Features

Song: Arcade Fire, “Ready To Start”Context: As Michael Lopez mentioned earlier, you may or may not have heard that Arcade Fire has a new record out today. Ready to Start by Arcade Fire…

Local uber-producer Bob Hoag is owed a lot of favors in this town. The Atari-turned-knob-twister-turned-Love Me Nots Drummer has had half the bands in town come through his well-regarded Flying Blanket Studio in Mesa (even if the Black Cactus guys want no part of it) and routinely gets out-of-towners through.What,…

​Oh, a new Arcade Fire album is being released today? I had no idea — aside from the fact that most everyone has been looking forward to The Suburbs, the band’s third album, ever since they first finished listening to their previous album Neon Bible.It’s hard for the Montreal rockers…

Artist: WavvesTitle: King of the BeachRelease date: August 3Label: Fat PossumRemember Wavves? They (well, it was more or less one guy, Nathan Williams, and whoever would back him) were huge in Indieland last summer, the ultimate buzz band of 2009. Then they played some high-profile festivals, totally sucked at those…

Dated enough for you? 1994, then, was the perfect time for a song like “Regulate” to peak in popularity. Why, then, has it taken until now for a synopsis of the song to materialize?…

Here’s a fun fact about seminal 80’s band The Tubes — their origins are in Phoenix. Tubes’ founders Bill “Sputnick” Spooner and late keyboardist Vince Welnick were born and raised in Phoenix, playing in early high school bands before packing up shop, moving to San Francisco in the late 60’s…

Marquee Theatre had one of the most interesting crowds it has probably seen in awhile when Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta came to town last night. The sold-out audience was a mix of glitter-covered cougars, teenage girls and gay men, and the eyeliner was out in full force. After the…

Song: Turn Back, O Man! “French Wife”Context: Is this band breaking up or not? “New project in the works” + hype = ??? Either way, this is a fun story song. French Wife by turnbackoman…

Lady Gaga may have recycled some material from her previous club tour at her sold-out arena show at US Airways Center Saturday night. She used some of the same imagery and even in-between-song banter as she did at her previous smaller shows. And the sound quality may have been horrible,…

How could someone who’s been dead for over a year release a new record? The simple answer would likely be that the people who have control over any remaining recorded material are hungry for the money that accompanies anything involving Michael Jackson’s name.Rolling Stone reports that the King of Pop…

Song: Lady Gaga, “Starstruck”Context: When Lady Gaga updated her Facebook status to say she was hanging out in the Arizona desert. 37,291people (and counting!) “liked” it. The fame, indeed. Lady Gaga – Starstruck…

ame: Aaron TaylorAKA: Vanilla Gorilla (not really)Current club schedule: Thursday at Jackrabbit Lounge, Friday at Suede, and Saturday at Myst.Genres spun: Hip-hop, Top 40, old school, electro, reggae, or anything else you might tip for.How did you get started as a DJ? Back in ’94, a buddy had one Technics…

Holy crap, only five-plus months left of Nothing Not New. I gotta get to a lot more new(-ish) releases. Let’s roll . . .Cowboy Junkies — Remnin Park: Who knew these dour Canadians were even still around? Remnin Park is a concept album inspired the Timmins’ family month-long sojourn to…

This week’s music feature is on Lady Gaga’s seemingly overnight rise to super-stardom. Ever wonder exactly how or why this happened? Nearly everyone agrees she’s awesome. But is she really? We get to the nitty gritty.We also take a took at the subtle differences in the metalcore genre through the…

Song: Wavves, “When Will You Come”Context: Listening to the new Wavves record for the first time. Wavves, “When Will You Come” by gardnerz…

Ruts are normal. Nowhere is this truer than in art, where it’s easier to be a follower than a leader. So it is that metal and hardcore, which broke out of the morass of their longtime heavily scripted, regimented styles by cross-pollinating, have slid back into predictability after a brief…

Fact: Phoenix has a lot more gigging local bands than anyone realizes. Even you, Mr. Hipster Who Really Cares About the Local Scene. I don’t care who you think you are — you’ve never heard of half the local bands playing out in a given week. Thing is, a lot…

America responded with a collective “Well, of course!” when Lady Gaga formally announced herself in 2008. Overnight success is a myth, but then again, Gaga’s first two singles, “Just Dance” and “Poker Face,” both hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Since then, she’s worn red latex to meet…

Are you interested in seeing Calexico, Miniature Tigers, Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, Big Son (featuring Sam Means of The Format and Jeff and Chris of Reubens Accomplice), Sand Rubies, Kinch, and more for free?Yes?Are you sure?OK, you can, and all you have to do is pledge to vote on…

​Artist: The Goodnight LovingTitle: Supper ClubRelease date: July 20Label: DirtnapSo, this Milwaukee band was supposed to play in Tempe on Saturday night. I’d seen on the Goner Records message board earlier this summer that they were touring the West and needed a Phoenix gig, so I set them up at…

Phoenix music fans hoping for a little relief from The Soundstrike in the wake of Judge Susan Bolton’s decision to issue a temporary injunction blocking parts of the law are going to be disappointed.The boycott is still on, says group representative Javier Gonzalez.From a statement released by the group within…

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. Are Tokio Hotel fans more crazy than the band is lame, or vice-versa? How did last…