The last artist to win both the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Canadian Juno Award for Album of the Year was Alanis Morissette, who won the twin North American honors for 1995’s Jagged Little Pill. This puts Montreal band Arcade Fire and their record The Suburbs…
It’s hard to know whether Talib Kweli is giving up on the music industry because he’s aware of the minimal value of label promotion for artists outside the top sales tier or because the breakup was mutual. Though Kweli arrived big — releasing an absolutely classic album as Black Star…
The nip-slip. There you go — that’s the reference you were expecting when you saw Janet Jackson’s name. Yes, it was one of the more iconic media moments in recent history, giving conservatives in America a rallying point for their crusade against the decay of our society. For Janet Jackson,…
Yellowcard had their first taste of mainstream success with “Ocean Avenue,” the upbeat title track from their fourth album. That track was a hit in 2003, back when The O.C. was must-see TV and teenagers were obsessed with all things related to Southern California, which seems like a long time…
Garrett Dutton and his band, G. Love & Special Sauce, don’t create ordinary blues pop. G. Love offers variety on both his solo albums and those he made with Special Sauce. With a style that ranges from smooth rhymes over a funky guitar on some songs to laid-back, slow, and…
Billie Maxwell’s “Cowboy’s Wife” is one of those subtly powerful songs that leave you haunted and still. Recorded in 1929, the track depicts the day-to-day toils of its protagonist, a woman living a tough life in the mountains of eastern Arizona. Maxwell sings sorrowfully about a scene in which she…
Though it’s been almost a decade since Zach Sciacca put the Valley in his rearview mirror, the artist known as Z-Trip (pictured) still casts a huge shadow over the local scene. There seem to be few DJs in town who aren’t connected to the turntable titan. We’ve lost count of…
Have you seen the episode of 30 Rock where Jane Krakowski’s character, Jenna Maroney, “goes country” by wearing Daisy Dukes and a cowboy hat, recording a Western-style theme for NBC’s off-season tennis coverage? Aside from being one more joke in a long series of jabs at the network that airs…
THURSDAY 7 Afterlife: Thumpin Thurzdays (various) AZ/88: Josh One (rare groove, urban funk) Bar Smith: Splash Thursday (reggae, dancehall, Top 40, house) Blue Martini: Rewind Thursday with DJ Mendez (various) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays (hip-hop, Top 40) Chilly Bombers: DJ Medik (Top 40, rock, old school) Cream Stereo Lounge: Bongo…
This week’s feature is on the very first recorded music made by someone from the state of Arizona. The music of Billie Maxwell and her family comes from eastern Arizona’s White Mountains and was put on wax in the late 1920s. Maxwell wasn’t only the first Arizonan to record music, but she…
The Grammy Awards committee has decided to eliminate 31 award categories. Apparently, 109 categories was finally thought to be a little excessive, according to Prefix.Not only have the categories been narrowed down, but some of them have also been combined. It’s very likely that this will lead to artists being…
Song: Toby Keith, “Stays In Mexico”Context: Hard to believe Country Thunder 2011 is already here. The festivities in Florence kick off tomorrow and continue through Sunday, when Toby Keith comes through. Toby Keith – Stays In Mexico by dawn.dewdrop…
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… Why did Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst diss Lady Gaga’s concert in Arizona? What are Phoenix’s…
The electro-house sensation known as Wolfgang Gartner stopped by The Marquee Theatre last Saturday for a non-stop party that lasted nearly two hours. Ladies in neon bikinis and fishnets were among the dancing masses. Check out this week’s Club Candids for a glimpse of the mischief…
Last month Pitchfork broke news that hardcore punk super-group OFF! were facing charges in Arizona for the alleged theft of vegetable oil from an unidentified restaurant in the state. The band’s eco-friendly tour van runs on vegetable waste, and the band were set to stand trial today for allegedly taking…
First came word that Exene Cervenka was unable to play Yucca Tap Room this weekend, now comes news that support acts Kevin Seconds and Flathead, who were scheduled to play despite Cervenka’s cancellation, are also dropping off the bill. So what’s that mean for a roots-rock loving beer drinker looking…
Boasting a collection of over 8,000 45’s, you never know exactly what Sir Smeezy, AKA DJ Smite is going to bring out for his Hot Plate night ever first Tuesday at The Lost Leaf. The man’s vast collection spans genres from funk, salsa, punk and gospel, and all are fair…
When I was growing up, my parents always told me that it’s impossible to please everybody. Boy, were they right. Unfortunately it’s impossible to please all of our readers, which means we occasionally receive some emails or comments that are really out there. I knew what I was getting into…
At the risk of getting the reputation as that guy who keeps claiming to genuinely like deeply un-hip music, I really dig the first couple Chicago albums. The band’s fusion of jazz, classical, soul, and rock & roll was very indicative of their time, the late ’60s, when rock music…
In the same spot where Drift brought a Polynesian sheen to Old Town, new club Spanish Fly Mexican Beach Club is set to attract club-goers with a different vibe. Out are the tikis and grass huts, and in their place Spanish Fly sports chic couches, cabanas and, oh yeah, that…
Chandler’s Arizona Railway Museum is apparently not equipped to handle the Railroad Revival Tour that will bring Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show to town this month.So the show has been moved to Tempe instead, according to Hayley Ringle of The Arizona Republic.The…
Are you going to Coachella?Woooooo! Awesome!Now shut up about it — at least if you’re talking to Up On The Sun’s cartoonist Robbie Pfeffer.Robbie is sick of hearing about how awesome the music festival in Indio, California is going to be, as shown with this week’s installment of his comic…
