The Library of Congress

The Great Depression's Knockout Punch

Hold the Phono: If you meet three fellows from Ferguson who happen to mention they've got tons of old 78s, they ain't kidding

Video: Meet the Men Who Own 50 Tons of 78s. Literally.

Akin Praised, Reviewed Unit of Militia Group He Recently Claimed He Had Nothing to Do With

Updated with response from Akin's spokesperson Rick Tyler. In 1995, a month before the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, Todd Akin sent a local militia group what he later called "a courtesy letter." The now-defunct group, the 1st Missouri Volunteers militia, had invited Akin to spea ... More >>

Searchable Database Released Today Lists 50,000 Bands Owed $31 Million in Royalties

SoundExchange is a not-for-profit entrusted by the Library of Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for bands. That includes SIRIUS, Pandora and more. So far, it's found the rightful owner of some $1 billion in royalties, but paying up has proven a challenge. The organizat ... More >>

20 Years of SLIFF: St. Louis' largest annual film festival premiered in 1992 with 25 films. It returns this year with more than 400.

Pledge Allegiance to the Frat

Back from the Undead: Happy 100th to homegrown horror icon Vincent Price

The National Jukebox Offers 10,000 Recordings from 1901-1925 for Free: Clear Some Time

A pre-electric recording session. Courtesy of the Library of Congress​The Library of Congress just launched the National Jukebox, a free service that lets you stream some 10,000 recordings made between 1901 and 1925. Right now, they're all releases on labels now owned by Sony Music, which gave ... More >>

Midnight Specialty: The Black Rep puts a twist on the Lead Belly legend with Black Pearl Sings!

Thomas Jefferson Was Here -- Or At Least His Books Are

image viaThomas Jefferson left his mark on his copy of Opera omnia, Graece et Latin by Dionysius of Halicarnassus.​Thanks to some stellar research by the historians at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Virginia estate, Washington University librarians have learned that a cache of 74 books that ha ... More >>

Last Collector Standing: Rum Drum Ramblers Guitarist Mat Wilson on Collecting 78s and Vintage Guitars

Jon Scorfina​More so than any other form of black wax, the vinyl 78 has endured, preserving an essential portion of 20th century American music, culture and history. It's ironic, then, that you're more likely to find 78s collecting mold in a landfill than you are to find the hugely over-presse ... More >>

Great Writers on St. Louis, Part 4

This week's Riverfront Times explores our city's literary history. Check back throughout the week for online-only maps and articles supplementing this week's cover story. Let's not forget the east side. Library of CongressW.E.B. DuBois​After the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, the NAACP ... More >>

Great Writers on St. Louis, Part 2

This week's Riverfront Times explores our city's literary history. Check back throughout the week for online-only maps and articles supplementing this week's cover story. Two scenes from north city. Library of CongressDick Gregory in 1964.​First, the comedian Dick Gregory's memories of the c ... More >>

Happy Birthday, Missouri!

image via​Today marks the 189th anniversary of Missouri's statehood. It's not really an auspicious number, so there aren't many celebrations going on. The closest one appears to be a concert at the First Missouri State Capitol Historical Site in St. Charles at 7 p.m. We were going to complain ... More >>

Excerpts from a Novel by Former Soldier-Turned-Transgendered-Weapons Felon

​Last week's feature story regaled you, dear reader, with the unusual journey of Rachel Amratiel, nee Thomas Hibdon IV -- a Persian Gulf War veteran, carpenter and cross-dresser who pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges after becoming a woman (kind of a long story). We wrote that Hibdon, befor ... More >>

Babe 'n Arms: Tom was a hot-tempered cross-dresser with a garage full of guns — and then he became Rachel

Ichiro Suzuki Could Have Used RFT All-Star Guide

Though it's unlikely Ichiro Suzuki combed through last week's Riverfront Times Guide to the All-Star Game, the Seattle Mariners star did visit one prominent spot on Ian Froeb's fact-packed (if controversial) "Inside Baseball: A tour of St. Louis landmarks, from the famous to the infamous (and everyt ... More >>

What the Beck: Guero can operate a leafblower?

Mockingbird, Cantata: Two disparate acting careers converge on St. Louis this weekend

The Morning Brew: Friday, 11/9

Steal Das Book

Rod Shene paid a paltry few grand for a volume worth $500,000 or more. Only one hitch: The German government wants it back.

L.A. Story

Charles Burnett's revered, rarely seen South Central-set film finally gets its theatrical due

You Play, They Pay: Internet Radio's Demise?

Tuskegee Airman Lewis Lynch: An appreciation.

The lasting legacy of a native son.

Lewis John Lynch: The Legacy of an Airman

Ron Reichard's Sentimental Journey

This St. Louis crooner plays old tunes for old folks.

You Play, They Pay

How much should it cost Internet radio operators like Jim and Wanda Atkinson to satisfy your cravings for streaming rock & roll?

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Week of September 7, 2005

Hollywood Babbles On

Lessons learned where the red carpet ends

Summer School

An unstilted conversation with Richard Wilbur, the poet who made Molière commercial

Waves of Fascination

Shortwave radio: Where the lunatic fringe lives, breathes and flourishes

A Grand Guy

How Steven Soderbergh kept the Terry Southern tale from turning tragic

Caught in the Web

Internet-only radio stations take a beating

Air Piracy

Internet-only radio faces a shaky future thanks to the grasping hands of the Recording Industry Association of America

End of the Road

Thirty years later, Harry Belafonte finds closure in a once-lost project

Songs of Experience

On the crest of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the influential Norman Blake comes to St. Louis for the weekend

Color Bind

Two new plays explore race relations

Norman Blake

Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15-16; Focal Point

A Puff of Smoke

Paul Wesolowski knows the secret word: Groucho

King of Rhythms

Catching up with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, still on that long, strange trip

Card Sharks

The St. Louis Cardinals want your money for their $370 million ballpark. But before the game begins, somebody needs to reshuffle the deck.

The Works of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention

St. Louis Art Museum

Second Sight

Losing her eyesight hasn't kept a Shrewsbury mother and housewife from enjoying the people and activities she loves