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MySpace BOTM: Arizona Street Fam

If MySpace teaches us anything about website design, the first lesson is, “Don’t annoy visitors.”

It’s a lesson Nogales/Tucson/Phoenix-based Arizona Street Fam would do well to learn as our MySpace Band of the Moment.

Visitors are greeted immediately with raining stacks of dollar bills, all subject to their own level of gravity. The problem is, the falling cash prevents those curious about Arizona Street Fam from clicking on the MySpace media player, thus preventing them from listening to tracks a second time or, more likely, to pause the music for just…one…second….

Other than that, it’s a great page. The “Mobsters” application indicates Street Fam’s accomplishments, which impressively include silver medals in Cash Deposits and Diploma Earning along with bronzes in the biathlon and Middle Eastern rabble-rousing. [Unfortunately, it also appears the Fam’s medals for electricity and running were later rescinded.]

At least Arizona Street Fam can fall back on their extensive weapons cache: a helicopter mini-gun straight out of Predator, a five-car garage and what appears to be a share of Vegas’s Mandalay Bay.

But album sales aren’t earned by web design, so let’s get to the music.

Arizona Street Fam only have one song, titled “Speedin Freestyle (featuring Caro)”.  “Caro” is an apt name, considering her vocals go down about as smoothly as the Nestlé instant beverage by the same name.

The lyrical flow has a few pleasant surprises, including lines like “Don’t call me a white girl/I’m a grown ass man”, or the one imploring a cop, “What’s the problem, officer, don’t you see that I’m white?” and insinuating their role in the rising cost of rubberbands.  Your guess on that last one is as good as mine, but it’s still clever.

Back to those chorus vocals by Caro, though. I’ve been told ProTools can fix this sort of thing. I’m chalking it up to the song being in the wrong key, because Caro can’t seem to quite nail her notes. Get that pitch right, and “Speedin Freestyle” is suddenly a decent track.

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>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.