Scandinavia

Deep Covers: Bhi Bhiman re-imagines rock favorites on Substitute Preacher

2012: The Year in St. Louis Music

Where to Break the Yom Kippur Fast

Tomorrow is Yom Kippur, the Day of the Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish year. It's a time for confessing sins, begging the pardon of everyone you have offended over the past year and praying desperately for God to inscribe you in the Book of Life for the next one. In order to show how tru ... More >>

Missouri's Askinosie Chocolate Wins National Award For Its Licorice Chocolate

Askinosie Chocolate based in Springfield, Missouri, was recently awarded its fifth silver Sofi Award in the category of "Outstanding Chocolate" by the National Association of Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) for its new dark milk chocolate and black licorice bar. It's also a finalist for the organizati ... More >>

Doom Town brings stories home from Europe

Dam-Funk on Master Blazter, Collabing with Nite Jewel, and Maintaining the Funk

Damon Riddick may be the coolest dude alive. Better known as Dam-Funk, Riddick is a walking embodiment of West Coast Relaxation, creating an electrifying brand of modern funk. Heavily inspired by the synth-based funk of the late '70s/early '80s, his music is full of interstellar synthesizers rife wi ... More >>

It's 7-11 Free Slurpee Day!

Robin WheelerSlurpees are best served cold.​Oh thank heaven! Free Slurpee Day lands on what might be the hottest day of 2011! In St. Louis, does 7-11 cross anyone's mind on any day other than July 11 (Get it? 7-11.)? Not really. The granddaddy of all convenience stores - the first one opened ... More >>

Spirits of St. Louis Aquavit, Square One Brewery and Distillery

Image Via​What do the countries of Scandinavia have in common? For one thing, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland are some of the happiest places on Earth. Every time a new study comes out attempting to quantify "life satisfaction," these countries hold court in the top ten, trading off the nu ... More >>

Spice World: Dill, Dull, Lull, Zzzz

Welcome to Spice World, in which Gut Check zeroes in on overlooked spices from around the globe, introducing those you may not own -- and probably should. Kristie McClanahanWhole dill seed. Perfect for pickling if you're not in a hurry.​History: Though today the word "dill" is right at home n ... More >>

Sippin' on Gin and Juniper

Welcome to Spice World, in which Gut Check looks at overlooked spices from around the world, introducing those you don't own but probably should. Kristie McClanahan​History: After the garden produced a comically large number of cucumbers -- and after giving them away to family, friends, stranger ... More >>

Unemployment Can Be Fun!

flickr.com/photos/amin_tabriziLane Wallace came to an astonishing revelation two weeks ago, which she very kindly shared in The Atlantic: It is better to be unemployed in New York, L.A. or Silicon Valley than anywhere else in this great nation of ours.Of course, if all those unemployed New Yorkers o ... More >>

Ping Dynasty

The Yao Family is set on making St. Louis a global powerhouse in table tennis.

The Long Goodbye

Garrison Keillor's Prairie makes a fine pasture for Altman

Blackheart Metallic

Heartagrams and heavy living with H.I.M.'s Ville Valo

They Did What?

2005's Top WTF? moments

The Other Basement Tapes

"I Drink Sody." "Disco for Drunks." "Pull My Finger." Pearls from the overlooked oeuvre of Bruce Cole and the Screamin' Mee-Mees.

Various Artists

Run the Road (Vice Records)

Best Metal Band

Harkonin

Devil in the Details

New books document heavy metal's ugly history

Snob Hit

It's about fission, but there's no bang

Atom Smash

Wash U. brings to town Michael Frayn's Tony-winning Copenhagen and with it an intellectual cornucopia

Black-Metal Blacklist

Is it bureaucracy, post-Sept. 11 paranoia or their own criminal records? Whatever the reason, Sweden's Marduk can't come here.

Side Dish

COCA gets things cooking with a new series of classes for the culinary-minded

BEAT HAPPENING

Alterna-country pioneer Kevin Welch's music tells listeners all they need to know about the fledgling genre