The Gin Blossoms

The announcement of the Summerland Tour (an a la carte delight of prominent '90s soul-patch rock bands Everclear, Sugar Ray, Lit,The Gin Blossoms, and Marcy Playground) has me thinking hard about nostalgia. I learned of the tour's Phoenix date, July 3 at Comerica Theatre, just after finishing Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to its Own Past, a book about retro revivals and musical nostalgia by critic Simon Reynolds that came out last September.

I was born in 1987, thus the Summerland Tour is a tempting array of bands that brought about my initial appreciation for music. It also looks like the first of many nostalgia traps aimed to capitalize on my fading adolescent memories. With all of these bands reaching the height of their popularity as I barely became musically cognizant, is it doubly destructive to not only romanticize my past but also spend good money harkening to a period that I don't even consider that crucial?

​If you haven't quite heard by now, downtown Phoenix is on the verge of opening a major music venue -- the Crescent Ballroom. It started as an interesting, then unknown name appearing on the tour schedules for such bands as Gang Gang Dance and St. Vincent, but the Crescent Ballroom has turned into a bona fide option for the live music scene in Phoenix.

Now that the Crescent Ballroom is a go, it has booked an insanely amazing initial lineup of shows -- M83, tUnE-yArDs, Washed Out, CSS, Miami Horror and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Seeing all of these bands live would have either a) taken about three years for all of them to decide to actually play Phoenix or b) require multiple trips to either Los Angeles or Austin.

Those responsible for the Crescent Ballroom -- Stateside Presents -- have thus done their part. I write this post, music fans of Phoenix, to say to you: get out, do your part and attend every show you possibly can at the Crescent Ballroom.

​​Thank you, dear readers, for occasionally taking the time to give us at Up On The Sun some feedback on our writing.

When I was growing up, my parents always told me that it's impossible to please everybody. Boy, were they right. Unfortunately it's impossible to please all of our readers, which means we occasionally receive some emails or comments that are really out there.

I knew what I was getting into when I applied for this position. Sarah Ventre, the intern that preceded me, told me exactly what to expect, hate mail and all. In the eight months or so that I've been writing for Up On The Sun, I've received some pretty hilarious comments and emails.

I was called a racist when I wrote about a fantastic white reggae band; a reader asked me if I "think black kids come out of the womb bumping Marley and rolling blunts." That was a classic. Then people attacked me for booing a Michael Jackson dance video game. I thought the game was lame, but I never said anything about Michael Jackson himself. I love MJ. Apparently my opinion called for three readers to tell me to go kill myself. My favorite comments were the ones about how I'm "just jealous cuz u cant dance to save yourself." I don't have two left feet, but I really loved reading that.

Recently, I got my favorite ever piece of hate mail, and I'd like to share it with you. I respect the person that wrote it for using nearly perfect grammar throughout the letter. Since I didn't have anything professional to write back to the composer of this letter, I gave my usual "Sorry you didn't appreciate my sarcasm, but thanks for reaching out and thanks for being a New Times reader" line and left it at that. I hope you enjoy everything about it just as much as I did.

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In an effort to declare one Indio event superior to another, Up On The Sun's Mike Meyer and Lenni Rosenblum have duked it out.

Lenni, 20, tends to like acts like O.A.R. and John Mayer, while Mike is our resident 37-year-old cynical metal head.

Let the festival throw-down begin.

The Sound Strike, the musical boycott of Arizona organized last year in the wake of a controversial immigration law, is crowing about its success.

The boycott is lead by former Rage Against The Machine singer Zack de la Rocha. It persists even though SB 1070 -- like an "eerily similar" measure passed by voters in California a decade earlier -- was blocked by courts before it could take effect in any meaningful way.

Now, The Sound Strike is "renewing" the call for boycott and bragging about the hits they've put on Arizona businesses. According to their web site, "only a handful of major acts have played in Arizona since the passage of SB 1070 in April of 2010."

One problem: That claim is not even a little bit true. And to whatever extent it is true, it's a function of scheduling, not politics.

Yes, Arizona has been passed over by a few socially-conscious indie rockers and rappers, as everyone predicted, but the big money tours keep coming. Younger, hipper Arizonans may be disappointed not to see their favorite band because of the boycott but the real cash cows haven't avoided this pasture. The only real effect? The choir isn't getting preached to. Let's look at the facts.

Not pictured: Translation CEO Steve Stoute

​It looks like there's a new entry for the brilliant Who Is Arcade Fire? tumblr. Unfortunately, this one is longer than 140 characters -- by about a full page in The New York Times. Steve Stoute -- CEO of marketing company Translation and a veteran record executive -- took to The New York Times to effectively complain that Eminem, Kanye West and Justin Bieber all got wronged at last Sunday's Grammy Awards. 

"Unfortunately, the awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate," Stout said in his open letter to the Grammys.

Oh, where to begin?