Before the genre tag EDM existed, there was IDM, or Intelligent Dance Music. Granted, it’s a pretty pretentious name for a genre, but it fits incredibly well for Matthew Dear. His experimental, rhythm-driven pop is both energetic and introspective, a form of exploring multiple identities and his own, ever-shifting persona…
There are two Halloweens: One is for the kids, so they can get dressed up in costumes and score candy. The other? It’s known as “the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Yes that is…
The reports of the romance’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That’s what we’re taking away from the video for “Dream Girl,” from Phoenix’s Treasure Mammal. A standout song from his excellent Checkognize, the track has a silky, ’90s R&B groove and characteristically outlandish lyrics from songwriter Abelardo Gil III. The…
Kristy Aguirre Aguirre is the booker/promoter for Tickle Your Bone Comedy at Brigett’s Last Laugh, Tuesday’s at 8 p.m. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I’m without a vehicle at the moment,…
Curious what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Need even more shows? Check out our special, spooky-themed Halloween Weekend Must-See Show Guide…
Tucson’s horror film and surf music-loving psychobilly outfit Mission Creeps don’t shy away from the macabre– which is why the group joined the Southern Arizona Ghost and Paranormal Society to spend the night at The Oliver House, where there have been 28 known deaths, making it one of the most…
Jane’s Addiction @ Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum|10/25/12I have a confession to make. I’ve never taken Jane’s Addiction all that seriously. I think it’s largely due to guitarist and modern-rock caricature Dave Navarro. His dedication to choosing mascara over shirts remains laughable. But you’d have a hard time convincing the crowd that…
Its something of a necessity for every DJ/producer working the global EDM circuit to have a specialty or a signature sound if they hope to ever make it. For L.A. club king Morgan Page, his particular spin (pun intended) on dance music involves posh house soundscapes accentuated by dreamy vocals…
Almost the same moment Bogan Via started out as a band, they started a relationship. As a duo, Bret Bender and Madeleine Miller possess two distinctly different personalities and voices, and that contrast fits their high-energy synth pop. Often compared as a “sunnier Beach House,” the couple splits vocal duties…
Thursday 25 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: International Thursdays with DJ EC, DJ StarMarz, & DJ Clavo El Parientito (hip-hop, Latin) Bobby Q’s: Anything But Clothes Party with DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, DJ Skoolboi, & more (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Cadillac Ranch: Segio’s…
When you spend as much time on the road as blues artist Shawn Pittman, you come to savor places like the Czech Stop on I-35 in West Texas. “It’s this little gas station and has all these great Czech pastries and sandwiches and stuff,” he says during a phone interview…
The year is 1993. A crowd is gathered outside Underground Chicken Sound Studios in Huntington Beach, California, curious about the noises reverberating from inside. There’s something about the sounds that is different. The band is Korn, and it was just the start. Within years, the band would be headlining festivals…
If you’ve attended a major music festival, club night, or dance party within the past 12 months, it’s almost certain that you’ve heard “Spaceman” being blasting over the sound system. The otherworldly six-minute track, crafted by Dutch-house wunderkind Hardwell (pictured) earlier this year, has pretty much become the new “Levels,”…
Maybe you hear it directly, maybe you don’t. But there’s a spirit that sits in between the notes on Algiers, a spirit that guided the record, some decades-old essence of a converted Baptist church near the Mississippi River that Tucson’s Calexico drew on like a well to record its seventh…
Seattle band Earth’s progression from instrumental drone-metal negativists to tempered electric Americana drone artists has been as natural and languid as the band’s riffs. Led by guitarist Dylan Carlson — the only constant member in the band’s nearly 20-year run — the group formed in the early ’90s, inspiring legions…
If you’re hedging your bets on who will be the next big thing in hip-hop, you should probably wager on A$AP Rocky. The Harlem-born member of A$AP Mob struck a nerve with his 2011 mixtape, LiveLoveA$AP, which adroitly combined disparate elements like East Coast boom bap, ambient synths, and crushing…
There will be no Sex Pistols songs performed at the Public Image, Ltd. concert. Yes, PiL is fronted by the former British public enemy number one and Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten (real last name Lydon), but those days are past. In fact, Lydon, despite the obvious royalty check boost,…
The baritone voice has a certain feel — employed by both the louche and the doom-obsessed (see Jim Morrison; see Morrissey). IDM artist Matthew Dear falls somewhere in the middle and, more often than not, his sexual invitations sound much like monotone warnings. On “You Put a Smell on Me,”…
A couple of cool things made their way onto the planet in 1982. USA Today went into circulation, the first permanent artificial heart began beating, Michael Jackson dropped Thriller, and Arizona State University’s student radio station went live. The Blaze 1330 AM celebrated its 30th birthday last week, and to…
If you haven’t been inside the nightspot located across Saddlebag Trail across from El Hefe and Majerle’s Old Town in Scottsdale recently, there have a been more than a few changes to the place recently. What was once the debauchery-laden Pussycat Lounge (which closed this past summer) is now the…
We know there’s tons of Halloween parties happening this weekend, with a little something for everyone going down. If you’re spending the whole weekend at home noshing on Halloween candy and watching zombie movies, you’re doing it wrong. But for fans seeking punk thrills, the Yucca Tap Room is the…
There’s plenty to be worried about these days. Just off the top of our heads, there’s the very real possibility of a Mitt Romney presidency, the horrors of the ever-lagging economy, and all that folderol about whether or not the world’s ending in a couple of months. Frankly, your brains…
