The Flaming Lips Play Smartphone Jam in a Bath Tub

The Flaming Lips have done an interesting musical experiment with smartphones, according to Prefix.Wayne Coyne and Steve Drozd of the Flaming Lips recently recorded a jam sesh that took place in a bath tub.The guys played different parts of a song they wrote by playing the tracks of each instrument…

The Rage Music Festival and the Coming Evolution of Christian Rock

Every year at Castles-n-Coasters, 50 bands play on four stages in front of crowds that could be considered big by any reasonable Phoenix standard. Odds are, however, that unless you happen to follow Christian music, you will not have heard of the bands on the two-day Rage Festival bill. Thousand…

Air Supply and the Other Greatest Dude Duets of All Time

Though they flamed out faster than John Bobbitt’s adult-film career, Air Supply can always lay claim to early-’80s light-rock godhood. In a post-Carpenters world, they kept us going, man. The group’s founding duo — guitarist Graham Russell and singer-songwriter Russell Hitchcock — have another, less obvious claim to fame: They…

Madball Is Now Moving at a More Civilized Pace

Hardcore punk is one of those easily dismissed, oft-overlooked genres. Too frequently, people regard it as solely for teens — or irrelevant after the late ’80s. The reality is that good hardcore music does have a place in the music world, and bands like Madball are at the forefront of…

Roundup of Music-Related Gabrielle Giffords Stories

If you’re a loyal reader of all the New Times blogs you may have spotted a few familiar bylines over on our news blog, Valley Fever.All our coverage related to the tragic shooting in Tucson is there for convenience sake, but in case you missed some of the music-related (and…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our 1/13 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts.What sort of music did Jared Lee Loughner listen to?Why does Alice Cooper have a naked lady…

Amy Winehouse Slowed Down Becomes Male Soul Singer

[jump] Amy Winehouse – Valerie (Slow) by Pooh_BearPooh_Bear has slowed down some other songs, but I might point your attention to his sped up version of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” There’s a hint of some Amy Winehouse in there, too. Who know either speeding up…

Even Kings of Leon Got Sick of Themselves

Kings of Leon actually got sick of hearing themselves all the time at one point, according to Spinner.”We were all sick of Kings of Leon!” the band’s guitarist Matthew Followill said. “We couldn’t go 10 minutes without hearing one of our songs…It definitely got annoying after a while.”I’d say that…

Janet Jackson Coming to Phoenix

Janet Jackson — who you may remember for such accomplishments as wearing the world’s worst shoulder pads, being related to the weirdest weirdo in the weirdo-filled history of popular music and letting Justin Timberlake expose her saggy and ugly pierced breast to the largest television audience assembled on any given…

Cake: Showroom of Compassion

John McRea and company have studied up in their six year absence, coming back with fresh ideas for their latest work – ideas such as the introduction of reverb, something the band had shied away from in the past. Helping balance out the reverb is another first for the band…

Drake Collaborating With Florence and the Machine (VIDEO)

Young Money rapper Drake and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine are set to collaborate, according to Spinner.Who’s Florence Welch, you ask? She’s the singer in the band that sang that hit “The Dog Days Are Over.” You know, the one in the overplayed commercials for the film Eat,…

Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure

Song: Queen & David Bowie, “Under Pressure” Context: Mr. Space Oddity is gonna be celebrating his 64th birthday this coming weekend (as does Elvis Preseley…if he were still alive, that is). Queen – Under Pressure by Itubaina Radio Retro…

Postponed Fear Factory Gig Rescheduled for April 24

Fear Factory fans disappointed by the band’s last-minute cancellation of their Clubhouse gig over the holidays have a reason to roar again. The death metal legends, who’ve been kicking around the music world for more than two decades, have rescheduled the show for April 24. Fear Factory was originally scheduled…