Ladies and gentleman, here are our 10 picks for our favorite Phoenix albums of 2012. Enjoy! See also: -13 Phoenix Bands You Need to Hear in 2013 -Jason P. Woodbury’s 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012 -Top 10 Reissues and Compilations of 2012 -Top Five 2012 Heavy Releases In…
Is this year over yet? Well, close enough. So in honor of 2012 we’ve dug through the past 12 months of stories looking for the greatest hits. Below you’ll find the stories (minus most of the newsy stuff) that people clicked on each month. And if thousands of other people…
So long, 2012. You were a weird, uncomfortable, and scary year. You were also wonderful, at times so unbearably wonderful that I thought my brain was going to explode as I struggled to wrap my head around your pure, blindingly bright joy. You had all the things a monumental year…
The walls, floors, and fixtures of Bar Smith are definitely gonna be quaking and shaking at some point later tonight. But despite what all those apocalypse nuts might lead you to believe, its not because seismic forces are tearing up the Valley is some end of the world scenario. Nope,…
Laura S. Strickland Strickland is the Principal Flutist for the Arizona Pro Arte Ensemble and a soloist in the upcoming concert, The Winds; Woodwind Masterworks, on Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26. For more info, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the…
Ian WitlenYes, this happened.By Liz Tracy Most of the people we met on the S.S. Coachella had never been on a cruise before. Like us, they weren’t so sure what to pack or how to dress for three days of awkwardly saying hi to their favorite bands on a floating…
Just how many side project pairings can Sister Cities come up with? I’m not good with math, but I have a feeling they’re approaching max capacity – if not in arithmetic, then definitely with their own free time. Drummer Keith Walker has Being Cool is Lonely, his sexed-up electronic side…
The Oxford Coma doesn’t sound like any other band you’ve ever heard, and that’s the idea. With thumping, funky-to-furious bass lines mixed with propulsive drumming and searing guitar action, the band blurs the distinctions between modern rock, alt-metal, and punk. The band’s debut album, Adonis, is not something that easily…
Spirit Cave is a young band, but members Ryan Breen and Michael Bell have been playing shows together for more than a decade, each with his primary band, Back Ted N-Ted and Lymbyc Systym, respectively. It was only a matter of time before they struck out together. Given Breen’s expressive,…
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…
