Email Author Jason Toon

2008 Stories by Jason Toon

• Ear Burns: Our critics spew some haterade about 2008's bummer songs, albums and events

  published December 17, 2008

  The end of the year is a time for critics to reflect on the best music they heard in the past twelve months. But such positivity neglects the... More >>

• We made you a mixtape! 2008: The year in music.

  published December 17, 2008

  2008 was a weird year for music. Gloom and doom predictions about sinking album sales overshadowed the industry, and labels seemed to... More >>

• See Vermont via Rail

  published December 17, 2008

  Ever wondered what Christmas in Vermont would look like if the state were overrun with gargantuan mutant flowers? Then stroll colossus-like... More >>

• Angel Wings and Other Matters

  published November 19, 2008

  He's been framed for bank fraud. Fleeing in a drunken panic, he crashes his car and then stumbles to a bridge to throw himself into the icy waters... More >>

• Bells Will Be Ringing

  published November 19, 2008

  Sorry, extreme-combat fans: The police officers and firefighters who brawl in the annual Guns 'n' Hoses boxing event are not allowed to... More >>

• Take Notes, Mr. President

  published October 29, 2008

  In our democracy we're free to offer our opinions in the form of a blog, a mimeographed newsletter or a delightfully whimsical e-card. But if you... More >>

• The Nukes

  published October 15, 2008

  Most St. Louis bands circa 1990 wallowed in the awful hairdos and worse songs of the hair-metal and thrash-funk dark ages. But one band sliced... More >>

• Play Dress Up

  published October 15, 2008

  That "sexy dental hygienist" costume of yours has served admirably lo, these many Halloweens — but isn't that act (and that push-up bustier)... More >>

• Just Sipping Away

  published September 24, 2008

  If you go to the St. Louis Wine Festival in search of the perfect varietal to pair with funnel cakes or to find out what cabernet looks... More >>

• Gotta Get Back in Time

  published September 24, 2008

  All summer long, you've wondered if Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is anywhere near as ridiculous as everybody says it... More >>

• Wreckless Eric/Amy Rigby

  published September 3, 2008

  Here's the story of a scruffy laddie with a corking line in ragged, tuneful songs. He cut a couple of albums on Stiff Records, but we hadn't... More >>

• Two writers debate the pros and cons of indie-rock/Afropop sensations Vampire Weekend, who are making their St. Louis debut on September 10

  published September 3, 2008

  The pace of the blog-driven indie-rock world has reached a point where sometimes a backlash will set in almost before the frontlash gets rolling.... More >>

• Out on the Wire

  published September 3, 2008

  Andre Royo's portrayal of Bubbles in HBO's brilliant urban drama The Wire proved that there can be such a thing as a sympathetic... More >>

• Hoo Do: As Diamond Hoo Ha proves, Supergrass is best served fun

  published July 16, 2008

  It's been said that Oasis was the new Beatles and Supergrass was the new Monkees, but now it's the other way around. Twelve years after the... More >>

• The Boss Martians

  published May 14, 2008

  What do you call a pretty good surf band who suddenly drops the hodad act and discovers a gift for raw, catchy rock & roll tunes? The Boss... More >>

• He Is Iron Man

  published April 16, 2008

  None of Cal Ripken, Jr.’s prodigious baseball accomplishments — 431 home runs, 19 All-Star selections, playing every Orioles game... More >>

• LA punks X celebrate turning 31 in style

  published March 12, 2008

  There was a period where I wouldn't tell people I was a musician," Billy Zoom says of the time right after he left X. "I'd say I was an... More >>

• How Orange Is Our Valley?

  published March 5, 2008

  All is forgiven, Missouri Valley Conference. It hurt to watch you flirt with Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City. But we knew, in the end, you'd... More >>

• B-Sides marches to the beat of a 30-piece punk-rock marching band and explores the history of name-shifting

  published February 27, 2008

  Friends, we got trouble. Right here at the Bluebird. That's trouble with a capital T! And that rhymes with P! And that stands for "punk"! The... More >>

• Gonn

  published January 2, 2008

  "The universe is permeated with the odor of kerosene." With that awesomely absurd declaration, Gonn launched one of the great lysergic... More >>