Keith Jackson stops short of officially canonizing Joe Strummer — but seriously, just short of it. “I don’t know how to describe the guy’s personality,” Jackson says of the frontman of The Clash, actor, and leader of global-punk outfit The Mescaleros. “I don’t want to say he was saint-like, but…
2012 is at its end, and just like I did last year, I thought it would be good fun to try and recap the reissues and compilations I couldn’t seem to get off my phonograph this year. So here they are: The 10 reissues and compilations I dug most in…
Photo by Liz TracyIs that Jarvis Cocker? Nah … Just Gaslamp Killer.By Liz Tracy No one’s really interested in reading about the actual performances taking place on this musical ship of contradictions, the S.S. Coachella, amirite? Instead, you want a spoonful of gossipy anecdotal sugar, straight from the decks of…
Courtesy of SephoraAlexis Krauss is all about the nails, girl.By Liz Tracy Fashion and music are the funniest-looking twin sisters. They’re always together, always kinda sloppy. Sometimes they dress up like a swan or wear a big mouse head. Together, they’re always looking to make a bold statement. If you…
The late, great and totally irreverent comedian Bill Hicks once predicted the ultimate television commercial, describing it as such: “Here’s the woman’s face. Beautiful. Camera pulls back. Naked breast. Camera pulls back, she’s totally naked, legs apart, two fingers right here and it just says ‘Drink Coke.’ Now, I don’t…
With few exceptions, knowing is better than not knowing. As they say, “Knowledge is power.” If you believe this as much as I do, then you can understand why some of our historic monsters went to such great lengths to eliminate knowledge and why forward thinkers and the socially conscious…
Photo by Ian WitlenJarvis Cocker and Pulp aboard the S.S. Coachella.By Liz Tracy The S.S. Coachella set out to sea rather unceremoniously. There weren’t horns, not a streamer in sight, and no one smashed bottles against the body of the ship. But we’d all been aboard the Celebrity Silhouette for…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
As 2012 winds down, we’re all reflecting. There were ups and downs in Phoenix all year. The Valley music community lost valued members, The Sound Strike (sort of) ended. Justin Bieber, not to be outdone, puked on stage in Glendale. Here’s our look back at the biggest Up on the…
Once a week Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
The atmosphere inside The Nash during its grand opening concert on a warm night back in early October was positively electric. A fast-paced flurry of a finger-snapping bebop filled the air as a quintet of jazz musicians led by legendary drummer Lewis Nash, the namesake of the new downtown Phoenix…
The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of…
2012 isn’t even over yet, and we’re already feeling sort of nostalgic for it. We saw a lot of great shows this year, so narrowing it down to the most mind-blowing 20 wasn’t easy, but it was a lot of fun. Enjoy, our Top 20 Phoenix Concerts of 2012. See…
Byron Fenix is a bit different than your normal DJ or selector. First off, you normally won’t find him performing at some glitzy club, as he generally prefers to spin at far funkier venues and events, such as The Lost Leaf, Djentrification’s Civic Space Jam, or at his monthly gig…
Robert Thornton Thornton is the founder of Paper Clouds Apparel, which is launching a new line of clothing raising funding for special needs schools on January 7. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? The only station I really…
So, hey, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame went ahead and announced their Class of 2013, which this time around includes Rush, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and someone called the “Disco Queen,” Donna Summer. Those who were nominated but didn’t make the cut included Kraftwerk, Deep Purple, Joan Jett…
2012 wasn’t really a bad year for local hardcore and metal music, but there seemed to be more noteworthy demos circulating around than official releases. Now, I understand that the distinction between a demo and an official release is really just a matter of using the word “demo” to describe…
Justin Townes Earle can tell stories. It’s what the Nashville-raised singer-songwriter has done for six years, writing albums that have placed him at the forefront of rusty, soulful Americana. His records drip with imagery — muddy rivers, ghosts, “Memphis in the Rain” — and he speaks just as vividly as…
Like any country band worth its salt, Limbeck knows the value of “road songs.” The band’s sophomore record, Hi, Everything’s Great (2003), is a must-have for any cross-country road trip, its lyrics describing the nation’s cities and highways with the same vivid detail as the interesting characters the band has…
“Ascetic House is operated out of the West Temple, a small shed in the Sonoran Desert, and much of the artwork, music, and publications were actualized therein.” So reads the inscription at the front of most of the photocopied chapbooks filled with prose, poetry, and firsthand psychedelic accounts issued by…
Taylor Swift is coming to town on Tuesday, May 28, at Jobing.com Arena. And…never has the thought of the pending apocalypse been so appealing. Sure, Swift has her vocal detractors (like me), but her new album, Red was released in October and quickly sold a whole bunch of copies, which…
This time of year is fun-slash-maddening for us goofy music critic types. It’s a time for poring over notes, for obsessively analyzing what made the records we loved so great. Of course, they can’t all be winners, can they? As we dug into our Best of Lists, we turned up…
