold War…
