I really am thankful that I’ve been able to develop relationships with other blogs and bloggers, however casual or fleeting they might prove to be. Not only have I had a chance to get to know some really interesting people from just about every background you can imagine, I’ve also been turned on to some [...]

This is a sort of catch-up NRT, as I forgot to do this last week and a lot of cool stuff came out last week. So shame on me for the 2nd time today.

La Roux, La Roux (Cherrytree/Interscope)
Elly Jackson has been winning headlines lately over some fairly controversial (and yeah, in some cases outright stupid) [...]

Well, I’ve once again been shamed into admitting that I clearly don’t listen to enough music from Arizona bands. How did I miss these guys? They’ve received writeups in Spin and Rolling Stone named them one of the 25 Best Bands on Myspace. What the..? Am I really this oblivious to what’s happening right next [...]

Surprisingly well done and not nearly as cloying or campy as you might think. Though I’m not clear on why the girl singing appears so completely terrified. Maybe that’s just her natural expression.

I spent a good part of today revisiting places of my youth. Driving along I stumbled upon a CD with a track by Touriste. These guy’s split in early 2009 without ever really breaking up, but for me without a doubt they made a modern classic. As we drove and chatted today I decided that [...]

I’m don’t often talk about Arizona-based bands on the blog. It’s not a lack of interest, mind you. It’s simply that a lot of the local bands around here that I’m familiar with are emo/hardcore variations, and those aren’t genres that have typically resonated with me. I like a poppy Jimmy Eat World song as [...]

Another week and a few changeups in our reader poll for Best of 2009. Bat For Lashes and Florence & The Machine are currently duking it out at 4th place, each with 6%. White Lies and Miike Snow are also battling it out for 5th, while Phoenix continues to hold the #1 spot followed closely [...]