Opinion & Commentary

Pets lost or terrified in a tornado are way down the list of urgent concerns when multiple human deaths and casualties occur, but pets are still somewhere on that list. The fact is that animals run, hide, get injured and often get lost in a severe weather event. Sooner or…

Last week XXL announced on Twitter they are beginning the hunt for their 2016 Freshmen Class and, as they intended, the tweet spawned a laundry list of hundreds of unknown rappers being plugged by their fans. This is typically how it goes for the publication’s annual list of the top…

To some, the battle over the sanctity of country music had been fought and lost before many of the people arguing about it today were even born. Maybe it was back when Glen Campbell hit No. 1 on the pop charts. Perhaps it was when Shania Twain or Garth Brooks…

2015 was, to say the least, not great for country. This exact sentiment was true in 2014, and the year before that, and so on. In reality, it’s been true for the last 15 years. As the genre has continued to move ever closer to the “pop” in “pop-country,” the…

For country fans — and fans of most genres, let’s be real — the annual release of the Grammy nominations is just confirmation of what you already knew. By the time these nods roll out in December, the hype over the year’s best songs, artists and videos is stale. These…

Like the vampire who lies dead in the crypt, then awakens, the concept of a “Crosstown Expressway” in Dallas — a new highway to run east and west across the northern half of city — has never been truly dead, as in dead-dead. Stephen Young observed here presciently that the…

Erykah Badu and Drake go way back. Certainly further than Badu’s remix of “Hotline Bling,” and further too than a certain heart-to-heart over tea that’s become infamous in hip-hop lore. But for all the attention this powerhouse pair’s friendship has garnered in the past couple years, it’s gotten all the…

Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians, with some extra ammo to spare. There’s definitely no shortage of new music being released every month by North Texas artists. As was the case the month before, in November we were treated to…

A few months ago, I was strolling through my Facebook feed. Unlike the past couple of weeks where my feed has been overrun with mentions of coffee cups, Trump jokes and Adele think pieces — you know, the usual — I came across a posted link to a profile covering a…

Thursday was a big day for KXT 91.7 FM. It was part of a big month, in fact. About 30 people gathered in a small TV studio inside the KERA building as the small Dallas radio station entered new territory. Indiana band Houndmouth was inside to play an in-studio performance, which for the…

In his God-given role as the Willy Wonka of memes, Drake is performing at Steph Curry levels. And none of y’all are, like, tired of “Hotline Bling” yet, right? Okay, I know, that would be crazy. Who could be tired of this? This is decadence: If you don’t love it,…

For me, the relationship between the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas has always been a little bit outside, a few inches over the edge, more like an obsessive love affair than a marriage, so it’s probably a mistake to try to make too much sense of it. And I won’t. But…

Every concert is different, and every concert means something different to different people. The band you go to because you want some deep emotional release may end up being the same band someone goes to see because they want to pay a lot of money to have a conversation in…

Fort Worth native and jam genre extraordinaire Trey Anastasio recently put out a solo album called Paper Wheels. Whether accidentally or by design, it’s an ideal point of entry into the life and work of Phish’s terrifyingly prolific frontman (if you can call him that), especially for someone who hates…

Yet another Elm St. Music & Tattoo Festival is upon us, which means that hundreds of inked Dallasites will flock to Deep Ellum for a chance to collect a new piece of body art from one of the country — nay, the world’s — best tattoo artists. There will also…

Last Wednesday night, the uber-talented and mightily bearded Chris Stapleton sent shockwaves through the country music world when he collected three CMA Awards. By taking home the trophies for Best New Artist, Album of the Year and, perhaps most surprisingly, Male Vocalist of the Year — an award dominated in…

What to say about Houston, eh? Citizens there voted two-to-one this week to kill an anti-discrimination proposition that would have broadly banned discrimination in housing, employment, city contracting and business services. Opponents won by vowing that a ban on discrimination would allow men dressed as women to sneak into women’s…

Blue Bell ice cream is coming back to Dallas stores! This is so exciting! I don’t remember this much local fervor a couple months ago for the pope’s arrival in America!  The TV stations are offering lists of stores on their webpages where you can go get some! Some stores…

Last April I more or less crashed a big fancy $125-a-plate luncheon  (Don’t worry, I wasn’t paying!) about the Trinity Toll road. I left that place in a mixed mood of both euphoria and panic. I always get both things at the same time. I get the euphoria because I’m trying…

Six Shooter is a recurring feature where we highlight six new releases by North Texas-based musicians, with some extra ammo to spare. The North Texas area should be proud of its artists’ output this month. Outside of the iconic Erykah Badu, who’s currently performing her one-human show, Dallas’ most successful…