The wonderful people over at Pitchfork just released their 10 best albums of 2010 today. In what should have came as no surprise, Kanye West took the top spot. His latest album had been given a notorious perfect 10 a month ago and, if Rolling Stone and Spin have anything…
Christmas came just a little bit early this year for Phoenix resident and original shock rocker Alice Cooper when it was announced that he would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.But induction into the Rock Hall of Fame isn’t just something anybody can pick up at…
Over the last days of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010. Today we look at the No. 10 show of the year, 50 Cent at Celebrity Theatre…
We’ve nearly got another year in the books, and with a great year came a great collection of fabulous music videos from musicians representing a wide variety of genres. So we’re counting them down, in the far-too-usual fashion.The best part of this year end list?Kanye West is not #1.Crazy, I…
Alice Cooper’s A Taste of Christmas Pudding Comerica Theatre December 18th, 2010 In a lot of ways Alice Cooper’s yearly Christmas Pudding charity concert is like most families Christmas gatherings. Everybody gathers together in one spot and you have to sit through a lot of boring, awkward and downright uncomfortable moments in…
You would have thought the new Twilight movie was premiering by the looks of Pollack Tempe Cinemas last night, as a line of girl-after-teenage girl winded around the theater. They were actually there to catch a glimpse of the oh-so-dreamy local band The Maine, who also happen to have a…
Song: Kanye West, “Lost In The World”Context: I’m pretty sure this is my favorite song of 2010. Yeezy – Lost In The World by R0M30…
We’ve got a big show announcement today: The Black Keys are coming to Mesa Ampitheatre on Thursday, April 14.Since I’m also from Akron, Ohio (or a suburb, anyway) I’ve been following their career since they played to half-filled local clubs. (Funny story from my old college newspaper here.)The Keys were…
There’s only a week left before Christmas, which means its time to make a huge decision: Do you go out and blow your paycheck this weekend, or save it for any last minute shopping. Turns out you can do both at the same time. We’ve assembled our weekly compilation of…
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters is set to make an appearance in a new Muppets film, according to NME.In the movie, Grohl will be taking the place of Animal in the Muppets’ band while Animal goes to anger management classes.Jack Black and Lady Gaga will be making cameo appearances…
Name: J.R. Philips. AKA: D-JR Current club gigs: I’m at Dirty Pretty on Tuesdays, Airia at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler on Thursdays, Pussycat Lounge and Dirty Pretty on Friday and Saturday (kinda like a rotation, I’m either at one or the other). I’m also doing PCL on Sundays several…
Title: The Rapper’s RapperBasics: You Asked For It gets hip hop this time around, compliments of champion of all things Arizona, Noxious of AZ. I will admit that this album — Noxious’ first of two albums released in 2010 — was pretty damn difficult to listen to. The asinine, 8-second…
Dang, it’s sad when a song climbing up the Billboard Hot 100 charts refers to women as hos and bitches. Such is the case with Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow,” which had to be cleaned up extensively for radio play. The original “dirty” version is riddled with n-bombs, as well,…
Are you an aspiring music critic? If so, Mesa band Trains Eye View has a gig for you! There’s no pay. And, ummm, your work won’t be published anywhere. Oh, also, you’re not really being edited by someone who knows anything about journalism or could serve as a reference in…
Song: Andrew Jackson Jihad, “We Didn’t Come Here to Rock”Context: Andrew Jackson Jihad plays Trunk Space tonight. This is a great song from a great record, Can’t Maintain. I was hoping for a new record from the folk-punk duo in 2010 but it never materialized. Let’s hope 2011 brings one…
More lists? More lists, indeed. This time around I’m dealing with my ten best (read: favorite) songs from 2010. Pitchfork whittled their own list down to “Round And Round” by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and NME went with “Spanish Sahara” by Foals. Both are fine choices, yet (spoiler alert!) only…
Part of G-Unit isn’t feeling so hot right now. Rapper and actor 50 Cent is being sued for copyright infringement, according to Billboard.It turns out that rapping about how you’ve got tons of money isn’t always a good thing. Atlanta rapper Caliber is filing a lawsuit against Fitty and the…
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 was Miley Cyrus smoking out of a bong?What does Insane Clown Posse’s official Christmas card look…
Is there seriously anything cuter than kittens these days? The Rogue Bar co-owner and talent buyer Lindsay Tripodis went for the jugular with this flier for local rock band Sun Ghost at the Scottsdale venue this Friday, December 17. Not surprisingly, she says her inspiration came from cats, the sun…
“Big in Japan” is a punch line to a joke about how bands actually kind of suck, but if you say that sort of thing around Night Ranger, Jack Blades should turn to you and say, “Thank you. We are far more popular in Japan than in the United States,…
You may not be familiar with the name, but chances are you’re more familiar with the band Trapt than you realize, especially if you’ve been to the movies in the past seven years. The band’s 2003 single “Headstrong” has been featured on the soundtrack to such cinema classics as Never…
Imagine for a moment that you are the more talented half of one of the most successful vocal duos in country music history, scoring a multitude of number one singles and winning a shitload of Grammys and CMAs all by the time you are 25. Now imagine that the other…
