National Public Radio

The Six Best NPR Theme Songs (In Honor of Talk of the Nation's Cancelation)

If you are like me, you drive a car with a broken cd player. So you have to listen to the radio while driving, and you end up on NPR most of the time because you are sick of Adele on the commercial stations and your favorite independent music channel always seems to have a zydeco show on when you're ... More >>

Beck Defies Sheet Music: The Six Most Insane Excerpts from the Odelay Sheet Music

A few days ago on NPR's All Things Considered program, Beck spoke about his much discussed sheet music only album Song Reader and offered an interesting thought nugget on his previous work: "When I put out one of my early records ... they sent me a sheet music version of the album. It ended up feeli ... More >>

Rockwell Knuckles Defeats 8-Bit Hounds, Himself and Apathy in His New Music Video

Now usually we don't do this, but, uh... Rockwell Knuckles has a new music video. Watch it right now because it is everything that is great about one of our city's most singular artists: Weird, apocalyptic, mesmerizing and impossible to watch only once. See also: -Five Years of the Best St. Louis ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: October 26 to 28

This weekend is Halloween weekend (Halloween-kend???? Nah, that sucks....) and as such there are plenty of sweet shows for you to attend in clothing that is not your own. Lucky for you -- and more work intensive for me, (you are welcome) -- we already wrote up a post regarding the best Halloween sho ... More >>

Music Is Not A Sport

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. Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen is kicking ass in the Olympics, and doing it efficiently as to minimize drag i ... More >>

"Call Me Maybe": Pop With Rock & Roll Characteristics

I may have been the last person to notice this--surely Carly Rae Jepsen noticed it first--but here's when I noticed it: Rihanna released "The Only Girl in the World," and I was briefly convinced I'd accidentally set the satellite radio to one of those Europop stations where the DJ is broadcasting fr ... More >>

Your 2012 Kentucky Derby Party Soundtrack And Geography

Now is the time for all good cultured TV-owners with new apartments to show off to hold 2012 Kentucky Derby parties and try to remember to call it, while sipping what they hope to be a mint julep, the 138th renewal. In fact, it might be a little late--no doubt Mike Shannon is already "on assignment. ... More >>

Applaud, My Friends

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2012: Music

Taco Takeover

Eric Church finds broad appeal by not looking

Drinking With St. Louis Public Radio's Spring Pledge Drive

Now that St. Patrick's Day has passed and we're still a couple of weeks away from the half-year binge known as baseball season, St. Louis' recreational drinkers are left looking for an excuse to put on our wobbly boots. Thank goodness, then, that our local NPR affiliate, 90.7 FM (KWMU), has its bian ... More >>

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, Village Voice Media's indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests to downright lame. Below, you'll find our cr ... More >>

Introducing the 2012 RFT Web Awards Finalists

​The good news? The St. Louis online community is alive and well. The bad news? There's so much great content out there, it's extremely difficult to come up with a list of the best of the best. But, hey, this is the Internet. People love them some lists. We'd hate to disappoint. So, then, the ... More >>

Flour Is the Latest Food That Maybe Could Kill You

Image via​'Tis the season for baking cookies, which means 'tis also the season for sneaking a bite or two of raw cookie dough.You might want to read this first.A study just published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (PDF link) takes us back to 2009, when an E. coli outbreak was traced b ... More >>

Krumpet's Revenge

Eating Roadkill's Okay. Organic Picnics Aren't.

Wikimedia CommonsRoadkill's good eats. Organic picnics aren't. ​Missouri's deer season started on Saturday, meaning the critters are on the run from the riflemen and ripe for the car-wrecking and eating. Last week NPR's food blog, The Salt, examined the laws pertaining to eating roadkill aro ... More >>

Educators Go on TV to Discuss Dropout Crisis

​Not much has changed since Riverfront Times reported on the school dropout crisis back in January of 2009. Since 2004, the high-school graduation rate in the St. Louis public schools has slid from 61 percent to 45 percent, 30 percentage points below the average for the state of Missouri. Nobo ... More >>

Top 10 Halloween Jokes: 2011 Edition

Knock. Knock. The laugh riot is here.​Yesterday NPR ran a piece on St. Louis' somewhat unique custom of requiring tricker-or-treaters to tell jokes on Halloween. Yours truly was interviewed for the story as an expert -- of sorts. How was I chosen for the story? Because for the last couple years I' ... More >>

Here's Your Halloween Soundtrack: David Lynch's Crazy Clown Time Is Now Streaming

​David Lynch's long-promised solo album is here: You can go listen to Crazy Clown Time right now on NPR's First Listen. What we've heard of it so far is about what you'd expect based on the horrifying title track: guitar licks from some dusty hell, discordant moans, vague insinuations. Serious ... More >>

NPR Explores St. Louis Custom of Jokes on Halloween

No joke: My colleague, Kholood, who was under the assumption that everyone would wear a costume to work today. (She's a peacock.)​Last week a correspondent with NPR rang me at work to ask me about our custom here in St. Louis requiring trick-or-treaters to tell jokes before receiving candy. Yes, f ... More >>

Wilco's The Whole Love: Now Streaming In Its Entirety

​The new, much anticipated Wilco album doesn't come out for another week, but you can listen to The Whole Love right now; it's streaming on NPR's invaluable First Listen series. Wilco, of course, will be playing the newly-reopened Peabody Opera House on October 4th, though the show has been ... More >>

St. Vincent's Strange Mercy Comes Out Today; Win Tickets To Her Show At Old Rock House

Tina Tyrell​St. Vincent's Strange Mercy came out today (though it has been streaming for a while now, through NPR's First Listen and other outlets). To celebrate, we're giving away a pair of tickets to her October 6th show at Old Rock House. Go to our Facebook page for details. St. Vincent i ... More >>

Pokey LaFarge And The South City Three's Middle Of Everywhere Comes Out Tomorrow

Courtesy of Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three​Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three will officially release full-length Middle Of Everywhere tomorrow in a pair of shows at Off Broadway. The album's already had plenty of play, from a spot on NPR's First Listen to reviews in places like B ... More >>

Video: Dead Squid Can Dance

The squid in this video is dead.Creepy, no? NPR's Robert Krulwich explains that this is science, not the supernatural: Because this squid was just killed, its muscle cells were still intact and operational. A live squid moves it tentacles by sending an electrical command from its brain to its muscl ... More >>

Rockwell Knuckles' "Silly Human" is NPR's Song of the Day

Jennifer Silverberg​Rockwell Knuckles steady takeover got a boost today from NPR, which has his "Silly Human" as its track of the day. The blurb was written by Ben Westhoff, a former RFT staffer and recently named the new music editor at our sister paper, LA Weekly. The subhead on the article ... More >>

Survey: Tips in Missouri "About Average"

​Marketplace, NPR's business and finance program, commissioned a survey of tipping habits across the country.The state-by-state results place Missouri more or less in the middle of the pack, with an average tip of 19.4% on a $20 dinner bill. Most states fell into the 18%-21% range, with New Hampsh ... More >>

The Coldest Cut: Eat Your Cold Cuts Hot (With Poll!)

Image viaListeria monocytogenes: Goes well with honey ham, yellow American.​Do you enjoy cold cuts, in sandwich form or, perhaps, eaten directly from the wrapped deli package while standing in front of the fridge 'round midnight? Are you over the age of 50?THEN PUT THOSE COLD CUTS DOWN, MY FRIEND. ... More >>

Jill Sobule embraces the past and soars into the future on a new tour with John Doe

Federal Funding Cut Would Hit Local Programming Hardest at St. Louis Public Radio

Tim Eby​By now you've heard how a hidden-video sting released this week caught an NPR executive calling the Tea Party racist and Republicans anti-intellectual. The tape has only added to calls from right-wing legislators to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provi ... More >>

New Album Releases: Lykke Li, DeVotchKa, Lucinda Williams and More

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Marsha Ambrosius' Late Nights, Early Mornings​*Marsha Ambrosius, Late Nights, Early Mornings SoundSavvy.com reviewed the former Floetry songstress' latest, s ... More >>

New Album Releases: Toro Y Moi, Six Organs of Admittance, Adele and More

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Adele's 21​*Adele, 21 NPR reviewed 21: "The songs on 21 don't offer up much specific detail of the heartache Adele says she's suffering, or even outline the ... More >>

New Release Highlights for January 25, 2011: Gang of Four, The Get Up Kids and Wanda Jackson Are Back With New Records

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Chikita Violenta's Tre3s​*Chikita Violenta, Tre3s Spin says of Tre3s, "This Mexican quartet's third release suggests a largely untapped indie-rock revenue st ... More >>

New Release Highlights for January 18: Braids, Lady Lazarus, Shilpa Ray, Tennis, Young Prisms and other noise.

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Gregg Allman returns with Low Country Blues.​*Gregg Allman, Low Country Blues NPR said of Allman's new record, "[It] gets Allman back to the roots he and bro ... More >>

Food Banks Conflicted Over Junk Food Donations

Just because they're hungry doesn't mean they should have junk food. NPR covers the touchy subject of how desperate food pantries manage junk food donations. Grocery stores often donate damaged items like soda and chips, which food banks are loathe to forgo for fear of losing healthy donations from ... More >>

Helicopters Blow Warm Air on Cold Florida Crops

For a second year in a row, cold threatens Florida's winter crops. NPR reports that farmers are hiring helicopters to hover low over the crops to push warm air downward. It's a desperate measure that costs around $2500 an hour, and last week three helicopters crashed on crop-warming missions. But if ... More >>

Eat Pat Boone's Meat, Support Focus on the Family

Image viaPat Boone wants you to eat his meat.​Do you like steak? Do you believe that sexual intercourse is a divine gift meant to be enjoyed only between married couples of which one member has a penis and the other a vagina? Then we have good news for you!Gospel singer, Tea Party activist and one ... More >>

Advice for Novice Cooks on Avoiding Thanksgiving Food Poisoning

If you're serving Thanksgiving dinner to loved ones this week, the Los Angeles Times offers a handy guide on how to not kill them with food poisoning. Beware the once-a-year cook and the bacteria-ridden leftovers. Not washing the veggies with bleach is also recommended.Feeding some not-so-loved ones ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Politicians and Those Unable to Deal with Teenage Relationships

​It's that time of the week. Time to vote for the local newsmaker of the week whose words or actions brought them the most shame/humiliation. In other words, who's the Ass Clown of the Week? And the nominees... 1. John Shimkus: The Republican from Collinsville, Illinois, said this week that he was ... More >>

Meatless Mondays Boost Restaurant Sales

Meatless Mondays have become a boon to restaurants. New York Magazine looks at how the slowest night of the restaurant week is becoming one of the hottest, thanks to the increasing trendiness of veggies and high-end restaurants doing interesting things with them for Monday dinner.Grocery stores are ... More >>

New Release Highlights For November 9: Cee-Lo Green, Floacist, Kid Cudi and More

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Floacist's Floetic Soul​*Floacist, Floetic Soul Soultracks.com says of the new record, "With Floetic Soul, Stewart successfully continues the neo-soul and po ... More >>

Local Blogger Rediscovers Earliest Known Photo of a Human Being

Last week, a local blogger known as the Hokumburg Goombah, and also as Gig Thurmond, awoke to, like Lord Byron, find himself famous. In blogger terms, this means "when we got home after running errands, visiting a sick friend, and getting dinner, and we checked the counter [yes, it has come to that, ... More >>

The Contradictory Link Between Poverty and Obesity

The Philadelphia Inquirer dedicated its Sunday front page to the link between poverty and obesity. They feature a family living in the second-hungriest congressional district in the country. "'One of our biggest misconceptions is that it's poor people's fault,' said Adam Drewnowski, a University of ... More >>

Video: Live Crab Vending Machine

A colleague found this remarkable report (via NPR) on a vending machine in Nanking, China, that dispenses crabs. Living crabs. They are enclosed in cases and then, according to NPR, kept at a temperature that keeps them docile.The machines are moving around 200 crabs a day, Xinhua's Tantao News repo ... More >>

New Release Highlights for October 26: Bryan Ferry, Sean Lennon, Warpaint and More.

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Juliette Commagere's Procession​*Juliette Commagere, The Procession Commagere, who's previously provided vocals for Hello Stranger and The Bird and the Bee, ... More >>

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder Turns Tables on Charges vs. Tea Party, True Racist Outfit is NPR

Kinder: Tweets gone wild.​As you may be aware, the NAACP came out this week with a report connecting the Tea Party to fringe racist movements. As you can imagine, the Tea Party rejects the racist allegations. Now, one of Missouri's biggest Tea Party cheerleaders, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, is turning ... More >>

Taste, Smell, Sight, and Now, Hearing Affects Flavors

Eating's a sensual experience, and scientists are discovering the role an unexpected sense plays in it. Scientific American cites a report from the journal Food Quality and Preference showing evidence that sound affects taste and texture perception. Eating in a loud environment can render flavors bl ... More >>

New Release Highlights for October 19: Bob Dylan Releases The Witmark Demos and The Original Mono Recordings

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Bob Dylan's The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964​*Bob Dylan, The Bootleg Series: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 Guardian said of the Witmark Demos: "The latest Christm ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Friday, 11.6

​ Big chefs write about home cooking. (Los Angeles Times)Angostura bitters shortage could cause problems for cocktail lovers. (The Guardian)Universal student breakfast program choking on sugar. (Chicago Tribune)MU's new Enology and Viticulture program gets national press attention. (NPR)After ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 11.3

​ Company recalls beef from stores, including Trader Joe's. (USDA)New study blames meat for half of greenhouse gases. (The Independent)Coffee sold in India claims to enhance virility. (Times of India)Man sues over turkey-tuna mix-up. Another sues over lack of fruit in Froot Loops. (Chicagob ... More >>