John Darnielle

The Six Best Shitty-Sounding Records

Before we begin, let us clarify that "shitty" and "bad" are not the same. Bad-sounding records aim for a certain result and fall short. Shitty-sounding records result from conscious decisions consciously executed. Here are the six best shitty-sounding records. If your favorite entry is missing from ... More >>

Please Don't Write A Song About Sandy Hook

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. Nobody truly knows how to cope with something as disturbing as the Sandy Hook massacre. But please don ... More >>

The Six Best Non-Metal Songs About Heavy Metal

Songwriters love riffing on folklore, be it nursery rhymes or Biblical parables. Over the years, heavy metal has developed its own brand of legend, so much so that stylistically disparate musicians have used it as a springboard for creatively disparate songs. Here are the six best non-metal songs ab ... More >>

The Six Best Songs About Dogs

Last week we counted down the six best songs about cats. In the name of fairness - and as a continuation of the Nitpick Six Animal Series, here are the six best songs about dogs. Let us know your favorite dog tracks in the comments below. 6. Deerhoof - "Kidz Are So Small" Kidz Are So Small by Deerh ... More >>

The Mountain Goats and Water Liars at the Gargoyle, 4/21/12: Review and Setlist

The Mountain Goats | Water Liars April 21, 2012 The Gargoyle I'm just going to call it now: the most common response to this review will be "I didn't know the Mountain Goats played in St. Louis this weekend." John Darnielle and his crew flew in to play a one-off show on the closing night of Washing ... More >>

The 33 1/3 Series is Accepting Submissions

​Earlier this month, Spin announced that it is moving most of its album reviews to Twitter. Music writing is getting shorter, not longer, and yet the 33 1/3 Series, which has the gall to publish entire books on albums that aren't even current, soldiers on. There are 85 installments in print n ... More >>

Six Indie Rock Songs That Sound Like Christian Rock Songs

Image via.​A plethora of compelling music has come from indie rock's complicated relationship with Christianity: Sufjan Stevens' folk hymns, David Bazan's tormented crises, the Thermals' blasphemous pop punk. These are the polar opposite of today's contemporary Christian rock, with its overt p ... More >>

Kaki King

8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26. The Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street.

Recap: Record Store Day at Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records, Saturday, June 17

Dana Smith​As we stood in the slightly elevated perch of Vintage Vinyl's DJ booth, I asked store co-owner Tom "Papa" Ray if Record Store Day was his version of Christmas morning. He thought about it for a second and said, in his inimitable drawl, "You know, I think I like Record Store Day bett ... More >>

Rural Alberta Advantage

9 p.m. Tuesday, March 31. The Billiken Club, in the Busch Student Center on the campus of Saint Louis University, 20 North Grand Boulevard.

Know Your Scat Records Discography, Part II: Cobra Verde, My Dad is Dead, Nothing Painted Blue, Finn's Motel

Hump Day Slow Jam of the Week: Dionne Warwick, "Heartbreaker"

Crowd Control

John Vanderslice gets by with a little help from his friends both live and in the studio.

2006: The Year in Music

Week of December 28, 2006

Climb Ev'ry Mountain

B-Sides gets lonely with the Mountain Goats and pays the rent with Pet Shop Boys.

Owen

Monday, March 6. Doors at 7 p.m. Creepy Crawl, (412 North Tucker Boulevard)

Built to Last

Doug Martsch runs the biggest little band on Earth

Mountain Goats

Tuesday, February 24; Rocket Bar

It's a Hoosier Thing

Week of April 2, 2003

Mountain Goats

Tallahassee (4AD)

Letters

Week of June 20, 2001

Sound Checks