Nirvana (Band)

The Five Best Places for Karaoke in St. Louis

Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2012 wasn't easy. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this RFT Music series, we're beeboping and scattin' our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. This week: The best karaoke bars ... More >>

The Six Best "Hey!"s in Rock and Roll

No musician puts a "Hey!" in a song for his/herself. "Hey!" is a social cue, an opportunity for engagement between a musician and the audience. It means nothing, but it means the same nothing to all of us and therefore means something, maybe even everything. Woah. Here are the six best "Hey!"s in ro ... More >>

Matthew Sweet

9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From September 17 to 23

I think I dropped several IQ points over the weekend when I attended / reviewed the Odd Future show at the Pageant on Friday. My headache has subsided, but matters of intelligent thought or focus are still coming slowly and proving difficult. In other words, I can't think of anything to write here, ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From August 27 to September 2

Did everyone survive LouFest? Surrounding this post is our extensive coverage; be sure to read up. Rain be damned, the whole thing seemed to go off without a hitch. More big outdoors shows populate this week's post, for those of you that didn't get enough over the weekend. Tonight Verizon Wireless ... More >>

The 2012 RFT Music Showcase Lineup for June 2

The Six Most Self-Aware Songs

Interesting things happen when a song realizes it is a song. Forms collapse, listeners become part of the writing process, and a track's guts become its skin. Here are the six most self-aware songs. Let us know what your favorites are, because we all know self-awareness is a common trait among those ... More >>

Nigel Godrich and Six Other Producers Who Stepped in Front of a Mic

If there was ever an example a good musical soldier, it would be Nigel Godrich. The British producer has been an essential behind-the-scenes figure with Radiohead for years and years and years, so much so that he's colliquolly referred to as a sixth member of the band. Radiohead's titanic sound sh ... More >>

Five Signs You're an Aging Hipster from Coachella

By Lilledeshan Bos Aging hipsters--the very same people Coachella targeted when it began holding the music fest in Indio--are usually easy to spot on the Empire Polo Fields. They're the ones who can't be bothered to walk over to Gobi and check out a new band because "It's too hot!" (or, in Friday's ... More >>

Win a Copy of Seeing the Light: Inside the Velvet Underground

Update: Matt Harnish wins, because we can't resist a local hook. As a side note, I sincerely hope that Adam R. is the person I think it is. Well played, everybody. As much has been said about the Velvet Underground, there will always be more worth talking about. Rob Jovanovic, who wrote the only b ... More >>

Jane's Addiction at the Pageant, 2/22/12: Review, Photos, Setlist

Jane's Addiction | Black Box Revelation The Pageant February 22, 2012 Jane's Addiction remains an undisputed king of the '90s. From its inception in 1985 to the creation of Lollapalooza for its 1991 farewell tour, the band has lent more than its share to the birth of alternative culture, second to ... More >>

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Pearl Jam

Jon GitchoffEddie Vedder with Pearl Jam at the Scottrade Center last year.​2011 is a year of reflection for generation Xers. It's been twenty years since Nirvana released Nevermind and Eddie Vedder moved to Seattle to front Mookie Blaylock, the band that would become Pearl Jam. Rock journali ... More >>

Ten Biggest Musician Death Conspiracies

wikimedia commons​There's always been a sense of glamour in the blur of all that is sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, and it doesn't end when the music's done, or even when the rock stars die. Instead, an eerie feeling of mystery and unfinished business surfaces when the demise of a music icon is ... More >>

Ted Leo at Off Broadway, 5/8/11: Review and Setlist

Ted Leo. Photo by Roy Kasten​Ted Leo/Title Tracks/The Blind Eyes Off Broadway Sunday, May 8, 2011 Few axioms in live music are as rigid as the Law of the Solo Headliner: Never put two loud and catchy power-pop bands on before him. Break it at everyone's peril. Unless, of course the solo artist ... More >>

Memories of Danny McClain from Friends and Family

Courtesy of Mary Ann Starr​In this week's RFT, we profiled Danny McClain, the mind-blowing local musician who passed away on March 28 at the age of 31. To further honor his memory, we invited some of his friends and family to share their favorite Danny McClain stories with A to Z. Mary Ann St ... More >>

Mike Watt + the Missingmen

9 p.m. Thursday, April 14. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

SXSW Days 3 and 4: Dum Dum Girls, Joy Formidable, La Sera, The Vaccines, Josh Ritter, Lucinda Williams, Venice Is Sinking, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Asobi Seksu, Hurray For the Riff Raff and Twangfest Party, Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19

Dana PlonkaLa Sera at Waterloo Records​At the end of the final night at South By Southwest 2011, I walked down 6th Street, a scene you can surely picture without my assistance. But I have this press badge to earn, so: By 1 a.m. on Saturday night / Sunday morning, downtown Austin was a zombie m ... More >>

The Fuck Off and Dies Records New Songs

Image via​In late January, Story of the Year frontman Dan Marsala revealed some obscure trivia about the band's breakthrough album, Page Avenue, which the band played in its entirety Friday, February 4 at the Pageant. At the same time, he also delivered an update about the Fuck off and Dies, h ... More >>

Billy Ray Cyrus Wrote a Poem About Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in a St. Louis Hotel

​(Via TMZ, via Mike A) GQ just posted a lengthy interview with Billy Ray Cyrus. The country star-turned-actor opens up about the troubles of his daughter, Miley, the effects of the TV show Hannah Montana on the family, his divorce and an impending new album. Relevant to us: Cyrus says that he ... More >>

'80s UK rockers the Godfathers start their first tour in two decades at Off Broadway, energized for touring and making new music

How Ben Folds Became the Patron Saint of A Cappella

Kyleigh DiGregorio​In this week's paper, I chatted with Ben Folds, who's playing a sold-out show at the Pageant on Sunday night. Folds' latest album, Lonely Avenue, is a collaboration with author Nick Hornby. In addition to this project, Folds has been dabbling in the world of a cappella over ... 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 >>

Review: The Bad Plus at Jazz at the Bistro, Wednesday, January 5

Cameron WittigThe Bad Plus​Perhaps best known previously for their sometimes radical re-imaginings of rock and pop songs, The Bad Plus appear to have entered a new phase with last year's release of Never Stop, their first CD of all original compositions. Their St. Louis performance Wednesday n ... More >>

Top Ten 90s Fashion WTFs

What in the name of Ian Ziering's mullet were we smoking?​When a wise man concluded that there's nothing new under the sun, he had to have been mulling American fashion. We've been recycling the same trends, give or take an accessory or two, for nearly 70 years. Hence the all-too-predictable 1980s ... More >>

Black Eyed Peas unfurl an electro-pop spectacle of epic proportions

Review Setlist: Hum Doesn't Let Nostalgia Get in the Way of a Good Rock Show, Saturday, May 22 at the Old Rock House

Annie Zaleski​It's a good rule of thumb to keep expectations low for a reunion show, especially if it's one involving a band that doesn't play together very often. That way, if a group is particularly good, you can be pleasantly surprised. If band is only okay - or, heaven forbid, terrible - y ... More >>

Harlem

8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Dead to Me

8 p.m. Tuesday, March 9. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Is a Heart-Shaped Pizza a Good Idea for Valentine's Day? How's Your Relationship Doing?

As a dining option, pizza is always a good idea. But as a Valentine's Day gift, a heart-shaped pizza can be interpreted two ways and two ways only: 1) as a mozzarella-covered caloric bomb that ultimately is a cute, thoughtful gesture, or, 2) as a pathetic, last-minute gift that turns an already in s ... More >>

A to Z Gets a Cease-and-Desist Letter for...Linking to a Blog?

Timothy Norris/LA WeeklyLady Gaga in LA, 12/23/09​​Last Thursday, to preview Lady Gaga's show at the Fox that night, I posted about a Nirvana-Lady Gaga mashup floating around the Internet. In that post, I embedded the YouTube video and a link to the where the mashup originated: a blog post on th ... More >>

Road Trip Review: The Pixies in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom, Friday, November 20

Jon GitchoffBlack Francis at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, 11/20/2009​Last Friday night in Chicago, the Pixies managed to make the gimmick of playing an entire album from start-to-finish feel fresh. The amount of fun they appeared to be having had a lot to do with this: All smiles, the band me ... More >>

Show Review: Ghostland Observatory and DJ Lord at the Pageant (SoCo underCOVER show), October 15

marqueemag.com/tag/ghostland-observatory/​Few indie bands are as divisive as Ghostland Observatory. For every fan and critic who fawns over its catchy dance punk grooves, there are others who decry tthe band as "robot rock for the flyover states" or, as Pitchfork infamously panned "Daft Punk for f ... More >>

Loud Fast Rules

Shame Club: Too loud, way proud.

Queens of the Stone Age

Era Vulgaris (Interscope)

Kristin Hersh

Learn to Sing Like a Star (Yep Roc)

Encore Performance

Don't fret. Guitar Hero II kills the opening act.

Chain Reaction

For St. Louis' own Jibbs, it's nuthin' but a PG-thang.

Death to the Pixies (Again!?)

Epiphanies, Power Wheels and the Pixies -- all in a tour's work for Frank Black.

Here Comes the Sun

Umbrellas opens up

Silver Surfing

A deluge of CDs yields a couple of winners

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

The young rockers of Sullen give the lie to their name with an agreeable stage presence and nearly perfect songs

SUGAR TOWN

Written and directed by Allison Anders and Kurt Voss

Royal Trux with Mark Growden and Puerto Muerto

Wednesday, Sept. 22; Side Door

OS MUTANTES

Everything Is Possible! (Luaka Bop)

ROCK STOCK

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

Forever Young

Sound Checks

Sound Checks

Sound Checks

Listening Post