Photo credit: Shawn Brackbill The A.V. Club has kicked off a new Undercover project: 25 bands, 25 cover songs, 1 small, round room. Bands stop by, pick a song off the list, and rock out. The later one arrives to the party, the fewer choices of songs to cover. I might even say that the last … Read more
Ooooh. This looks like fun. Although it’s another reminder that we won’t be at SXSW, which isn’t so fun. Here are the details from the press release: MG&V stands for McCauley, Goldsmith, and Vasquez…more specifically, John McCauley – frontman of Deer Tick, Taylor Goldsmith – frontman of Dawes and Matt Vasquez – frontman of Delta … Read more
Margo Timmins may be the voice of Cowboy Junkies, but it’s her brother, Mike, who writes the words she sings. I’m sure you know that if you follow the band. But, I feel this increasing need to always point it out, only because of how important of a songwriter I believe Mike Timmins is. He’s … Read more
Photo credit: Rodney Bursiel You gotta love these supergroups, or at least the idea of them. Robert Plant has joined the fun and re-formed Band of Joy, which will feature Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Byron House and Marco Giovino. Better yet, they’re hitting the road this summer (see dates below), and an album … Read more
We had a blast at the last Homegrown Showcase (starring Airplanes, Bruiser Queen, The Blind Eyes, and Tilts) held at The Pageant back in October, so we’re psyched that another edition is coming our way this Friday, December 3rd. This time ’round, Theodore, Union Tree Review, HUMDRUM, and Animal Empty will take the stage to provide … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Today, we continue on with paragraphical odes to our favorite albums of 2010. To see the entire list so far, go here! Best Coast | Crazy For You (Mexican Summer) [buy] Surf. Garage. Indie. Motown. ’50s pop. Grunge. Lo-fi. Fuzz. Doo-wop. Roll up all of these genres together in equal portions, … Read more
This is never going to stop, so I might as well just embrace the fact that I’m in love with 5,498 female singer-songwriters. Nicole Atkins is the latest, and boy, can she belt out a tune. It’s safe to say I’m looking forward to January 25th, when her new album, Mondo Amore, hits the Internets/shelves/Starbucks/etc. … Read more
Way back in August, Arts & Crafts announced the addition of Mexico City’s Chikita Violenta to its stable lineup of artists, with plans to release the band’s third full-length, TRE3S – their first outside of Mexico – in North America on January 25th. TRE3S actually sounds like it was recorded in Canada. And after learning … Read more
Next Thursday, two of our favorite singer-songwriters will be gracing Off Broadway’s stage, and it’s bound to be a good one. Jill Andrews, formerly of the everybodyfields, and St. Louis’ Cassie Morgan will be trying to break your heart with their voices and words. And like Cousin Eddie once told us, if they do lay … Read more
Photo Credit: Erica Beckman Sometimes I think of how life must have been for you here What life could have been like for you here What life should have been like here with you On November 9th, 1938, Clare Burson’s grandmother, Helga Rabinowitsch, left Leipzig, Germany, for the United States. Rabinowitsch fled moments before the … Read more
Aaaaah, December. It’s a magical time of the year, filled with tinsel and lights, cider and cookies, eggnog and the bathroom floor. Yes, it’s pretty much everyone’s favorite time of the year, especially for those Bing Crosby junkies who love to watch Holiday Inn over and over and over while listening to White Christmas as … Read more
The Apache Relay We must take a quick pause from our Best of the 2010 reindeer games to round up a collection of new holiday songs. We posted the link to download the awesome Target Christmas album a few weeks ago, but here we offer a random assortment of thingamabobs, whatchamacallits, and widgets to boost … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Over the next four days, we’ll be bringing you our favorite albums of 2010, in no particular order. These are the records that turned round and round throughout our year, and they’ll continue spinning long into 2011. Robyn | Body Talk, Part One (Cherrytree/Interscope) [buy] Robyn, Swedish songstress and dance-pop goddess, … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Welp, it’s that time of year again. As we groove into 2011 with renewed goals to get our asses off the sofa and onto the treadmill, we must reflect back on all of the music that kept us in semi-permanent couchlock, frantically downloading, listening to, and researching the gobs of tunes that … Read more
Our last feature in our Best of 2010 series is a tribute to Saint Louis local music, photographers, venues, festivals, and everything in between. Who better to celebrate the fantastic local talent our city boasts than the musicians themselves? That’s why we asked Sleepy Kitty, Andy Berkhout, US English, Cassie Morgan & The Lonely Pine, … Read more
“Catch the train to catch the spirit!” In these cynical times, golly gee, we love that slogan. But, maybe we love the concept of Rhythm & Rails even more. A few weeks ago, Saint Louis Metrolink unveiled its first ever Holiday Magic Express, a train “decked out in lights, ornaments, garland, and festive cheer for … Read more
Woo, we’re spent. The four of us at Speakers are taking a brief vacation from music blogging, but we’ll return on our 1st birthday, January 4th. Happy Holidays + Happy New Year! Katie, Jason, Matt + Darren PS – To tide you over, check out our Best Songs and Best Albums of 2010.
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Want more? Check out the entire list of albums here. (And don’t forget about best songs here). Delorean | Subiza (True Panther Sounds) [buy] The Spanish electro-synth quartet Delorean has come a long way from its early punk rock roots. 2009 brought about this punk-to-dance transformation with the Aryton Senna EP. … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Click here to see the entire list, from 100 – 1. 25 Sufjan Stevens – From the Mouth of Gabriel The most classic Sufjan song of the 2010 onslaught of Sufjan songs, “From the Mouth of Gabriel” is haunting and just plain beautiful. Flutes and clarinets, plucking guitars and lyrics that … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Wanna see the entire list so far? Click thisaway. 50 The Fresh & Onlys – Waterfall Gloomy guitars jangle flawlessly as angelic voices call out of the tugging wind and darkness, pleading with singer Tim Cohen to deliver hazy, yet romantic vocals. [buy the album] [more from The Fresh and Onlys … Read more
Cover up the war inside The most beautiful part of ourselves is the part we hide Today, Jill Andrews revealed a video for the first single, “Get Up, Get On,” from the recently-released The War Inside. And when we say video, what we really mean is short film — give it your full attention. The … Read more
ALL PHOTOS BY JASON GONULSEN Love is going to find you you better be ready then. Right now, I don’t have the words. I wish I did. I wish I could explain to you how this looks to me. How this feels to me. Because last night was special, and Glen Hansard and his terrific … Read more
Get ready, because this one is an emotional ride. Hello Industry is Nathan and Heather Peterson, and you could say they have a story to tell. They have released a new EP titled When I Was Young, and it is inspired by their daughter, Olivia, who was not supposed to live a week after her … Read more
PHOTO BY JASON GONULSEN you know it ain’t easy you got to hold on Shovels & Rope will release Busted Jukebox Vol. I, a collection of cover songs spanning from Neil Young to Guns N Roses. Today we’re featuring their cover of Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend,” featuring Shakey Graves on vocals.
Cowboy Junkies have released a boxed set called Notes Falling Slow, and it contains three remastered studio albums, Open, One Soul Now, At The End Of Paths Taken, and “a fourth disc that contains newly recorded songs that were written during the making of the three albums.” You can find more information about it here. … Read more
Punch Brothers roll into St. Louis on Friday (12/4) for a show at The Pageant, and we want to send YOU! We have TWO pairs of tickets to give away. Before we tell you how to enter, let’s have a listen to “Julep.” Here’s how to enter to win a pair of tickets to the … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen “The thing you have to be willing to do, and you have to really be able to embrace it and accept it, and really welcome it into your life with open arms in a wide, wide vision…is failure. Be sure to welcome failure. Always say, “you’re okay with me, failure, come … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen Happy birthday, Ryan Adams. Here are five songs that we love dearly. Love, Speakers in Code Gracie From the III/IV post-Cardinals breakup album, Adams wrote this for his dog, Gracie. “You’re in my heart and you’re in my soul, but I gotta let you go…” Rock N Roll It doesn’t rock, … Read more
Written by Elisa Regulski Though it takes place just across the street from August’s maddening music circus, Fun Fun Fun Fest never tries to be like the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Often hailed as the “Anti-ACL,” this three-day whirlwind simply and honestly lives up to its name. Even during in the bone-chilling drizzle (55 … Read more
Written by Elisa Regulski Fun Fun Fun Fest is more than just a lovely little alliteration. For die-hard Austin audiophiles and festival fanatics, this three-day event is the highlight of the year. Oversaturated commercialism takes the backseat and makes room for revved-up musicians, quick-witted comedians, and adrenaline-pumping athletes. Auditorium Shores has quite the spread laid … Read more