Did you know that Tijuana rhymes with marijuana? Of course you did — you’ve heard Cypress Hill before. The Hill’s 1991 self-titled debut was a hip-hop landmark that altered the genre’s very structure. Within months of its release, everyone from House of Pain to Ice Cube was imitating the East…
What’s Selling Top 10 sellers at Circles (800 North Central Avenue) for May 9 through 15: 1. Usher, Confessions (BMG) 2. NB Ridaz, NBRidaz.com (Upstairs) 3. Lil’ Flip, U Gotta Feel Me (Columbia) 4. Kanye West, College Dropout (Universal) 5. Eightball & MJG, Living Legends (Bad Boy) 6. Petey Pablo,…
Sounding like a particularly rotten day during the Apocalypse, Arch Enemy is a Swedish band that throttles its listeners with a unique mix of Sepultura-like riffage, dirty Florida swamp-style death metal, the occasional mid-’80s classic, over-the-top metal solo and meat-cleaver-style hooks. But the band’s members, formerly of Carcass, Armageddon and…
The adult sex industry barely has to lift a finger to separate people from their cash. But the savviest skin purveyors realize they can maximize profits by selling the fantasy of availability. Successful strippers aren’t just skilled at shakin’ the ol’ funbags — they chitchat the easy marks between sets,…
With their mutating time signatures, intricate guitar interplay and ever-shifting syncopations, math rock bands can produce more glazed expressions than two variable differential equations. But that’s not the case with Don Caballero, whose hairpin time changes and supple melodic maneuvers are more roller-coaster ride than graduate dissertation. The linchpin is…
A Halloween joy ride through the rockabilly side of town, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers conjure a backwoods boogie that recalls Southern Culture on the Skids and The Cramps, but with a hip-loose, wild-eyed, blues-inflected fervor that’s all their own. The fun starts with lead singer J.D. Wilkes, whose spectacular mouth-harp…
CLUBS ACME Roadhouse: In its original Scottsdale location, ACME catered to Harley-Davidson weekend warriors. In its new Tempe incarnation, it entertains the college set with dancing and, on Sundays, local rock bands. Dance space is at a minimum, but there’s plenty of room for other social rites. Sun: Live music…
For a long time, I didn’t patronize the Marquee Theatre in Tempe. Hadn’t been there until I was preparing to write this column, and then it was at the insistence of my editor. At first it was simply coincidence that I didn’t visit the former Red River Opry, renamed and…
Have you seen The Wicker Man and 2001: A Space Odyssey? Judging from the Beta Band’s music, the Scottish quartet surely has absorbed those cult films’ respective pagan-folk and space-trippingly futuristic influences into its sound. The Beta Band’s third album proper (self-produced, but mixed by Nigel Godrich) is its most…
For six long years, the Canadian quintet Finger Eleven must have regarded America as a stubborn virgin on prom night: No matter how hard they worked it, they just couldn’t get lucky. Despite some well-crafted hard-rock albums, a whole lotta U.S. touring, and even a hearty push from labelmates Creed…
Tempe’s Freedom nightclub has almost run its course — the dance music mecca closes after a Memorial Day blowout — but there’s still time for a couple more Kind Fridays. This Friday, May 21, South American progressive house DJ Hernan Cattaneo stops in to get your collective asses shaking. Progressive…
From a pop-culture standpoint, it’s always an interesting sign when quality reissues trump current releases. Thing is, that’s pretty much all the time. Marvin Gaye deluxe editions soar miles above 99.9 percent of contemporary R&B material. Roots-reggae reissue specialists like Blood + Fire and Moll-Selekta have consistently outgunned any label…
Old man Winter is white enough in hair and pallor to carry off the moniker, but his heart is full of deep, poignant blues rich enough for the paintings of Paul Gauguin. Playing in bands since his earliest teens, Winter started as the kind of prodigy who made Jonny Lang…
In the ’60s, Golden Dawn was labelmate and stylistic soul mate to the 13th Floor Elevators — in fact, Dawn leader George Kinney was Roky Erickson’s classmate for many years. Both grew up in Austin and played together in a high school band called the Fugitives. When the International Artists…
It’s rare when a show gets a rain delay in Arizona. This cozy local lineup was originally scheduled to play Day One of the Tempe Music Festival in the Marquee’s small room, but when torrential rains prevailed for most of the day, organizers moved the last four bands inside, including…
The idea that Loretta Lynn needs Jack White for a hit of precious niche-market “authenticity” would be offensive if it weren’t absurd. Note to myopic indie rockers: Lynn is old as fuck! However, White Stripe White is better than storied country vet Lynn at something way more valuable than authenticity:…
The longer a band stays around, the harder it is to really hear the music it makes. On its new album, Chicago-based Tortoise struggles to overcome backlash against the post-rock it has exemplified over the past decade. It’s All Around You may not do the trick, but the record holds…
Right now, somewhere in suburban America, a perennial rite of passage is taking place: A pack of ratty, longhaired, disaffected 17-year-olds lolls in a high school parking lot, gettin’ stoned while Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut” rages from the blown-out speakers of someone’s primer-dappled El Camino. And to them, it probably doesn’t…
The post-punk revival is the new grunge. There’s nothing wrong with wearing your influences on your sleeve, but today’s revivalists are remarkable for their ability to stage complete simulations of the artists they seem to adore. Which is not to say that Franz Ferdinand is bad. Its self-titled debut is…
What’s Selling Top 10 sellers at Swell Records (414 South Mill Avenue, Suite 120, Tempe) for April 30 through May 6: 1. Richard Humpty Vission, Big Floor Funk (System Recordings) 2. DJ Dan Mixed Live Ruby Skye, San Francisco (Moonshine Music) 3. Cut Throat Logic Mixed Tape (self-released) 4. Atllas…
Two days of wandering in the searing desert sun can give you wild visions. But even though it was hot enough to warp time itself at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on May 1 and 2, sets by legendary indie pioneers The Pixies, Kraftwerk and The Cure…
Joel Morales is beginning to piss people off. Actually, person. One guy. Morales, the shaggy, pear-shaped, 28-year-old singer/guitarist of the lo-fi beauty pop quintet dios, is onstage at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. It’s early March, and the sun’s light is only just now fading from the…
