Five Underrated Roky Erickson Songs

One could argue that Roky Erickson’s entire body of work is underrated. Nevertheless, I waded through his maddeningly inconsistent catalog and picked out five songs that may have escaped notice, either solo or with the 13th Floor Elevators. Please feel free to add to the list, and check out Erickson…

Trinity Toll Road Doesn’t Add Up

From the beginning of the Trinity River toll road debate 14 years ago, one of the biggest hurdles faced by critics of the road has been the unwillingness of urban planners and other so-called experts to publicly speak ill of a project with so much money and power behind it…

From Russia With Glub, a Warning About the Trinity Toll Road

Want to know what’s really going on in Dallas? Keep an eye on Krymsk. Last Saturday more than 170 people died in flash floods in this southern Russia city. Today The New York Times reports that angry survivors think the Putin government is lying to them about a big release…

Boys Will Be Boys, So Segregate the Li’l Bastards

Never ever thought I would hear myself saying this — ever never ever. But there may be something to say for certain kinds of all boys schools. Well, that is, if there is anything good at all to say about boys, and there may not be, then maybe it’s a…

Lauren O’Connor Opens the History Books For Girls Rock Dallas

See also: Girls Rock Dallas gets some help from Amanda Palmer You might have seen a little blurb here or there on DC9 about Girls Rock Dallas, a new non-profit summer camp for girls, in which they learn how to play, write, record and market their own songs. The first…

Mind Your Manners: Getting Your Emily Post On At the Bar

Generally, I take my muses in the form of flappers, gypsies and Dolly Parton. I also heed the advice of Emily Post. Her regard for manners and civility may swing square to some, but I find her devoted involvement to the enjoyment of others helps conquer narcissism and ensures a…

A Plan for Fair Park: Bulldoze It

Over at The Dallas Morning News uniblog, my former colleague Robert Wilonsky has an item keeping us up to date on plans to turn Fair Park in South Dallas into a year-round commercial amusement park, an idea about which I have no personal objections or, for that matter, especially strong…

The Top 10 Bands at Warped Tour

See also: The Warped Tour in review Judging by the horde at Gexa Energy Pavilion on Tuesday, the local economy is doing just fine. Out of the nearly 100 bands that performed at this year’s fest, I’ve whittled it down to the 10 best that I literally stumbled across. As…

GOP Arguments Against Obamacare Leave Me Empty-Handed

So I’m doing a this-hand versus that-hand thing in my head on Obamacare. Everybody says the Republicans are going to make this year’s presidential election a referendum on the Affordable Care Act. I just want to be ready. On the one hand, Affordable Care will encourage tons of poor people…

The Five Best Independence Day Songs

Since those bombs are about to be bursting in air, here are a few songs to go along with the noise. I know that some folks will be mad because I left anything from Springsteen off the list, but go ahead and add your own recommendations if you like…

Photographer Mike Brooks Was a Late Bloomer

Freelance photographer (and Observer contributor) Mike Brooks grew up in Hawaii. Pretty easy to fall in love with the visual arts there, but he didn’t start out as a music photographer. Since his days at the Punahou School in Honolulu, and two colleges in Northern California, he’s built a rep…

DC9 at Night’s Favorite Summer Songs

The summer I bought The Breeders’ Last Splash on cassette at the mall was the summer I dyed my hair with Kool-Aid, and woke up with ants on my pillow. It was the summer I lost my grandfather, though my mother swears that was him making our lights flicker every…

The Overserved Dips a Toe in Ku De Ta

It’s over 100 degrees these days. I know because, in addition to the endless polite conversations I’ve had regarding the topic, you keep taking pictures of thermometers. There is no ocean breeze to save us on these plains. There is only one savior: the pool. Enter Ku De Ta, where…

Why is Obama Stealing Mexico’s Bright Young People?

Dear Mexican: Barrack Hussein Obama, how you dare deprive Mexico of its young, educated people? These illegal aliens in the United States are the only hope for Mexico, and you want to keep them here. They could start businesses, create jobs and improve the standard of living for the people…

How to Cut the Price of Higher Ed: Don’t Pay It

So Teresa Sullivan, the president who didn’t cut costs at the University of Virginia, got her job back anyway. Meanwhile making the rounds of newspaper op-ed pages is an essay by Jeff Selingo, editorial director of The Chronicle of Higher Education, saying the way to get college costs down is…