It’s tough being one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen. Take Jay-Z’s spot on the recent Kanye West single “Monster,” for instance. It isn’t that Jay’s verse is terrible, but surrounded by Rick Ross, Kanye, and the unstoppable Nicki Minaj, Hova lacks vigor. Next to the other MCs, he comes across as…
You’ve heard of 2 Live Crew, and their famous “me so horny” refrain, but have you laid ears on Toubab Krewe? Admittedly, the groups don’t have much in common besides their names. The former: Miami-based dirty-rappers who excelled at pissing off censors. The latter: North Carolina-based white-boy Afro-rockers who excel…
Not quite the Dropkick Murphy-style fiddle jockeys their name vaguely depicts, Reckless Kelly has been making twangy alt-country roots-rock since they formed in Bend, Oregon, in the mid-’90s. Named after Australian bank robber Ned Kelly, the band later relocated to Austin and released a string of well-received country-charting albums, including…
When a band has to make up a genre name to describe its music, it’s easy to suspect said band lacks focus. Not so with Tempe-based band The VeraGroove, as their self-coined “desert reggae rock ‘n’ roll” label works pretty well. The band, which says it seeks to unite listeners…
THURSDAY 2 27th Avenue Bar: R&B Thursdays (old-school R&B) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with DJ Nino (hip-hop, Top 40) BS West: Intravenous Thursdays (goth, industrial, electronic, ’80s) Club Trinity: DJ Knick Knack, DJ Unkown, DJ Dark Vader, & guests (hip-hop, reggae, R&B, Top 40) Dirty Pretty: Groove Candy with DJ…
As winter approaches, the nights will inevitably grow both colder and longer. If you’re looking for somewhere to simultaneously get both warm and wild, consider spending a few hours amidst the frenetic bodies gathered at the Madison Event Center, 441 West Madison Avenue, for the annual Hard Dance Nation on…
Song: Foxy Shazam, “Heaven on Their Minds” Context: Foxy Shazam’s Christmas single is a cover from Jesus Christ Superstar. Good stuff! Foxy Shazam – Heaven on Their Minds by mmcizmar…
Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat,…
Tonight’s a big night for the Copper State Tavern, as the Glendale punk bar and music venue is celebrating its second anniversary. Unfortunately, it’s also the joint’s final night of existence, as owner Dave Wyma is closing after this evening’s celebration.It’s sort of a “best of times/worst of times” proposition…
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 long-forgotten nugget did Jason P. Woodbury unearth for the first installment of his “Obscuro” column?What did…
As the parent of two toddlers, I’ve seen every episode of the popular kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! a minimum of five or six times. While being forced to sit through the same episodes of certain children’s television programs is torture that is on par with what they use…
Jack White is pissed off at his own fans, according to Antiquiet. Jack’s own Third Man Records’ recent eBay auctions for one of five copies of the White Stripes’ rare first album reissue didn’t quite go as planned. He’s angry at flippers, the fans that buy these albums for cheap…
Another Friday, another debaucherously fun night at Philthy Phil’s (they serve drinks in plastic buckets for god’s sake). See the “Fu@% it Bucket” induced happenings for yourself in our slideshow!…
Glendale’s Snail Quail is part of the same little cybercollective that brought the world Vladee Divacc of Dunkwave fame. The singer, J, tells me he wrote the song after being asked to perform for a local radio show. “I thought that was ‘rad’ and (due to time constraints) wrote and…
Artist: Robyn Title: Body Talk Release date: November 22 Label: Interscope The critics sure do love the Swedish dance-pop star Robyn, who’s been releasing Body Talk in chunks throughout 2010 and now has finally dropped the entire album as one 15-song compendium. But there seems to be a common theme…
In the hours following the tragic death of Abay Lattin (a.k.a. Carnegie from Silver Medallion) over two months ago, his bandmate Oren J. Schauble told me the following in regards to the group’s future: “It’s going to be tough, but I’m going to keep going and come up with something…
Song: Yo Gabba Gabba VS. Daft Punk – Party In My Tummy (Kendo Says Oh Yeah Edit)Context: I’m trying to understand the widespread appeal of Yo Gabba Gabba before this weekend’s big show…. so far, no luck. Yo Gabba Gabba VS. Daft Punk – Party In My Tummy (Kendo Says…
Not a lot of old-school rappers would be a good fit on a children’s television show, but Biz Markie is definitely the exception to that rule. The popular rapper and beatboxer is probably best know for his hit “Just a Friend” as well as the song “Vapors” and his frequent…
That’s why Keith Sweat is this week’s featured artist. His videos for “Twisted” and “Nobody” were MTV staples about fourteen years ago, and they are both beyond fantastic. Sweat is probably best known for his 1987 hit “I Want Her,” and rightfully so — the song is a beacon of…
It turns out that Google Translate can do way more than translate a foreign business documents, help confused travelers, or decode what your mail order bride is saying, according to Gizmodo.In fact, if you go to Google Translate and set both language transition settings to German, you’ve got a good…
Nicki Minaj’s tell-all documentary, My Time Now, aired on MTV on Sunday night. She told even more in the new issue of Rolling Stone.In the documentary she discussed her crack addicted father and child abuse, and being raised by her grandparents for quite some time. In the article she talked…
Willie Nelson was arrested in Texas on Friday for possession of six ounces of marijuana on his tour bus, according to People.The 77-year-old country star was on his way to his ranch in Austin when he got stopped in El Paso at a border patrol checkpoint. Furthermore, he could face…
