James Brown

Escape From New York: Charles Bradley on Moving Forward in Music

Charles Bradley is a hell of a soul singer and a hell of a story. In this week's print edition, Senior Writer Roy Kasten interviews the New York soul man and Daptone Records artist about the making of his new album, Victim of Love, and his long road to musical redemption. Bradley makes his first hea ... More >>

Extended Family: Soul Man Lee Fields doesn't see his audience as fans

They Might Be Giants Celebrates 25 Years, Releases New Album

This isn't how things are supposed to work. "You're on Fire," the first track off Nanobots, the new They Might Be Giants album, is an urgent, antsy marvel, a disco-glittered pop stomper whose three killer hooks slide over, under, and through each other, all coiled up as tightly as snakes in a cave. ... More >>

Ten Songs for Celebrating President's Day

It is that time of year again. That special time after Mardi Gras, in the middle of Black History Month, when we drop our Valentine's Day chocolates and honor the past and present Presidents of the United States of America (for the shortest month of the year, February seems to really be collecting h ... More >>

Mystikal, Famous Sex Offender / Rapper to Drop New Album in 2013 With Appearances By Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne

Mystikal has been getting a lot of attention for an interview he did with Rolling Stone recently. In said interview, he mentions that lately he's been listening to James Brown, Sam Cooke, Master P, Ludacris, and Eddie Murphy lately, and is in the midst of working on a new album (recent singles seem ... More >>

The Best Concerts in St. Louis this Week: February 4 to 10

Between the Superbowl, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day, there's no shortage of excuses to celebrate something somewhere sometime soon lately, or even retroactively. Find a place to party this week from a varying list of tasty shows -- just choose your flavor. This week's recommendations await after t ... More >>

The Power of Time and Truth

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Pussy Riot and Four Other Bands That Lost the Battle with Authority But Won the War

If there's one thing the Pussy Riot trial has taught us, it's that protest music can still be a dangerous, subversive tool. By performing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" during a guerrilla action at a Russian Orthodox church, Pussy Riot intended to provoke and offend. Many saw their action as blasphemou ... More >>

The Top Five Hip-Hop Albums of All Time, According to Lyfestile

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

The Six Worst Songs On Great Albums

Even on a quote-unquote perfect album, one song has to be inferior to the others, just as one song has to rule the roost. Such is the yin and yang of nature. Here are the six worst songs on the best albums. 6. Wilco - "Heavy Metal Drummer" from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Heavy Metal Drummer by Wilco on ... More >>

Six Worst Musical Thefts by White People

Keith Richards early in his career. ​February is Black History Month, the mere existence of which is a reminder that white people have spent a majority of America's existence being total dicks. When it comes to popular music, Caucasians are like a race comprising Winona Ryders who have no prob ... More >>

The Best Super Bowl Commercials by the Music

The Darkness saved Samsung's ad from spiraling down into forgettable territory. ​Let's be blunt. This year's Super Bowl was dismal for Midwesterners. Sure, there were exceptions. Transplants from Boston, New York City or New Jersey may have enjoyed the game. Some may have had a rooting intere ... More >>

Funky Butt Brass Band Holiday Brasstravaganza: Voodoo Christmas

Courtesy of Funky Butt Brass Band​The Funky Butt Brass Band, St. Louis' finest purveyors of second-line struttin', is about to unleash its annual holiday throwdown on Saturday night at Off Broadway. Now in its third year, the Holiday Brasstravaganza gives the six-piece a chance to thoroughly f ... More >>

Eight Exercises to Help Get the Funk Flowing for Tomorrow's Kings Go Forth Show

Todd Owyoung​One problem with Kings Go Forth, performing tomorrow evening at the Firebird (2706 Olive Street, 314-535-0353): The band's hardline, genuine funk is a rarity in modern times, and citizens of 2011 may not be physically prepared for the booty shaking demands. Shape up for the Kings ... More >>

Homespun: The Funky Butt Brass Band

You Can Trust the Funky Butt Brass Band
www.funkybuttbrassband.com

Review: The Greenhornes at the Firebird, Tuesday, March 22

​Consider, for a moment, the ways in which Jack White's unseen hand has guided certain events and happenings in St. Louis in the past few weeks. First and foremost was the announcement that hometown heroes Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three would be releasing a White-produced seven-inch on t ... More >>

Show Review: Second Night of Beat 'n' Soul Offers Garage-Rock Fuzz and Sweet Soul Sounds

Christian SchaefferThe Fleshtones atop Off Broadway's bar​The promise of rock & roll has always been the promise of being forever young, and last night the patrons at Off Broadway got a good argument for music's gift of eternal youth. The inaugural weekend of the (hopefully) annual Beat 'n' So ... More >>

Interview: Janelle Monae Discusses Androids, "the Other" and Making the Music That Moves You

Andrew Zaeh​Janelle Monae has the voice of an R&B diva, the dancin' feet of a young James Brown and style so unique she puts Lady Gaga to shame. Originally hailing from Kansas City, Kansas -- an article in our sister paper, the Pitch, explains more -- Monae travelled to Atlanta by way of New ... More >>

Tour Diary: DJ Mahf Competes at the Red Bull Thre3style U.S. Finals in Denver

(Last weekend, Earthworms member DJ Mahf competed in the national finals of the Red Bull Thre3style DJ competition. In June, he took top honors at the St. Louis regional event at the Old Rock House. Mahf was kind enough to keep a diary of his Denver experience for A to Z. Read on below! For more cov ... More >>

Review Photos: King Khan and the Shrines Are Sensational at 2720 Cherokee, Sunday October 3

photos by Keegan Hamilton​Standing in the crowd, arms crossed, clutching a mixed drink and bobbing his head to the jangly punk rock of opening act Gentleman Jesse and His Men, King Khan looked like a regular dude. He wore thick black frame glasses and Converse sneakers, and sported an immaculately ... More >>

Review Setlists Photos: Avett Brothers, with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals Cut the Pageant Wide Open, Friday, September 24

Jason StoffThe Avett Brothers at the Pageant. More photos here.​"I am a breathing time machine," Scott and Seth Avett sang at the very end of last night's show at the Pageant, passing the lines around like a bluegrass villanelle. After ten years and probably a thousand shows with a band that s ... More >>

Show Review: Detroit Cobras, Those Darlins, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound Bring the Sound of Young America to Twangfest, Friday, June 11

Todd OwyoungThose Darlins at Off Broadway, 11/12/09​The local American music festival Twangfest is now in its fourteenth year. Long past its adolescence and its awkward phase, the booking for the four-night showcase shows that its teenage years are both classically minded and musically adventu ... More >>

Show Review: Cage the Elephant at Pop's, Monday, November 16

Rules for a Successful Rock Show, Case #432: Cage the Elephant. (Good band name not necessary.) Get a crowd who enjoys your stuff. One, though not the only, indication that Cage the Elephant won over the heaving audience at Pop's last night was the demand for an encore. Widespread hooting and chant ... More >>

Show Review Photos: Peter Bjorn and John and El Perro del Mar at the Gargoyle, Friday, November 13

Todd McKenzieBjorn!​ Peter Moren and Bjorn Yttling are a study in contrasts. Bjorn, disheveled and in black, lumbers slowly across the stage. When he approaches the microphone, he drapes his mustachioed upper lip directly on the device, as if it would be too much effort to step back a few inc ... More >>

Person L

8 p.m. Friday, November 13. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

SXSW Report: Saturday with PJ Harvey and Beyonce's Little Sister, Friday with New York Dolls and Camera Obscura

Where to begin? I should start with the ornamental comb, like three white gleaming stakes from some Gnostic purification ritual, holding a jet-black stack of hair atop the fiery head of Polly Jean Harvey. She's never wanted for making an impression. Wrapped in white, backed by a hard avant-garde blu ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Drug Deal Shooting Follow-Up, Sharon Jones at the Pageant, Kurt Warner Kills Rams

Good morning, St. Louis! Here's what you may have missed over the weekend:On Friday afternoon, we posted a story about how the grandson of a former mayor of St. Louis was shot in both arms during a drug deal. The story was posted late in the afternoon, so if you missed it, check it out here (with po ... More >>

MP3 Story: The History of St. Louis Hip-Hop -- Dr. Jockenstein, Charlie Chan, Dangerous D, Early D And How "Rapper's Delight" Touched Off a Revolution

Second Spin: Mick Jagger, She’s The Boss

Second Spin: Salt-n-Pepa, “Shake Your Thang” b/w “Spinderella’s Not a Fella (But A Girl DJ)”

Hand It to Him

The Science of Sleep

Black Celebration

Welcome to Harkonin's metal smorgasbord

Opening Nights

The RFT's Guide to the 2005-2006 Performing Arts Season

Black Eyed Peas

Saturday, July 2; Fair Saint Louis (Gateway Arch grounds)

El Vez

Saturday, October 9; Blueberry Hill's Duck Room

Soulard Blues Band

Trickle Down Blues (King Solomon Records)

Finding Your Religion

Pick your personal Jesus, plus three questions for a pop princess and the poetry of heavy metal

Hallelujah, I Just Loved Him So

RIP, Brother Ray

Let's Go to the Hop

And, like, dance or something

Best FM Radio Personality

Bob Reuter
KDHX (FM 88.1)

Please Plea Me

A primer on the punk-rock tour of the season

Cee-Lo Green

Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (Arista)

Bobby Rush with Mel Waiters

Friday, Oct. 5; Club 54

The BellRays

Friday, Feb. 9; Hi-Pointe.

Deep Banana Blackout

Wednesday, July 19; Firehouse

Fair to Poor

Critiquing that haven of musical has-beens, Fair St. Louis

808 State

Students at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park pay homage to the Roland Corp.'s creations

D'Angelo with Dead Prez

Thursday, April 20; Fox Theatre

Cibo Matto

Friday, Sept. 17; Mississippi Nights

WAXING WAVES

Tiny but determined, WEW-AM and KNSX-FM ride the rough surf of St. Louis radio