Some people would want you to forget the horrific legacy of the American slave trade or deny the occurrence of the Holocaust. But none of these tragic catastrophes deserves to be subjected to historical revision. “Ice Ice Baby,” however? That’s a different story. Robert “Vanilla Ice” Van Winkle wants you…
Anyone who would attempt to coordinate the simultaneous playing of 1,000 guitars would need a little help from the Lord. Good thing Tom Dooley, who hosts the Christian talk radio show The Journey (KVTT-91.7 FM) is in good with the man upstairs. Dooley has put together the ultimate in axe/God…
After hearing the Dallas darlings’ eponymous release it’s obvious Baboon honestly doesn’t have it in them to disappoint. The quintet has an incredible ability to translate energy into their music–live or recorded. This latest release, the first in four years, offers a power-pop dreamscape that spans heartbreak, maturation and distress…
As if introducing the world to Aqua Teen Hunger Force weren’t enough of a contribution to society, the overlords at Adult Swim have now proven to be reliable merchants of fine underground hip-hop and synthesizer space funk. A follow-up of sorts to last year’s The Mouse and the Mask collaboration…
Money Waters is a natural storyteller who takes his sweet time telling a joke or dropping some hard-earned knowledge. You don’t wanna stop him, even if you’ve already heard it. The Pleasant Grove rapper is strongest when he and his homeboys are venting their Everyman tales of frustration about nagging…
With a debut album that was hailed as an “instant classic” and a follow-up that avoided the sophomore slump so many bands suffer, the Marked Men have surpassed becoming a “band to watch” and are quickly on their way to “rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut” status. Their third album, Fix My…
Damn, there were some good haircuts at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ show last Friday night at the Gypsy Tea Room. We’re talking choice coifs: product-sealed ‘dos, bangs cocked at such perfect angles it looked like someone used a protractor, precisely mussed bed-heads and a montage of multicolored unisex cuts, their…
Despite the howling of the legions of fans still hanging on to their inebriated memories of the Replacements, ex-Mats leader Paul Westerberg hasn’t made a good solo record since his debut, 14 Songs, way back in 1993. Content to play the recluse, Westerberg has quietly released a whole catalog of…
Denton has long been infamous for its sporadic house-party shows, but at long last somebody has gotten serious about it. The House of Tinnitus (628 Lakey St.) might be now the prime North Texas destination for the oddball musical misfits passing through who can’t, won’t or just don’t wanna set…
The Old 97’s are about to return from some pretty active downtime. While not performing or formally working on new material, front man Rhett Miller released his third solo album The Believer back in February, and the band managed to pop up in that Jennifer Aniston-Vince Vaughn movie, The Break-Up…
Let’s start with Deep Ellum because that’s where I began. I grew up in Fort Worth in the ’80s, and Deep Ellum was one of the few pockets of North Texas that gave a young, snotty, music-obsessed teenager like me a glimmer of hope. This was before the Bass family…
PPT–named for members Pikahsso, Picnic and Tahiti–became the first hip-hop act ever signed to Dallas label Idol Records in August, a few months after their song “Rowdy, Loud and Proud” was chosen as the Dallas Mavericks’ playoff theme song. If you didn’t know better, that turn of events would sound…
Michael Bolton is the type of celebrity who makes almost every average human feel incredibly lucky to have no talent whatsoever in the realm of entertainment generally (and singing specifically). Because of Bolton, it’s not just bearable to have unremarkable mousy brown or dishwater blond hair–it’s desirable. For a longtime…
“Sports is the modern version of slavery,” says Denton-based singer Daniel Folmer, as he watches the Cowboys/Jaguars game at an eatery in North Dallas. “I mean, look at football–there’s an owner, and the players run around on a field with chains on it,” says Folmer. The 21-year-old songwriter has just…
After Wall of Sound, before that last in-store at Good Records, blogs all over lit up with heated debates on the merits of Austin’s the Black Angels. Some argued that the new quasi-psychedelic sounds of the five-piece are overrated (many cited the keyboardist’s simplistic lines as the most irritating factor)…
It takes a true virtuoso to make a handful of chord changes sound like a complex musical arrangement. In fall fashion, the aesthetic is artfully achieved with layers of clothing. In the Album Leaf’s case, it is layers of piano, organ, strings and gently galloping beats. Jimmy LaValle (Tristeza, The…
TV on the Radio’s latest effort is a tad overwhelming at first. But after taking the time to fully absorb the layers and layers of incredibly dense textures woven by guitarist/producer David Andrew Sitek, it’s clear that the baby justifies the labor. Wading through the fractured, shape-shifting aesthetic is made…
Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson is a hot, eager and totally empty vessel. On The Dutchess, she displays an affinity for the sort of mainstream pop that would put most Black Eyed Peas fans to sleep faster than a Blizzard with Tylenol PM sprinkles–but if acting like a hip-hop ho enhances her…
Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear makes music that feels like a visit to a thrift store–while you’re fully aware that you’re in the 21st century, surrounding you are hints of lives and eras past. Yellow House’s loops and electronic warbles and flourishes are clear indications that this is a band fully ensconced…
The bump of Rio Baile Funk–More Favela Booty Beats will sound familiar to anyone who has pounced around the house to the M.I.A. record. A compilation documenting the dance music of the Rio ghetto, the first Rio Baile Funk (along with Diplo’s DJ must-have-mix Favela on Blast) put the genre…
Think about South Florida’s intimate relationship with Cuba and the Caribbean, and the influence it’s had on that region’s music scene. That same sort of cross-cultural, stylistic leg-humping goes on in Southern California across the Mexican-American border, and there’s no better example than L.A.’s Ozomatli. The bilingual, genre-smashing, Latin-funk-rock-rap outfit…
If Reckless Kelly were a transmission, it would be a five-speed. The Austin quintet’s latest effort, Wicked Twisted Road, captures its music in all gears, from the quiet, low-gear country folk of the title track to lilting second-gear love-song ballads, from drunk-and-stumble alt-country Irish travelogues to off-the-speedometer Allman Brothers rumblers…
