It’s not a simple binary, but someone like Kendrick Lamar — lyrically skilled yet decidedly un-preachy, quick-tongued but hook-driven — has what it takes to split the difference between unflinching gangster rap audiences and ponderous “conscious” hip-hop heads. Hailing from Compton and boasting the endorsement of West Coast vicelord/expensive-headphone impresario…
NYC songwriter Sean Hayes doesn’t bother with the very-much-in-vogue retro-soul affectations of the moment, but make no mistake about it, his new record, Before We Turn to Dust, has got spirit and groove in abundance. Remember how you’d see names like Carole King in the credits of Donnie Hathaway records?…
We’re in the midst of Halloween season, which means those in the business of scaring the crap outta people are busier than a masked psychopath slaughtering teenyboppers in an ’80s slasher film. That includes the frightening freaks over at Monsterland, 18 West Main Street in Mesa, who are dishing out…
In the past, most of downtown Phoenix’s opportunities for fun were limited to concert venues or clubs on Washington. Cityscape changed all of that by adding an array of restaurant and shopping options, and plenty of features that make it a stand out location. Nestled in the same complex as…
If there’s one month that you can count on to be on metal’s side, it’s October. We’re allowed to adorn our residences with skulls, fake blood, and motion-sensor demons without being judged. Hell, we are also allowed to indulge in an array of freaky, horrific activities, orchestrated by record companies…
We’ve spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we’re finally ready to publish our results. Nerd alert! Now presenting Scientific Phoenix. Phoenix has its…
Earlier this year, soulful goth songstress Zola Jesus confessed to New Times that she has a secret dream of transcending modest indie success and becoming a full-fledged Mariah Carey-type pop star. There’s a significant number of art-warped pop singers whose R&B hooks and highly cultivated visual aesthetics betray a similar…
Mac Miller should serve as an inspiration to all suburban white boys with a bong in their hand and his album coursing through their overpriced headphones. Malcom James McCormick, the 20-year-old Pittsburgh-born rapper, is proof that average talent and the privilege of his race can still take a white boy…
The first step is always the hardest, and while the members of Phoenix’s Zero Zero have been busy the past four months — writing songs to fill an album, generating international indie radio airplay, and making a video — the “electro fuzz” trio has yet to step on a stage…
Last year, two mixtapes dropped that shifted R&B on its axis: Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra and The Weeknd’s House of Balloons. Both took the standard propulsive club groove and softened it with production nuance, the lyrics conceding to self-doubt and disappointment. Soul jams were supposed to be the providence of…
The Wednesday night lineup at one of downtown Phoenix’s favorite hipster hangouts has been on the receiving end of a major reboot recently. Bi-level EDM emporium Bar Smith, 130 East Washington, axed its moombahton night The Scenario a few weeks back in favor of two newly launched Hump Day happenings…
Something unusual has been happening recently inside the establishment on the northeast corner of Mill Avenue and University Drive in Tempe: People are having a blast after dark. Lots of people. Such a thing is commonplace along party-hearty Mill Avenue, given its proximity to Arizona State University, just not at…
“Who’s ready to jump?” If you’ve ever attended an electronic dance music event anytime in the last few years, its incredibly likely you’ve heard the frequently used audio drop — sampled from Dutch house producer Chuckie biggest track — that asks this question and typically causes a crowd explode with…
I know it sounds weird, but I’ve always been a fan of Men’s Health magazine. But in a recent issue, the magazine featured an article about updating sex playlists from such old cliches, like substituting Air’s Talkie Walkie in for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. This article linked…
Christopher Lee Marshall admits he’s been more than a little tired lately, which isn’t surprising, considering the EDM artist’s busy tour schedule. In the past year alone he’s crisscrossed the country, toured with influential dubstep producer 12th Planet, and played some of the biggest festivals in North America – including…
We’ve spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we’re finally ready to publish our results. Nerd alert! Now presenting Scientific Phoenix. Don’t get us…
Back in 2007 when Vinnie Paul and Chad Gray announced their new band Hellyeah, fans weren’t sure what to expect of group made from members of Mudvayne, Pantera, Damageplan, and Nothingface. No doubt it was going to be heavy, but would it gear towards visual theatrics and sonic experimentation like…
Space is the place. It is the (claimed) birthplace of legendary jazz composer Sun Ra, it’s where Captain James T. Kirk boldly traveled, and it was there to give Cold War strategists something else to think about as people raced for the moon. It’s also where acclaimed hip-hop artist and…
“New York had lied to me. I needed the truth.” So sing The Lumineers, who fled the city, stifled by the hard realities of high rent, limited practice space, and constant demands on their free time. Songwriting partners for years, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites moved to Denver, where The…
Justin Bieber more closely resembles John Lennon than the majority of musicians today. That’s right: It’s been said. Songs like “As Long As You Love Me” and “Baby” are more heartfelt, innocent love ballads than the jaded, bitter tunes of jilted rock stars who have been used, abused, and left…
I’ve long held the suspicion that Los Angeles-by-way-of-Tucson songwriter Jacob Cooper (better known by his production moniker, Jacob Safari) ganked the name of his long-running Bark Bark Bark project from a prominent graphic displayed in a scene from Anchorman (“A La Jolla man clings to life . . .”). I could be wrong,…
“On the blue side of evening / When the darkness takes control / You start looking for a reason / To take your lonesome down the road.” These forlorn lyrics, cribbed from honkytonk hitmaker Steve Earle’s 1986 ditty “Down the Road,” might have been rolling through the heads of DJs…
