The Sopranos blackout, Paul McCartney’s bare feet on the cover of Abbey Road, the vast number of sharpshooters hidden in the shadows of Dealey Plaza, and the inexplicable public fascination with Paris Hilton. America wrestles with these enigmas, seeking answers and finding none. Bigger than all of them is the…
Based on the CD Rusty’s Waltz, it’s hard to tell where Jen Powelson stops and the band Haven James starts, meaning that while there is some additional instrumentation on the disc — tiny doses of fiddle, mandolin, cello, and some very Mark Knopfler-esque leads — Powelson’s loud rhythm guitar and…
Think of the music played by Spain’s Son de la Frontera as pure acoustic music that does not rely on any studio gimmicks. The five-piece group from Morón de la Frontera has a sound marked by the presence of the très (a three-stringed instrument commonly used in Cuban folk music)…
While absorbing the Blueshammer ersatz and pheromone-scented metallurgy of Icky Thump, the White Stripes’ sixth record, it’s hard not to long for the candy-striped sibs who once sat in that little room, working on something good. Remember them? Way back before the supermodel weddings, Nashville mansions, and sundry side projects?…
The men of Linkin Park seem awfully insecure. Minutes to Midnight is stuffed with take-us-seriously gestures, including the presence of producer Rick Rubin and liner notes that couldn’t be needier if they’d been written by Sally Field. For instance, the Parkers reveal in a footnote to “What I’ve Done” that…
It’s been four years since Fountains of Wayne’s last studio album, but the wait has been more than worth it, because FOW produces incredibly well-constructed pop. Besides a gift for hummable melodies, the group’s bite-size vignettes of middle-class angst (think John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom) reveal a novelist’s eye for detail…
W.O.M.B. has always been difficult to define. Ever since the Valley band’s debut LP, 1999’s Warriors of Make Believe, the group has been producing thematically diverse music that ranges from the playful and poppy to the haunting and experimental. Now that singer/guitarist Marta Wiley and drummer Cristiana Cole have parted…
There’s nothing “alt” about the country music played by Phoenix resident Nick Nicholson. The Tennessee transplant plays straight up, rockin’ country, a combination of twang and bang influenced by the likes of Conway Twitty and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Nicholson’s opened for such kindred acts as Travis Tritt and Neal McCoy, and…
Music that bears the most repeated listenings hits you on an abstract, moth-to-a-naked-light bulb level. The attraction may be lyrical ambiguity, sonic submersion, a spirited count-off or just the decibel ring of a voice around the circumference of your skull. All we know is, we’ve been repeatedly playing the two…
By all accounts, the live shtick of this experienced Austin roots rock veteran is designed to astound and flatten. A qualified, working Joe-type Renaissance man, Guy Forsyth sings, dances, slings an ax, waxes deadly with a harp, and even wields the occasional musical saw as he roams around the spacious…
Backwards baseball cap-wearing white boys of Phoenix, rejoice! Kottonmouth Kings and Tech N9ne have teamed up for a summer tour and they are coming to town for back-to-back dates and they’re bringing their friends. Fans of Kottonmouth Kings will have the opportunity to hear live versions of some of their…
Rusted Root is the type of band you take shit for liking from people who’ve never seen them — simply because of the associations. Though they do frequently appear at jam-band festivals, there’s a lot more nuance, synthesis, and creativity here than you’ll find in your standard, 12-bar blues wankers…
Turns out that not everything stays in Vegas after all. To wit: DJ Larry Mac, who ditched the PHX in 2005 for a radio gig in Sin City but pulled a prodigal son. He recently returned to the city where he made a name for himself running legendary (and now-defunct)…
Thursday 5 Andersons: S.W.A.G. Thursdays with DJ Essence, DJ Astonish, & Bryce Breeze (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Baja Tillys: DJ Adrian (old school, R&B, cumbia, reggaeton) Big Fish Pub: DJ Seduce (jazz, funk, soul) Bikini Lounge: Sophisticated Boom Boom with DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro, R&B) Burn:…
Let me start out by saying this: I love the Silver Pony. In fact, everyone I know that drinks at the Pony loves the Pony. I guess one of the positive consequences of urban sprawl (okay, the only positive) is discovering places that once were considered “out of town.” My…
A hot, fat bucket of garage, ’60s soul, and rock rock rock ‘n’ roll that tantalizes the jaded tongue with potent drops of the Kinks, the Detroit Cobras, and the Sonics — that’s right, the Sonics (why yes, it is a strangely similar name). The suavo-seductive attack formation of intense…
By Brendan Joel Kelley It’s finally Friday, and since you’re probably reading this at work you’re likely desperate to clock out and get the weekend kickstarted. If you aren’t going to the hard rock/metal installment of New Times’ Summer of Sound series, your best bet is to hit up the…
Candee D*Vine wants to be your friend! She’s 19, cute, bisexual, and “up for anything.” If you approve her request, and you probably will, she’ll go into the pile with the rest of your “friends,” who are more than happy to invite you to check out their naughty Webcams, remind…
I’m a bad lesbian. I rarely go to gay pride events, I’ve only seen one episode of The L Word, you couldn’t get me anywhere near Lilith Fair. And I hardly ever hit the Valley’s gay and lesbian clubs anymore. There are a few reasons for this: There’s too much…
As far as showoffs go, Arizona is an unforgivably cocky offender. First, we get all high and mighty about that great, glorified geological ass-crack up north, then we start trottin’ out the “heavies” to campaign against Lyndon Johnson, and now it seems we’ve casually cracked our knuckles and announced a…
The Fourth of July is right around the corner. In case you’ve ever wondered how “American” you really are, here’s a quiz to help you figure out some answers before the fireworks start. 1. Given the chance to actually wear the American flag, you would . . . A) Turn…
Most people know Johnette Napolitano as the singer and bassist of Concrete Blonde, but throughout her career, she’s had a hand in several side projects, including The Heads (with Talking Head Tina Weymouth), a duo called Vowel Movement, and the bands Pretty & Twisted and Catfish Scar. Amazingly, she’s been…
