Email Author Ryan Wasoba

2012 Stories by Ryan Wasoba

• Big Business

  published September 14, 2012

  When Big Business began as a fuzzy bass/drum duo, it compensated for its lack of numbers with volume and sweat, coming off like Lightning Bolt... More >>

• DIY to Death: Remembering Dancing Feet March To War

  published Sep 07, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. RFT's... More >>

• The Six Best Renditions Of "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me"

  published Sep 04, 2012

  As we mourn the passing of Hal David, the lyrical genius on the Burt Bacharach/Hal David dream team, we also revisit his timeless contributions to music. Here are the six best renditions of one of his... More >>

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  The FarFetched Collective's big, weird welcome party

  published September 6, 2012

  Just as the physical layout of St. Louis is one demographic cluster after another, members of the music community tend to stay within their... More >>

• Digging Deeper Into Paul Ryan's iPod Playlist: From AC/DC to Zeppelin and Beyond

  published Aug 31, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. When ... More >>

• The Six Best Songs About The Moon For Neil Armstrong

  published Aug 28, 2012

  If you find yourself in this corner of the Internet, it is safe to assume you heard about Neil Armstrong's passing. If not, sorry you had to hear it this way. In honor of Earth's first lunar visitor, ... More >>

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  Dan Deacon

  published August 30, 2012

  Wacky, quirky, eccentric, absurd. Use whatever word you like to describe Dan Deacon, but know it is not the be-all, end-all of his being. The... More >>

• Between the Rock of Snark and the Hard Place of Crap: Two Meditations On Negativity In Music

  published Aug 23, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. 1. I ... More >>

• The Six Best Cover Songs By Ska Bands

  published Aug 21, 2012

  About ten years after its decline, third wave ska still seems like an oddity in the history of rock and roll. One principal tenant of the genre was the cover song. It was sometimes a formulaic practic... More >>

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  High Notes: Witness jazz masters in the flesh with a season heavy on the horns

  published August 23, 2012

  Local fans of classical music usually rally around the world-class St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, but on Wednesday, September 19, the celebrated... More >>

• Guardian Alien and Starring at The Firebird, 8/17/12: Review and "Setlist"

  published Aug 17, 2012

  Guardian Alien | Starring | Kisser | Zagk Gibbons The Firebird August 16, 2012 The line between improvising and jamming is quite thin. None of the bands at The Firebird last evening were the archetyp... More >>

• Reunited, And It Feels...Just Okay

  published Aug 16, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. Most ... More >>

• The Six Best Rock Songs With Turntables

  published Aug 14, 2012

  Remember when the turntable was considered a legitimate instrument in a rock bandr Neither do I. But there are rare instances where DJ scratches are not a dealbreaker in a non hip-hop context. Here a... More >>

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  Very Foreign Language: Liturgy's Greg Fox is getting weird and wonderful with Guardian Alien

  published August 16, 2012

  Aesthethica by Liturgy was one of last year's most divisive records. Purists of heavy music found many reasons to hate on the Brooklyn... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Six Gayest Songs That Might Be On Chick-Fil-A COO Dan Cathy's iPod

  published Aug 07, 2012

  Chick-Fil-A Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy made controversial statements recently in defense of marriage - which is Conservative speak for "anti-gay." But if he ever listens to music that isn't mad... More >>

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  Helmet and Toadies

  published August 9, 2012

  Helmet and Toadies each had its share of hits (the former with "Unsung" and "In the Meantime," the latter with "Possum Kingdom" and "I Come... More >>

• Music Is Not A Sport

  published Aug 02, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. Chin... More >>

• The Six Best Songs About Olympic Events

  published Jul 31, 2012

  Hey, Earth. Not sure if you heard, but the 2012 Olympics are happening right now in London. Music is an important part of the overall festivities, although most selections heard during the ceremonies ... More >>

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  Kishi Bashi

  published August 2, 2012

  When Of Montreal played an uncharacteristically intimate show on July 4, 2011, at the Luminary Center for the Arts, the band's auxiliary member... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Obscurity Sucks

  published Jul 26, 2012

  There is no conversation about music that is less interesting than one party talking about a band/album/song/genre that the other has never heard of or heard. Obscurity is a necessary evil when dealin... More >>

• The Six Best Songs About Birds

  published Jul 24, 2012

  Compiling the best songs about birds is tricky. Many great ones are too metaphorical ("Bird On A Wire" by Leonard Cohen, "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd) and many literal ones are not great ("I'm Like A ... More >>

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  Fang Island

  published July 26, 2012

  Fang Island's unapologetic 2010 posi-rock debut was famously described as "everyone high-fiving everyone." Alas, man cannot live on high-fives... More >>

• Listen Like You Mean It

  published Jul 20, 2012

  Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. If I ... More >>

• A Place to Bury Strangers: Making Sonic Youth Look Like Raffi, Tonight at the Firebird

  published Jul 19, 2012

  A Place To Bury Strangers July 19 @ The Firebird 8:00/9:00, $12, all ages. Not since ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead first traipsed around the country demolishing equipment and eardrums ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Swastikas, Lemmy and Screaming Christians: Picking the Winner of the Mayhem Festival

  published Jul 19, 2012

  This Friday, the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival rolls through our fair city, bringing fifteen purveyors of heavy music to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. The scope of artists ranges from old-timer... More >>