Features

Song: Anarbor, “Drug Store Diet”Context: I did not realize that these Phoenix pop-rockers mentioned Sheriff Joe in this song until reading next week’s music feature. Pretty funny. Drugstore Diet by Anarbor…

Artist: The Gaslight AnthemTitle: American SlangRelease date: June 15Label: Side One DummyOkay, I’m suddenly having a hard time keeping straight my Gaslight Anthems and my Hold Steadies and my Against Me!’s. All three acts are critical darlings who have released albums in the past six weeks. All three seem to be…

Bad news, Phoenix: It will be 104 degrees today. If the heat is already starting to bother you, it’s time to start planning weekend trips to the high country. July 10 is looking like a good day to drive up to Flagstaff for the Hullabaloo music festival. The name Hullabaloo…

What the critics are saying:…

Since Slovenia is the United States’ next opponent in that sporting event we’re all pretending to care about because we’re bored the very exciting 2010 World Cup in beautiful South Africa, I paid special attention to a press release I received this morning about Magnifico, purportedly the country’s “Hottest Star.”He…

Song: Ice Cube, “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It”Context: Hard to believe it, but Ice Cube is 41 today. Happy birthday, O’Shea. Ice Cube Gangsta rap made me do it…

Artist: Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersTitle: MojoRelease date: June 15Label: RepriseHow many of you have acts that you’d never call yourself a fan of, would never buy one of their records, or pay money to see in concert, yet recognize that the acts have been around for so long and…

If you dared to log on to Twitter this weekend, you undoubtedly saw the onslaught of not only massive amounts of Tweets on the start of the World Cup, but also on the Bonnaroo Festival that you were not at.There’s nothing like a constant influx of instantaneously updated reminders that…

Music editor Martin Cizmar and I are back with a new podcast. We’ve got new 10 songs and Martin’s musings on his favorite record from the grunge era. Here’s what’s in store from podcast #7. Crystal Castles: “Empathy” Sleigh Bells: “Infinity Guitars” The Cool Kids: “Strawberry Girls” Ariel Pink’s Haunted…

Usually things get snarkyish when Shawn takes over the reigns at Electric Mustache. You know, like the time he called the entire city of Scottsdale out.Not this time.Shawn loves this folkie Tempe two-piece called Sorry Charlie.I can’t say I’m in agreement about Sorry Charlie — I listened to the four…

Let’s clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! — This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It’s quirky with a capital “Q” and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is…

Name: Steven Chung AKA: DJ Tranzit Current nights: Giant Wednesdays at Cream Stereo Lounge. Genres spun: Electro-house, progressive house, tech house, minimal. How did you get started as a DJ? Same ol’ typical cliche DJ story. Got sick of hearing someone else’s CDs at a house party so ended up…

Christina Aguilera is all about reinvention, so she says, and on Bionic, she’s moved on from the 1920’s-inspired artist she was on Back to Basics and has reverted back to the naughty girl everyone remembers from her “Dirrty” days and juxtaposed it with a sweet and innocent motherly figure. It’s…

Here’s reason number 7,082 why Amanda Palmer is awesome: The Dresden Dolls frontwoman is celebrating her victory over Roadrunner Records with an EP of Radiohead covers played on ukulele.The songs were recorded in Australia after she learned how to play the mini-guitar “as a joke” to do a memorable cover…

Song: T.I. featuring Rihanna, “Live Your Life”Context: So Rihanna isn’t coming to Phoenix… this is still some serious real talk from T.I.P…

Formed in 1994, Authority Zero have become the de facto torchbearers of the Valley punk rock scene over the past 16 years. The band’s new album, Stories of Survival, is set for a June 22 release, but Valley fans can get a sneak preview this coming Thursday night, when the…

Artist: Gemma RayTitle: It’s a Shame About Gemma RayRelease date: June 1Label: BronzeratThe best part of writing “Nothing Not New” is hearing an artist that, under nearly any other circumstance, would probably escape my attention. Back in the day, when I was more attuned to new music, I probably would’ve…

Weird: The Backstreet Boys have announced a boycott of BP because of the massive oil spill.Weirder: Korn instigated this.Actually, maybe not so weird: These band will forever be linked in the realm of “shitty music that should have failed to exist in any form after the big ball dropped on…

Apparently someone forgot to tell Mesa rockers Authority Zero just what goes on at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. The band has a free show lined up a week from today at the restaurant, where I am sure there are going to be a lot of pissed…

This week’s music feature is an explanation of the strange series of events that made Elycia Marie, the girlfriend of Malcolm in the Middle child star Frankie Muniz, who plays drums for a Phoenix band, the Twitter nemesis of music editor Martin Cizmar.While this may sound like an odd twist…

So Much Silence is about to turn five years old. Five years. That makes it practically older than Pitchfork and actually older than Up On The Sun.Everyone here in the Phoenix New Times music section heartily congratulates Kevin “Murph”  Murphy on that feat. It’s been a joy to read his…

Song: You Hang Up, “Closer”Context: Why not, right? Closer by YouHangUp…