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Top Show Annoucements: Metric, Rodriguez, The Walkmen and More

Metric Sunday, April 28, at House of Blues, $28-$38 It took them a little while (since the late '90s) but Metric has made it. Big. The group's 2009 release, Fantasies can take most of the credit for that when they unleashed the addicting, head-bobbing and shoulder-swaying hit "Gold Guns Girls." Sexi ... More >>

Madonna and Bruce Springsteen are 2012's Richest Musicians: All the Money's in Touring

I don't know how much else Madonna and Silvio Berlusconi have in common--her extremely visible fight against aging is going much better than his--but here's one connection: This weekend Italy voted in an election that's serving as a referendum on a decade of economic stagnation caused by, among othe ... More >>

House of Cards' Netflix Bow is Just Another Way for Pop Culture to Pretend it Unnerves Us

It's been nice to watch TV--fresh off House of Cards's Netflix premier--deal with the same questions people have been addressing about music since Napster or iTunes or Spotify, depending on which iteration of the issue you remember best. Specifically: Now that Netflix can create programming based on ... More >>

Josh Florence Talks About Homegrown Festival, Super Moons, the Night City Tavern Was On Fire

Josh Florence has a DOMA nomination or two under his belt, and was part of the team that made Homegrown Festival such a great success again this year. Further, he's an owner of prominent music spots Dada (reopened two years this January) and City Tavern. Florence tends to be an enthusiastic force fo ... More >>

Seven of This Week's Best Show Announcements: Mary J. Blige, Taylor Swift, The xx and More

Mary J. Blige Sunday, November 18, at American Airlines Center, $49.25-$199.25 Tickets go on sale today for Mary J. Blige's "Liberation" Tour, which will feature special guests Brandy and Kendrick Lamar. The tour is in support of Blige's upcoming 2013 release, My Life II...The Journey Continues (Ac ... More >>

New French Bistro Boulevardier Draws the Foodarazzi. For Now.

The North Texas Hip-Hop Sampler, 2012 1/2 Edition

See also: 16 of the best local releases of 2012 1/2 We've been writing in this space for the last three years or so about Dallas' vibrant, growing underground hip-hop community. 2012 has been a continuation of that trend, as our scene's unique musical personality starts to emerge. In case you have ... More >>

Here's All Those True Crime Yarns in One Fancy E-Book: Seven Sins

Every week writers for Dallas Observer and our parent company, Village Voice Media, produce elegant magazine-style feature writing -- a gritty portion of which comes in the form of true-crime stories. Now VVM has collected some of its best recent true-crime yarns into an ebook: Seven Sins: A True ... More >>

Shibboleth Releases New Music, But You Have To Buy An App To Hear It

Quirky instrumental act Shibboleth hasn't released any new music in the four years since their 2008 album Experiment In Error. Chalk it up to the trio's work in other acts. Keyboardist Rich Martin plays with Salim Nourallah and John Singer Sergeant, and guitarist Don Cento, who recently moved to Aus ... More >>

Flogging Molly - House of Blues - 3/4/12

Flogging Molly House of Blues Sunday, March 4 Sunday night's Flogging Molly show more or less served as the triumphant closing ceremony for what might have been the most Irish-intensive week in recent Metroplex history. Last Monday, Boston shamrockers Dropkick Murphys kicked things off, while the N ... More >>

Trampled by Turtles Make Up for a Terrible Name with a Killer Sound

Folk Angel's Comfort & Joy Earns Billboard's Number Four Folk Album, Offers Free Download

​If you're searching iTunes for Christmas music, because who isn't at this time of year (avoids eye contact with office Hanukkah observers), it won't take long before you run across North Texas' Folk Angel and their new album Comfort & Joy. Less than two weeks after its November 15 release, th ... More >>

Choose Wisely and Drink Freely at SWIG

Come for the booze, stay for the booze at Henderson Avenue's latest.

America: Meet Spotify, Europe's Successful Foray Into The Future of Free(ish) Music...

​Americans are understandably wary of sites that offer free music. For the past decade, we've seen site after site go in and out of favor, sometimes quickly. We got excited about Napster back in 2001, but after all the foolishness that ensued in the wake of its demise, we're quick to give the side ... More >>

Lebron James Can't Catch A Break: New Song Kicks The King While He's Down...

Three days removed from Your Dallas Mavericks beating The Evil Miami Heat on their home court to clinch the NBA title, and it's still not a great time to be Lebron James, despite what he may go around telling people in press conferences.A new song written for The Chosen One by one Matt Smith (anyone ... More >>

You've Seen the Video, Now Own the Song (and Ringtone): Flula Borg's "His Name is Dirk"

​While we await some Important Documents, let me distract you with this.No doubt you recall last week's Greatest Video Ever (as opposed to this week's), in which German musicmaker Flula Borg pays homage to his "most favorite Basketballer from all times," one Dirk Nowitzki. Well, so happens that Bo ... More >>

Physical CD Sales Still Thrive at Dallas' Big T Bazaar.

Last Night: A-Trak, Kid Sister and The Gaslamp Killer at Trees

A-Trak, Kid Sister, The Gaslamp KillerTreesApril 19, 2011Better than: a rousing game of DJ Hero.Pete FreedmanA-Trak at Trees last night.​ There weren't any grand entrances at Trees last night. Mostly, there were just transitions.And, in many regards, that was fitting. This show, after all, was cur ... More >>

The Avett Brothers Refuse To Look Back.

Q&A: Dallas Cowboys Tackle Marc Colombo Talks About His Metal Band Free Reign's Plans For The NFL Offseason and Imagines What Their Super Bowl Halftime Show Would Be Like

Free Reign​For the past couple of years, local shredders Free Reign have been making their case as being the "heaviest" metal band around. And, with a lineup that boasts the 6-foot-8, 315-pound Dallas Cowboys tackle Marc Colombo on rhythm guitar and vocals, 6-foot-6, 355-pound Cowboys guard Leona ... More >>

Local Music 'Mericans: Dave Castell Has Produced More Local Musicians Than You Can Name.

Welcome to Local Music 'Mericans, where we'll be meeting some people behind the local music scene who aren't musicians, but more behind-the-scenes folk.Scogin MayoDave Castell and Vaden Todd Lewis, working on the Toadies' No Deliverance.​David Castell is credited with producing some pretty success ... More >>

Bonus MP3: Air Review -- "Waiting Lessons"

Air Review​ A few weeks back, I ran down a list of the albums I'm most anticipating from the local set in '11, and, included on that list, among many other expected releases, was Air Review's forthcoming, as-yet-untitled EP -- a release that's still a ways off, even if the first single from the di ... More >>

DFW Startup SongVote Aims To Create Social Playlists For Parties Or Weddings. Or Whatever.

​As the web moves towards more and more of a social experience, there are more and more demands to have a truly interactive social lifestyle. And SongVote, a Feburary-launched DFW-based social playlist website, aims to meet the demand of building collaborative playlists for weddings, parties, conc ... More >>

Listomania: Ten Songs That Love the Beatles

Apple's HomepageGood News, Everyone!​This morning, a headline on CNN read, "Beatles come to iTunes." Innocuous enough, yes, but, gosh, where the hell else are you going to buy music from (arguably) the world's biggest band? At Best Buy? Apple's official announcement (the above pic is from their ho ... More >>

The Problem With... "Breakeven" by The Script

Ah, summer. The time of year where all the teens get out of school and go to the mall (and iTunes) to spend their allowances on music released during the school year. And some other stuff the kids do these days.Apparently, the founding members of The Script were part of an Irish boy-band that got lo ... More >>

Paste Calls Jaffe "The Best Of What's Next."

Chris PhelpsSarah Jaffe​We've been doing a lot of talking about Denton's, Sarah Jaffe these past few weeks--and with good reason. Her new album, Suburban Nature is already on our short list of best local albums for the year. And, after touring with Midlake and getting scooped up by Norah Jones for ... More >>

Not A Bad First Day For The Rocket Summer's Of Men And Angels...

In the upcoming issue of the Observer, I spend some time with Grapevine native Bryce Avary, better known to most as the guy behind The Rocket Summer. And, as you'll see in the piece, it's a slightly different Avary we're seeing this time around: He's older, wiser, and, maybe most surprising of all, ... More >>

Over The Weekend: Peter Bjorn and John, El Perro del Mar at House of Blues

Peter Bjorn and John, El Perro del MarHouse of BluesNovember 14, 2009Better than: slogging through my DVR.Jayme RutledgePeter, Bjorn and John at House of Blues on Saturday.​"This is Dallas, right?" Bjorn Yttling asked, his porn 'stache bobbing above the microphone. "Maybe you know him from your sc ... More >>

Last Night: Bat For Lashes and Other Lives at The Loft

Bat For LashesThe LoftAugust 20, 2009Better Than: Staind, who played downstairs at the Palladium. ​As lightning from a distant storm flashed through the windows of The Loft, Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes) proved herself to be an entertainer equal to her reputation. With the support of a fantast ... More >>

Kind of Blu-Ray: Blockbuster Teams Up with Samsung for Yet More OnDemand Delivery

Late last year, Blockbuster introduced its first on-demand delivery system: the 2Wire MediaPoint Digital Media Player, about which critics weren't wild but oh well better than nothing and well at least the company's trying. Then came the TiVo deal in March, which did nothing to stop the company's s ... More >>

How To Succeed As An Indie Rock/Dance Punk Duo, With Matt And Kim

Early Gig Alert: Slobberbone To Reunite For Two Shows In Early February

It's not exactly a secret at this point--it's on Dan's Silverleaf's online calendar, on opening act The O's' Myspace page and on the fan-run Slobberbone Myspace page--but we might as well pass along the news (although one commenter already, um, kinda did earlier today): Slobberbone's reuniting for ... More >>

Last Night: The Hotel Cafe Tour At House Of Blues

Dirkx Brothers Staying Busy; Steve Releases New (Old) Effort

Last Night: Death Cab for Cutie at Nokia Theatre

Dallas Talk Radio Drums Up Local Music Support

Slider Pines and the Sorta-Sparrows Connection

The Perfect (Rocket) Summer Single

Avril Lavigne

The Best Damn Thing (RCA)

Rowdy, Loud and Unapologetic

You down with PPT? Yeah, you owe me.

Wait No Longer, Spree Fans

Since U Been Gone

Kelly Clarkson returns to Smirnoff

More Plugs

After reading this week's feature, discover more of the local blogosphere here

Odds & Ends

Get your recommended weekly allowance of three Dallas staples--down-souf hip-hop, cheeky alt-country and hot chicks

No Surrender

Marah is back in fighting form on If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry

Television Tunes

Area bands get in on the TV show soundtrack action

Helping Out

Granada benefit show to help tsunami victims

The Eagle Has Crashed

Once a mainstay of hard-rock radio, 97.1 switches formats to adult-contemporary classics

Modest Mouse

Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Epic)

Following Suit

When record labels finally pay attention to Dallas, they usually likewhat they see