“Porirua Gurls”

Song: “Porirua Gurls”Context: In the wake of the “Arizona Gurls” video I went searching for the world’s most ridiculous parody of Katy Perry’s song. This one, named for a suburb of New Zealand’s capital and made by a radio station there, takes the cake. The references are totally incomprehensible, and…

Bob Dylan’s Ticketless Warfield Show Finds Underwhelming Support

America’s favorite old man/recording artist Bob Dylan tried to stick it to the man this past Wednesday night at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater.The 69-year-old folk legend decided he was going to rebel against Ticketmaster and surplus ticket charges and nix issuing tickets to his show altogether.It’s a noble experiment in…

NASA Wants You to Pick Out Music Used to Wake Up Astronauts

NASA has found a way to integrate the general public into their upcoming STS-133 mission.As NME reports, the task at hand is to decide what music should be used to wake up the astronauts while in orbit.Currently, there is a list of 40 potential songs that could be used as…

Ra Ra Riot: The Orchard

Artist: Ra Ra RiotTitle: The OrchardRelease date: August 24Label: BarsukIf you like Vampire Weekend, you’ll probably like Ra Ra Riot, a prim-and-proper chamber pop band that sounds more suited to a country club function than a night out at the rock club. These guys are vaguely danceable and indebted to…

Weezer’s Hurley as More Corporate Branding?

It was bad enough when Weezer felt the need to insert Best Buy into their incredibly overplayed radio hit “I Want You To.” Now it seems that their record Hurley, scheduled to be released on Sept. 14, may not be a direct reference to the Lost character played by Jorge…

The Maine, The Tubes, and More in This Week’s Issue

This week’s music feature is on The Maine’s rise to success, all the way from the networks of MySpace to their major label signing and $38 keepsake albums. Their adaptability has allowed them to chart and headline. And it doesn’t look like the power-pop force is gonna be on the…

The Philistines Jr., “The Bus Stop Song”

Song: The Philistines Jr., “The Bus Stop Song” Context: The Philistines Jr., a project from Peter Katis, the producer who makes The National and Interpol sound like they do (or at least how they did at their peaks) has a new record coming out in October — the first in…

Shape-Shifting with The Tubes

Somewhere, down deep inside each one of us, a Tubes song is playing. Possibly it’s “White Punks on Dope” or it might be “What Do You Want from Life.” Unfortunately, it is probably “She’s a Beauty.” The pre-punk, post-glitter rock of this bright band with its long, sparkly roots here…

Check Out This Slayer Fan’s Sorta Creepy Hand-Written Press Release

Slayer is known for having very dedicated fans. Turns out they’re dedicated enough to issue their own press releases.Hand-written on notebook paper, no less. So, yeah, check out this crazy letter from someone who says he’s Greg Valentino of Pleasant Hills, California. No idea who that is, but the bodybuilder…

Dead Confederate: Sugar

Artist: Dead ConfederateTitle: SugarRelease: August 24Label: Razor & TieRecently, I wrote about a really good band with a terrible name. Today, I’ve got a band with a pretty cool name and really so-so music. Dead Confederate evokes a sound that is quite a bit different from what actually emits from…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our 8/26 Issue

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. Why did the drummer of a local band get stabbed in the neck outside a show?…

John Legend and The Roots Perform at the Miss Universe Pageant?

As Idolator points out, John Legend and The Roots are typically known for their socially conscious music. So it was a bit surprising to hear that Legend performed the music for the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant. The performance featured the skinny girls in heels performing choreography that was more like…