With the 22nd annual Edgefest approaching this Sunday, we started to get a little cultural vertigo looking at the lineup: Garbage, Cake, Evanescence? The Black Keys are the big draw, sure, but it brought us back into that late ’90s vortex, where the pants were wide and pop music was…
See also: In Defense Of… Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” Ever since I started this column, I’ve dreaded going after any track by Justin Bieber. On one hand, the stuff with his name on it is too predictable and manufactured to deride in a unique way. Also, I’ve always feared that if…
Like the beast it’s named after, Atlanta’s Mastodon is fairly ugly and makes a hell of a racket. In just over a decade, the band has released five albums and each has been better than the last, culminating in 2011’s The Hunter. Speaking from the tour bus and in anticipation…
Discipline brings in guest DJs every once in a while, and because those guys have good taste, they’re usually high-caliber. Chicago electronic musician Beau Wanzer has a pretty impressive track record, and there’s no denying Chicago’s industrial and house music past has seeped into his jams. He’s a true gearhead,…
Kweller’s latest LP, Go Fly a Kite, is notable not only because it shows him stretching out his pop and country influences, but also because it’s his first on his own label, the Austin-based Noise Company. At age 30, the former North Texan is enjoying a second act not many…
Whatever your feelings about Record Store Day — whether you’re a champion of the five-year-old national event or proponent of the “everyday should be Record Store Day” mentality — it has some nice perks. The special Flaming Lips vinyl LP everyone in Dallas seems to have a hand in pouring…
As one of the original producers of American dubstep, PJ Geissinger has responded to the genre’s transition from the U.K. underground to packed arenas by searching for a happy medium. While running his Seclusiasis and Slit Jockey label, Starkey landed on the U.K. electronic imprint Planet Mu for his first…
There are all sorts of jokes to be made about Edgefest being in Frisco this year, but we’ll save those for later. KDGE-FM 102.1 The Edge’s annual festival has become a tradition, and its legions are many. Let’s focus instead on headliners The Black Keys, who have hopefully recovered from…
When I saw Sarah Jaffe last year at South by Southwest, she was wading through the flood of publicity and critical adoration that accompanied her 2010 debut, Suburban Nature. As she sang her folk songs to a packed house at Momo’s, the whole first row mirrored every word right back…
Gillian WelchSaturday, June 9, at Majestic TheaterWithout hearing a note, you can expect Welch’s music to be have weight. Maybe it has to do with her story of being the daughter of a touring musician and being given up for adoption. Or, maybe it’s because her earlier albums were given…
Man, it took about five minutes before the Dick Clark hologram jokes started pouring in via social media, but I can’t say I’m surprised. And even though Clark no doubt had a sense of humor, it’d been increasingly difficult to see him in the last few years, what with his…
Björk might seem an odd subject for a cover, but it makes sense when you think about it. Her often minimal arrangements leave plenty open to interpretation, and her avant-garde style certainly has earned many fans among fellow artists. In fact, Thom Yorke called “Unravel” his “favorite song ever,” which…
Not sure if you caught last week’s Show Announcements post. There was some pretty good stuff in there, especially now that we’re entering live music’s busy season, but week after week the House Of Blues listings catch my eye. It’s one of the best venues in town. In fact, we…
It’s harder than ever to decide where to grab a drink in Denton. Sure, the old Fry Street stand-bys are there in spite of a new apartment development, and you could wet your whistle at II Charlie’s or the Pourhouse Sports Grill. With The Labb sports bar expanding their beer…
Zhora may have only been together for a short while, but they seem to gain more fans with every show they play. Fronted by former Ishi vocalist Taylor Rea, their music is a blend of programmed electronic beats and live instrumentation. Rea and bandmate Taylor Cleveland sat down with us…
Sleigh Bells, Javelin, Elite Gymnastics Granada Theater Tuesday, April 17 Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells made a Tuesday night feel like a Friday, like you’ve seen Run-DMC, Katy Perry and Atari Teenage Riot all at once. At 15 minutes to 10 p.m., vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Miller came out with…
Last night, Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer was in town, mixing her new album with the ubiquitous John Congleton. Not only did she do a Violitionist Session with Neil Gaiman (yes, Neil Gaiman was in Denton, let that sink in), she also donated money to Girls Rock Dallas. They’ve declared…
Who hasn’t wanted to bowl with whiskey bottle pins on 4/20? Design by Jake Reck…
America loves hip-hop music, but we don’t always understand the meaning behind the message. We love to dance awkwardly to “Rack City” in the comfort of our homes while throwing imaginary ones in the air, but seldom take the time to break down a song line by line to derive…
At Coachella, folks come from all over the world to lose themselves in the music. They’ll employ almost anything in this quest — but mostly drugs. Some of the folks below have taken too many, some are badly in need of a buzz, but all are our favorite awkward Coachella…
Remember just last month, when were were asking bands to submit demos to be part of Homegrown Fest? Remember when I proposed that instead of a musical battle, bands actually had to physically battle for favor? Oh, memories. Well, we’ve narrowed Rock the Park down to the top eight, four…
It’s been six months since the release of The Blurries’ excellent debut album, Paper Cuts. During that time, drummer Bill Spellman welcomed his second kid (he’s the only parent in the band), which cut into the promotional period just after the record’s release. Over the phone today, Spellman says the…
