Music

[Editor’s Note: Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be presenting my favorite local songs of the year, counting down from No. 25 to No. 1, one track a day. Today, we take an in-depth look at song No. 22 on the list–and click after the jump for a free…

Yeah, it stirred the Yankees to the World Series championship, but was there a more boring album this year than Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3? Perhaps it was a geographic thing; with a few exceptions like Raekwon and Kid Cudi, most of 2009’s exciting, innovative rap records came from Southern artists…

Yeah, pal, that’s “college rock,” scare quotes very much included. Look, it’s a meaningless term. As are “indie,” “alternative,” “hipster,” etc., etc. Let’s not overthink this: Here we have ten splendid records with an amorphous rock ‘n’ roll designation, albeit in a perhaps slightly more experimental and thoughtful vein than…

Legendary British guitarist Allan Holdsworth appears tonight at the intimate confines of Dan’s Silverleaf. Perhaps best known for his work with the progressive ’70s outfit UK, Holdsworth has also played with Level 42, Gong, Soft machine, Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) and many, many others. The 63-year-old Holdsworth was also once…

After playing in every band on every label on every song in the Nashville music scene (a fuzzed-out execution showcased on 2008’s Matador Records singles comp), 2009’s Watch Me Fall acknowledges Jay Reatard’s death wish with overblown, poppy drama in two-minute increments. Though recent documentary Waiting for Something worked hard…

As might be expected from their band’s name, the members of the Rural Alberta Advantage grew up in the Canadian province of Alberta. What the trio cultivated from such a chilly (and at times isolated) existence is an un-selfconscious sound, one that’s devoid of artifice or trends. Hometowns, the Toronto…

It’s not unusual in Denton for a crowd to possess a certain anticipatory electricity when a new band finally emerges from its rehearsal space to grace a stage or living room with a performance, but the crowd at Rubber Gloves was positively buzzing half-way through Oh Lewis’ recent set. It…

“Literate roots party music” is how Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell describes The Gourds: “We’re Bill Burroughs meets Jerry Lee Lewis at the funeral of Robert Johnson on the Millennium Falcon piloted by Joe Strummer and Neil Young.” The Gourds have been around since the summer of 1994, when members of Picket…

Breakups can be brutal, but the worst part is the dread before the expected split. Once you’re single, your slate is nearly clean. It’s when you haven’t yet left the comforts of a relationship that a chilling sort of isolation sets in. The Dutchess and the Duke’s latest record, Sunset/Sunrise,…

Innerpartysystem knows all about the DIY approach. Since its formation, the band has spent countless hours dissecting technology, transforming it to suit its needs. Its light show, for instance, aside from a few stock lasers, was all hand-built. Any fan who has seen the act more than once has also…

John Iskander has been bringing a parade of cutting-edge, live performers to Dallas for the past three years—much to the joy of those who pore over the blogosphere looking for indie rock’s latest breaking bands. His are the bands from the coasts or from Brooklyn—those whose name you might have…

Against all odds, Deep Ellum is again showing signs of life. To see them, just take a drive down Elm Street. The cars lining the street are among the first things to catch the eye. So, too, are the construction workers milling about, preparing the soon-to-be-opened businesses along the 2700…

…and, for those still stuck on Youtube, here’s your link.Denton singer-songwriter Daniel Folmer stopped by our new Oak Cliff filming location at El Sibil last Wednesday night, further breaking in the new spot and video series. And, once there, he treated us to a few songs from his latest release,…

[Editor’s Note: Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be presenting my favorite local songs of the year, counting down from No. 25 to No. 1, one track a day. Today, we take an in-depth look at song No. 23 on the list–and click after the jump for a free…

The lowest common denominator having been achieved in 2005 with the release of the Black Eyed Peas’ Monkey Business, popular musicians have had to work extra hard in recent years to find new and inventive ways to be inane. They found great success in 2009, with artists as varied as…

This year was such a good one for heavy music, I wound up having to cheat when putting this list together. I just couldn’t settle on ten albums that kicked my ass the hardest in 2009; there were dozens of candidates. The best I could do was fourteen, so each…

For over a decade now, Memphis-based garage punk Jay Reatard’s been cranking out albums and molding his reputation as a prolific, but mercurial performer. Seriously, remember when he was supposed to play Club Dada last August? Ah, memories…Nonetheless, Reatard’s 2009 release, Watch Me Fall, has managed to stand as the…