Good luck finding much of anyone using the term “nostalgic” as a compliment nowadays, but I wonder if we might revise our position based on Okkervil River’s latest, The Silver Gymnasium, released on ATO Records (their first for the label, after years with Jagjaguwar) just last Tuesday. To be sure,…
Diehard fans of The Format had a lot of soul-searching to do when fun.–the band formed by erstwhile lead singer Nate Ruess–hit the mainstream with Some Nights. Some of it was about the music, and some of it was about the reaction: What are you supposed to do when somebody…
The VMA’s, Miley Cyrus, “twerking,” foam finger-humping–I’ll be so happy when all the bullshit about this Disney star turned disgusting excuse for a pop culture icon is over. Usually it’s supposed to be hard to look away from an emotional trainwreck, but Miley Cyrus’s dead eyes and awkward tongue-wagging was…
Eminem has always explicitly played a character on his records, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s playing one on TV now that he’s re-dyed his hair and dumped his earnest Recovery/Chrysler commercial persona. Based on the reaction to his bizarre “high” ESPN interview with Brent Musburger and…
Mac Lethal is very, very excitable. The Kansas City, MO rapper, label owner, and former Rhymesayers artist has good reason to be, however — he’s still in the wondrous honeymoon stage of fatherhood with his six-month-old son, he’s recently authored his first book, and he’s one of the Midwest’s most…
The Valley’s collection of goth and industrial fans are no strangers to drama when it comes to their favorite dance nights and clubs. In fact, if there’s been any constants to this particular scene over the decades, its been change. Not to mention a never-say-die attitude. Places tend to come…
I’ve never done anything interesting enough to merit a Kickstarter, but if I ever happen to by accident I could do worse than following the example of Northern Hustle, who’s celebrating their crowdfunding victory with a CD Release show this weekend. That’s just one of the titular must-see Phoenix shows…
Backstreet BoysComerica TheatreSeptember 5, 2013 The Backstreet Boys have been in comeback mode–yes, I know the album’s called Never Gone–for almost 10 years now. I don’t think we spend enough time thinking about how weird that is. When bitter rivals *NSYNC made their comeback at the VMAs recently it was…
There is an aura of mystery surrounding Tempe’s Dry River Yacht Club. The band says it’s not intentional, but it is certainly there. Most bands trying to establish themselves in any music scene will offer as much background information as possible, accompanied by flashy comparisons to great bands before them…
Apollo’s Lounge is quickly becoming quite the Phoenix nightlife hotspot. The Hot Pink crew set up shop on Friday nights for RAD, and DJs Roya and Funkfinger take over on the first Saturday of every month for Tongue Tied. Apollo’s is a natural transition for Roya and Funkfinger after participating…
He’s basketball player-size tall. He’s lanky. And he’s bearded. He may not look like a twinkle toes, but drop him in a dance battle, and Jonathan Sakas can throw the f- down. The local electro pop musician might not have a traditional dancer’s body, but in his music video for…
A few weeks ago, in a little ditty called Five Signs That You Might Be a Music Junkie, I mentioned that I never deliberately listen to the same song more than once a day. That’s right, no “play it again, Sam” for this geek. (Note: That quote is from Casablanca…
One man installs a recording studio in a house or a storefront, starts an independent record label, signs a roster of artists, and boom, a music factory is born. It’s the stuff that fills whole display cases in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Berry Gordy with Motown Records…
Somewhere just a little downstream of music on my list of socially dangerous interests: Weird, single-use Japanese gadgets. Enter: The Sony Music Video Recorder. The video camera you’re looking at is designed for one thing: Recording music, ideally in the hope that you will someday become YouTube’s best-sounding ukelele sensation…
One man installs a recording studio in a house or a storefront, starts an independent record label, signs a roster of artists, and — boom — a music factory is born. It’s the stuff that fills whole display cases in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With minor variations,…
So how was your summer vacation, yo? Don’t feel too bad if it amounted to hiding out in the air-conditioned comfort for three months instead of jetting away to some far-away foreign destination. Given the painfully high prices for airfare these days, it’s downright difficult to satisfy the itch to…
Thursday 5 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Barney’s Boathouse: Thirsty Thursdays with DJ Pulse (Top 40, rock) Bar Smith: Dulce Thursdays with DJ Deuce, & DJ JayOne (hip-hop) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (juke joint, R&B, French pop) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with DJ Freshmaker,…
Master of the mindmelt, Tobacco is probably best known as the enigmatic frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow, penning the vocoder-drizzled psychedelia of a digital generation that misses Super Nintendo and VHS tapes. While BMSR is often the kind of tuning you’d slap on as you peaked on a mushroom…
Lil Wayne Celebrity Theatre September 3, 2013 (View the full slideshow.) Few critically acclaimed artists make critics reevaluate that acclaim as frequently as Lil Wayne. Not in the sense that some of his albums are better than others–in the sense that some of his choices are so strange that they…
August is a paradox. It’s peak pool party weather, inasmuch as it’s too hot out to do much else, but it’s also the socially accepted time to begin wrapping up the pool party season, wearing white, pretending it’s summer instead of pretending it’s fall, etc. It’s a transition month for…
It’s been a little over a month since Hollywood Alley closed its doors for good after 30 years of successful business. This week’s cover story is an oral history of a bevy of bands reminiscing about the staple in the local music scene. We snapped a few pictures at the…
I don’t pretend to be a foreign policy expert–I don’t pretend to be a music expert–but it seems like Kim Jong Un has learned at least one important lesson from his father since taking over North Korea: People will basically ignore a brutal autocracy filled with prison camps and literally…
