North Texas Indie Rock Musicians Influenced by Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen shouldn’t need an introduction. He’s won 18 Grammy Awards and an Oscar, sold more than 65 million albums and, well, his name is practically synonymous with “working-class,” “Everyman” and “New Jersey” in conversation. Everyone knows The Boss. In his 1980s heyday, it seemed like you couldn’t go half…

Who Rocks More: Bon Jovi or Daughtry?

Over time, pretension gets tiresome—and to devastating effects. So, from time to time, we just plain need some good-natured, light-hearted stupid fun. How else could you explain music-based pop culture phenomena of the recent past such as The Vengaboys and that guy (?) named Sanjaya? It must be with this…

Gnarls Barkley

We expect a lot from our indie-ethos, crossover pop stars nowadays, even from a duo as inspired as Gnarls Barkley, aka DJ Danger Mouse and rapper Cee-Lo. We expect guilt-free-yet-radio-worthy earworms like “Crazy,” not to mention genuine pathos, ground-breaking production and minimal amounts of filler—all of which Gnarls Barkley managed…

Record Hop

It might be first instinct to say that Denton’s Record Hop made a deal with the devil, or with God, or with another spirit entirely to produce its eponymous second full-length release. Alas, it was none of the above. Rather, the deal was struck with unassuming Shellac frontman and Chicago-based…

The Cut*Off

While still worshipping at the altar of Frank Black (with a menacing snarl a la famed ’60s psycho Sky Saxon), Kyle Barnhill, the frontman for Fort Worth’s The Cut*Off, has conjured up his best set of songs for the band’s excellent third effort, Packaged Up for Beginners. By melding the…

Birds of Avalon

North Carolina’s Birds of Avalon is on a roll. Bazaar Bazaar, the band’s 2007 full-length debut, has garnered critical kudos while helping the band pick up fans across the country. Formed by Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler after both guitarists left The Cherry Valence, Birds of Avalon fuses elements of…

British Sea Power, Film School

Do You Like Rock Music? charts the latest step in the evolution that took British Sea Power from its post-punk-flavored debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, to its slicker sophomore disc, Open Season. For record No. 3, BSP enlisted three producers, including former Arcade Fire drummer Howard Bilerman—notable because…

Miranda Lambert

A finalist on Nashville Star and winner of the Cover Girl Fresh Face of Country Music Award, Miranda Lambert has a résumé that reads like the instructions on a bag of ramen noodles. It’s clear that she was launched from the same bottomless box of blank ammo that spawned the…

Last Night: Ra Ra Riot at Lola’s Saloon

Ra Ra Rioting. (Cameron Muilenburg) Ra Ra Riot April 10, 2008 Lola’s, Ft. Worth Better than: Dancing with yourself in your bedroom mirror–you loser, you! I can’t help it. I dig Ra Ra Riot. I like their sound. I like how it manages to be grandiose and intricate at the…

Bonus MP3: Ra Ra Riot — “Each Year”

Ra Ra Riot shows are always a good time. (Sarah Cass) I’m not gonna get too deep into Ra Ra Riot in this little post, well, because I already did so here. Just know that I’m a big fan. And that I’ll be at their Lola’s gig with The Little…

It’s Feast Or Famine For Thorn Vs. Side’s Nick Nowell

The Thorn Vs. Side guys are branching out. (Dustin Cromer) Nick Nowell, frontman for local metal band Thorn vs. Side might have a few too many irons in the fire. Besides leading his band and teaching seventh grade English (where, in order to work, he must remove his countless body…

The “First Serious Biography” Of Townes Van Zandt

A new book called A Deeper Blue: The Life and Music of Townes van Zandt by Robert Earl Hardy was released this month. And, according to the inside cover, it’s “the first serious biography of a man widely considered one of Texas’–and America’s–greatest songwriters.” How serious is it? Well, Hardy…

Oh, So That’s What Happened To Eve 6!

In case you were just dying to see the full line-up for Richardson’s 16th Annual Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival, well, we’ve got the goods for you. And, by “goods,” we clearly mean early 2000s flashbacks, celebreality stars and jokes from Saturday Night Live:…

Are The Stars Stuck “In The Shadows” Of The NHL’s Second Season?

Dude-rockin’ to the Stanley Cup? With the NHL playoffs officially underway, sports commentary site BleacherReport.com has decided to offer up its theme song choices for each team’s run for the Stanley Cup. Bleacher Report’s pick for the Stars? The Rasmus’ “In The Shadows.” Um, OK. Why, exactly? “Marty Turco’s a…

Topless Women and Album Covers

Nothing’s Shocking by Jane’s AddictionWe were a little surprised yesterday when we (a handful of DC-9 writers) realized just how many albums we owned with topless women on the covers. As we were finishing up the list of favorites for our slideshow featuring 18 of the best topless album covers…

Badu’s New Concert Posters Are Ridiculously Awesome

Power to Badu’s people. Someone at Idolator has been reading Soulbounce, apparently, as both outlets are currently ga-ga over the prints that poster artist Emek has created for Eykah Badu’s world tour. We’re not all that surprised–we told you not once, but twice, how cool these posters were–but we’ve got…

Bonus MP3: Record Hop — “Maths”

…and Nevada Hill’s cover art is dope, too. You’ll notice a very distinct Denton flavor in the front of the music section of this week’s Observer. That was intentional. But giving Denton-based rock quartet Record Hop’s new self-titled disc a stellar review during that same week? That was purely a…

The Frenz Go “Nude” On Radiohead Remix

Looks like local eccentric Wanz Dover’s latest music project, The Frenz, has submitted an entry to the Radiohead Remix project. Anyone can enter the competition. Here’s how it works: Contestants purchase components of the track “Nude” (from the band’s In Rainbows), add or delete various elements as desired, and then…

Notes: Punk Goes Crunk, Handshakes and Highfives on iTunes

So, the latest in the Punk Goes… series just came out, and it includes a track by The Secret Handshake. What did Luis do for Punk Goes Crunk? A cover of Skee-Lo’s “I Wish.” You read that right. It’s up on The Secret Handshake’s MySpace, iTunes (99 cents and it’s…

Last Night: The Mars Volta at Palladium Ballroom

The Mars Volta at the Palladium Ballroom Tuesday, April 8.The Mars Volta April 8, 2008 Palladium Ballroom Better Than: Listening to your old At The Drive In discs. I was damn excited when this show was announced in February. Damn excited. I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing The Mars…