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Al Johnson is Decent: A Conversation with the Host of This Weekend's Skin Graft Records Homecoming

Skin Graft Records emerged in the early '90s amidst the rise of music cross-genres noise-rock and math-rock. Being an early proponent of such salty sounds, label owner Mark Fischer saw fit to combine records and comics in an unholy union of visual and audio debauchery. Early art featured Rob Syers, ... More >>

Bridgeton Landfill: One Step Closer to Not Smelling Horrible, Stopping Underground Fire

The smelly landfill in Bridgeton is one step closer to not being so smelly! And not on fire! The Missouri attorney general's office -- which has sued the company behind Bridgeton Landfill -- announced yesterday that workers at the trash site have finished removing the six "reinforced concrete pipes ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: May 31-June 2

Things have been crazy around here, to say the least. I can't say for sure, but I have a theory that music editor Daniel Hill hasn't left the office in days and has only stopped working on the RFT Music Showcase for an occasional George Costanza-style under-the-desk nap. See the fruits of our labor ... More >>

Plunder Years: Opera Theatre starts off summer with a pithy Pirates of Penzance

West Lake Landfill: EPA Says No Radioactive Hazards As Activists Scrutinize Bridgeton Fire

In March, concerns about the incredibly smelly landfill in Bridgeton reached a new level when environmental groups warned of a possible "dirty bomb." The question was whether the Bridgeton Landfill's increasing stench -- tied to an underground fire -- could prove to be especially hazardous, given th ... More >>

Is Killer Mike Is the Best Rapper Alive in 2013?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis city. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Mystikal, Famous Sex Offender / Rapper to Drop New Album in 2013 With Appearances By Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne

Mystikal has been getting a lot of attention for an interview he did with Rolling Stone recently. In said interview, he mentions that lately he's been listening to James Brown, Sam Cooke, Master P, Ludacris, and Eddie Murphy lately, and is in the midst of working on a new album (recent singles seem ... More >>

Best Vs. Favorite

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 RFT announced the Best Of St. Louis winners more than twelve hours ago. Where's the backlash? Where is the ... More >>

Four reasons Lollapalooza needs EDM

See Also: Lollapalooza Suspended, Resumed After Dangerous Weather Conditions Ten Things Your Lollapalooza Outfit Says About You By Ian Traas With every year that passes, it feels like electronic dance music gains a bigger foothold in the summer festival circuit, and the climb in popularity was esp ... More >>

Rock & Roll Myths Debunked and Proven in New Book Co-Authored By St. Louis Music Writer

Ever wondered if Pink Floyd purposefully synced Dark Side of the Moon with the Wizard of Oz? Or if Johnny Cash actually had the Folsom Prison blues? Gary Graff and Daniel Durchholz tackle these questions and more in their newest book Rock 'n' Roll Myths: The True Stories Behind the Most Infamous Leg ... More >>

Paul McCartney's Ram: An Appreciation of the Album that Made Him a Pariah

Late last month, the third piece of the Paul McCartney remaster series--a super-deluxe version of 1971's Ram--finally hit stores. The timing, if a little belated, was fitting; by now it seems like Ram is everyone's favorite Paul McCartney record, but that's only because after 40 years we've finally ... More >>

Madeleine Peyroux

8 p.m. Sunday, May 20. The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

Steve Aoki Talks Hipsters, Hardcore and the Moment Electro Went Punk

Mention Steve Aoki in a crowded room and watch the reactions; some will cross themselves in reverence, most will nod their recognition at the name, and the rest will know him only as "a DJ." But Steve Aoki has never been just a DJ; he's a modern auteur with his finger rammed in the proverbial sphinc ... More >>

What the Dickens?! For Kids!

​John Hendrix makes a living creating illustrations and covers for periodicals such as the New York Times and Rolling Stone. It's a difficult field to break into, and it's just as difficult to maintain one's standing because you have to keep producing at a steady rate. "Sometimes you get a call at ... More >>

The Six Most Absurd Pop Songs of 2011

​The old model of popular music: dumb it down to the lowest common denominator and make it go down easy. Reviewing the Billboard and iTunes charts of this past year, the tides have obviously changed. In days when nobody is buying, the flashiest, loudest, weirdest thing sells -- how else can yo ... More >>

Sitar Hero: Imrat Khan Cultivates Family Dynasty

imratkhan.comUstad Imrat Khan - a world-renowned sitar and surbahar player - has had a presence in St. Louis in recent times.​For most adherents of old time rock n' roll, the sitar is perhaps best known for its dynamic contribution to classic Rolling Stones and Beatles tunes. But long before ... More >>

Eternal Art

Hail, Hail: Chuck Berry turns 85

Chuck Berry turns 85 today.​To the outsider, St. Louis' music scene could be represented by the sing-songy rhymes of Nelly or the Urge's frantic musical elixir. But the town's musical identity -- and the world of rock n' roll -- would be indisputably different without a man celebrating his 85t ... More >>

Ten Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: September 23 to 25

Tennis System​It's a good weekend to have a light wallet -- free shows include the inaugural U. City Jazz Festival in Heman Park, Taste at Solider's Memorial and the Soulard Blues Band playing at the Boathouse in Forest Park. Apologies to They Might Be Giants, which plays the Pageant on Saturd ... More >>

Tupac Shakur, Fifteen Years After His Death: Not Just A Thinker, Not Just A Thug

​Fifteen years ago today Tupac Shakur died. In the time since, his legacy has been shaped by a ubiquitous moral contradiction: the man who wrote "Keep Ya Head Up" and "Changes" also wrote "How Do You Want It" and "Hit 'Em Up." As such, Tupac seems to embody the escalating internal conflict of hip- ... More >>

Music Movies: The Five Biggest Flops And Five Biggest Successes

This is the face that launched 1,000 falsettos -- and also our No. 2 entry in the hits category.​Welcome to a new recurring feature on RFT Music. In the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at the best music movies, from documentaries (Dig!) to movies with earth-shattering soundtracks (Train ... More >>

Don Perry and Bonnie Spinola on the Thrill of the Hunt

Jon Scorfina​ Often, the most sincere record collectors have no professional associations with the music industry. Their collections stem from nothing but a love of music. We met this week's Last Collector Standing through Anna Zachritz of Euclid Records, who suggested two of the store's most ... More >>

The Five Most Bizarre Genre Crossovers

Why yes: That is one person.​It happens to the best of us: You do the same thing over and over (and over), so you feel the need for change -- or at least a good drink. For Beyonce, that meant a new personality: Sasha Fierce. For Vanilla Ice, it meant launching a hard-rock career. For Fred Durs ... More >>

Annie Zaleski on music writing, DJing and, of course, REM

Jon Scorfina​Two weeks ago, former Riverfront Times music editor Annie Zaleski announced she was leaving her position to work for Alternative Press in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. We caught up with the writer at her Richmond Heights apartment as she was preparing for her move back to Cleve ... More >>

Recap: Bob Dylan Conference at UMSL, March 19 -- All Along the Ivory Tower

Image via​On Saturday, March 19, about 30 people - a mix of middle-aged-and-older Dylanheads, Hellenic Studies and Classics scholars, and a couple of students - gathered at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for a conference exploring connections between Bob Dylan and ancient Greece. Titled ... More >>

The Discography: A One-Stop Website for All of Your Music Lawsuit Needs

image via​If you have any interest at all in the music business, be sure to bookmark The Discography, a new website developed by a recent graduate at the Washington University School of Law that catalogs more than 2,400 music-related court cases dating back to 1833. Loren Wells, the site's cr ... More >>

R.I.P. Captain Beefheart, 1941-2010

​(Via Pitchfork) This is a sad way to start the weekend: Rolling Stone confirmed that the legendary avant-garde musician Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, has died. He was 69. Beefheart's 1969 LP Trout Mask Replica is considered a pillar of experimental music, one that's cited time and ... More >>

Ibogaine is a hallucinogen that has helped addicts kick their drug habits. Is it the trip that does the trick?

How Realistic is the Ibogaine Episode of Law & Order: SVU?

Image viaA hallucinogenic cure for drug addiction raises eyebrows -- cast of SVU included​This week's feature story, "Shock the Junkie" takes an in-depth look at ibogaine, a potent hallucinogenic drug that's derived from the roots of an African shrub and used as a treatment for drug addiction.Ibog ... More >>

Local bassist Steve Scariano reminisces about the legacy of Alex Chilton

New Release Highlights for September 21: John Legend and the Roots want you to Wake Up!

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) Flying Lotus' latest Pattern & Grid World​*Flying Lotus, Pattern Grid World Just months after releasing the full-length Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus returns wit ... More >>

Chuck Berry Interviewed in the New Rolling Stone

rollingstone.com​The latest issue of Rolling Stone is receiving more attention for its cover than for its contents -- perhaps it has something to do with the naked True Blood actors splattered in "blood." (See right.) However, anyone who doesn't flip to the articles might miss something rather ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: Ted Ryan on Country Music, Colonel Sanders' Christmas Album and Being a Record Store Clerk

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, Part Two: KSDK's Art Holliday Discusses Fundraising with Conan O'Brien's Band, Other Memorable Interviews -- And When It'll Be Completed

image viaArt Holliday, TV news anchor and director of an in-production film, Johnnie Be Good​Last week, we published an interview with Art Holliday, who's working on a documentary about Chuck Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson, called Johnnie Be Good. Here's part two of our chat, below. Speaking ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: DJ Power Couple Nick Openlander and Brittany Browers Talk Skinny Jeans, Vinyl Scores and If Gender Affects Their Craft

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 >>

Over the Weekend: The Japandroids at the Billiken Club, Elvis Perkins in Dearland at the Gargoyle, All Time Low at the Pageant and Krista Ayne at Lure

Didn't make it out this weekend? Lame! You missed some damn good times, including the Japandroids at the Billiken Club, Elvis Perkins at the Gargoyle and a wild night at Lure with a soft-core porn star. Check out what you missed in the photos below. The Japandroids at the Billiken ClubPhoto: Jason S ... More >>

Big Funny: Founder Bill Chott and his fellow improv tricksters aim to bring back the glory days of St. Louis sketch comedy

Moustache-free to Be You and Me

We chat with a fresh-faced John Oates, pick the brain behind M.O.T.O. and play a scary game with Burnt by the Sun

Rebel Yell

The bold history of David Allan Coe; plus, we talk with the Walkmen and compare Lunatic spending

This Charming Man

Why Morrissey is newly hip among bands that sound nothing like him

iPod, youPod

Digital music lets us carry our personalities in our pockets

Better Men

Pearl Jam outlives its grunge-life expectancy

Getting Free

Will Aussie exports the Vines survive the "saviors of rock" hype?

The Big BM

Week of October 9, 2002

Tit for Tat

When girls started going wild, Playboy Video stopped playing mild

Paul McCartney

Driving Rain (Capitol)

Jett Fighter

How not to interview Joan Jett

You Will Love It

Josie doesn't pussyfoot around: You're being brainwashed by pop

Oh, Fecal Matter! Nelly is Naughty.

Published the week of October 11-17, 2000

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