Artist: Kanye West Title: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Release date: November 22 Label: Roc-A-Fella Fitting, perhaps, that Kanye West’s new record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is one of the final 15 or so new records that I’ll be listening to before this Nothing Not New project turns out…
Song: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, “The One”Context: I’m always a sucker for a nice, sappy/fuzzy indie pop song like the new single from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Their new record, Belong, is due early next year and should be a treat. The Pains of…
It pissed me off so much when MGMT didn’t play their hit song “Kids” at Coachella this year, and I’m sure plenty of other people weren’t too pleased either. Right before Coachella, MGMT released their album Congratulations, which a lot of music lovers weren’t particularly crazy about. Most of MGMT’s…
Britney Spears will be releasing a new album in March 2011, according to Idolator.She had originally announced an eariler release date but tweeted (@britneyspears) yesterday, “I’m almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!”Great, just great. Come March,…
You won’t catch Tim Neilson (a.k.a. DJ Johnny Volume) loading up the latest Death to the Throne remix or fiddling with Serrato on his iBook during any of the 35-year-old’s gigs. Nope, this old schooler’s tools are much simpler: Two turntables and a shitload of records. While we’ve never had…
Is it just me, or is anyone else completely shocked by Katy Perry’s nomination for Album of the Year for the 2011 Grammy Awards?I mean, don’t get me wrong. As a person, I adore her. She’s funny, sassy, confident and beautiful, and she really does have amazing vocal talent. Her…
Title: Life’s CaféBasics: Basics, you say? Where to start — Russell is on his fifth CD. He has also appeared in theatrical productions as Howard Bevins in William Inge’s Picnic and as Simon Stimson in Thorton Wilder’s Our Town and he is the owner of Desert Winds Development, Inc., a…
Artist: Sharon Van Etten Title: Epic Release date: September 21 Label: Ba Da Bing! If you’re relatively unknown as a musical artist, as is Sharon Van Etten, and you name your record Epic, you’d better be damn sure your record doesn’t suck. The good news for Van Etten is that…
Say no more, elitist parents: Yo Gabba Gabba! isn’t just for kids anymore. What other children’s show features awesome musical performances by some pretty big names on every episode? Kids love the music and parents like the substantial musical cameos. The variety of artists play in their own style, entertaining…
Song: Pedro the Lion, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”Context: I’m loving the indie rock Christmas songs this time of year. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Pedro the Lion…
If you happen to be hanging out at any of the Valley’s dance events this coming weekend, be sure to listen closely. It might be hard to hear over the massive cacophony of beats getting slung, but you might just hear a few sobs coming from the DJ booth. That’s…
Coldplay is back with a new Christmas single, according to Consequence of Sound.The band is prepping for a busy and exciting 2011, having just announced a handful of European festival dates in which they will take a headlining slot. Leading up to the new year, Chris Martin is bringing his…
Along with chilly weather and frantic Christmas shopping, the beginning of December rings in the season when hordes and hordes of year-end top 10 album lists start materializing.These lists are a fun exercise. Having done a few myself, I like them. Yet you may not realize they but often contain…
First Fridays in December are something of a big deal. Although the mercury will likely dip into the 40-degree range, we’re expecting a horde of culture vultures will be traipsing about Roosevelt Row and Grand Avenue in order to make the scene and scope out potential Christmas gifts. Thing is,…
Looks like Los Angeles-based electro hip-hop trio Hyper Crush is going to have a busy night tonight. The band is scheduled to perform at two Valley clubs, all within less than 4 hours.First, they’ll hit Jackrabbit Lounge in Scottsdale, which continues its quest to be a House of Blues-style destination,…
Ever wondered what a zombie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer looks like? Take a gander at this flier. It was created for metal band Living Sacrifice for their A Very Metal Christmas Tour. Since the name of the tour has to do with Christmas, Tooth & Nail Records/Invisible Creature art director/designer…
Until a few years ago, it was difficult to think that a kids’ show could be cool enough to merit a feature in New Times’ music section. Spare the jokes. Clearly, not every band featured in these pages is actually “cool” (Kings of Leon get covered here based on sheer…
Dark Star Orchestra is one of the best-known Grateful Dead tribute bands in the country. But when you play other people’s music every night, finding ways to keep things interesting becomes a new kind of challenge. So we have Dark Star’s new project. The band is staging the “From a…
This story was originally intended to feature an interview with Brother Ali, who is performing in town this week along with The Grouch, Eligh, and Los Rakas, as part of the How The Grouch Stole Christmas tour. Unfortunately, Ali was on a pilgrimage to Mecca last month and was unavailable…
It’s tough being one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen. Take Jay-Z’s spot on the recent Kanye West single “Monster,” for instance. It isn’t that Jay’s verse is terrible, but surrounded by Rick Ross, Kanye, and the unstoppable Nicki Minaj, Hova lacks vigor. Next to the other MCs, he comes across as…
You’ve heard of 2 Live Crew, and their famous “me so horny” refrain, but have you laid ears on Toubab Krewe? Admittedly, the groups don’t have much in common besides their names. The former: Miami-based dirty-rappers who excelled at pissing off censors. The latter: North Carolina-based white-boy Afro-rockers who excel…
Not quite the Dropkick Murphy-style fiddle jockeys their name vaguely depicts, Reckless Kelly has been making twangy alt-country roots-rock since they formed in Bend, Oregon, in the mid-’90s. Named after Australian bank robber Ned Kelly, the band later relocated to Austin and released a string of well-received country-charting albums, including…
