Madonna (Entertainer)

The Future Is Fine: Streaming music isn't evil, it's just different

Full Circle with The Flaming Lips: 2012 In Review

Editor's Note: The end of 2012 is upon us (also the end of the world, if you believe in that sort of thing), so we thought we'd put a cap on things by sharing some of our personal favorite shows, albums, events and general shenanigans. Join us as we indulge in some navel-gazing! When I write articl ... More >>

Jay-Z's Barack Obama Ad: You Can't Stay Rock & Roll Forever

I think I'm plagiarizing from Heraclitus here, but it's in the public domain, so whatever: You can't be scandalized by the same pop star twice. The ones you found thrilling or off-putting, even, will be anodyne to your younger cousins and goofy and gauche to your children. All this is to say that Ja ... More >>

Homespun: Black James

im A mirAcle
soundcloud.com/blackjamesmusic

Black James will Make you Dance and Haunt Your Dreams

That Jennifer McDaniel dropped the im A mirAcle cassette/digital release on Halloween is no accident. Her Black James project trafficks in otherworldliness and disorientation that is, at times, spooky, unhinged and detached. Even the opening moments of the tape recall those Halloween sound-effects r ... More >>

Six Most Overused Rhymes

You've been there, listening to a song for the first time, hearing the word at the end of one lyric and thinking "please don't end the next line with (insert predictable rhyme here)." Of course, nine out of ten times, the internalized wish is futile. Nobody expects songwriters to reinvent the wheel ... 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 >>

Story of the Year vocalist Dan Marsala reveals the secret history of the band's breakthrough LP, Page Avenue

KEZK Wants You to (Oh-So-Softly) Rock This Holiday Season

A still from the "Last Christmas" video.​As of 5 p.m. Friday, November 12, KEZK (102.5 FM) has started programming Christmas/holiday music 24-7 on the terrestrial airwaves and online at KEZK.com. According to a press release, the station "will feature traditional songs from top artists like Bi ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: DJs Crucial and Agile 1, The Coolest Young Parents in St. Louis

Jon ScorfinaDJs Agile 1 and Crucial with their twin boys​Rob and April Fulstone might be the two coolest young parents in St. Louis. For over ten years they've been staples in the St. Louis hip-hop scene under the monikers DJ Crucial and DJ Agile 1. Following the birth of their twin sons, Linc ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: Nicole Peterson on Bowie, Beatles and Bands Who Love Vinyl

Jon ScorfinaNicole Peterson, this week's Last Collector Standing​Nicole Peterson has worked in many facets of the music industry, including retail at Slackers CD's and Games and (currently) at Suite 100 at the Pageant handling merchandise and ticket sales. After looking through her modest reco ... More >>

Monsters, Inc.: Lady Gaga brings her Monster Ball to St. Louis

Show Review Setlist: Lady Gaga, Jason Derulo and Semi Precious Weapons at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, Thursday, January 7

It's not often that the world's biggest pop star comes to St. Louis while at the height of her fame. But the stars aligned Thursday night with the arrival of Lady Gaga, who presented her arena-sized Monster Ball Tour in the cozy Fabulous Fox Theatre. The mood at the venue was appropriately festive a ... More >>

Lady Gaga/Semi Precious Weapons/Jason Derulo

7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 7. Fox Theatre, 527 North Grand Boulevard.

There S/he Is! The Miss Gay America Pageant prances into St. Louis — and Unreal drinks it all in like a camel at Hoover Dam

Introducing the Novice Foodie: Crashing the Cook's Night Out

​Kelli Best-Oliver is on a quest to become a full-fledged foodie. Beginning this week, she will chronicle her adventures for Gut Check. She writes about any damn thing she pleases at South City Confidential.I have no formal culinary training. It's been ten years since I worked in a restaurant, wai ... More >>

Show Review Photos: MSTRKRFT, Santigold, Trouble Andrew and Amanda Blank at the Pageant, Saturday, June 13

Around 1:10 a.m. or so, MSTRKRFT dropped bits of Daft Punk's "Da Funk" into its DJ set. The crowd - or what was left of it - at the Pageant naturally went apeshit, fueled as much by free Bacardi drinks as it was by the French techno-funk. And sure, at that hour, nothing is better than hearing an awe ... More >>

A Table for How Many? at BBC Asian Cafe & Bar

Stefani Pollack is the author of the food blogs Cupcake Project and Food Interviews. She is also a member of the St. Louis Dinner Club. She blogs about her large-group dining experiences twice a month for Gut Check.BBC Asian Cafe & Bar243 North Euclid Avenue314-361-7770"I'd go back.""I'll be ba ... More >>

The Good Is Gone!

Khlosure for Khalil

At last, the suspense is over. Our long national (or at least local), nightmare is over. We finally know who the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene trade is. The Cardinals and Padres completed the deal that brought Greene here yesterday, with Luke Gregerson, a right-handed relie ... More >>

Second Spin: Phil Collins, No Jacket Required

Artist: Phil Collins Album: No Jacket Required From: Vintage Vinyl Year: 1985 Label: Atlantic Records What it sounds like: The 80's Dance Pop Special: A smooth synthesizer groove, with an order of keyboards, drum machines, and horns on the side.

Hump Day Slow Jam of the Week: Stephanie Mills, "Never Knew Love Like This Before"

The Singer: Discovered by Jermaine Jackson (and later romantically linked with his brother Michael), Stephanie Mills began her recording career in 1974 but didn't find success until the early '80s. Her bright, clear voice was ideal for big, glossy disco numbers, and 1979's What Cha Gonna Do With My ... More >>

Show Review: The English Beat, The Alarm and the Fixx at the VooDoo Lounge, Harrah's Casino, Thursday, July 17

House Party

Cherish Is the Word

Producer nonpareil Pharrell Williams is happy to be just one of the band again

Film Openings

Week of January 11, 2006

Green Velvet

10 p.m. Saturday, December 9. Dante's (3221 Olive Boulevard).

Winter White Ball

Velvet does it again

Phil Collins

Love Songs (Atlantic)

The Ten Most Hated Men in Rock

(Besides Sting)

Let's Go to the Hop

And, like, dance or something

Naked Truth

Out of Line's Party quickly goes out of bounds

Todd Rundgren

Friday, July 18; Pageant

Film Openings

Week of April 16, 2003

Series/Festivals

Week of June 12, 2002

Poll Position

The RFT Music Awards lets you be the judge

In the Cup

To find a bra that fits, we go to the experts

Hell of a Long Day

24 has been the most talked-about show of the season and for all the wrong reasons

The Mellowfeathers with Brick Bat and the French New Wave

Sunday, July 29; Ramp Riders Skate Park

Jett Fighter

How not to interview Joan Jett

The Great Escape

Baz Luhrmann makes movies -- and audiences -- in his own image

Sheer Gaul!

Moulin Rouge thrusts forth a deliciously garish Paris

Atom and His Package with Har Mar Superstar

Wednesday, May 9; Rocket Bar

Feminine Wiles

Clearing up the mystery of what lies beneath the makeup

TO THE MAX

Beckmann in Paris takes "Best of Show"

Critical Mass

RFT music critics offer a cut-and-paste compendium of the year in music. Everyone's wrong. Everyone's right.

Country Club

Royal Pain

Lacking a monarchy of our own, Americans raised Elvis and Marilyn to sovereign status -- but the very vulnerability that drew us to them was their downfall

The Clothes Make the Man

St. Louis is kind of a drag -- in the best sense of the word