Columns

The New Fleet Foxes Album May Be the Key to Healing From 2020

The New Fleet Foxes Album May Be the Key to Healing From 2020

Stop Trying to Make the 2000s Happen Again.

Stop Trying to Make the 2000s Happen Again.

Songs Glorifying Drugs Should Also List Their Negative Side Effects*

By Garrett Gravley
Jan 13, 2020

Typically, complaints lodged against music in the mainstream would make someone look like a miserly old-timer stuck in his or her glory days, but when people take issue with artists glamorizing drug abuse, they actually raise a legitimate point. However, as much merit as these grievances have, reasonable propositions to...
Our New Music and Culture Editor Tried on Many Cultures Before Falling for Dallas

By Eva Raggio
May 1, 2019

I was born in England, but my family is from Argentina, of Italian descent. In any of those places, I’d be deemed a foreigner. I like to think that those roots are still deep, no matter how neglected, and I never thought I’d do my true growing up in Dallas...
In Bed With Teddy Waggy and Sudie Abernathy

By Eva Raggio
Oct 18, 2018

It was a matter of time before singers Sudie Abernathy's and Teddy Waggy’s fantastical worlds became one. The critically praised artists and It Girls quickly became each other’s muses after meeting only a year ago. Abernathy is known simply as Sudie, and she’s been on the cusp of fame since...
12 DFW Musicians Tell Us About the Nightmares That Were Their Worst Gigs

By Wanz Dover
Mar 16, 2018

Regardless of genre or tenured status, a common thread among all musicians is the nightmare gig, the gig that just did not go the way you expected. It's the gig where that bassist shows up so hammered that he thinks he's the singer. Or maybe it's the night you forget...
St. Vincent Performed at the Oscars — Did You Catch Her?

By Eva Raggio
Mar 5, 2018

The Oscars ceremony was fairly unpredictable this year: Singer Mary J. Blige was nominated for best supporting actress, athlete Kobe Bryant won an Oscar for Best Documentary, actor Gael Garcia Bernal performed a song, and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead was nominated as a composer. Most importantly, Eva-Marie Saint and Christopher...
New Observer Music Editor Loves Taylor Swift. Oops.

By Paige Skinner
Feb 21, 2018

Editor's note: Paige forgot to mention her deep, deep love for Ms. Swift during her job interview. I don't mean to be harsh, but I, the new Dallas Observer music (and arts) editor, love Taylor Swift. Bite me. You might have read this headline and wondered why I didn't delete...
Namedropper: That Time I Played Guitar for Jimmy Page

By Bucks Burnett
Mar 14, 2017

Bucks Burnett has met most of his music idols. In this monthly column he shares tales from the front lines and backstage. When I saw Led Zeppelin in Dallas in early March 1975, during the Physical Graffiti tour, it started a chain of events that ended with the extremely unlikely photograph...
Namedropper: A Proposition for Vanilla Ice, Who Once Threw a Glass of Ice Water in My Face

By Bucks Burnett
Jan 6, 2017

Bucks Burnett has met most of his music idols and isn't shy about talking about it in his monthly column, Namedropper. I bought Vanilla Ice’s Mind Blowin’ from Blockbuster Music the day it came out on March 22, 1994. I gazed in awe at the cover, which showed Ice wearing dreadlocks and blowing smoke...
Namedropper: A Beer With Mick Ronson 34 Years Ago Led Me Backstage at Austin City Limits Last Week

By Bucks Burnett
Dec 7, 2016

Bucks Burnett has met most of his music idols. In this monthly column he shares tales from the front lines and backstage. Last Wednesday, my plan was to go down to Austin, watch Alejandro Escovedo tape his fifth Austin City Limits performance, get interviews with him and his band and...
Namedropper: The Time My Dad Fixed Ray Charles' Teeth

By Bucks Burnett
Nov 9, 2016

Bucks Burnett has met most of his music idols. In this monthly column he shares tales from the front lines and backstage. I’m known for having numerous what-the-truck stories about unlikely encounters with the greatest heroes of the day. I used to have an ego about it. Who could blame...
Austin's Margin Walker Takes First Jump Into DFW Festivals With Fortress Fest

By Jeff Gage
Oct 20, 2016

When Alec Jhangiani and Ramtin Nikzad set out to start Fortress Festival in DFW, they knew they needed help. The pair had spent nearly a decade working together with the Lone Star Film Festival and Lone Star Film Society and, as they looked to assemble their own music festival, sought...
Maren Morris is the Perfect Star of the Future for Country Music

By Jeff Gage
Oct 6, 2016

When Maren Morris walked out onto stage at Austin City Limits Festival last Friday, she did it in perfect fashion: with Janis Joplin's "Mercedes-Benz" playing as her entrance music. That one song choice brought so many of the right pieces together for the up-and-coming Arlington native: a nod to a...
Why the Dallas Observer Music Awards Won't Be Starting a Hall of Fame

By Jeff Gage
Oct 6, 2016

From rock 'n' roll music to country music to virtually every major professional sport, the United States houses a hall of fame for just about everything — even though, for most of the rest of the world, it's literally a foreign concept. Americans just love picking favorites. Earlier this week,...
Bucks Burnett's Namedropper: I Got the World's Greatest Mr. Peppermint Photo Op — Twice

By Bucks Burnett
Oct 4, 2016

Bucks Burnett isn't a journalist. He's a namedropper. He may not have met every one of his music idols, but he's met 90 percent of them. And he's here to tell you all about it, however he sees fit, in his monthly music column, Namedropper. I was born in Dallas...
Buck's Burnett's Namedropper: How I Broke the 8-Track Market

By Bucks Burnett
Sep 6, 2016

Bucks Burnett isn't a journalist. He's a namedropper. He may not have met every one of his music idols, but he's met 90 percent of them. And he's here to tell you all about it, however he sees fit, in his monthly music column, Namedropper. Never mind the bargain bins...
Miranda Lambert Deserves the Merle Haggard Award, No Matter What Sturgill Simpson Says

By Jeff Gage
Sep 1, 2016

Sorry, Sturgill, but the Academy got this one right. Earlier this week, self-styled don't-call-him-country outlaw Sturgill Simpson took to the stump (i.e. social media) to lambast the dreaded country music establishment. Usually, this might be music to the ears of any old-school country believer. But he didn't figure on one...
Denton Won't Fix Its Music Scene With Panel Discussions

By Jeff Gage
Aug 25, 2016

Conspiracy theories are everywhere in Denton. Perceived threats are coming from all directions on the college town's proud music scene, and suspects include Jason Lee, Buc-ees, LSA Burger, city officials and even Scientologists (OK, that's just Jason Lee again). These fears don't come from nowhere. With venues like Hailey's Club, Rubber...
Bucks Burnett's Namedropper: How I Got the Minus 5 to Record My Song About the Monkees

By Bucks Burnett
Aug 1, 2016

Bucks Burnett isn't a journalist. He's a namedropper. He may not have met every one of his music idols, but he's met 90 percent of them. And he's here to tell you all about it, however he sees fit, in his monthly music column, Namedropper. Personally, this story might begin...
Bucks Burnett's Namedropper: How I Met Tiny Tim

By Bucks Burnett
Jul 7, 2016

Bucks Burnett isn't a journalist. He's a namedropper. He may not have met every one of his music idols, but he's met 90 percent of them. And he's here to tell you all about it, however he sees fit, is his monthly music column, Namedropper. There is no way to...
Ticketmaster's Dallas Concert Voucher Offer is Completely Befuddling

By Jeff Gage
Jun 28, 2016

What the hell is going on with Ticketmaster right now? Earlier this month, the ticket vending behemoth announced an offer for free concert ticket vouchers, which sounded pretty great. Free shows, right? The motivation for the vouchers was less great, as it stemmed from a 2015 settlement over a class...