Features

Song: Pedro the Lion, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”Context: I’m loving the indie rock Christmas songs this time of year. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Pedro the Lion…

If you happen to be hanging out at any of the Valley’s dance events this coming weekend, be sure to listen closely. It might be hard to hear over the massive cacophony of beats getting slung, but you might just hear a few sobs coming from the DJ booth. That’s…

Coldplay is back with a new Christmas single, according to Consequence of Sound.The band is prepping for a busy and exciting 2011, having just announced a handful of European festival dates in which they will take a headlining slot. Leading up to the new year, Chris Martin is bringing his…

Until a few years ago, it was difficult to think that a kids’ show could be cool enough to merit a feature in New Times’ music section. Spare the jokes. Clearly, not every band featured in these pages is actually “cool” (Kings of Leon get covered here based on sheer…

Dark Star Orchestra is one of the best-known Grateful Dead tribute bands in the country. But when you play other people’s music every night, finding ways to keep things interesting becomes a new kind of challenge. So we have Dark Star’s new project. The band is staging the “From a…

This story was originally intended to feature an interview with Brother Ali, who is performing in town this week along with The Grouch, Eligh, and Los Rakas, as part of the How The Grouch Stole Christmas tour. Unfortunately, Ali was on a pilgrimage to Mecca last month and was unavailable…

Song: Foxy Shazam, “Heaven on Their Minds” Context: Foxy Shazam’s Christmas single is a cover from Jesus Christ Superstar. Good stuff! Foxy Shazam – Heaven on Their Minds by mmcizmar…

Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat,…

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 long-forgotten nugget did Jason P. Woodbury unearth for the first installment of his “Obscuro” column?What did…

Jack White is pissed off at his own fans, according to Antiquiet. Jack’s own Third Man Records’ recent eBay auctions for one of five copies of the White Stripes’ rare first album reissue didn’t quite go as planned. He’s angry at flippers, the fans that buy these albums for cheap…

Artist: Robyn Title: Body Talk Release date: November 22 Label: Interscope The critics sure do love the Swedish dance-pop star Robyn, who’s been releasing Body Talk in chunks throughout 2010 and now has finally dropped the entire album as one 15-song compendium. But there seems to be a common theme…

Song: Yo Gabba Gabba VS. Daft Punk – Party In My Tummy (Kendo Says Oh Yeah Edit)Context: I’m trying to understand the widespread appeal of Yo Gabba Gabba before this weekend’s big show…. so far, no luck. Yo Gabba Gabba VS. Daft Punk – Party In My Tummy (Kendo Says…

That’s why Keith Sweat is this week’s featured artist. His videos for “Twisted” and “Nobody” were MTV staples about fourteen years ago, and they are both beyond fantastic. Sweat is probably best known for his 1987 hit “I Want Her,” and rightfully so — the song is a beacon of…

It turns out that Google Translate can do way more than translate a foreign business documents, help confused travelers, or decode what your mail order bride is saying, according to Gizmodo.In fact, if you go to Google Translate and set both language transition settings to German, you’ve got a good…

Willie Nelson was arrested in Texas on Friday for possession of six ounces of marijuana on his tour bus, according to People.The 77-year-old country star was on his way to his ranch in Austin when he got stopped in El Paso at a border patrol checkpoint. Furthermore, he could face…

This dearth of new music is why I chose to give a two-week old album — All Day by Girl Talk — a shot this week. Gregg Gillis, the man behind the madness, unleashed his fourth album on an unsuspecting world two Mondays ago, giving reviewers no time to proffer…

Artist: Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3Title: Northern AggressionRelease date: November 30Label: Yep RocSorry I ever doubted you, Steve. Like a lot of folks, I sure did love the first couple of Dream Syndicate records, especially the iconic Days of Wine and Roses, a record that may have summed up…

Welcome of Obscuro, a new weekly feature where Up on the Sun dives deep into the world of vinyl oddities: private press jobs, major label cast-offs, and general thrift shop clutter that’s thus far escaped anyone’s attention. These LPs have been hiding out, collecting dust, until we come along, investigate,…

Locals who decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving weekend got quite the treat this past weekend, as a slew of great Valley acts entertained people in-between bites of turkey. On Thanksgiving Eve, at The Sail Inn in Tempe, The Black Moods, Black Carl and What Laura Says performed on…

, according to Spinner.It’s not that Mason, Pink Floyd’s drummer, didn’t want to support Palestinian refugee children, but rather that he was displeased with the choice of venue that was made for the event. Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters ended up playing the Hoping For the Children of Palestine…

Song: Girl In A Coma, “Blue Christmas”Context: Congratulations, it’s officially the Holiday Season. Today is the first day I’ll listen to (or at least allow myself to enjoy) Christmas music. This cover of the Elvis staple “Blue Christmas,” by Texas group Girl In A Coma is the first new Christmas…

​Name: Randell Carlton Green AKA: DJ Rolemodel Current club nights: Tuesdays at ACME, Fridays at Smashboxx, Saturdays at American Junkie. Genres spun: You name it and I have it. Origin story: Started off as a radio DJ while in college. I was actually fired for playing “Rape Me” by Nirvana…