Recently, while researching a story, I stumbled upon an essay by seminal rock writer Lester Bangs, called “Bye, Bye, Sidney, Be Good,” about Sid Vicious. The essay focuses on how Vicious murdered (allegedly; the case was never fully investigated) his soul mate, Nancy Spungen, by stabbing her to death, then…
Retro soul’s got to be damn fine to justify its existence, since the stuff it’s modeled on is readily available for listening pleasure and embarrassing comparisons. Fortunately, the latest from Sharon Jones and Bettye LaVette qualify thanks to vocal authenticity and musical settings that offer inventive takes on the old…
It was conceived a decade ago as a one-off event—wham, bam, phew. It didn’t even have an official name: Most knew it at the time only as Good/Bad Art Collective Benefit 22, the latest link in the heavy chain of events staged by Chris Weber, Martin Iles and the rest…
Sonic Youth’s recent Rather Ripped pulls the maturing band toward a more mellifluous path that doesn’t reject their famously splintered tonality but seems a bit more ear-friendly as it addresses a subtler emotional terrain. With the departure of multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke, S.Y.’s now back to their “classic” lineup of guitarists…
Icons for drunken, adolescent debauchery, the Black Lips travel with a hard-earned reputation for dangerous, lewd and unfathomably wild behavior. Piss, puke and nudity may have helped the Atlanta foursome score a few headlines, but it’s their howling, punked-up garage sound that packs gigs and sells records. Whereas the band’s…
“The world is full of children/But I ain’t ever had none/Cuz that means it’s time to settle down/And give up all my fun”—such go the lyrics to Funeral Drive’s “Ballad of Lonnie,” a rockin’ rave-up that combines the jaded worldview of a rockabilly cynic and the yee-haw exuberance of 21st-century…
Shock rock has seen its fair share of gory characters, but they’re all tame in comparison to GWAR. Known for its wild stage theatrics, which include homages to necrophilia, scatology, bestiality, rape, murder, carnage and lots of other things that could give Tipper Gore types a heart attack, GWAR has…
The Duluth, Minnesota, trio Low could just as easily be called Slow, with their glacially unwinding, minimal soundscapes. Their latest CD, Drums and Guns, has some lovely moments of downbeat grandeur, such as the hymnlike “Breaker,” which unfolds with searing keyboards and backward guitars under Alan Sparhawk’s gruff, Peter Gabriel–like…
When did mainstream rap become more relevant than its underground counterpart? Talib Kweli and El-P released self-congratulatory pap this year while Kanye West’s sincere, introspective effort sold a million copies in its first week. Now we’ve got Chamillionaire, whose Ultimate Victory is perhaps the most topical album ever, and although…
Even if you don’t think you know Iron & Wine, the stage name of singer-songwriter Sam Beam (inspired by the packaging on a protein supplement), you’ve no doubt been caught mouthing the words to his cover of the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” in the M&M’s commercial that plays before…
Apparently, Forever The Sickest Kids don’t need us. Us the media, not us DC-9. The band is letting its fans ask questions directly, thanks to a bit of help from YouTube. Those dying to know anything and everything about the Dallas group just need to submit questions and the best…
We can’t get enough of She-Dick in these parts. The female detectives/international pop-stars they claim to be are now looking to make way to the big screen. Sky Royale Pictures and RJT Productions are working on a script written specifically for the ladies titled “So Beautiful” (after one of She-Dick’s…
After receiving a link that simultaneously made my day and made me want to skip out of the office and straight to the NES console, I got an itch to search for Dallas-related music videos. What I found is somewhat crippling, somewhat laughable and, apparently, completely exciting to the teen…
So, today CNN.com gave Deep Ellum and Club Dada a shout-out in its annoying story, “Dallas Takes Big-City Fun Downtown,” by Elsa K. Simcik. Annoying because it’s one of those surface-y, glazed-over stories about how downtown Dallas can be fun, because of new “revitalization.” Thing is, the all the supposedly…
It’s interesting to see how quickly raw grief turns into a more refined form of the emotion. The sudden death of Carter Albrecht hit his friends, family and fans hard. To me, if I had suffered that sort of deeply personal loss, I would remain in a catatonic state for…
I just got a random MP3 from a guy called “Paul” via e-mail. He’s in a Dallas band called Adventure. I dunno shit about them — if any of you do, please send us some info via comments. I’ll update later, but I wanted you guys to check the song…
We just found out Denton’s Inner City All Stars have been tapped to open for Rebirth Brass Band at the House of Blues Oct. 7. If you haven’t seen this crew before, there is no doubt in my mind they’ll blow the headliners off the stage. This is an old-school…
Bryce Avary singing for the crowd at House of Blues Saturday night. (Jonathan Finley) Big D’s own The Rocket Summer recently won a Yahoo! Music contest. We were proud. Then Saturday, the band played with The Academy Is… at the House of Blues. Now we’re awestruck. Bryce Avary and bandmates…
Shock of Pleasure delighted fans Saturday night at the release party its It’s About Time. We know there was a ton going on this weekend, though. (One of our stops this Saturday was our Best of Dallas party.) So, the members of Shock of Pleasure are allowing us to share…
Your best bets for this weekend’s musical shenanigans: Frontier Brothers, Luke Boor, Acadia and the Asteroid, Coming Down, Epitas Gypsy Tea Room. Friday, Sept. 8. $10-$12. The hasty closing of the Dallas Door site to make room for condos (there’s a joke in there somewhere about closing one door to…
We just got word that local promoter, manager, blogger and all-around music gal Amanda Newman is officially the new co-owner of Club Dada. Newman joins David Seeberger and Bob Cummins at the helm of the venerable club, which has been around for 21 years. Newman sponsored Thursday Night’s Listening To…..
Atmosphere teased the crowd with new songs Thursday night. (Matthew Blake) When I rolled up to the Loft just before 9 p.m., the line for Atmosphere wrapped around the building. And anyone foolish enough to think they were buying tickets at the door seriously mistook the following the Minnesota rap…
