Artist: Isobel Campbell & Mark LaneganTitle: HawkRelease date: August 24Label: VanguardIsobel Campbell, who left Belle & Sebastian nearly a decade, is from Scotland but has made, perhaps, my favorite Americana record of the year. On Hawk, she has teamed with former Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan…
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. How does 19-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen demonstrate everything wrong with his generation? What does JRC, owner…
After more than a year of occasional one-offs and special events, one of the PHX’s best hip-hop nights is making its return as a weekly. Groove Candy, the ultra-fly affair starring Power 98.3’s DJ M2 makes its comeback on August 26, offering the same swanked-up selection of neo-soul, reggae, and…
With Friday the 13th films playing on every TV screen, an entire staff of slasher victims and a visit from Jason Voorhees himself, it was a real massacre at Monkey Pants in Tempe on Friday night. Check out our slideshow for all the gory details…
[jump] All four !!! albums have their own standout moments (“Feel Good Hit of the Fall,” “Hello? Is This Thing On?” and “Must Be The Moon,” respectively) and Strange Weather is no exception. The heavy-handed-yet-insanely-funky “Even Judas Gave Jesus a Kiss” is one of the strongest tracks amid a strong…
Insane Clown Posse’s annual Gathering of the Juggalos went badly for MySpace temptress Tila Tequila and Wu Tang hanger-on Method Man, who were greeted by angry Juggalos hurling stuff at the stage.Method Man says he plans to sue. Tequila, who was apparently injured, seems to be milking the incident to…
Song: Jessica Simpson, “Nothing but a T-Shirt On”Context: Say what you want about Ms. Simpson, she’s still a more talented performer — and a much better human being — than her former beau John Mayer, who plays Cricket Wireless Pavilion tonight. Maybe it’s just me, but I think this song…
Artist: Street Sweepers Social ClubTitle: The Ghetto Blaster EPRelease date: August 10Label: Street Sweepers Social ClubWhile the singer for Rage Against the Machine clings to relevancy by lending what little celebrity weight he still has to the civil rights cause in Arizona, the guitarist is still bashing out those Rage-y…
Longtime goth/industrial night Tranzylvania will banished from xotic-looking downtown danceteria Palazzo as of next month. The aptly named Rob Poe, the night’s resident DJ who spins under the nom de guerre noiz.fkr, sent out an e-mail yesterday announcing Tranzylvania’s impending departure.”I’ve just been informed that Tranzylvania will be closing on…
It’s no secret that musicians often jump in bed with a brand name to help bump up their paychecks. Hell, I’ve seen country music top hat-aficionados Big & Rich in concert — a concert in which they thanked Chevrolet multiple times for being a sponsor. It seems country music and…
Maybe you’ve seen this little gem floating around the interwebs: When Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” is slowed down by 800% it sounds just like Icelandic post rockers Sigur Rós. And you thought that kid was a bratty little douchenozzle because of this stupid haircut!(Or the way he fucked over a…
Beloit College’s annual Mindset list came out today.The fancy little Wisconsin school puts the list — which aims to show how kids entering college this year see the world, basically by pointing out a bunch of pop culture references they won’t understand because they’re so young — under the guise…
Song: Belle and Sebastian, “We Are The Sleepyheads” Context: Pondering the new Belle and Sebastian record which, according to Pitchfork, will be called Write About Love. I’m 99% sure this reality show this is a complete put-on though. Belle and Sebastian – We Are The Sleepyheads by MyCB ♫♪ Music…
Hell, a lot has changed with indie rock/pop since 2005. Where Broom captured the innocence of a slowly building scene, Let It Sway finds itself mired in a chronological crisis — struggling to find its footing with these modern times. Fans of the band will mostly appreciate the band’s tweaking…
Artist: LissieTitle: Catching a TigerRelease date: August 17Label: Fat PossumI’m declaring a moratorium on the word “douchebag.” It’s now the most overused word of the year, and it’s time to give it a rest. Thank you for your consideration.What’s better than the word douchebag is the California-via-Illinois singer Lissie, who…
A stabbing outside a Mesa concert featuring bands affiliated with an anti-meth group sent a local drummer to the hospital over the weekend.John Landato, who plays drums in Beyond Our Recognitions of God, a band tied to Dads Against Meth Use, was stabbed in the neck outside Goathead Saloon and…
Arcade Fire is an indie band. I don’t say that just because they sound like an indie band — though they do — but because they’re actually signed to an indie label.All three Arcade Fire albums came out on Merge, a North Carolina-based company that was started in 1989 so…
There are way too many reasons to count why John Mayer is sort of a douchebag — a gorgeous douchebag, but a douchebag, nonetheless. Whether he’s making racist remarks, sharing way too much of himself on Twitter or going through Hollywood starlets like they’re yesterday’s trash, Mayer always manages to…
Lords of Acid and My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult at Fetish Heat 2010 There were public whippings. There were a range of interesting and, in some cases, revealing costumes. What really rounded out the fun at Fetish Heat 2010 was house-destroying performances by the Lords of Acid and…
Song: Band Of Horses, “Older”Context: Infinite Arms continues to be my favorite record of the year. Older by bandofhorses…
This week French Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire were the best sellers at Stinkweeds record store. And no matter what part of town you shop in, no one can seem to get enough of the latest release from Wolf Parade: They mysteriously find a way of showing up in nearly…
Superstitious FridaysThis being Friday the 13th, it probably wouldn’t be the wisest idea to cross paths with any black cats, lest you’d to break your mothers back, or be on the receiving end of seven years of bad luck…or something like that (sorry, we can’t keep our superstitions straight sometimes)…
