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.Has My Chemical Romance also abandoned the Sound Strike boycott of Arizona?Which song by local band Gospel…
Song: Mini Mansions, “Thriller Escapade”Context: Mini Mansions, an LA-based trio featuring Queens of the Stone Age bass player Michael Shumanthat, are playing Nov. 30 @ the Yucca Tap Room The Mini Mansions – Thriller Escapade by Vlady Turner…
The Strokes have finally finished a long awaited album, according to SPIN.While the mixing and mastering still has yet to be done, the recording process itself has been completed.After working out their differences and deciding to go forth with making a new album, they worked with Beck and White Stripes…
Wishy-washy Sound Strikers My Chemical Romance have posted a short and sweet statement about their re-boycott of Arizona.We want to apologize to all our fans for the cancellation of our Phoenix show on May 24, 2011. This show should have never been booked due to our affiliation with Zach de…
Artist: StereolabTitle: Not MusicRelease date: November 16Label: Drag CityNo, Stereolab, the long-running and influential indie-pop band, is not necessarily “back.” (In fact, the band is still reportedly on indefinite hiatus.) The near-hour of music found on Not Music comes from the sessions that produced the 2008 record Chemical Chords. The…
Song: Digable Planets, “Nickel Bags”Context: Not only are Digable Planets coming to town, Nickel Bags are, too. Up On The Sun is so proud of how our sister blog Valley Fever is quickly becoming Arizona’s paper of record for the coming medical marijuana program. Digable Planets – Nickel Bags…
My Chemical Romance may be re-boycotting Arizona over SB 1070. Yesterday we pointed out that the band had formerly joined The Sound Strike during the height of the outrage over our state’s crazy immigration law, SB 1070. Then they announced a date at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre (without any comment) and…
In case you haven’t heard or come from a foreign land, Thanksgiving is next week. That means the holidays are upon us, and show announcements are becoming more and more scarce.This week’s group is lead by the Smashing Pumpkins playing a casino. That is literally the most compelling show in…
Stop the world. Apple has announced that the Beatles catalog is finally available on iTunes, according to Billboard. I love when Christmas comes early.After plenty of rumors went around yesterday about what Apple’s big announcement regarding iTunes was going to be, practically everything under the sun that the Beatles ever…
For a band that was the first to be truly labeled as “post-rock,” Stereolab has kept things going solid since their inception in 1990. Not Music may have its momentary lapses, but fans of the band will feel right at home amongst the baroque-esque aural landscapes and, most importantly, Sadier’s luscious vocals.What…
Artist: The Fresh & OnlysTitle: Play It StrangeRelease date: October 12Label: In the RedAnd just like that, I find myself a little bored by the sound plied and, possibly, perfected by San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys. It’s the sound that has passed for garage rock for over a half-decade…
Song: The Decemberists, “Down By The Water” Context: The Decemberists announced tour dates for early 2011 today. Sadly, Phoenix will once again be Decemb-less as the band’s closest show is in San Diego on February 13. Book your flight to California aboard a steam-powered zeppelin now. This is the first…
New Jersey-based pop-punk-emo band My Chemical Romance seems to have deserted the Sound Strike.The band was on an old list of acts boycotting Arizona over the super-stupid immigration law SB 1070 — which was gutted by the courts before it took effect — but announced today a Marquee Theatre show…
Seemingly out of nowhere, Gregg Gillis has made his fourth Girl Talk album, All Day, freely available via illegal-art.net.Do you like Jay-Z rapping over General Public’s “Tenderness?” How about Dorrough’s “Ice Cream Paint Job” over some Brothers Johnson? Girl Talk gotchu, son! Gillis is masterful in outdoing himself album after album, and…
ould overnight British superstar Susan Boyle have the top album in the UK two years in a row?It’s very possible, according to Billboard.Boyle just released her second album, The Gift, which debuted at the top spot on the UK charts. Her first album, I Dreamed a Dream, which was a…
Oh, how we’ve missed podcasting to the music fans of the Valley. Well, music editor Martin Cizmar and I are back with a new one, with nine new-ish songs and lotsa banter about music, including the artistic achievements of Sufjan Stevens, a great new song by local band Gospel Claws,…
Song: Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Our Hearts Are Wrong” Context: Jessica Lea Mayfield’s now album is due in February, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and out on Nonesuch. This first single is pretty damn good. Jessica Lea Mayfield – Our Hearts Are Wrong…
In between dates on an extensive international tour, Damon Albarn has been recording a new Gorillaz album on his iPad, according to NME.Albarn said he hopes he has “made a completely different kind of record.” In an effort to be the first to release an iPad-made album, he hopes to…
Taylor Swift may be headlining the 2011 version of the Country Thunder music festival in Arizona.The event’s organizers sent out a press releases today announcing the dates for the annual hootenanny: April 7-10, in Florence where the festival has been staged at Canyon Moon Ranch since outgrowing Schnepf Farms in…
Name: David Kevin StricklerAKA: DK Strickler Current gigs: Retro Hi-Fi Sundays at SideBar, and private/public events on Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays. Genres spun: House and all it’s varied sub-genres, space and indie disco, organic lounge and downtempo.How did you get started as a DJ? Fell in love with EDM back in…
Folk-tinged psych-rockers Akron/Family have a new album due out in February, and they’ve stopped at nothing to get the word out in perhaps the most offbeat way. The album is conveniently titled S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, natch.The trio has a history of being on…
Song: Weezer, “Tragic Girl”Context: This is the last song on the excellent and informative two-disc re-issue of Pinkerton which came out last week. Weezer – Tragic Girl (Pinkerton Reissue) by mmcizmar…
