Email Author Erik Alan Carlson

2003 Stories by Erik Alan Carlson

• Two Elvises

  published December 31, 2003

  WED 12/31 Every red-blooded American loves an Elvis imitator -- the rhinestone-studded jumpsuits, the sideburns and Foster Grant... More >>

• Irony Attracts

  published October 15, 2003

  SAT 10/18 Randy Newman earned his reputation with darkly ironic songs like "Rednecks" and "Sail Away" long before becoming the beloved... More >>

• Stereolab

  published October 8, 2003

  Stereolab is a very "cool" band. Since the Franco-Anglican collective started putting out albums in 1991, they have been hailed by critics and... More >>

• Good Enough; Smart Enough; Liberals Like Him

  published September 17, 2003

  WED 9/17 Robert Frost's maxim rings all too true these days: "A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel."... More >>

• Cave-In

  published September 17, 2003

  Cave-In is a stellar band, both literally and metaphorically. By taking the crunchy aggression of metal and the melody of emo, adding... More >>

• Can't We All Just Get Along?

  published September 10, 2003

  St. Louis has become a hotbed for hip-hop in the past couple of years, producing several chart-topping acts and garnering all sorts of national... More >>

• Kenna

  published September 10, 2003

  The future is here, or at least a close aural approximation thereof. Nominally soul music, this audacious début is world music in the... More >>

• Feat of Clayton

  published September 3, 2003

  It's hard to believe that Clayton, our squeaky-clean, mini-metropolitan suburb, would have anything that's the best of its kind in the country,... More >>

• Rock & Roll Revival

  published September 3, 2003

  It could be expected that a song entitled "Party 'Til You Puke" would be designed to inspire alcoholic benders and Hunter S. Thompson-style drug... More >>

• The Dandy Warhols

  published August 20, 2003

  It's been said that amateurs borrow and pros steal. Very few bands prove this adage as well as professional music thieves the Dandy Warhols, who... More >>

• Jane's Addiction

  published August 13, 2003

  Second comings suck, or so common wisdom would have us believe. If Jesus were to stroll down the street, proclaiming philos and divine... More >>

• Elefant

  published July 16, 2003

  Diego Garcia. Sounds sexy, doesn't it? It just rolls off the tongue in a mellifluous mouthful. Di-ego Gar-ci-a. Full of passion and... More >>

• Gimme Some Youth

  published July 9, 2003

  Lollapalooza 2003 takes place on Wednesday, July 9, at the UMB Bank Pavilion. Ozzfest is on Thursday, July 17, also at the UMB Bank Pavilion. The... More >>

• The White Stripes with Quintron and Miss Pussycat

  published June 25, 2003

  Oh, look: It's another article about the White Stripes. Is it really necessary right now? At this point in their career, they've reached... More >>

• 2003 Music Awards

  published June 18, 2003

  Editor's note: A correction ran concerning this story; see end of article. Best Rap Recording of... More >>

• Marilyn Manson

  published June 11, 2003

  A man went to the doctor. "Doctor, I am so depressed I can barely move," the man said to the doctor, "and my work seems so meaningless I can... More >>

• Butch Walker with Brian Vander Ark

  published May 14, 2003

  No one could say Butch Walker doesn't try. From '80s LA hair-metal band Southgang to Atlanta's white-funk-rock act the Floyds, on through... More >>

• Placebo

  published April 30, 2003

  Some people are just magnets for trouble. Whether it's a result of action or attitude or both, they travel the paths of life as constant targets.... More >>

• Ministry with Nothingface, Lollipop Lust Kill and Motograter

  published April 16, 2003

  As the world outside grows increasingly dangerous, the realm of music and pop culture has grown increasingly homogenous. The whole thing has... More >>

• Ghoul 5

  published April 9, 2003

  Time waits for no one, they say, and in the realm of music that's especially true. Yesterday's rock & roll suicides are tomorrow's wage laborers.... More >>

• FischerSpooner

  published April 2, 2003

  What is art? What does it even mean to the average person anymore? In the modern age, the world is immersed in art to the point that it has... More >>

• Brian Jonestown Massacre

  published March 12, 2003

  "Keep Music Evil" -- this has been a motto and a mantra for the band known as the Brian Jonestown Massacre for almost a decade now,... More >>

• Massive Attack

  published March 5, 2003

  How do you top greatness? This question has plagued the minds of the creative class since humanity first etched lines in the dirt. Where do you go... More >>