Still No News, Really, On The James Dante Kings Front

…although the News does report that Kings, who was found dead in Austin on Thursday night/Friday morning, was… – 17 years old, not 19. – a percussionist. – supposed to perform at 9 a.m. the next day. – recently awarded a four-year scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music…

Rhett Miller Clarifies His Earlier Billboard Quotes

Rhett Miller wanted to talk today — with, yup, a clarification regarding his recent comments to Billboard, to which we paid some attention earlier this week. Because, see, Rhett doesn’t want anyone thinking 2004’s Old 97’s album Drag It Up wasn’t up to snuff because “I took a total step…

Local Hoes To No Longer Be Supermanned On Wednesday, May 7

This is Soulja Boy. This is not Flavor Flav. This is not another Public Enemy post. Don’t get the header for this post? Well, you’re clearly not down with the kids these days. Or with Soulja Boy, who, as it turns out, will not be playing Dallas anytime soon. The…

Last Night: Neil Hamburger at Rubber Gloves

Sometimes at comedy shows you just have to resign yourself to not getting it, and that’s what I did at last night’s Neil Hamburger show at Rubber Gloves. That was until his set was over, when I realized he’s supposed to be that bad. In a dated suit and a…

New Matthew and the Arrogant Sea Songs

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea has just posted three new songs on its MySpace. All are from the Denton band’s new album, Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian. The new tracks are “Marry me Annie,” “Pretty Purple Top Hat” and “Mock Origami.” Below is a video from the writing…

Q&A with The Orange

[Editor’s Note: This piece was penned by Krissi Reeves, not Chelsea Mueller.]Ethereal psych-rock band The Orange is experiencing a wicked state of euphoria these days. After three years of exploring its musical purpose, the Dallas group has finally reached a blissful peak with the release of its new EP, A…

Denton’s Fishboy Gets Some Blog Love

Oddball indie-poppin’ Denton act Fishboy has been getting some legit blog love of late. For the second day in a row, the eclectic act, which is signed to HHBTM Records out of Athens, Ga., has found itself mentioned on aggregation blog The Hype Machine’s radar. Today, the Another Form of…

Sue Ellen’s Is Closing…So It Can Move

What? Wrong Sue Ellen? It seems to have been fairly quiet over in the Cedar Springs strip since we mentioned their apparent identity crisis. But our buddy Rick Espaillat over at Caven just gave us the heads about our favorite lesbian bar, Sue Ellen’s. (Don’t worry, Buddies II, we love…

Oldies, But Goodies: Live Bedhead and The New Year Tracks

In case you haven’t been paying attention to Unfair Park of late, Wilonsky’s been gettin’ all amped up about a blog he came across that’s been hosting some lost live bootlegs of old Bedhead sets (which, Robert points out, includes early versions of some The New Year songs). Head on…

Video: Lupe Fiasco at House of Blues

I came across this video of Lupe Fiasco’s show at the House of Blues a couple months back (oddly, it was posted on March 23), and it got me a little psyched for the May 1 show. Lupe Fiasco will be taking the stage at Superpages with Kanye West, Rihanna…

AA Bondy’s Celebrated Nu-folk Sound is a Far Cry From His Earlier Works

Though few outside of the indie circuit recognized Verbena, critics and fans hailed the group as the second coming of Nirvana. The comparison was easy to see—and not just because former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl produced the band’s 1999 major-label debut, Into the Pink. When Verbena emerged from Bir­­m­ing­ham, Alabama,…

Free From TVT Records, Pitbull is Biting Back

Cuban-American rapper Pitbull made his first appearance on the celebrity-news Web site TMZ.com recently. And it was for the worst possible reason: He was hit in the head with a bottle while performing at a San Antonio club. He left the stage almost immediately, but returned with a blood-soaked towel…

Snoop Dogg

The Snoopster uses his ultra-cool stoner persona to make up for a multitude of sins—and Ego Trippin’ will only enhance his increasingly cuddly image. Thanks to his charming obliviousness, Snoop generally gets away with lyrics and arrangements that range from timeworn to ridiculous. Despite his current reality-show stardom, he’s still…

Why?

The press release for Alopecia claims that Why? ringleader Yoni Wolf was inspired “as much by MF Doom and Lil’ Wayne as J. Newsom and Big Dylan.” I don’t hear any of that, although the disc recalls the beat weirdness of Beck’s Mellow Gold, minus the zeitgeist-capturing spirit and clever…

Born Ruffians

When it comes to musical simplicity, is there a more perfect, primary triumvirate than guitar, drums and bass? The guitar flares with warning; the cymbals and snares flash in the heat of panic; the bass drops anchor in the depths. Toronto trio Born Ruffians (not a gruff group, it should…