American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will throw herself a huge 21st birthday bash at The Compound Grill in Phoenix on Wednesday, December 22. Yes, the Grammy nominated Sparks will be legal a few days before Christmas, and the NoPho venue will celebrate with a party featuring music from Micah, Jon…
Ever wondered where Melodic Power Metal came from or which bands actually play that kind of metal? How about the origins of Crossover Thrash, Grindcore or Speed Metal?Graphic designer Patrick Galbraith and metal historian Nick Grant’s Map of Metal has all of that covered. The interactive map plots out just…
Tempe should get ready for another bangin’ St. Patrick’s Day show, according to Consequence of Sound. In honor of their 17th annual tour, Flogging Molly have announced their six-week Irish “Green 17” tour.Gear up to be jolly and get pitted for the greenest concert of the year, Luckyman’s St. Patrick’s…
Local hip-hop website PhoenixHipHop.net posted the nominees for its 2010 Online Hip-Hop Awards this weekend. Unlike those stingy bastards at the Grammy Awards, who only dole out five nominations per category, Phoenix Hip-Hop errs on the side of inclusiveness, with just about everyone who’s done anything in local hip-hop this…
Artist: Kanye West Title: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Release date: November 22 Label: Roc-A-Fella Fitting, perhaps, that Kanye West’s new record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is one of the final 15 or so new records that I’ll be listening to before this Nothing Not New project turns out…
Song: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, “The One”Context: I’m always a sucker for a nice, sappy/fuzzy indie pop song like the new single from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Their new record, Belong, is due early next year and should be a treat. The Pains of…
It pissed me off so much when MGMT didn’t play their hit song “Kids” at Coachella this year, and I’m sure plenty of other people weren’t too pleased either. Right before Coachella, MGMT released their album Congratulations, which a lot of music lovers weren’t particularly crazy about. Most of MGMT’s…
Britney Spears will be releasing a new album in March 2011, according to Idolator.She had originally announced an eariler release date but tweeted (@britneyspears) yesterday, “I’m almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!”Great, just great. Come March,…
You won’t catch Tim Neilson (a.k.a. DJ Johnny Volume) loading up the latest Death to the Throne remix or fiddling with Serrato on his iBook during any of the 35-year-old’s gigs. Nope, this old schooler’s tools are much simpler: Two turntables and a shitload of records. While we’ve never had…
Artist: Sharon Van Etten Title: Epic Release date: September 21 Label: Ba Da Bing! If you’re relatively unknown as a musical artist, as is Sharon Van Etten, and you name your record Epic, you’d better be damn sure your record doesn’t suck. The good news for Van Etten is that…
Say no more, elitist parents: Yo Gabba Gabba! isn’t just for kids anymore. What other children’s show features awesome musical performances by some pretty big names on every episode? Kids love the music and parents like the substantial musical cameos. The variety of artists play in their own style, entertaining…
Song: Pedro the Lion, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”Context: I’m loving the indie rock Christmas songs this time of year. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Pedro the Lion…
If you happen to be hanging out at any of the Valley’s dance events this coming weekend, be sure to listen closely. It might be hard to hear over the massive cacophony of beats getting slung, but you might just hear a few sobs coming from the DJ booth. That’s…
Coldplay is back with a new Christmas single, according to Consequence of Sound.The band is prepping for a busy and exciting 2011, having just announced a handful of European festival dates in which they will take a headlining slot. Leading up to the new year, Chris Martin is bringing his…
Until a few years ago, it was difficult to think that a kids’ show could be cool enough to merit a feature in New Times’ music section. Spare the jokes. Clearly, not every band featured in these pages is actually “cool” (Kings of Leon get covered here based on sheer…
Dark Star Orchestra is one of the best-known Grateful Dead tribute bands in the country. But when you play other people’s music every night, finding ways to keep things interesting becomes a new kind of challenge. So we have Dark Star’s new project. The band is staging the “From a…
This story was originally intended to feature an interview with Brother Ali, who is performing in town this week along with The Grouch, Eligh, and Los Rakas, as part of the How The Grouch Stole Christmas tour. Unfortunately, Ali was on a pilgrimage to Mecca last month and was unavailable…
Song: Foxy Shazam, “Heaven on Their Minds” Context: Foxy Shazam’s Christmas single is a cover from Jesus Christ Superstar. Good stuff! Foxy Shazam – Heaven on Their Minds by mmcizmar…
Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat,…
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 long-forgotten nugget did Jason P. Woodbury unearth for the first installment of his “Obscuro” column?What did…
Jack White is pissed off at his own fans, according to Antiquiet. Jack’s own Third Man Records’ recent eBay auctions for one of five copies of the White Stripes’ rare first album reissue didn’t quite go as planned. He’s angry at flippers, the fans that buy these albums for cheap…
Artist: Robyn Title: Body Talk Release date: November 22 Label: Interscope The critics sure do love the Swedish dance-pop star Robyn, who’s been releasing Body Talk in chunks throughout 2010 and now has finally dropped the entire album as one 15-song compendium. But there seems to be a common theme…
