Email Author Annie Zaleski

2007 Stories by Annie Zaleski

• Grind It Up | Makin' a List

  published December 26, 2007

  "I just woke up one morning and said, 'I'm going to write a fuckin' movie,'" is not a statement the average person tends to make. Then again, all... More >>

• The Ghost of the Forest

  published December 26, 2007

  The Ghost of the Forest already wins the competition for having the cutest merchandise in town, what with its Scooby Doo-esque haunted... More >>

• Hello Operator

  published December 26, 2007

  Don't hold it against Hello Operator that it's opened for Hilary Duff, Simple Plan and Loverboy: This Canadian duo specializes in the... More >>

• The Spirit of St. Louis

  published December 26, 2007

  Many St. Louis musicians hightail it out of the city as soon as they can, with the hope that the sunnier pastures of Los Angeles or the... More >>

• Rough Shop

  published December 12, 2007

  Rough Shop's annual holiday music show (or "extravaganza") is becoming as much a seasonal tradition as eggnog, gingerbread lattes and gaudy... More >>

• Steel of the Century

  published November 28, 2007

  Near the beginning of a recent Riddle of Steel show at the Bluebird, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Elstner's amp went on the fritz. As he crouched... More >>

• Us Against the World

  published November 28, 2007

  Solely on the basis of appearances, Victoria is one of the unlikeliest trios in the city. Spark plug drummer Steve Andrews sports tattoos up and... More >>

• A Life That Never Goes Out

  published November 28, 2007

  Director Julien Temple struck up a friendship with Joe Strummer in the last few years of the Clash frontman's life, which makes his film,... More >>

• The Brits Are Alright

  published November 21, 2007

  Fans of deafening reverb and swirling guitars rejoiced when enigmatic My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields announced last week that his band... More >>

• John Mellencamp

  published November 14, 2007

  At this point, you probably want to smash your TV the second the Chevy truck ad featuring John Mellencamp's "Our Country" flashes... More >>

• Loud Fast Rules

  published October 31, 2007

  Even on a Sunday night, Utopia Studios — a sprawling warehouse full of practice rooms tucked away in a neighborhood near Cardinal Glennon... More >>

• PJ Harvey

  published October 3, 2007

  Sometimes the simplest music is the most affecting. So it goes with PJ Harvey's new studio album White Chalk, which often feels like a... More >>

• Let's Stay Active

  published September 19, 2007

  Mitch Easter isn't a household name — unless your household contains a rabid R.E.M. fan, that is. The 52-year-old produced the Georgia... More >>

• About a Song

  published September 12, 2007

  In the new Kurt Cobain documentary About a Son, the trio's music is noticeably absent. Instead, director (and Edwardsville High School... More >>

• Oppenheimer/They Might Be Giants

  published September 12, 2007

  The title of songsmith Nick Lowe's 1978 U.S. solo debut — Pure Pop for Now People — is the ideal phrase to describe the graceful... More >>

• The Headcases/ Riddle of Steel

  published August 29, 2007

  It's not every day one stumbles across a French band that sounds plucked straight from the Midwest — specifically, the mid-'90s Midwest and... More >>

• Circuit Breakers

  published August 22, 2007

  The late-afternoon sun is still streaming through the windows of Chicago's Beat Kitchen when So Many Dynamos launches into the jittery "We... More >>

• Local Motion: One for the Team/Thor Axe

  published August 15, 2007

  LOCAL MOTION The name One for the Team might be unfamiliar, but the Minneapolis band has... More >>

• Still Precious After All These Years

  published July 25, 2007

  Chrissie Hynde left the Midwest for London in 1973 and came back a nobody. Then she went to England again, returned as the leader of the... More >>

• Building a Better Blog

  published July 25, 2007

  In recent weeks, a few people around town have asked me where my column has been. For starters, no, I'm not being phased out, nor am I going... More >>

• 'Naut So Bad

  published July 18, 2007

  One would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining or quick-witted band in town than the Hibernauts. On a recent Tuesday evening at... More >>

• OK Computer: Ten Years After

  published July 18, 2007

  1997 was a bizarre year for music, mainly because no prevailing mainstream trend dominated the airwaves. Teenpop wouldn't hit until the next year,... More >>

• Fucked Up

  published July 11, 2007

  Fucked Up is not your ordinary hardcore band. For starters, the Toronto group released a seven-inch containing a cover of a tune by the... More >>

• VHS or Beta

  published July 11, 2007

  Louisville, Kentucky's resident disco-punks VHS or Beta are back with a new guitarist Mike Mcgill (former member Zeke Buck now plays in... More >>

• Interpol

  published July 11, 2007

  Interpol's major-label debut, Our Love to Admire, isn't as monochromatic (or monotonous) as its previous two albums. "Pioneer to the Falls"... More >>