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Scientific Poll Results Prove: May Is National Barbecue Month.

We asked you which National Food Month should be May's Official National Food Month, and your answer was loud and clear. While you made jokes in the comments section about wanting Asparagus Month to win, your votes said something much, much meatier. In the least shocking food news in the history of ... More >>

Life in a Recession: Josh Venable Reflects on His Layoff by Clear Channel

Late last year, Josh Venable was let go for the second time from the Clear Channel-owned 102.1 KDGE, the Edge, and he has yet to find another radio station to call home. "I watch a lot of Murder, She Wrote," Venable says of his down time while sitting in an Addison sports bar that's not too far from ... More >>

Does Anyone Have a Notion of What JC Penney Even Is Now?

I'm trying to think if there is a way the latest news about Plano-based JC Penney could be any more depressing. I was already pretty depressed when I read about the billion dollars in 2012 losses on a four billion dollar drop in sales this morning, and that was before I got to the story about the Ma ... 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 >>

VideoBob Mosely Went from Geek to Artist for Pantera: "If My Magnum Could Talk"

This isn't the first time the Observer has reached out to "VideoBob" Mosely. If memory serves, he popped up in the City of Ate blog when he took over Reno's Grill for a spell, with a pretty visionary menu of barfood taste sensations, lots of self-designed movie props (Mosely does them professionally ... More >>

Treaty Oak Distillery: A Texan You All Need to Know

Daniel Barnes is a really nice Texas boy. He referred to me as 'mam at least 20 times during our conversation. Part of me wanted to beg him to stop, but the other part could just tell that was how he was raised. Barnes is from the small town of Menard, on the Edwards Plateau in South Texas where h ... More >>

Beat Connection on the Spice Girls, Raffi and Heartbreak

Seattle's Beat Connection pay Dallas a visit tonight on the heels of their 12-song debut, The Palace Garden. We talked with members Reed Juenger and Jarred Katz a few weeks ago about the first time they bought a CD, the first time they toured, and what they expect from their first show in Dallas. W ... More >>

The 15th Anniversary of The Old 97's Too Far to Care and Rhett Miller's Solo Album: Does Anyone Still Care?

Fifteen years ago this month, the Old 97's released their major label debut, Too Far to Care. Last week, frontman Rhett Miller released his latest solo record, The Dreamer. Darryl Smyers and Eric Grubbs sat down and talked about the legacy of Too Far to Care, and whether or not it's a bigger deal th ... More >>

DPD Says Crime in Dallas Took Yet Another Big Drop. So, Are People Getting Better?

A very long time ago when I was a young police reporter, I asked a grizzled homicide cop why he thought someone had slashed the young woman lying dead before us into one big bowl of Frito pie. He thought about it, put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Kid, people who do shit like that don't think rig ... More >>

Talk the Talk: Mayor Mike's Pals Shovel Up the BS at Council Retreat

​Look, I know I just covered this in a column in the paper, but I can't resist coming back to the theme of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings as a so-what clone of the last mayor we had around here, Tom Leppert. The target I find particularly irresistible this time is the group therapy session Rawlin ... More >>

You Haven't Made It Until You've Been Mashed Up by Girl Talk.

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 >>

Eight Reasons Why Your Major Music Store Chain Employee Hates You

​Most music megastores have disappeared. Fast. The two Virgin Megastores I worked at--the first being Dallas' Mockingbird and 75 location, the second on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles--are now defunct. The similar big boxes that remain--whether they be Target, Best Buy or Barnes & Noble--are ... More >>

The Tweet Life Inspires People to Make Friends and Adopt Causes in Person. It Can Also Cause a lot of Trouble, 140 Characters at a Time.

In Irving, Former Radio Shack and Sprint Bosses Want Your Old Cellphones. Now.

​The wireless world's in Las Vegas at this very moment for the CTIA confab -- where, just this morning, a former Radio Shack boss (David Edmondson) and ex-Sprint president (Ron LeMay) announced the creation of eRecyclingCorps. Which is, put simply: "The company will help carriers buy back used han ... More >>

For A Former Video Store Giant, Blockbuster Is Not Having Such A Blockbuster Decade

Geek Squad to the Rescue

​Twenty-nine-year-old Matthew Ruff, a bio-medical engineer, interned last year at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He also pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal child pornography charge, which will result in at least a few years in federal prison, lifetime supervision and up to a $250,000 fine shou ... More >>

Could Cell Phones Topple iPods?

Could your cellphone's ability to stream music render the iPod obsolete? Quite possibly.

Why is Mayor Leppert Putting the Brakes on Dallas' Inland Port Future?

The Perots have solid business reasons to slow down Dallas' inland port. But why is our mayor helping them?

Last Night's Erykah Badu Record Release...

Dallas Talk Radio Drums Up Local Music Support

Obituary for a Storefront

All Dressed Up . . .

PlayStation 3 has potential--but for the moment, little else.

Highway Robbery

Crime doesn't pay? Tell that to truck cargo thieves.

Give Gwinn Extra Credit on DISD Credit Card Scandal

The Architect

Pollack Sketches Frank Gehry

2006 Dallas Observer Music Awards

Star Factory

At Septien Vocal Studio, anyone can make it in music. But you've got to be cute. And a million bucks would help too.

Cherry on Top

The 40-Year-Old Virgin gets a heart-on while telling wonderfully dirty jokes

Have Gun, Will Travel

How far can a video-game champ go? Ask Matt Leto.

This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Sonic Boom

Of course you've heard about Sonic Youth. But have you actually heard them?

Dancing Across the Border

Born in Mexico and raised by Celso Piña, sonidero music is taking over Dallas' Latino nightclubs. Is it here to stay?

Hot Air

The failure of all-female talk-radio Cafe 990 proves one thing: Men are dumb

Chris Fortier

August 7

Human Nature

Dieselboy and his "team of rogue scientists" save humanity. Or maybe just mix CDs.

Dallas Stars

The Toadies haven't put out an album in a few years. Really. It's true.

Scene, Heard

Manson takes on Weathermen

Flanagan's wake

VH1 vice president's novel about the music business mourns an era just since passed

Critics' Picks

Don Henley

The Fandom Menace

Living on the sidewalk for a month. Sleeping with Wookiees. Thousand-dollar action figures. Think the new Star Wars is just a movie? You poor fool.

CDs on steroids

Soul food & crackers

How two black Dallas men learned to love the lily-white Republic of Texas--especially the part about phony checks and payment-free plastic

Follow the Money

Don't let accusations of overtime fraud by low-level employees distract you. The real money disappears from the Dallas Independent School District through sleazy contracts awarded by top administrators.

Cyberbunk

Kevin Massey is no 'cyberstalker.' But when he tangled with another bullheaded loudmouth on the Internet, their 'flame' war spawned a great publicity stunt.

Back on the bus

HighTone's Roadhouse tour revives rock and roll caravan

It's the stock price, stupid!

High-flying Danny Wettreich has shut down companies, destroyed jobs, and drawn the scrutiny of two federal agencies, But he says it's what the stock market thinks of him that counts.

Hank, junior

Wayne Hancock rides shotgun down the Lost Highway

Off the record

After seven wacky years, 14 Records prepares to close its doors

Who ya gonna call?

City Hall's top brass use taxpayer-provided mobile phones to call sweethearts, power brokers, and Pizza Hut.