2007 was a banner year for Sri-Lanka-by-way-of-London artist M.I.A.—Mathangi Arulpragasam, if you’re nasty (or a showboat). With the release of her highly anticipated sophomore effort Kala, M.I.A’s worldly, hip-hop-fueled, throw-everything-from-the-fridge-at-the-wall-until-it-sticks philosophy to music making found itself tops in the eyes and ears of music critics across the globe. The disc…
The spring and summer festival season has arrived, bringing with it those surreal and inexplicable lineups you can only get when middle-aged civic boosters are tasked with arranging a concert bill. But these events also give local-music heroes the opportunity to boast that they’ve shared a stage with major national…
The stateside release of Dizzee Rascal’s 2003 album Boy in Da Corner found the grimy, reggae-influenced London rapper in a precarious spot, forced to follow fellow Brit The Streets in trying to break into the U.S. market. But whereas The Streets showcased a spoken word-like, thoughtful flow, Rascal’s effort seemed…
Though a studio recording, the Tel Aviv-based Monotonix’s Drag City debut EP Body Language is best appreciated as a memento of the delirious tumult this band puts on live. Live, you can’t tell (nor do you care) whether hirsute singer Ami Shalev is singing in English or Hebrew or even…
Years ago, when he was leading Lone Star Trio, Matt Hillyer was the cutest guy this side of Rhett Miller, a rocker in hick’s clothing who deftly integrated rockabilly cool into his potent mixture of hard-core honky-tonk and contemporary Americana. After the demise of Lone Star Trio, Hillyer formed Eleven…
Though Stumptone calls Fort Worth home, it’s easy to pick up on their Denton heritage. One listen to their long-awaited Gravity Suddenly Released is all it takes to hear how perfectly they straddle the divide between the reeling psychedelia of Denton’s space-rock yesteryear and the chicken-fried folkie roots music of…
Maybe. Nothing’s set in stone, but according to this Morning News report of last night’s City Council meeting on the Trinity River project, Stevie Ray’s name made it onto the list of 10 possible names for the new road. The full list? •Ascension Drive •Cesar Chavez Boulevard •Eddie Bernice Johnson…
Gossip site Showbiz Spy quotes the June issue of Glamour, revealing that Jessica Simpson is not only “in love” with Tony Romo–she’s written a song for her man. The song’s called “Back in My Old Boots,” and apparently it’s about how “comfortable” Romo makes her feel… Interesting. Of course, this…
Even though this post from our sister paper in Minneapolis purports to be about salvia and whether it’s a good idea to smoke the marijuana alternative while attending a Roger Waters show (specifically in Dallas, oddly enough), the whole thing seems more like a slap in our city’s face than…
Dallas-born jazz clarinet and saxophone player Jimmy Giuffre died late last week on Thursday, April 24, of pneumonia and complications of Parkinson’s disease. After learning to play the clarinet at the age of 9, Giuffre began performing in local bands. Later Giuffre was drawn into the big band world and…
Get your morning music fix with this video of Phil Pritchett playing at the Granada last Saturday. We had other plans that night. If you did, too, now you know what you missed. — Chelsea Ide…
See, it is about who you know: When the (pretty kickass) independent hip-hop label Definitive Jux–home to El-P, Aesop Rock, Dizzee Rascal, Del The Funkee Homosapien, RJD2, Mr. Lif and more–was looking for a DJ to remix the recently released album from rap trio Hangar 18, local DJ and beatmaker…
Tiger Moth’s Myspace picture: neither a tiger nor a moth. Go figure. Glenn Jackson, drummer for local rockers Tiger Moth, cannot believe the positive buzz his band is already generating. “We are only five shows old, but the most common response from the crowd has been, ‘Holy shit!’,” says Jackson…
Talk about an earful! Zing!!! Pitchfork’s kinda been all over Japanese noise rock act Boris’ new release, Smile, which is released stateside today. And Josh Baish of Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton keeps finding himself mentioned in the copy. Why? Well, the story goes like this: Baish went to…
Hey Speedealer: Looks like you’re owed some money. Well, you and thousands of other artists, according to this story. A Nashville-based entertainment lawyer says he’s got a list of 7,874 artists that are owed money from Sound Exchange, a company that’s supposed to collect royalties for artists, but claims it…
…just by going to the band’s web site. You have all week. –Pete Freedman…
Wow! Apparently there weren’t scores of noteworthy performances at this weekend’s 28th Annual Denton Arts & Jazz Fest–because so far the only performance uploaded to Youtube is this kid’s solo: . Slightly more entertaining, the video of the “Freeze Mob” organized by the Denton-based group United Aid:…
Sorry, guys, but there was no way I was heading to Pizza Hut Park yesterday to see Edgefest 17. A festival headlined by 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd doesn’t really tickle my fancy. And it wouldn’t have in 2002, either. Apparently, though, DC9 photographer Roger Caldwell didn’t get…
Well, if this review from our sister paper in San Francisco is to be believed, tonight’s Caribou/Fuck Buttons show at The Loft isn’t to be missed, if only to see Fuck Buttons perform its “downright menacing” knob-twiddling in person. And, just a reminder, in case you can’t make it to…
High on music, man. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but not long after we totally harshed on DFW NORML’s mellow about the terrible bands that perform at the organization’s events, they announced a party with music that approaches tolerability. Well, at least it’s not rap-rock. Reform-minded folks in more than 200…
The rumors ran rampant through the crowd at the Palladium Ballroom on Thursday night as people settled in to watch Ghosthustler perform the opening set at Quick’s Big Thing awards show. Was it true? Was this the final time we’d see Ghosthustler perform? Turns out, yes–to an extent. The band’s…
Nicholas Altobelli (Shawn Hannon) Local alt-country singer/songwriter Nicholas Altobelli (Italian descent, you think?) has just released his debut, Streetcar Visions, and he’s cautiously optimistic about the release. “The record is not perfect,” he says, “but I’m proud of the songs even though I’m trying to stay away from the country…
