From Print: Blogs Teased in Our May 17 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. Ever wonder what’s acceptable in a mosh pit? We discuss. How did Chilean MC Ana Tijoux…

MC Trap Taps ’80s Drama and Real Life in Equal Measure

In 2008, NBC tried to reboot the legendary ’80s program Knight Rider, casting Justin Bruening as the son of David Hasselhoff’s Michael Knight, and casting Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT, a hyper-intelligent car. Ty Patterson — the Phoenix-based MC who raps as Trap — was not onboard with…

Alex Lora of Mexico’s El Tri Is Kind of a Big Deal

“Legendary” might be a diluted description for a band these days, but there’s no other way to label Mexican rockers El Tri and their frontman Alex Lora. The dude is — how do we put this? — kind of a big deal. The names may not ring immediate bells, but…

KUKQ Phoenix Locks in Programming Schedule

See also: KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (Via the Internet) See also: KUKQ Phoenix Launches Online; We Speak With Nancy Stevens, Craven Moorehead, and Jonathan L KUKQ Phoenix — the Internet radio station bearing the classic call letters of a bygone Phoenix institution — launched in March, but as station director…

Take Cover: Mill’s End Covers Whiskeytown

Before Ryan Adams was winning (and breaking) hearts with albums like Heartbreaker and last year’s strong Ashes & Fire, he was a member of the seminal alt-country act Whiskeytown. Whiskeytown had a good six-year run and helped define the genre’s sound and influenced a number of bands. “A lot of…

Record Heat: Why the Hell Are You So Sad? by Brad Dwyer

See also: Six Against Me! Songs We Can’t Wait to Hear Tom Gabel Sing as a Woman In an election year, it’s normal for the national conversation to get heated. “War on Women,” “War on Marriage,” “War on Healthcare” — you get the idea. Last week, Tom Gabel of Against…

Incoming: Sean Paul, Talib Kweli, Ravi Shankar

In the early 2000s, Sean Paul’s dutty rock dominated the airwaves and party playlists all over the world. Sean Paul is making somewhat of a comeback with a new album that nobody knew was released this year. We’ll see if the tracks on Tomahawk Technique are good enough to still…

Mr. ORNG, What Are You Listening To?

Mr. ORNGMr. ORNG is the official Phoenix Suns Fan Ambassador — and an avid Suns fan. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Ha-ha — no key, keyless start. But to your point, 98.3 FM or 101.1 FM The…

Gwen Stefani Rules (As a Rude Girl and/or Pop Princess)

I’m glad I grew up in the ’90s. I had strong, independent, beautiful women as musical role models, and they ruled the airwaves. The Spice Girls preached girl power, Lilith Fair paraded feminine gusto across the country, and No Doubt , fronted by Gwen Stefani, assured us that being treated…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our May 10 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 is Devo doing with instrument-maker Corey Busboom’s creations in their new video? Why are we…

Before Braille’s David Jensen Returns With New Band Loyal Wife

How to measure loyalty, commitment, devotion? In the case of David Jensen, of Sunset Alliance Records and guiding light behind Before Braille, Art for Starters, and now Loyal Wife, his dedication to music can be physically measured in the form of actual compact disc inventory, shrink-wrapped and stacked up, in…

Right to Marry to Stage Benefit Show at Trunk Space

With Arizona politics an ever-increasing mix of insanity and idiocy, it’s nice to know that some folks are still out there fighting the good fight. Alicia Porter, 24, is busy enough with her full-time job as outreach specialist at the Arizona Science Center and pursuing her master’s in museum studies…

Drake’s Take Care Is a Conflicted, Compelling Statement

Since the emergence of the term, “emo rap” has been a pejorative shunned by any artist to whom the tag was applied. But it’s a useful label nonetheless, aptly encompassing a particular brand of emotive, borderline-sensitive hip-hop that emerged full-force after Kanye West’s flawed but important 808s and Heartbreaks. Canadian…

Tumblr of the Week: Bon Iver Erotic Stories

It felt like kind of a big deal when indie soft-rocker Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) won a Grammy Award. But that’s nothing compared to his status as the world’s unlikeliest sex symbol. I mean, have you ever fantasized about Justin Vernon?Perhaps you’ve envisioned yourself in a romantic scenario with him,…

Record Heat: Dusty and Warped by Brad Dwyer

See also: Record Heat: The Hangover by Brad Dwyer If you’ve ever purchased a vinyl record in Arizona, you’ve got at least one sob story about leaving a record in your car and having the brutal, unrelenting sun turning the thing into black vinyl bowl. The thing is, Arizona is…