Email Author Annie Zaleski

2008 Stories by Annie Zaleski

• "Weird Al" Yankovic dares to be honest about Straight Outta Lynwood and his songwriting process, while Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin takes B-Sides on a ride with his new album, The Glass Passenger

  published August 6, 2008

  "Longevity" is not a word we usually associate with novelty artists, but "Weird Al" Yankovic has trumped his Dr. Demento peers by releasing twelve... More >>

• True Faith: Peter Hook hasn't let New Order's split slow him down

  published July 2, 2008

  Even though New Order has officially split up, bassist Peter Hook isn't exactly resting on his laurels. The 52-year-old now travels the world... More >>

• Groove Is In the Heart: Gentleman Auction House gets its groove on with Alphabet Graveyard

  published July 2, 2008

  In the last year or so, something shifted within Gentleman Auction House. The change was so subtle that only those who had followed the septet... More >>

• B-Sides gets historical with Theodore and finds power-pop heaven with Tight Pants Syndrome

  published June 18, 2008

  The local quartet Theodore excels at writing heart-rending folk songs and deconstructing them to their breaking points. Last year's Songs... More >>

• B-Sides makes sense of Iron & Wine while Lemuria continues to Get Better

  published June 11, 2008

  Judging from the trance-inducing, whispered meditations of Iron & Wine, the group's singer and songwriter, Sam Beam, should be far less affable... More >>

• Ladytron/Datarock

  published June 11, 2008

  Ladytron's music both reflects and drives its fashion-forward image and DJ-culture celebrity. Whispery vocal detachment and burbling... More >>

• Mates of State/Headlights

  published June 4, 2008

  Insulin-shock alert at the Bluebird! The husband-and-wife duo Mates of State specializes in syrupy-sweet indie-pop full of gossamer... More >>

• Twangfest: Charles Walker and the Dynamites

  published June 4, 2008

  If you missed Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings when they came to town, run, don't walk, to see Charles Walker and the Dynamites at the... More >>

• Twangfest: Ha Ha Tonka

  published June 4, 2008

  Springfield, Missouri's Ha Ha Tonka (née Amsterband) came into its own on last year's Buckle in the Bible Belt. Released... More >>

• Midwest Mayhem

  published May 21, 2008

  Local community radio station KDHX (88.1 FM) knows how to throw a party — and the spring shindig it's dubbing Midwest Mayhem is no... More >>

• Sweet Honey: B-Sides defends Radiohead's Pablo Honey and dishes dirt on new local rock & roll bar the TRADE

  published May 7, 2008

  It's next to impossible to choose a favorite album among those in Radiohead's catalog. After all, the UK quintet has a release to fit almost... More >>

• Caribou

  published April 30, 2008

  Caribou main man Daniel Snaith has a Ph.D. in mathematics, and his father and sister are college professors in the field. Naturally, the... More >>

• Kathleen Edwards

  published April 30, 2008

  The rural routes Kathleen Edwards explored on her 2003 debut Failer were drastically different than the dusty scenes explored by... More >>

• The Duke Spirit/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

  published April 23, 2008

  Not since the days of Transvision Vamp, the Darling Buds and the Primitives has the UK produced so many bands capable of fusing together... More >>

• A to Z

  published April 9, 2008

  As I wrote about last year, our music blog A to Z (blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz) has... More >>

• Slice of Life

  published April 9, 2008

  When erudite indie rocker John Vanderslice played Saint Louis University's Billiken Club last May (which was a few months before the release of... More >>

• The Modern Skirts

  published April 9, 2008

  Athens, Georgia's pop legacy is well-preserved by the Modern Skirts, a quartet that has gracefully grown into its skin since purchasing... More >>

• Inspiration: For Justin Vernon, it comes from solitude. For others, Morrissey

  published April 2, 2008

  When his former band DeYarmond Edison called it quits in 2006, Justin Vernon moved from North Carolina to his home state of Wisconsin, in order... More >>

• Feeling Gravity's Pull: R.E.M. hurtles toward the future on Accelerate

  published April 2, 2008

  At what point in a band's career is it impossible to evaluate its new album without referencing its back catalog? Just ask R.E.M., whose albatross... More >>

• The Monads turn tradition on its tail with a stomping live show and new CD

  published March 26, 2008

  When Jason Matthews of the Monads shows up at MoKaBe's Coffeehouse for an interview, he's sporting an impressive mustache. Which wouldn't be a... More >>

• E-Mix: André Anjos and the Remix Artist Collective leverage initiative, ingenuity and the Internet into an online music force

  published March 12, 2008

  Downtown Greenville, Illinois, is 50 miles northeast of St. Louis, set back from Interstate 70 by several long, winding roads. On a... More >>

• Magnetic Fields

  published March 12, 2008

  The earliest albums released by the Magnetic Fields (in particular, 1995's Get Lost) featured burbling synthpop in the vein of OMD and... More >>

• Texas Tornado: St. Louis musicians invade SXSW

  published March 5, 2008

  On this year's official SXSW showcase list, singer-songwriter Dan Dyer claims St. Louis as his hometown. But his official biography tells a... More >>

• True Story: Columbia's True/False Film Fest hits the half-decade mark

  published February 27, 2008

  Last year's True/False Film Fest in Columbia attracted nearly 15,000 people to the quaint college town. Not bad at all for a five-year-old... More >>

• Spin the Black Circle

  published February 20, 2008

  Come on out to Atomic Cowboy on Thursday, February 21, for the RFT's annual DJ Spin-off! Finalists Flex Boogie, DJ Karizma, Doctor Pong... More >>