Features

Song: Crystal Castles’ “Vietnam” (Lightsoverla Remix)Context: It’s been 40 years and one day since the Kent State shootings. …

Song: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”Inspiration: A delightfully sub-quality “bootleg” of the group’s show at Celebrity Theatre Sunday. Damn, I should have gone…

So it seems that our president may have a slightly outdated sense of humor. Sound of the City reports that Obama had a carefully planned out comedy routine, using Biggie as the punchline. Apparently he referred to the head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, as the “Notorious G.O.P.””Why?”…

Remember that Surfer Blood show at Trunk Space that got canceled? Yeah, well, that was the closest the band will come to playing here. Ever.Yup, that’s a fact. How do we know? Umm, well, we just got a press release which says the band will never, ever play the Grand…

Artist: The New PornographersTitle: TogetherRelease date: May 4Label: MatadorFor me, the equation’s always been real simple when it comes to the indie-pop group The New Pornographers: songs with Neko Case taking the vocal reins = yes; songs with the wanna-be British dude singing = maybe. Well, maybe it’s not that simple,…

Let’s cut the bullshit: May is going to be a huge month for new music. People are rightly circling the entire month on their calendars, frothing at the mouth in expectation of all of the quality releases due in the next 30 or so days.Los Angeles’ DJ/producer/electronic music impresario Steven…

The lineup for Arizona Fall Frenzy 2010 has been announced and it’s a huge step-forward for the festival, in its second year at Tempe Beach Park.Stone Tempe Pilots and The Cult top the bill on Friday, September 17. Tickets are $75 or $80 at the door. Weezer, “Sublime” (with scab…

For all y’all who think country music is one-dimensional or the genre’s singers aren’t willing to shake things up, think again. Sugarland proved they’re hip and stuff last night at their show at Cricket Wireless Pavilion, leaving the audience with a moment no one on the interwebs can shut up…

Artist: The Hold SteadyTitle: Heaven Is WheneverRelease date: May 4Label: VagrantThe Hold Steady’s new record, Heaven Is Whenever, is going to be the soundtrack of more than a few lives this summer. Picture it: dudes hoisting beers and pumping their fists to the stadium-size riffs, chicks swaying to the power…

What do you when you can’t sniff another appearance on Leno? When your agent can’t get AM radio to touch you? When there’s no literally viable source for promoting your music to mainstream audiences beyond a television shopping network?If you’re Meat Loaf, you go on QVC on May 4 (noon…

So I guess it’s officially time for every superstar rock musician who was once edgy and cool to make a fucking musical. As if it wasn’t enough for The Who to do it in the ’70s or Green Day now, TwentyFourBit reports that Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters has admitted to…

If you’re craving a little vintage Jimmy Eat World, you’re in luck. The Arizona rock band has a vintage video on YouTube from a performance way back in the day, at the 1997 Mind Over Matter Fest in Detroit. And if you happened to miss the band when it performed…

Artist: Sharon Jones & the Dap-KingsTitle: I Learned the Hard WayRelease date: April 6Label: DaptoneI was shocked to see that Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ new record debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200. I was shocked not because the band isn’t worthy of hitting number 15 (it is)…

If you have any doubts about just how crazy big this whole SB 1070 controversy is, consider this: Fucked Up singer Pink Eyes (a.k.a. Damon Abraham) wrote an op-ed on the subject for highly influential music blog Stereogum. You know, the Webby-winning Zeitgeist-capturing music blog all the cool kids love…

Jack White is always known for doing innovative things. He goes out on limbs, takes risks, and usually winds up pulling off some really cool events that only he, or someone with his status and incredible level of coolness, could.If it’s not his pop-up record stores, his “blue series” in-studio…

Just when you thought every piece of Beatles’ anything had been sold to the highest bidder… think again.According to Rolling Stone, auction house Sotheby’s will be putting up on the auction block none other than the John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles’ classic “A Day in the Life.” While…

Name: Richard Branco AKA: DJ XXXclusive Current club nights: Saturday at Sangria, Tuesday at Crave, and I do a lot of guest spots at Cream and Martini Ranch Genres spun: Anything up beat and energetic, from old-school Miami bass to new electro. How did you get started as a DJ:…

Sure, Latina pop sensations, Latino comic legends, and Canadian Indie bands, are upset with Arizona’s crazy new immigration law, SB 1070. They’re the usual suspects, right? You might, however, expect the “Okie From Muskogee” to be on board.Nope. Merle Haggard, the outlaw country star who made a lot of waves…

OK, OK, so the video below isn’t exactly sung by Adam Young of Owl City, but the track uses the melody from his smash “Fireflies” in a way funnier, more creative way that doesn’t express feeling used by bugs.It’s done by YouTube maven Mystery Guitar Man, who is a genius…

Arizona musicians, it’s time to stand up.As the fallout from our state’s crazy new immigration law continues to spread, it’s been really great to see stars like Shakira and Zach de la Rocha join in the fight. I’m sure we all appreciate their efforts immensely. But it’s also important that…

Artist: HoleTitle: Nobody’s DaughterRelease date: April 27Label: MercuryAnybody remember the ’90s? That was the decade, as a friend once put it, that the music we once loved was dragged into the street and raped. Yeah, pretty harsh, I know — and damned simplistic in retrospect. But that was how we…

This week’s music feature is on the Grammy winning classical music choir the Phoenix Chorale. Steve Jansen tells us why they’re awesome, and why they’re turning to facebook for the hope of a financial bailout.We also have a “Where are they now?” style follow up on local punk rockers Die…