Just got off the phone with Will Johnson a few minutes ago for an upcoming story related to the upcoming, pretty epic-looking Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase. He’s a good dude — you may recall his, Centro-matic and South San Gabriel’s efforts a few weeks back to do what they…
It’s a rock show reflex: When the curtain goes up and the lights go down, you stand up and prepare to wig out. Fact is, many of the area’s best venues make the choice of whether to sit or to stand during the show an easy one. By typically not…
A video clip from Erasure’s 1992 performance at the Apollo in Manchester, UK Andy Bell and Vince Clarke have been writing pop songs together as Erasure since 1985, and they remain, to this day, one of the most successful British pop acts of all time thanks to their highly positive…
Awkward timing on this one, given what it’s like outside at this very moment, but, alas, Ross Edman, the man once known as Objektiv One but now known as Datahowler, passes along a new mixtape today called Melt. It’s an homage, he says, to this summer’s record-breaking temperatures, drought and…
Remember the Band in a Bubble promotion a few years back? When that one band with that one song got a reality show backed by MTV and Dr Pepper and were tasked with staying in a bubble and spend 20 days writing and recording a new album? Fort Worth native…
My friends tell me that I’m something of a Mr. Know-It-All, jumping into conversations with a nasal “actually” before throwing out a relevant fact and adjusting my glasses. So, I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t know a lot about Burleson’s Own superstar and original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. What I’ve…
When it comes to music from South Florida, all of the big names are either Gloria Estefan or rappers. Who’s got time for rock ‘n’ roll when you’ve got a region full of people constantly blasting the trap-rap bangers of Rick Ross, dancing in the street to the Latin-tinged hip-hop…
The number of producers in Denton who are well-versed in the hardware Live PA format could fit comfortably in the small seating section at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios. The number of such producers who also closely follow changes and trends in current rap and dance pop make up an even…
On their second full-length and first for the North Texas punk-adoring, Portland-based Dirtnap Records, the three-piece behind Denton’s Bad Sports moniker once again prove themselves as garage, power pop and punk rock purveyors clearly born three decades too late. And, dammit, now they’re angry about it. Whereas the band’s self-titled…
Earlier this year, Ross Edman, once better known in the music community as mashup artist Objektiv One, released Slowdrifter, his full-length 40-minute debut under his new name, Datahowler, and new sonic direction. The mostly instrumental affair received positive feedback all around, pegged as sounding vintage and futuristic all at once…
Oak Cliff rapper and producer Dustin Cavazos’ 2010 full-length, I Think In The Shower, I Dream On My Bike, was pegged as an honest reflection of his adolescence and a personal take on overcoming adversity. His follow-up LP, Be.Leave.Me, doesn’t stray far from that vulnerability. This time around, his confessional…
A few lessons learned at the 2011 Austin City Limits Music Festival this past weekend, just a three-hour dive south on Interstate 35: Kanye West still loves himself; crowds close enough to hear him still love Stevie Wonder; and despite an entire Grammy-winning album (The Suburbs) seemingly dedicated to arguing…
It was once common to hear the name Atmosphere and the descriptor “emo rap” in the same breath. This would read as a derogatory write-off now, but 10 years ago the tag was a clumsy attempt to describe the introspective outsider duo’s take on hip-hop at a time when humility…
There’s something mercurial about punk rock: a snapshot of intense, snobbish certainty about one’s ideals, predilections or foibles, an incendiary moment that ends in a flash. In other words, ideally, punk bands should pull the plug after a string of singles or a handful of albums, leaving fans to wonder…
Fans of Animal Collective member Panda Bear’s solo efforts are truly the Justin Bieber fans of the indie universe. While “Beliebers” attended the star’s movie Never Say Never 3D and started screaming, swooning and singing, Panda Bear lovers turned up praying, meditating and spiritually levitating for a listening session of…
Soulfulness can come from unlikely sources. For electronic duo Junior Boys, that means the industrial Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario, and the considerable pipes of improbable-looking frontman Jeremy Greenspan, a pale, sunken-eyed, slightly shaggy guy in his middle years. Junior Boys formed in 1999 with Greenspan and producer Johnny Dark…
Cultlike doesn’t begin to describe Skrillex’s followers. Rolls or no rolls, for those who live for the frenetic pace and bass wobble of dubstep, a Skrillex show is practically a religious experience. The 23-year-old DJ and producer used to front a popular screamo band, From First to Last, until his…
Erasure are a force of positive energy and creativity, not to mention arguably ’80s and ’90s pop royalty. Kaleidoscopic live performances, flamboyant costumes and elevating pop hits have solidified their pop-star status over the last quarter of a century. Frankly, modern pop acts like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj ain’t…
Lizzie Bougatsos, singer and percussionist for genre-defying New York-based band Gang Gang Dance, is an artsy girl with lots of high-profile New York scenester friends. So maybe it should not have been a complete surprise to find Chloe Sevigny working the band’s merch table when they played Lola’s Saloon in…
Over on Unfair Park a little while ago I said my piece about R.E.M.’s unexpected farewell, conveyed via the band’s website, and directed your attention to the band’s 1986 stopover at the Fair Park Band Shell — a must-have on this or any other day. I also reminded Pete about…
Being as this year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of such seminal albums as Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten, Pixies’ Trompe Le Monde, and Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish, the sounds of early ’90s grunge and alt-rock are once again becoming fashionable. From its meteoric rise in 1991 to subsequent…
In last week’s edition of our regular feature, The Conversation, Pete Freedman and Daniel Hopkins debated on whether 1991 or 1994 was the greatest music year of the ’90s. It was an interesting read for sure. And, since this week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of both Nevermind…
