AltWeeklies Wire
Skrunk Happens: We're Not Fans, But The Kids Seem to Like Itnew
The Warped Tour's 15th year sees a large number of acts that have embraced a combination of minimalist Southern hip-hop, Auto-Tune croons, techno breakdowns, barked vocals, and party-til-you-puke poetics. It's called scrunk, a bastardized combination of crunk and screamo, and it's the hottest thing since sliced bread joined Twitter.
Boston Phoenix |
Leor Galil |
07-15-2009 |
Music
Beatles Memorabilia: Here, There and Everywherenew

Money can't buy me love, but for obsessed Mike Spurr, it's funded his incredible collection of Beatles memorabilia and music.
The Coast, Halifax's Weekly |
Sue Carter Flinn |
07-14-2009 |
Music
Memorial Day: Michael's Staples Center Farewellnew
Roll your eyes at the spectacle if you want. You're right. It's insane, and says something about something. But, still, a man, once filled with supreme musical inspiration and overwhelming charity, has fallen, and that sucks, regardless of whether said man was a kook or not.
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
07-10-2009 |
Music
Tags: Michael Jackson
Can a City Really Tell You When and Where You Can or Can't Play Music?new
As it turns out, a license for busking in Santa Fe costs $35 per calendar year. The license comes with a host of guidelines that include when buskers can play, where they can play and how long they can play there; it also specifies that there can be no amplification. All this raises somewhat existential questions.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Alex De Vore |
07-09-2009 |
Music
Beyonce: How Much is Enough?new
Entertain a morbid thought: If Knowles were to crash and burn her Thierry Mugler motorcycle breastplate during her current "I Am ... Tour" -- said to out-razzle-dazzle all predecessors with its aerial flips and 70-some costumes -- would she be revered like Michael Jackson?
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Kimberly Chun |
07-08-2009 |
Music
How Atlanta's Garage-Rock Mascot Saved Himself Before Dyingnew

One year ago, the man best known by his stage name Bobby Ubangi was a rebel without a pause, partying like a rock star and working as the grouchy door guy at the Drunken Unicorn. But he got serious about his life, and his music, when faced with his death.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Chad Radford |
07-07-2009 |
Music
New Age Healer Dr. Reinalda De Souza Claims She Killed Michael Jacksonnew

"They think someone pumped him full of Demerol," she spat, her rage building. "It was a curse I learned long ago in Sao Paulo that stopped his heart. As soon as your story hits the street, the whole world will know that I -- Dr. Reinalda de Souza -- killed Jacko!"
Phoenix New Times |
Joseph Rossi |
07-07-2009 |
Music
How Michael Jackson (Sort Of) Introduced Me to the Rolling Stonesnew
Now that Michael Jackson's gone, it's how seeing that poster in my cousin's room led to "State of Shock" and a lifelong love of (and occasional obsession with) the Stones that I remember most.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
07-07-2009 |
Music
Tags: Michael Jackson, rolling stones
Remembering the King of Popnew
I think we can all agree that Michael Jackson was an icon. Although in recent years, his vast musical accomplishments have been overshadowed by the tabloid headlines, he's still the best-selling artist of all time, a rare performer whose appeal spanned generations and transcended gender and race lines.
Tags: Michael Jackson
Music Companies Use 'Mafia' Strategies to Crack Down on Local Businessesnew
ASCAP, which touts itself as a performance-rights organization, has developed quite a reputation in Sacramento. Local business owners have complained of receiving unsolicited bills that demand immediate payment, repeat phone calls and visits from sales representatives, and even a bit of intimidation regarding fines and lawsuits.
Sacramento News & Review |
Nick Miller |
07-02-2009 |
Music
Florida's Bob on Blonde Resurfaces ... Brieflynew
Sharp-eyed patrons of the 4th annual I-4 Fest this year will notice a rare sighting: a performance by Bob on Blonde, an elusive pop-rock local band that's periodically dropped electric-yet-soulful music for years, yet only plays to an audience when they feel like interacting with other people ... and that's not often.
Orlando Weekly |
Justin Strout |
07-02-2009 |
Music
If Your Love is Cheap, Windows Loves Your Bandnew
Microsoft's Sponsored Songs program is the latest in a series of variably successful attempts by large companies to use independent music to reach a new audience. If it is to be a long-term strategy, though, many say it must form a stronger bond between the bands and brands it links.
Reaction Jackson: How to Mourn a Messnew
Mourning Michael Jackson felt oddly overdue, as if the sudden death he'd suffered 24 hours earlier were nothing compared to the slow one he'd been undergoing for the previous 24 years.
Boston Phoenix |
Michael Brodeur |
07-01-2009 |
Music
Michael Jackson: A Eulogynew

Why and how Jackson became the most famous person the century ever knew is a matter for the anthropologists. For us, here and now, Jackson was elemental and impossible to ever fully understand; fearsome and heartbreakingly beautiful; at once mortal and deathless.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
07-01-2009 |
Music
50 Bands, 50 States: The Best New Bands in Americanew

To celebrate July 4th, the Phoenix declares the best new band from each state. Who won in your state?
Boston Phoenix |
Staff |
07-01-2009 |
Music