Pixies

The Six Indie Rock Songs That Sound Most Like Ska Songs

Indie rock is the vaguest of all genres, sort of the "none of the above" of rock and roll. There are no hard and fast rules. In rare cases, the result sounds an awful lot like ska. Here are the six indie rock songs that sound most like ska songs. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Oi.

Helmet and Toadies

7 p.m. Saturday, August 11. Pop's Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

Nine Albums Overshadowed by Nevermind

​Tomorrow, Nirvana's Nevermind turns twenty years old, leaving Gen Xers questioning where their lives have gone, just as they questioned where their lives were going to the strains of Smells Like Teen Spirit. While Nevermind marked a victory for the underground in a stellar year of albums, th ... More >>

Frank Black at Old Rock House: Review, Photo and Setlist

Photo by Chrissy Wilmes​Frank Black | This City of Takers Old Rock House July 19, 2011 St. Louisans had a tough choice to make last night: Fleet Foxes, Frank Black or NKOTBSB? This City of Takers' vocalist and guitarist Brandon Lee acknowledged this conundrum halfway through the band's brief ... More >>

Frank Black

8 p.m. Tuesday, July 19. Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street.

The Joy Formidable Coming to the Luminary Center for the Arts

And so the spring deluge continues apace: On April 22, the Joy Formidable will be playing at the Luminary Center for the Arts. Formed in North Wales (but based in London for the moment), JF is a trio rooted in shoegaze, post-punk and the Pixies. Vocalist Ritzy Bryan is a banshee from beyond, a dream ... More >>

O'Brother/Felix Culpa

7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 22. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Last Collector Standing: Webster University's Andrew Allen Smith on Combining Record Collections with His Girlfriend, Movie Soundtracks and the Pixies

(The number of chain-record stores nationwide has dwindled. However, St. Louis has become an unlikely safe haven for indie record shops -- and 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' record a ... More >>

Review Setlist: OK Go Wows the Old Rock House with (Hand)bells, Whistles and an Engaging Set, Sunday, April 18

When I interviewed OK Go frontman Damian Kulash, he said that he thinks rock & roll is not the just beats, chords, melodies and lyrics of a song, but also the inaudible actions that accompany the tune's performance. In other words, Kulash feels Elvis' swinging hips are as important to rock & roll as ... More >>

Caption This: Rockabye Baby!, Lullaby Renditions of Journey

The Rockabye Baby!: Lullaby Renditions of... series is self-explanatory. Each release focuses on making tunes from one rock band palatable enough for the naptime set. Past volumes have featured Metallica, Tool, Beach Boys, Coldplay, the Pixies and the Beatles. However, the latest one to cross my des ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Gin and 'Treuse, the Bleeding Deacon

Our companion on this afternoon has spent the earlier part of the day rehearsing for a high school talent show. A teacher at an all-boys Catholic high school, he has formed a band with some students, another teacher and a newly minted monk. Eventually they settled on one song each by Vampire Weeken ... More >>

New Local Band to Watch: Flaming Death Trap

(Are you in a local band? Are you new-ish? You should email me and tell me about yourself. Like a job interview, only with not as much pressure. Seriously.) www.myspace.com/flamingdeathtraprages​The other day, a member of the band Flaming Death Trap dropped me a line about his band's gig open ... 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 >>

Pavement Is Totally Reuniting.

Indie-rock slackers Pavement -- who, like the Pixies, arguably seem to be more popular now than when they were together -- are reuniting in 2010, according to blog Brooklynvegan. Pitchfork notes a September show at Central Park's Summerstage next year as the first confirmed date. (Vocalist Stephen M ... More >>

Target Market

9 p.m. Monday, May 4. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

David Lovering and Joey Santiago of the Pixies Form New Band, Everybody

Quick hit: David Lovering and Joey Santiago of the Pixies have formed a new band, called Everybody. Go to that website, give them your email and you get a free Christmas MP3 of a song called "Snow in Los Angeles." Your regularly scheduled Xmas Jams will continue as soon as I recover.-- Annie Zaleski ... More >>

Bad Dudes

8 p.m. Sunday, May 4. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, 3301 Lemp Avenue

The Shackeltons

8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street

R.E.M. Accelerate: An Advance Review and Song-by-Song Analysis of the Band's New Album

Belle and Sebastian Covers Dinosaur Jr., Van Halen

Last Night's Show: Bobby Bare Jr's Pixies Cover Band

Bobby Bare Jr's Pixies Cover Band, Is She Weird, Is She White: Tonight at Off Broadway

Bare Is My Mind?

Bobby Bare Jr. covers up with his ace Pixies and Breeders tribute act.

Season's Greetings from the Livers

Silversun Pickups

6 p.m. Saturday, December 15. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

The Breeders: New Album, Mountain Battles, and SXSW 2008

Foundry Field Recordings

8 p.m. Friday, September 21. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Weekend Concert Round-up: July 27-29

This Past Week on A to Z

Declare Independence!

Zelazowa

10 p.m. Wednesday, April 18. Way Out Club (2525 South Jefferson Avenue).

Tapes 'n Tapes

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

Target Market / Ad Astra Per Aspera

9 pm. Thursday, January 18. Ground Floor (215 East Main Street, Belleville, Illinois).

"You guys and your hatred for George Bush is sometimes hard to believe."

Week of September 7, 2006

Death to the Pixies (Again!?)

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

The Bellrays

9 p.m. Saturday, June 24. Hi-Pointe (1001 McCausland Avenue)

Nine Black Alps

Tuesday, April 11, at 9 p.m. Blueberry Hill (6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City)

Another Look at a Legend

New releases for the week of October 4, 2005

Cursive

The Difference Between Houses and Homes (Saddle Creek)

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the years top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote.

The Pixels

Friday, December 17; the Way Out Club

Best 3 a.m. Bar

The Rocket Bar

Staggering Genius

In which stellastarr* melds with the universe

Frank Black and the Catholics

Show Me Your Tears (spinART)

Mink Lungs

I'll Take It (Arena Rock Recording Company)

The Pixies

Pixies (Spinart)

Frank Talk

Frank Black is pissed about a lot of things, especially brainless rockers who just want to meet chicks and asinine questions about his old band, the Pixies

The Pixies

Complete "B" Sides (4AD)

Silver Surfing

A deluge of CDs yields a couple of winners

Black Magic