Artist: The VaselinesTitle: Sex with an XRelease date: September 14Label: Sub PopIf you’re a small-time indie band looking for an opinion leader to lift you from obscurity, you can do no better than Kurt Cobain. That’s the position Scotland’s The Vaselines found themselves in when Nirvana covered a couple of…
This is the sort of thing that should probably be a big deal in the Valley: Gin Blossoms, possibly the most successful Arizona-based rock act ever, released a new record on Tuesday.It’s called No Chocolate Cake and, as singer Robin Wilson told Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic in a…
There is perhaps no band as celebrated as they are reviled these days than Tennessee rockers Kings Of Leon. Always the lightning rod of controversy, Kings Of Leon broke new ground with their commercially viable 2008 release Only By The Night. That album brought the band a Grammy for the…
Hardcore fans of jam bands are a very giving, as are the bands they support. The Grateful Dead recently donated some band memorabilia to a charity auction, while Phishheads/Phans (call them what you will) have raised and distributed over $1 million for charity organizations started by fans of the band.The…
Song: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Even Heroes Have To Die Context: Ted Leo & Rx will be at Rhythm Room tonight. Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – Even Heroes Have To Die by Royalty Central…
Nick Cave of Grinderman has been called out by a random 29-year-old shmoe who claims Cave ripped off his song to make “Palaces of Montezuma.”Cave addressed the issue at a show in London on Friday, stating that someone is trying to sue him for supposedly basing the Grinderman song on…
John Lennon’s 70th birthday would have been October 9 and Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum has planned events to mark the occasion.The museum houses the Steinway Lennon used to “Imagine” — not the fancy white grand piano people remember, but a more modest brown Steinway pictured right — which is one…
Rascal FlattsCountry stars Chris Young, Kellie Pickler and Rascal Flatts packed Cricket Wireless Pavilion last night, as fans came out for a night of music under the stars. The Rascal Flatts inspired excitement, lust and prayerfulness during the show, and here’s a round-up look of what fans thought of the…
Name: Ariel Perez AKA: The Ariel Current club nights: Every Saturday I play with my crew the Night Thieves at Brick for White Rabbit. Occasionally I play at Sticky Fingers and Ransom and Fuse Friday, and every Tuesday night I play at Electrostatic at Philthy Phil’s. Genres spun: Oh, man…
Song: Maxim Ludwig & The Santa Fe Seven, “Born Too Blue” Context: Max and his band come to town Wednesday night. Maxim Ludwig & The Santa Fe Seven – Born Too Blue by blastjacket…
Longtime MTV president Tony DiSanto is leaving the network, according to Variety.DiSanto is moving on to pursue a role as an independent program producer on primetime reality series.He’ll be sticking with MTV through the end of the year to help with the transition process for his replacement, who will likely…
@TSIKA9Sara BareillesSara Bareilles is one of those artists you just can’t help but love. The singer-songwriter proves pop doesn’t have to be trashy by keeping her clothes on and putting the focus on her music and her interaction with fans. Bareilles played piano and guitar at her show at Marquee…
Artist: John Legend & The RootsTitle: Wake Up!Release date: September 21Label: ColumbiaThe new collaboration between neo-soul singer John Legend and ace hip-hop band The Roots is a lark dressed up as an important record, given the source material, mostly cover tunes from the Civil Rights Era.Fans of John Legend and/or…
A gay rights group is up in arms about tweets from 50 Cent they seem to believe had something to do with the recent spat of tragic, high-profile suicides of young, gay men. “If you a man and your over 25 and you don’t eat pussy just kill your self…
If there’s one thing our country is good at, it’s not knowing how to properly allocate our spending money. After hearing about America’s big budget for military marching bands, NPR wanted to know just how much tax payers are collectively throwing down for these guys.It turns out that the Marines…
The uber-controversial song “Kill Joe Arpaio,” which sent Valley media into a tizzy earlier this week, made it over the airwaves of a Valley radio station.Beef Vegan, the man behind KWSS 106.7’s The Morning Infidelity, spun the track by San Diego band Crocodiles this morning.Before you get all worked up,…
Bright Eyes has recorded a single for the group of musicians boycotting Arizona. “Coyote Song,” can be bought for $2 here if you want to support people boycotting our state. Or you can give money to people actually working in to make a difference on the ground in Arizona by…
This week’s music feature is on singer-songwriter Jeff Arundel taking a trip down memory lane. Depending on how narcissistic or realistic they are, asking an artist to review the work he did a decade ago could either go pretty well or rather horribly. Martin Cizmar caught up with Jeff Arundel,…
Tucson-based musician/filmmaker/artist Marianne Dissard has a unique gift for marking connections among disparate places, mediums, and ideas. On the surface, the elements she uses appear to have only abstract links, but in her capable hands, they go together like peanut butter and jelly. So it’s not surprising that Dissard is…
Ten years ago, I reviewed a record called Mood Ring by a Minneapolis singer-songwriter named Jeff Arundel. It wasn’t a particularly good record, and it’s fair to say that it earned its spot in the great milk crate in the sky, where promo discs go after they’ve had their industry-standard…
If you watch the music video for Matt & Kim’s indie-dance hit “Daylight” but know nothing else about the band, here’s exactly what you’ll think: “Good gracious. Those are very happy-looking people.” Frolicking through their Brooklyn ‘hood, humorously crammed into refrigerators, dumpsters, and other uncomfortable spaces while — wait for…
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.Could Jan Brewer’s henchmen close Tucson’s Rialto Theatre?What can Apple do with $75 million instead of running…
