Lou Reed

Tone Rodent's Latest, A Bit Disconnected: Read Our Homespun Review and Listen

Guitarist/vocalist Adam Watkins and bassist Matty Coonfield have been the anchors in the member-shifting Tone Rodent, a band that swerves from psych to shoegaze to no-wave without losing a thumbprint of foreboding ambiance. The current six-piece lineup locks in nicely on this four-song EP, with Ashl ... More >>

Homespun: Tone Rodent

A Bit Disconnected
theblogthatcelebratesitself.bandcamp.com

The Best Shows at SXSW 2013

This year, our sister papers at the Houston Press music blog Rocks Off and Dallas Observer music blog DC-9 at Night teamed up to bring you only the choicest moments from last week's SXSW madness. See Also: -The Scene at SXSW: Here's What You Are Missing -SXSW 2013: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Spai ... More >>

Five Lou Reed Songs to Console Lew Reed On His Mayoral Primary Loss

Yesterday the City of St. Louis essentially elected incumbent Mayor Francis Slay to an unprecedented fourth term. Technically, it was only the Democratic mayoral primary, but winning the primary all but seals the deal for the general election. Unless, of course, James McNeely shocks everyone and pul ... More >>

Karaoke as Aphrodisiac?

Karaoke can be a dangerous endeavor. What can you sing that won't make friends shun you? How can you go balls-out during your next performance? Each week in "Ask a Karaoke Host," RFT Music writer and professional karaoke host Allison Babka answers your burning questions about maximizing your melodio ... More >>

The Six Strangest Crossover Attempts By Jazz Musicians

About a week ago, our Northwest sister paper Seattle Weekly ran a post about the diminishing popularity of jazz. Watch for a lengthy reply by RFT Music's devilishly handsome resident jazz guitar school dropout later this week. In the meantime, here are the six most bizarre crossover attempts by jazz ... More >>

A Space Song Countdown in Honor of Felix Baumgartner's Jump

"Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are" - Felix Baumgartner Where were you Sunday, October 14? Like seven million of my closest Internet friends, I was watching Felix Baumgartner's historic parachute dive online and chatting about the #livejump on Twitter.

Re-Animating a Classic

Happy Birthday Lou Reed: The Bravest Rock & Roller

Earlier this week, RFT Music celebrated "Country Grammar's" 12th birthday. Here's another reminder of everyone's impending mortality: Lou Reed turns 70 today. The Brooklyn-born rock icon's first seven decades have been, to put it mildly, eventful. He's created some of the most influential - and mos ... More >>

The Six Best "Bad" Guitar Solos

Eddie Van Halen demonstrates the exact opposite of this idea.​The guitar solo has become an integral part of the rock and roll formula, either as a melodic counterpoint to a vocal line or an excuse for showing off. But there's a different kind of solo out there. The kind that, by all technical ... More >>

The Six Best Song Count Offs

​In popular song, the count off is a tool of function. Somebody counts from one to four (or three, or if people have even once compared the band to Don Cabellero, seven), and the musicians know when to begin playing and how quickly to play. Some have used the countoff as a jumping off point fo ... More >>

23 Musicians with Michele Bachmann Eyes: Horrifying and Hypnotic

Jeff Tweedy as the Queen of Rage​Michelle Bachmann's Newsweek cover, on which she stares out icily over the headline The Queen Of Rage, has provoked intense reaction, mostly because of Bachmann's rapidly ballooning public caricature, but at least partly because the look in her eyes is somethin ... More >>

What Do the Beastie Boys Have in Common with Mixed Martial Arts?

Chrissy Wilmes​Every week, we'll ask your local record store clerks to advise you on which new releases are worth your hard-earned pennies. Today, Vintage Vinyl employee (and drummer for the Humanoids and Doom Town) Shaun Morrissey fills us in on some of his favorite recent releases and reissu ... More >>

A Road Playlist for Tony La Russa

TLR, Bob Schneider and the Twitter bird. Don't ask me, but the image works.​Tony La Russa is driving home. Rather than flying home after the season, he's taking his time heading back to the Bay Area this year and recreating a trip he took in 1996, which you all may recall was the year he took over ... More >>

Interview: Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij on His Checkered Ska Past, Confounding Critics -- and Why Vampire Weekend is a Punk Band

Annie ZaleskiVampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, taken at the Pageant in 2008​If you're reading this, you've probably already made up your mind about Vampire Weekend. Most find the New York quartet's music either delicious or disgusting, with very few people in the "just okay" camp. Speaking to A t ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: Thrift-Shop Expert Adam Newsham on Surf, Bossanova and the Thrill of the Hunt

The number of chain record stores nationwide has dwindled. However, St. Louis has become an unlikely safe haven for indie record shops as well as for DJs who prefer to spin the black circle instead of scrolling their iPods. In this weekly column, we'll focus on personal portraits of St. Louis' recor ... More >>

Interview Outtakes: Emily Haines of Metric on Her Internet Admirers and Vampire Love

Metric is finally coming back to St. Louis.​Later today, I'll be trekking out to Maryland Heights for Lilith Fair. Expect photos and a recap tomorrow. In the meantime, please check out our interview with Metric's Emily Haines -- and some outtakes below. Snag Metric's Daytrotter session right h ... More >>

The Beertender: Extolling the Glories of Berliner Weisse While Stoked on Lou Reed

www.colnect.com​Lou Reed's 2007 concert film Berlin features the rocker performing in its entirety the 1973 album of the same name. More than 30 years later, the repertoire remains pure Reed: loss, hate, depravity, a sourness for this cold, cruel world that's most evident when he closes with an un ... More >>

These United States

7 p.m. Saturday, July 11. Luminary Center for the Arts, 4900 Reber Place.

Homespun: The Radical Sons, Throwing Knives EP

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews the Radical Sons' debut EP, Throwing Knives. He has this to say: The Radical Sons' twin-guitar lineup allows for the interplay between lackadaisical strums, inventive leads and the occasional bit of stop-start dynamics. The guitars are mostly pl ... More >>

Homespun: The Radical Sons

Throwing Knives EP
(St. Ives)

Slideshow: Badass Stax Records Covers, Courtesy of Euclid Records

In this week's paper, Roy Kasten interviewed soul singer Shirley Brown, who recorded for Stax Records near the end of the label's life. Brown will be performing at the fourth annual St. Louis Blues Festival on Friday, February 27. The event is held at the Chaifetz Arena and starts at 8 p.m.; tickets ... More >>

MP3 Weekender: James Jackson Toth and Ohtis

James Jackson Toth

9 p.m. Friday, September 12. Billiken Club, in the Busch Student Center on the campus of Saint Louis University, 20 North Grand Boulevard.

Second Spin: Slik, Slik

2008 Music Award Nominees: Best Indie Band

Bill Callahan/Jonathan Meiburg

9:30 p.m. Friday, February 29. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City

Tapes 'n Tapes

7 p.m. Tuesday, April 17. The Creepy Crawl (3524 Washington).

Stipe Hunting

Primal Scream|Kasabian

Riot City Blues (Columbia)
Empire(RCA)

Hip-Hop, Year 2 A.J.

Still no Jigga, but Kanye, some loveable Limeys and a great Beyoncé substitute held it down

New York Dolls

Pre-Crash Condition: Live From the Royal Festival Hall (Sanctuary)

Sea of Change

Don't like what's playing at the Red Sea? Come back tomorrow.

The Meat Purveyors and Rough Shop

Friday, September 3; Frederick's Music Lounge

Waiting to Inhale

High On Fire are dope

James McMurtry

Saint Mary of the Woods (Sugarhill Records)

Sugar, Sugar

A new book about bubblegum bands provides more than empty calories

Judgment Day

Our intrepid reporter gets herself in a jam

The Strokes

Is This It? (RCA)

Edith Frost

Wonder, Wonder (Drag City)

Seasoned Stew

The brilliant frontman for the Negro Problem on ageism, racism and preaching to the converted

The Pixies

Complete "B" Sides (4AD)

Hall Pass

Looking for influence, significance, development and perpetuation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rob Wasserman's Space Island, the Dirty Dozen and the Jazz Mandolin Project

Thursday, Aug. 31; Mississippi Nights

Mary Gauthier

Drag Queens in Limousines (Groove House)

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Taking St. Louis' lead-footed concertgoers to task

BRINGING OUT THE DEAD

Directed by Martin Scorsese

ROCK STOCK

A book report on the best tomes to consult before buying tunes

Sound Checks