Gotta say, for the first time in a long time, the MTV Video Music Awards were pretty awesome this year. The annual event, which aired last night, had become pretty stale in recent years, as MTV has kowtowed to teen and tween demand, celebrating the likes of Justin Bieber, et…
Toadies, The Sword, Black Angels, Ume, Quiet Company, The Orbans, othersWhiteWater Amphitheater in New BraunfelsAugust 27, 2011Better than: getting chased by a serial killer around Possum Kingdom Lake. Four years into their comeback, which has come with the creation of their own annual August festival known as Dia de Los…
Moments into a discussion about his new solo record, about his performance at the House of Blues’ Cambridge Room tomorrow night and about, well, just the overall state of his world right now, Patrick Stump gets right to the point.”I’m totally at peace with the reality that I’m always going…
Speaking of music videos, Air Review has a new one today featuring their Dallas Observer Music Awards-nominated song, “America’s Son.” It’s a beautifully set video, directed by Justin Ransom and taking place in the woods, as a young boy scurries about, runs around and, eventually, buries a time capsule with…
In her latest music video — for the song “Cruel” off her upcoming Strange Mercy release, due out on September 13 — the Dallas-bred St. Vincent gets tortured, kidnapped, bound to a chair and, eventually, buried alive. It’s all set to a nice little indie pop gem produced and recorded…
For a while there, it was the best rumor in local music — that the Dallas-based Kirtland Records owned Bush’s back catalog because label owner John Kirtland, the former drummer for Deep Blue Something, had won it in a high-stakes poker game.Turns out, alas, it’s just a tall tale.”I love…
Hey, a horizontal poster! We almost never see those! But, hey, sometimes a little change is good. Healthy, too…
Unless, like me, you’re a Red Sox fan, there really wasn’t too much to cheer about during last night’s Rangers game at The Ballpark in Arlington. The team got beat badly, losing 13-2. Still, there were at least some moments when the home crowd seemed rather entertained last night. Most…
Just a quick thought, since, due to other obligations, I wasn’t able to participate in this week’s very interesting Conversation about the comparative strengths of the Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton music scenes, if, granted, something of a piggyback on a comment made by Fort Worth Weekly music editor Anthony…
Today’s piece of proof in the Dallas-loves-electronic-dance-music-and-so-even-do-the-folks-who-run-the-city department is kind of amazing: The folks behind the annual Lights All Night New Year’s Eve party, who last year brought Ghostland Observatory to town, have seriously stepped their game up this year, turning New Year’s Eve (rather surprisingly) into a two-night affair…
There are times when Selena Gomez sounds like your average 19-year-old — like when she giddily (and unprovoked) geeks out over Instagram, the photo app she recently downloaded onto her iPhone. Then there are the times when she sounds far more hardened, like the seasoned show-business veteran that she is,…
Stumbled across this while looking for something else entirely today. Sure, it’s a week old, but the Billboard piece, published just a day after the Denton-sprung Eli Young Band’s Life At Best earned its release last Tuesday, is fairly telling. In short: The early returns on the album’s sales were…
As hip-hop goes, it’s very much been the summer of Watch The Throne. But you already knew that. Regardless, two and a half weeks after its release, the collaborative Jay-Z and Kanye effort remains very much the talk of the rap world — and not because it’s so great or…
There’s been a little bit of a debate in-house here at DC9 HQ ever since we first heard the song “Fallout” off Neon Indian’s upcoming, full-length Era Extraña release, due out in, oh, about three weeks: Could it be that the song is — just maybe — a reference to…
It’s that time of year again, folks. Yes, yes: It’s Dallas Observer Music Awards season! Our 23rd attempt at it, even! As you may recall, the whole shebang is taking place a little bit later this year. But it’s still the same old celebration you’ve come to know and love…
Jerry Leiber, half of the famed songwriting duo Leiber & Stoller, died today of cardiopulmonary failure. He was 78.The lyricist to Mike Stoller’s composing half, the duo was responsible for penning some of the earliest, biggest crossover hits in rock ‘n’ roll’s infancy. Among their more memorable contributions to the…
Will Johnson, as you no doubt know by now, is one talented dude. The guy’s released like a bajillion records (be they solo, Centro-matic or South San Gabriel releases), he’s appeared on tons of others (Drive-By Truckers, The Paper Chase, Little Grizzly), produced a handful (Telegraph Canyon, Collin Herring) and,…
Welcome freshmen! And everyone else, too, I guess.Point is: School’s back in session. And we here at DC9 are once again accepting internship applications. As always, the rules:You need to be a college student. You need to convince an advisor on campus to give you the go-ahead on taking an…
Speaking of Erykah Badu: R.C. Williams, who spends most of his days on the road, touring either as Badu’s band director or as a member of Snoop Dogg’s live backing band, returned to town and to his regular duties as the host of the hip-hop/funk jam session that takes place…
Someone done went and messed up: This news — that Erykah Badu was in London recently to record vocals for the upcoming, debut release from Gorillaz and Blur mastermind Damon Albarn and his new, as-yet-untitled supergroup with Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea — wasn’t supposed to be public information…
By now, you should know a lot about the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. There’s the fact that the Austin fest will take place this year on November 4, 5 and 6. Also: That it’s moved out of Waterloo Park and over to the bigger Auditorium Shoes. And…
Hey, look who it is on the cover of Spin this month! Dallas native Annie Clark, the indie guitar heroine straight outta Dallas better known as St. Vincent. Yup, the former Polyphonic Spree player (forever ago, really) graces the cover “The Style Issue” from the mag — looking fairly stylish,…
