Monday, December 31, 2012

Posted By on Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 6:00 PM

Here's wishing all of you a safe, happy and healthy new year!

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Posted By on Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 5:15 PM

When it comes to New Year's Eve movies, the options are pretty blah. The Poseidon Adventure is hokey fun, but it's just a disaster film with a NYE backdrop. The less said about 200 Cigarettes, the better.

There is one movie, however, that perfectly embodies the rush, excitement and sometimes chaos that ringing in the new year can bring. It's a zany, rock 'n' roll filled madcap comedy that nobody remembers.

I'm talking about Get Crazy.

Get Crazy was released in 1983, directed by Allan Arkush, who a few years earlier unleashed the punk rock cult classic Rock 'n' Roll High School. It's his love letter to the rock auditoriums of yesteryear, specifically the Fillmore East where a young Arkush worked as an usher. The loose plot centers around a scheduled New Year's Eve concert at the fictitious Saturn Theater, and believe me, hilarity and the highest of hi-jinks ensue.

Malcolm McDowell as a Mick Jagger-esque egocentric singer named Reggie Wanker? Check. John Densmore, real life drummer for The Doors, as Wanker's drug-addled drummer? Check. Lou Reed as Auden, a Bob Dylan-type recluse? Check. Fear's legendary punk rock front-man Lee Ving as a punk rock madman named Piggy who does a cover of "Hoochie Coochie Man"? Check. A robotic drug dealer named Electric Larry who shows up at the right times to dispense his wares? Check. Bobby Sherman, Fabian, and Ed Begley Jr. as the villains? Check. A walking, talking joint? Check. Sparks, The Ramones and Adrian Belew on the soundtrack? Check. All this, and so much more.

Unfortunately, Get Crazy has never been released on DVD, but thanks to the glory of YouTube, the whole enchilada can be watched here. Trust me, it's well worth the time.

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Posted By on Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 4:32 PM

Green_Day.jpg

As we all know by now, Green Day was forced to postpone its scheduled 2012-2013 tour dates so frontman Billie Joe Armstrong could enter treatment for substance abuse. The timing couldn't have been worse: He checked himself in just two days before the release of ¡Uno!, the first of three albums released at the tail end of 2012. (The other two are, of course, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!)

Those tour dates included a show at Tempe's Marquee Theatre scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10, which would have been quite a treat for the band's fans, considering the Marquee is a fraction of the size of the venues the band has been playing in for years.

Today, in a press release, Green Day announced the first round of make-up dates for the tour, which are all in the upper Midwest and Northeast, including Canada, and run from March 28 to April 12. While the press release also stated that additional dates on the West Coast will be announced in early 2013, unfortunately, the number of shows the band will be playing in the announced dates rivals the number of shows in that region that were canceled with no make-up dates scheduled. Also notable: All of the venues on the new schedule are arenas, or arena-sized.

Which means that if the band actually ends up performing a show in the Phoenix metro area, it likely will be at a much larger venue than the Marquee. (The band's last Phoenix performance was in August 2009, at the US Airways Center.)

For now, Green Day fans will have to sit back, cross their fingers, and wait for the next round of shows to be announced.

The full press release is after the jump.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Dec 28, 2012 at 12:55 PM

In two weeks local Tucson sludge favorite Godhunter will be embarking on a tour that will take them from Los Angeles to New Orleans. It's good to see Tucson metal getting out and around other cities, and they will be playing 23 dates over two months, including SXSW. The tour will come through Tucson Feb. 6 at the Rock and and ends March 16 at the Rock as well. The Feb 6. show will also include Solid Giant and Red Shield from Louisiana, and locals Thorncaster.

Godhunter hits your gut with nice heavy rhythms, as heard on "Wolves of the North," a great local staple, and "(Dead Hooker by the side of) The Road," a bluesy groove with some nice flying notes, among others. Thorncaster brings a heavy rhythmic drum-heavy metal sound. Red Shield will be bringing drony, slow heavy hits on the strings although their "Disquiet Follows the Soul" picks up the pace a bit. Solid Giant is in-your-face mellow metal with slamming drives and growling vocals.

Feb. 6 show details

"Wolves of the North"

[audio-path:http://www.tucsonweekly.com/audio/wolves_of_the_north.mp3]

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 12:56 PM

That is, so long as we're excluding Otis Redding, who I've been listening to on-and-off via Spotify most of the day.

Seriously, this tune is five minutes of fun hip-hop/funk fusion, and well worth your time if you, at any time in your life, ever enjoyed "Nothin' But a G-Thang.

The man behind the mix is an Austrailian DJ and producer by the name of Kenny Beepers, who has a soft spot for mixing funky beats with hip-hop, to great effect. I'm in the middle of one of his hour-long mixes after checking out a bass-heavy, dubstep-esque remix of Kris Kross's "Jump" and this guy knows what he's doing. Check out his Soundcloud page for more.

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Posted By on Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 11:41 AM

I've heard that the band performing this version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" was performing at a wedding, which (were it true) would make this video 100% better, particularly if it were done without the wedding party's knowledge.

In any case, this is a pretty quality version of the Metallica standard, and it makes me long for more jazzy, relaxed covers of metal songs—similar to what Andy Rehfeldt does on his YouTube channel.

Just, y'know. Without vocals.

(P.S.: Rehfeldt appears to have done a metal version of "Call Me Maybe," as well as a less-angry version of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name," which has instantly turned me into a new fan of his.)

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Friday, December 21, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 4:11 PM

The world probably isn't ending today (though there are still a few hours left, so let's not count our chickens quite yet), but just in case, let's listen to some apocalyptic music anyway.

Let's just get the obvious one out of the way at the beginning:

But who's better to take us into the apocalypse than a man whose music sounds charmingly demonic and uncomfortable?:

And, of course, if you're going to be partying while civilzation crumbles around you, you may as well be listening to electro-dance-pop—not like you'll be paying much attention to it anyway:

(Bonus apocalyptic pop hit: the most famous tune forcasting the apocalypse, Prince's "1999"!)


Prince - 1999 by djarnaldo

When the big moment comes, as we watch a planet fly toward us and our inevitable destruction (or whatever extinction event is supposed to destroy us and everything we love), you might want something huge, and massively epic to listen to, such as this:

Of course, you may want something light and beautiful to play you out, in which case we've got just the thing for you:

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Posted By on Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 11:25 AM

I finally got around to listening to the AMAZING Can compilation that came out earlier this year, and a particular song struck me as particularly relevant to Tucson.

Listen for yourself, and listen to it LOUD.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Posted By on Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 3:09 PM

It's the week before Christmas, so you're probably not all that busy at work (unless you work in retail or shipping or something of the sort, to which I say, "May God have mercy on your soul"), so why not turn your computer speakers up and rock your office space with the sounds of Metallica frontman James Hetfield yelling things? Enjoy your aural trip to NEVA NEVA LAND! OOHWA!

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Posted By on Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:05 PM

Kade Mislinski moved to Tucson when he was 6 and graduated from the UA in 1997. He was once a member of the local jazz-funk band Interlocking Grip and DJ’d at mostly now-defunct clubs around town, including the Airport Lounge, the Velvet Tea Garden, Heart-Five and Club Congress. These days he’s co-owner, with Jenny Rice, of HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery, the Playground Bar & Lounge and Lulu’s Shake Shoppe.

What was the first concert you attended?
Robert Plant, TCC Arena, 1988. Heard “Tall Cool One,” “Ship of Fools,” “Immigrant Song” and “Communication Breakdown.”

What are you listening to these days?
Sonny Rollins, Gary Clark Jr., Sigur Rós, Eric Dolphy, Son House, Calexico, Beck. I also use Spotify, so I jump all over the place listening with the kids. We listen to EDM, jazz, indie, rock and soundtracks.

What was the first album you owned?
Tuff Crew, Back to Wreck Shop. And on 45 it was “O-o-h Child” by the Five Stairsteps.

What artist, genre, or musical trend does everyone seem to love, but you just don’t get?
Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. And I'm good with pop—just don't get these guys.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
Michael Jackson.

Musically speaking, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?
The Killers. I know, I know—but man, they're just good. Favorite song: “All These Things That I’ve Done.”

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
“Liwa Wechi” by Miriam Makeba, then “Let's Go Crazy” by Prince.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?
Sigur Rós, Peter Gabriel, Hans Zimmer, and every year, the Coachella Music Festival—it may be the best thing you'll ever do.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain.

What song should everyone listen to right now?
“Bright Lights” by Gary Clark Jr.

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