Blast From the Past: 2 Live Crew – Banned in the USA

Blast From the Past is a weekly column on Crossfade re-examining classic releases from Florida music of yesteryear. To read previous installments, click here. ​ 2 Live CrewBanned in the USA(Luke Records) Well, it was bound to happen within these pages: 2 Live Crew. It would be downright irresponsible to…

Around the Voice: The Flaming Lips and Gil Scott-Heron State the Obvious

Wait, he’s not new here?​Every week, we gather some interesting stuff from our sister Village Voice Media publications’ music sections. Just for kicks. Here’s last week’s entry.In the Dallas Observer’s bumper crop of content: Surfer Blood mourns the loss of Jay Reatard and confirms that even Pitchfork has its limitations,…

A Guide to the Music Stages at Calle Ocho 2010

Know what time it is, party people? If the answer is an exuberant cry heralding Carnaval Miami and Calle Ocho, we want to inform you that you’re talking to a screen or a stack of paper and we can’t hear you. But it also means you’re in the right place,…

Blast From the Past: Jaco Pastorius’ Self-Titled Debut Album.

Back in September 2003, New Times reviewed the Jaco Pastorius tribute CD Word of Mouth Revisited. The disc was in homage to the greatest electric bass player the world has ever known, and the review went to print three days before the anniversary of Jaco’s death in 1987. We all…

More on the Drake Karu & Y Concert That Won’t Occur

No young rapper in the game is hotter than Drake right now, and no segment of his fan base is more hot-headed currently than those in South Florida. It was with great consternation that New Times confirmed that an upcoming date featuring the clean-cut Toronto native — a March 12…

Still Wrecked

On a melancholy Friday evening in May 2009, glasses were clinked and rum was swallowed as South Florida bid its most legendary bar a fond farewell. The Wreck Bar was drawing its gangplank, forgetting the debauchery of yesteryear, and preparing to fade away into the annals of Fort Lauderdale history…

Mixtape of the Week: J. NIC$ – Dirty Sneakers

​”Don’t judge a book by its cover” is how the old saying goes. Same applies with music. Don’t judge certain albums, or in this case, mixtapes, by their covers. J.NIC$ (pronounced jay-nix) is a versatile emcee/rapper/artist out of the northern side of Dade County — or uptown as he calls…

New Deep House Mix by DJ Strickly B

​DJ Brad Strickland, or Strickly B, as Miami clubland knows him, has been making his mark on the East Coast EDM scene for well over a decade now. He was spicing up Miami nightlife with soulful melodic tunage long before deep house made a comeback and has played no small…

Record Store Day: Radio-Active Records Adds Even More Stuff

​Radio-Active Records’ expanded list of Record Store Day exclusives is as long as Joanna Newsom’s new triple album! It’s April 17, folks. (Ohmygosh, John Fahey’s brilliant folk classic Yellow Princess LP!) See also: Radio-Active Records’ Record Store Day Specials Include Fela Kuti, Drive By Truckers and Owl City(?), Record Store…

Weezy Wire: Robert Christgau Owns Some 165 Lil Wayne Tracks

This man has as many Lil Wayne MP3s as your 14-year-old cousin​Wednesday is like the pre-Dr. Virgil Mongalo teeth day of the week over here at Crossfade (the sad news of Corey Haim’s death is not helping). So, special thanks to sister blog Sound of the City for pointing our…

Moving Units: Radio-Active Records’ Top 5 Releases for March 2-8

An album by a band called Beach House selling well in South Florida shouldn’t be a surprise​Find out what your neighbors are listening to without putting your ear up to the keyhole by reading our Moving Units column. Mike Ramirez over at Fort Lauderdale’s Radio-Active Records graciously keeps us up-to-date…

Song Spotlight: Phresh James “Miami Vice”

Myspace.com​Promising to just “simply progress”, Phresh James brings a new level of smooth to South Florida music. Born and raised in Carol City, Phresh James is simply an old soul. His music and style just show a sign of maturity and willingness to keep growing. And believe it or not,…

MP3 of the Day: GME Gets Extra-Terrestrial on “Phone Home”

GME doing turquoise proud​Yet another installment of MP3 of the Day, which ideally appears on a daily basis here at Crossfade. If you’re in a South Florida act, or know one we at the New Times Broward-Palm Beach office should co-sign for, please drop a line to mp3ofthedaysofla@gmail.com.On the single,…

Week in Review: Broward-Palm Beach for Freaknik’s Sake

Freaknik: The Musical – T-Pain & DJ Drama clipT Pain | MySpace Music VideosGood afternoon! Broward-Palm Beach’s contributions to Crossfade this week were greatly enhanced by Lil Wayne (and his dentist) but we can’t ride that pony forever.Nas is coming! Plus, local art-punks Alexander took over Poor House on Saturday…

José El Rey is Dead

Mourning the loss of José El Rey.​Sad news kids, José El Rey is gone for good. Finished. Dead. José Flores, AKA El Rey, announced via Twitter that his exaggerated Cuban persona has officially retired.This has us asking: ¿Pero porque? El Rey was hands down one of the most imaginative characters…

Garage Tapes: Destroyio Records and Guerrilleros de Nadie at Churchill’s

Last Thursday, Destroyio Records invaded Churchill’s again. And every species of Miami punk was there: Hialeah soccer hooligans, dreaded lezzies, Calle Ocho crusties, Subhumans squat rats, weekend anarchists, Misfits aerobics instructors, hardcore dudes with neck tattoos, etc. It was a mixed pit. Everyone sipped some kind of clear alcohol from…

Music In This Week’s Print Edition of Miami New Times

Courtesy of Nacional RecordsCheck out a feature on ChocQuibTown.​While we update Crossfade a bunch of times a day, the Miami New Times still features a fresh crop of music news weekly, including features that go into more depth than the usual blog post. This week, Christopher Lopez gives the run-down…

The Moody Blues Play Bayfront Park Amphitheater

Flash back 40 years. Picture a college dorm room, its walls swathed with black-light posters, the air heavy with the smell of incense and engulfed in thick clouds of pungent smoke. Its occupants seem preoccupied with resolving the secrets of the universe, despite coughing up the intake from a hookah…