On paper, Brooklyn indie rockers Beach Fossils sound pretty tame and, frankly, played-out.Luckily, the band’s self-titled debut is very impressive, raising the band’s profile above the masses of like-minded lo-fi bands struggling to do their thing. With jingle-jangle guitars and surf-tinged rhythms, Beach Fossils don’t have a revolutionary sound –…
The wording of a press release announcing the postponement of Christina Aguilera’s August 14 show at US Airways Center struck me: “Christina Aguilera’s Summer Tour Has Been Moved To 2011” As it’s told to us, “due to prior commitments that the singer had made to her film Burlesque and to…
Song: The Beach Boys, “I Get Around” (Remix)Context: Been thinking a lot about Brian Wilson since interviewing him. The Beach Boys: I Get Around (djcruMbs On The Town Remix) by ⦿djcruMbs⦿…
Artist: Damien JuradoTitle: Saint BartlettRelease date: May 25Label: Secretly CanadianSo much of the music I’ve listened to this month has been unabashed summertime music — whether it’s Sleigh Bells, The Hold Steady, The Dead Weather, even Band of Horses’ sittin’-round-the-campfire rock — so it was unusual to hear a rather…
The Internet has blown up over the last hour with news that Slipknot bassist Paul Dedrick Gray has passed away. The 38-year-old musician, better known by his nom de rock as “#2” or “The Pig” was reportedly found dead in a Des Moines-area hotel room earlier today. Gray was one…
God forbid you offer a 40 second preview of a track off an album that has already leaked — do so and you subject yourself to the wrath of some self-righteous British dude named “WEBSHERIFF.”Such is the fate of yours truly and the newest album from Ratatat, LP4, which leaked…
Perhaps I cast unfair judgement and assume incorrectly about the readers of music blogs. I often assume that they’re smarter than a huge chunk of the average population, and also that they’re under the age of retirement. How swiftly I have been proven wrong…Okay, not necessarily. While the creators of…
If you thought the newly opened Musical Instrument Museum was diverse in its selection of exotic instruments from around the world (where Nigerian hausa trumpets and a Burmese saung guak harp are housed in the same building as Eric Clapton’s stratocasters), try checking out the multifaceted lineup of artists performing…
There might have been what seemed to be a lack of diversity at the Minus the Bear show last night at Marquee Theatre, but white kids got down and dirty, dancing to the indie stylings of the band who recently extended their current tour for another month. Valley fans got…
Song: Wilco, “Monday”Context: Has it really been a year since The Original Jay Bennett died? Hope he’s having a great time hanging out in the great Pieholden Suite in the sky. Wilco – Monday by CK2…
SB 1070 hasn’t won Arizona a lot friends in the music business. First you had Canadian indie poppers Stars proclaiming their “boycott” of the state over the controversial new immigration law, then Belinda Carlisle asking Lilith Fair organizers to move the tour’s Arizona date. Zack de la Rocha has condemned…
The July 8 Lilith Fair tour stop scheduled for July 8 at Cricket Wireless Pavilion in Phoenix has been canceled. Live Nation’s only statement on the matter is, “We apologize for any inconvenience.” We’ve received no response from an inquiry about why directed at the promoter’s publicist. Last week Go…
Artist: Woven BonesTitle: In and Out and Back AgainRelease date: May 18Label: Hozac RecordsThis is what the Black Lips hath wrought. The garage rock of much of the past two decades was about teenage kicks. In the parlance of the kids, it was punk ‘n’ roll, straightforward and unhinged blasts…
How’s this for pleasant coincidence: David Allan Coe, arguably country music’s ultimate outlaw is finally coming to Phoenix again. Yup, the same DAC who is Today’s Soundtrack just announced a date at Celebrity Theatre on October 8.You may recall that the 70-year-old’s scheduled show at The Last Exit/Nowhere/Venue of Scottsdale/Last…
There was an interesting exchange over at The Shizz this month, as promoters and bands from Phoenix band duked it out over an age-old question: “Who’s supposed to promote this show, and who is on the hook if it fails?”The debate started, innocently enough, after a newbie asked how legit…
Song: David Allan Coe,”Longhaired Redneck”Context: Fond memories of singing along to this song with my buddy Chris. David Allen Coe – Longhaired Redneck…
Jordin Sparks is playing the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on July 1 as part of a national tour that’ll take the Glendale native to 35 cities across the country.Sparks, the 20-year-old 2007 American Idol winner, is also slated to make Broadway debut in the 2008 Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best…
Artist: Band of HorsesTitle: Infinite ArmsRelease date: May 18Label: ColumbiaTake a look at the cover art to the right of these words. If you were browsing through the racks at your local record store, this cover is nearly all that you’d need to know about the new of Band of…
If Spike Jones would have never brought the element of parody to music, then Dr. Demento would have never had a radio show. If Dr. Demento never had a radio show, then Al Yankovic would have become an insurance salesman with a penchant for hawaiian shirts. However, Dr. Demento introduced…
Song: The Barenaked Ladies, “Brian Wilson” Context: Working on my feature story about the Beach Boys genius. Barenaked Ladies – Brian Wilson (Live) by cizmar…
Reading the words “rare” and “spectacular” in a review of your latest album on the Web’s most influential music commentary site: good. Seeing the word “clusterfuck” following those two words: not quite as good. That’s straight from Pitchfork’s review of Minus the Bear’s fourth LP, this month’s Omni. It ranked…
Since releasing her sophomore full-length album, Battlefield, in July 2009, the Valley’s own Jordin Sparks has kept a relatively low profile. Opening for the Jonas Brothers here, a Haiti benefit single there. Nothing that approached the publicity blitz of her American Idol triumph three years ago. Well, the beaming 20-year-old…
