Coldplay

The Top Ten Douchiest Guitar Players of All Time

By Nate Jackson Hey, we can all appreciate a quality guitar god. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of music knows the joy of watching their favorite axe man/woman go on a tear and destroy the crowd with their fast-fingered prowess, signature style and lush mane of flowing hair. It's the textboo ... More >>

Lip-Syncing: Immoral Practice or Necessary Evil?

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. Let's ignore the question of whether or not Beyonce lip-synced the National Anthem at Monday's Inaugur ... More >>

VMA Awards 2012: Handicapping the Video of the Year Nominees

The 2012 VMA nominees are out, and while there are certainly plenty of big names and obvious choices, there are a few surprises buried in there. Frank Ocean gets a nod, as do A$AP Rocky, Jack White and Regina Spektor. But those are curiosities -- Rihanna, Drake, Katy Perry et. al. get the lion's sha ... More >>

The Cards Turn Back the Clock -- To 2003

Hey, who here remembers the year 2003? Yeah, I sure do too. It was a magical time for our great nation; Coldplay had yet to become the source of shame they would later, Mitsubishi commercials simultaneously aroused us, irritated us, and kind of made us want to buy our girlfriends pink Kangol hats. N ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From June 11 to 17

Another week of great music in St. Louis: Highlights of this week include a visit from multi-talented songstress Santigold at the Pageant, the eclectic-but-soft-spoken indie rock of Pinback and the hard-drivin' country-rock of Whitey Morgan & the 78's. In addition to the out-of-towners, plenty of ... More >>

M83 at The Pageant, 5/2/2012: Review, Photos and Setlist

M83 | I Break Horses The Pageant May 2, 2012 The crowd at the M83 show last night was ecclectic. Girls wearing their best Forever 21 skirts, middle aged men and women sprinkled in the balcony and a parade of bros, hipsters and people looking generally out of place. That's what happens when there is ... More >>

Willie Nelson at the Pageant, 4/17/12: Review, Photos and Setlist

Willie Nelson and Family | The Pernikoff Brothers April 17, 2012 The Pageant Halfway through last night's Willie Nelson show at the Pageant (6161 Delmar Boulevard, 314-726-6161), with the obligatory Texas flag backdrop flying on stage and Willie about to launch into "Good Hearted Woman," a man asks ... More >>

The new sound of local music

The Six Best Statutory Rock Songs

​November is national Child Safety Protection Month. Part of protecting the young, naturally, is raising awareness of stranger dangers. We do that through warnings about taking candy and rides from unfamiliar people. As kids approach dating age, the advice sometimes includes "Stay away from mu ... More >>

NKOTBSB at the Scottrade Center, 7/19/2011: Reviews, Photos and Setlist

Backstreet's back, alright. Photo by Jon Gitchoff​New Kids on the Block | Backstreet Boys | Matthew Morrison Scottrade Center July 19, 2011 Last night's New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys show was an event full of glitter and pandemonium and mass hysteria. It was full of pelvic thrusting a ... More >>

"Free Bird" is Actually, Seriously a Great Song

wikimedia commons​The extraneous requesting of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" is one of the longest running jokes in rock and roll history. It also ranks among the least funny. Each time a lazy heckler yells "Free Bird" at a rock band, a lose-lose situation results. The band is mocked and the he ... More >>

Review Photos Setlist: Kings of Leon Remains Poop-Free in St. Louis, Saturday, September 25

Todd OwyoungKings of Leon's Caleb Followill at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. More photos here.​Let's just get this out of the way now: pigeon shit, pigeon shit, pigeon shit. No rock concert has been stigmatized by bird feces as much as last evening's Kings Of Leon performance at Verizon W ... More >>

You, Me, and the DuPrees: Eisley Enchants at the Old Rock House, Tuesday, June 29

Diana BenantiEisley at the Old Rock House​While most of the free world was queued up at one of the local cinemas to take in the latest installment of the Twilight saga, about 160 people were treated to a fantastic show by Texas indie-poppers Eisley.

The Top Ten St. Louis Concerts of 2009

We reviewed a lot of shows this year -- nearly 100, judging by the number of posts in the "Show Reviews" archive. Deciding which 2009 concerts comprised the creme de la creme wasn't easy, to say the least. However, the following stood out from the pack. What did we miss? What were your favorites thi ... More >>

Are Those Sleigh Bells We're Hearing? Nah, It's Just More Holiday Album Fun with Pet Shop Boys, Beatallica, REO Speedwagon and Michael McDonald...

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer spotlights a number of this year's top holiday releases. Here are several more festive releases that you might have missed. But are you really missing anything? Read on...​The Pet Shop Boys, Christmas Unlike your grandmother's fruitcake, which is always an ... More >>

Behind the Metal: Revealed: Everything you wanted to know — or didn't — about Canuck headbangers Anvil

Greg Laswell

9 p.m. Wednesday, February 18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

St. Louis Show Announcements, Week of February 10

Here are some of the new shows announced this week at venues around St. Louis! Pageant *The Decemberists, Sunday, May 31 BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups *Ernie Isley and the St. Louis Allstars, Saturday, March 7 *Bill Lupkin and the Workers, Saturday, March 14 *Chris Duarte Group, Wednesday, March ... More >>

Vintage Vinyl's Top 50 Best-Selling CDs and Top 25 Best-Selling LPs of 2008

Vintage Vinyl just released its list of best-selling LPs and CDs of 2008. (Physical product? Remember that?) Interesting to see how many local releases -- and how much hip-hop/R&B/rap -- is on the CD list, while how much old (and new) indie rock is on the LP list. Looks like you kids are downloa ... More >>

Readers get fired up about smoking bans and Hanifan

Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end lists should be ... More >>

The Year in Music: 2008's Top Ten Pop Songs

In the RFT that's coming out later this week, our music writers will weigh in on what they liked -- and didn't like -- about music in the year 2008. Various writers from around the Village Voice Media chain also weighed in on their jams, lists we'll be rolling out over the next week or so. Here's a ... More >>

Yes

8 p.m. Tuesday, December 2. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Show Review Setlist: "Weird Al" Yankovic at Family Arena, Friday, August 8

Gentleman Auction House Tour Diary, Day Sixteen: Champaign, Illinois

Best Music of the Year, Post #2: Lily Allen, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bloc Party, The Cinematics

Brit Box: Artists That Should Have Been Included -- But Weren't. Contains MP3 Evidence.

Prince

Planet Earth (Sony)

Cary Brothers

9 p.m. Wednesday, August 15. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City

Busker Love

Once upon a time in Ireland, a girl met a guy and they made sweet music.

Arresting Development

You liked Shaun of the Dead? Then Hot Fuzz will bust a cap in your arse.

Wham Bam Glam

Welcome home, Brian Delaney.

Isis

In the Absence of Truth (Ipecac)

The River Runs Dry

Bleeding Heart Baby

B-Sides cuts right to the Heartless Bastards, intellectualizes Hayseed Dixie and dissects the anatomy of the common punk rocker

Bringing Up Baby

B-Sides gets the real story behind Living Things, chats with the Hail Marys' punk-rock mom and talks to Michael Stipe about his new charity single

Get Thee to a Winery

Grayson Capps discusses New Orleans as it is now, Willy Wonka talks to D4L about their "Laffy Taffy," and we pair wines with some tasty new releases

My Favorite Things

2005's best and brightest albums

Pop Rocks

Ten albums that'll snap and fizz

in your ear buds all winter long

Pick Your Brain

Locally made zombie comedies gnaw their way through flyover country

Head Over Feet

We sip java with Alanis, investigate podcasting and figure out what those concert tickets are really worth

We Aren't the World

A critical fatwa of Live 8

Bockman

Sunday, June 5; World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park (part of New Belgium Brewery's Tour de Fat)

Song of the STL

On Saturday, September 4, we tuned in to local musical frequencies in their vast and varied incarnations. What we heard, all day and all night:

Various Artists | Various Artists

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (Walt Disney Records) | Garden State (Epic)

'03, Oh My!

Our critics weigh in on a questionable year’s best music

'Head Games

Forget critics' warnings: Listening to Radiohead is easy

Triple Play

Local college station KCLC-FM proves that adult album alternative radio doesn't have to suck

Minty Fresh

The Starlight Mints want to be more than just that other band from Oklahoma

Arco

Coming to Terms (Pehr)