By Troy Farah, on January 18th, 2012%
Arizona’s Authority Zero have become international icons while staying true to their roots By Troy Farah Published on 01/12/2012 in Flag Live
With hit singles like “One More Minute,” “Revolution,” and the Wall of Voodoo cover “Mexican Radio,” Authority Zero are arguably the most popular band to come out of Mesa—and they’re especially familiar with any kid who got into skateboarding or punk around the turn of the century. Noted for their mix of reggae, ska-punk and their Spanish and Portuguese inspirations, the four-piece admit a deep admiration for Sublime, Pennywise and Bad Religion, making them a distinct . . . → Read More: Punk Heaven
By Troy Farah, on January 18th, 2012%
A conversation with the eclectic Tempe nine-piece Dry River Yacht Club
By Troy Farah Published on 12/15/2011 in Flag Live
Recently reunited in August, Dry River Yacht Club’s nine members embody the indie creed that “more is more” and band mates are there for more than just back-up vocals. Keeping in spirit with Gogol Bordello or DeVotchKa, the band plays their unique blend of gypsy tunes, a self-described mix of “acoustic symphony indie-rock on a dancin’ pirate’s rusty yacht”—and the nonet dress the part. Now the Tempe-based band are taking their gig more places than ever. Flag Livesat down to speak . . . → Read More: Sailing the musical seas
By Troy Farah, on December 28th, 2011%
In Rotation
The very best of the 2011’s musical offerings
By Troy Farah Published on 12/22/2011
Well, now that he’s almost gone, I can talk all I want about 2011 behind his back. What a long year. I can’t really say it was good or bad, but just somewhere in between. Pretty neutral. The Arab Spring led to some pretty neutral results. Occupy Wall Street, also pretty neutral. The Iraq Invasion is wrapping up, but the War on Terror gets more and more frightening over here. So, pretty neutral.
Although, in the long run we should choose to . . . → Read More: In Rotation: Best of 2011
By Troy Farah, on December 1st, 2011%
A visionary director’s creepy side project and sonic spacey narcissism
By Troy Farah Published on 11/24/2011
David Lynch
Crazy Clown Time
Rating: 3/5
If a director ignores music, he’s hardly a director. It follows that David Lynch, whose films epitomize the phrase “avant garde” as much as they represent the words “[expletive] confusing,” pays so much attention to what melody is going on in the background. It’s not weird (or even news) that Lynch has been expanding his creativity to a different territory, this time with his solo record debut: Crazy Clown Time. Lynch has recorded music multiple times before, several . . . → Read More: In Rotation: David Lynch and M83
By Troy Farah, on November 18th, 2011%
Wilco’s consoling pity party and too many turntables for DJ Shadow
By Troy Farah Published on 11/10/2011
Wilco The Whole Love Rating: 3.5/5
Like most Wilco albums, their eighth release, The Whole Love, requires multiple listens. Subtle-yet-complex arrangements spattered with bold, but depressing (and occasionally nonsensical) lyrics make this Chicago six-piece at times inaccessible. Yet, for The Whole Love, not all of the love is there.
“Art of Almost,” the album’s opener, would have made for a better record title. “Almost” captures Wilco’s efforts more clearly here—a rather colorless product with themes typical of Wilco, without the heart.
. . . → Read More: In Rotation: Wilco and DJ Shadow
By Troy Farah, on October 10th, 2011%
A hipster yawn and N.W.A’s heirs apparent
By Troy Farah Published on 09/15/2011
MellowHype
BlackenedWhite
Rating: 4/5
Self-descriptions like, “This album is packed with gun sounds, grams of coke and dead cops—the perfect soundtrack for mobbing on a dark Halloween night” is what makes the whole Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) collective so enjoyable. Half the group ain’t even old enough to drink and they’re dropping albums more creative, ballsy and fun than almost anything hitting the airwaves.
. . . → Read More: In Rotation: MellowHype / Portugal. The Man
By Troy Farah, on September 1st, 2011%
Arctic Monkeys
Suck It And See
Rating: 2/5
Subpar Monkeys and more spaciness from Bon Iver
By Troy Farah Published on 08/11/2011
With their fourth LP, the Arctic Monkeys seem to be continuing this bizarre descent into bleakness. Coming from their post-punk debut to Suck It And See, 12 heavy-hearted tunes, obscure with meaning, with frontman Alex Turner’s vocals leaning toward something gothic, this doesn’t offer much. And unfortunately this descent leads to utter nonsense.
Arctic Monkeys used to be a band rife with clever metaphor (equally matched with groan-worthy puns) or fresh perspective on some oddly chosen fairy . . . → Read More: In Rotation: Bon Iver and Arctic Monkeys
By Troy Farah, on March 28th, 2011% By Troy Farah Published on 03/10/2011
Their name was torn from the pages of a magazine—not the Herman Melville classic, but the members of the Devil Whale are still well versed in literature from Carl Sandburg to Theodore Roethke, blending smarts with rock.
According to lead singer Brinton Jones, a lot of their influences are “the kind of generic ones”—the Beatles, the Kinks, the Velvet Underground. But the band throws in plenty of modern influence from Destroyer to Dear Hunter to Guided by Voices. The result is good old-fashioned, multi-layered indie-pop—a bit melancholy, but rife with sharp lyrics like on . . . → Read More: Road poets: The cerebral rock and multilayered imagery of Salt Lake City’s the Devil Whale
By Troy Farah, on January 21st, 2011% In Rotation Serious sample masking and Kanye’s lament By Troy Farah Published on 01/13/2011 in Flag Live!
Artist: Girl Talk
Album: All Day
Rating: 5/5 These days, many people fancy themselves a DJ. While most can mix a decent set, many are just wrangling an iPod, which may degrade the credibility of such tunesmiths.
But if you can turn a song upside down, tear it apart until it’s barely recognizable and provide fresh interpretations of the original, you might just earn some credibility. That’s where Girl Talk comes in.
. . . → Read More: In Rotation: Serious sample masking and Kanye’s lament
By Troy Farah, on January 8th, 2011% In Rotation Brilliant noise, conceptual nostalgia and the best records of 2010 By Troy Farah Published on 12/23/2010
Anyone who says new music sucks is either getting old or have blown out their eardrums on their iPod. Have a little faith—human beings are incredibly innovative in the way they create new noises. The majority of new tunes have been done some way before and sure, there’s no great music revolution going on—despite what Anton Newcombe thought—but that’s no reason to ignore some true innovation. In light of that, let’s celebrate some of the best new albums 2010 had to offer, . . . → Read More: In Rotation: The Best of 2010
|
Specialty Gunk Runner
-
Last Night: The Donkeys at Yucca Tap Room 5/14/12
Originally published in Phoenix New Times’ Up On The Sun
It’s hard to tell your friends “I’m going to the Donkeys show” with a straight face. No, not some perverted freak-show in Mexico. I mean the psychedelic San Diegan blues rockers The Donkeys, who tore the Yucca Tap Room apart with their ’60s-inspired pop and ’70s-era jams, a blend that’s earned praise from indie contemporaries like The Mountain Goats and The Hold Steady. The Donkeys treated the bar and lounge like they were regulars, which is pretty close to the truth — this is hardly their first rodeo in Tempe. . . . → Read More: Last Night: The Donkeys at Yucca Tap Room 5/14/12
-
Tekel’s Book of the Month Club Returns!
This isn’t some Oprah bullshit. We read kickass books and at the end of it, have a swag party with cocktails, cigars and coke. Most of all, we talk all posh about literature. It’s an incentive to read and discuss ideas rather than what’s on TV or who’s sleeping with who.
Tekel’s Book of the Month Club existed in some form as a weird Facebook group, but now it’s public. Anyone can (and should) join!
. . . → Read More: Tekel’s Book of the Month Club Returns!
-
The Filthfiller Interview: Jerking-off, spider dongs and BDSM photographer Natacha Merritt
San Francisco-based photographer, Natacha Merritt, made waves in 2000 with her book Digital-Diaries, an erotic exploration of her excellent sex life as she toured the underground S&M and slut-sex scenes. The book moved over 300,000 copies, featured in everything from The Wall Street Journal to Playboy to Rolling Stone.
So what do you after your pornographic diary becomes a best-seller? Well, for Merritt, she went back to school to study biology. Perhaps that’s an odd choice, but between photographing Cirque du Soleil performers and amateur models, she was getting close and personal with arachnid genitalia. Her passion for sex . . . → Read More: The Filthfiller Interview: Jerking-off, spider dongs and BDSM photographer Natacha Merritt
-
Rock Monster: Flagstaff’s Tonsil Yeti gets by (and triumphs) with a little help from their friends
Published on 03/22/2012 in Flag Live
(Author’s note: This article was the blood and sweat of over eight months, where it was post-poned and delayed repeatedly. I feel like I became really close with the band in that time and I’m finally glad to see it in print. Enjoy it uncensored after the break.)
It took a number of beer-pounding sessions before settling on the offbeat name Tonsil Yeti. Other suggestions thrown about were Bronson Johnson, Six Year Old Girls, Konkey Dong, Vagiant (taken, as it turns out), and Bloody Sex. But what exactly is a Tonsil Yeti? To . . . → Read More: Rock Monster: Flagstaff’s Tonsil Yeti gets by (and triumphs) with a little help from their friends
-
Phoenix Indie-Rock Band Knesset Is Big in Japan
By Troy Farah Mon., Mar. 19 2012 at 7:00 AM in Phoenix New Times
Released last year, Coming of Age is an appropriate title for Knesset’s first album, as the band is only now starting to step up locally. Pronounced KA-NESS-ET and named after the legislative branch of the Israeli government, these locals have played in the background of Phoenix since 2007.
. . . → Read More: Phoenix Indie-Rock Band Knesset Is Big in Japan
|
|
