Oh l’amour In the mid-’80s, no artsy high school music collection was complete without the pop avant-garde album Upstairs at Eric’s by Yaz–an early electronic project by the creative duo of Vince Clarke and vocalist Alison Moyet. After she left the band to embark on a modestly successful solo career,…
Don’t believe the hype Critics have taken two sharply different tacks when it comes to reviewing the new U2 album, Pop. While most of the larger, mainstream publications are hailing it as an innovative breakthrough, many of the smaller, more savvy mags are decrying it as the voice of a…
I wandered around the Dallas music scene lonely as a freelance cloud, the Dallas Observer Music Awards were about as interesting to me as a medium-sized rock in a coffee can. Who cares what anybody else thinks? Ah, the carefree ways of callow youth. Now that I’m the Observer music…
Running around Deep Ellum frantically on this cold and drizzly morning, Gordo “Buzz” Gibson (aka Michael Gibson) is a poster child for all that is unresolved. He’s been up all night, working on final mixes for his band’s soon-to-be-released debut album, but he’s just shy of finishing. He’s got record…
Good for what ails ya UFOFU UFOFU The Medicine Label When UFOFU started out, lead singer Joe Butcher was living in his van, pawning his guitar every other week, battling a serious problem with heroin, and giving guys blow-jobs in public parks to support himself. And yet to talk to…
A red warning light is glowing above the doorway at Last Beat studios, indicating that recording is under way. If you were to ease the door open, you’d find the Toadies camped around an ice chest full of Budweiser, and immediately feel a sense of ease and relaxation. If it…
The way of rights Animal Rights Moby Elektra Records Some of the hype regarding techno guru Moby’s new release Animal Rights is a bit misleading. A series of shockwaves followed a report that Moby had suddenly ditched dance music in favor of hard rock. Well, first off, Animal Rights is…
If you live in Austin, it’s easy to grow weary of that town’s annual South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference: Downtown becomes impassable, restaurants and clubs are clogged, and the myriad ways in which the shindig makes clear the differences between those with wristbands (for common folk and other peons…
The axiom that history tends to repeat itself holds particularly true when it comes to music. In the summer of 1969, George Harrison recorded a catchy little tune called “The Hare Krishna Mantra,” which soon rose to the top of the British charts. At about the same time, John Lennon…
Looking quite the quintessential young punk rocker–bright red Docs, platinum spiked hair, dark and mangled clothing–Benji Bollox could well be mistaken for the typical misguided suburban kid, half-heartedly chasing after the mirage of a lifestyle 20 years too late. In fact, it’s a fate he narrowly avoided. Were it not…
Out of the initial chaos of seemingly unrelated instrumental noodling that is slowly rising this Friday night at the State Bar, a sound is taking shape and gathering momentum. It’s the sound of a 1957 Cadillac being started in Tibet on a cold day, fed through a sequencer and slowed…
