Anti-Christ? Nah, just some dude.

Earlier today, an old friend of mine Tweeted, "Hey Marilyn Manson, 1995 called. They want their Metal Zone back." My friend is a guitar player and was referring to the eardrum-grating guitar pedal used by novice rockers to achieve a sort of '90s rock distortion.

He and I come from a similar background, one in which we were programmed by our parents and youth pastors to think that Marilyn Manson is bad. By now, both of us have adjusted well enough and know that the whole Manson Anti-Christ thing is just a bit, but it's hard to shake that original sentiment completely. I sensed a little bit of it in his tweet.

I replied, "You have to admit, 'The Beautiful People' was kind of a jam."

I hadn't heard the song in years, but I pulled it up on Spotify and checked just to be sure. Yep, it's still kind of a jam. Especially that breakdown part that comes right after the choruses. That was the part that hooked me years ago when I watched a live performance of Marilyn Manson on MTV (totally against the rules of my house) when I was in high school.
More >>

Haters gonna hate

​There's a lingering disdain in the air for the turbulent playlists of KXT 91.7-FM. Understandably so. For every decent song the station plays, there are two or three -- Train's "Drops of Jupiter," Stereo MCs' "Connected" -- that belong on corporate-run stations.

It wasn't always that way, though. The station's first year was strong, with only a few programming hiccups. A good mix of local and indie rock, plus a complete lack of commercials, easily made it the only station you needed to listen to all day. Then about a year ago, they started playing Matchbox 20 and other bands of the mainstream, saccharine ilk and called it an attempt to grow. The Twittersphere, however, called it #KXTFail.

Even still, my radio dial hovers pretty closely over the air space. In fact, I had it on this Saturday when my two-year-old son and I were driving around in the cold rain. That's when something strange happened.

A song came on that prompted me to turn it up. A xylophone rang out over melody reminiscent of the early '90s power pop of Sugar or Guided By Voices. But there was something new about it. I imagined the band was some fledgling national act I hadn't yet heard, breaking out with a pretty solid pop single. I can't remember the last time the radio did that to me: I had to find out who sang the song.


More >>

Sitting around the house waiting for Turkey Day to roll around got me to thinking about all the things I'm thankful for. Of course, I'm lucky to have my family and friends and, these days, I am very thankful to have a job. But musically speaking, the Dallas scene has provided many a band, show and CD to appreciate.

The Dallas Observer Music Award showcase this October comes to mind. Seeing Centro-matic on stage as the sun set while the band did an incredible rendition of "Calling Thematico" is a memory I hope I never forget.

But that's just me. So, to honor the holiday, I asked a few folks associated with the local music scene what they are thankful for. Read what they had to say after the jump.

More >>

No more Bank Of America overdraft fees for Kurt Vile

​Today, Pitchfork reports that Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles was pretty unhappy after learning Kurt Vile's song, "Baby's Arms," was used in a Bank Of America commercial. He ranted about it on his Twitter account, tweeting things about Vile like "I thought you were, like, the best dude in music!"

While many share the opinion about Vile's music --  this year's Smoke Ring For My Halo is some of the best music being made -- it didn't stop Stickles from lashing out against the artist, whom he seems to respect.

Isn't his criticism a little self-righteous, if not completely outdated?

More >>

Let's say you've paid really good money to see a show and, as such, you want to stay until the very end. You see the people who don't want to stay through the encore -- they're heading toward the exits so they can get out to their cars and beat the traffic home -- but you stay in your seat. You want to get your money's worth. You know to expect a delay with the mass exodus to the exits, but you don't think about how long you're going to wait in a parking lot, waiting to get out and get back on the road. 

Well, here's a list of area venues whose parking lots have some of the worst wait-times after a show. 

More >>

The Ridglea Theater

​Just a quick thought, since, due to other obligations, I wasn't able to participate in this week's very interesting Conversation about the comparative strengths of the Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton music scenes, if, granted, something of a piggyback on a comment made by Fort Worth Weekly music editor Anthony Mariani therein.

Said Mariani about the looking-good future for the already strong Fort Worth music scene:

Two (small) steps in the right direction... will be arriving soon in the form of the remodeled Ridglea Theater on the West Side and the new Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge on the Near South Side, two venues comparable in size -- and, hopefully, in style -- to the Kessler.

Funny that he'd say that, since that'd been something I've been thinking a lot about lately.

More >>

...among other things.

​Electronica is an infant genre compared to most, its creation depending solely on tools and instruments designed in the last half of the 20th century.

And its interpretation is constantly evolving.

Because, even though it remains relatively new type of music, there remain some distinct differences between electronic production of the post-millennial era as compared to the music of the previous century. And it's all thanks to one thing, no doubt: The increased availability and affordability of computer technology.

As the digital revolution took hold over the last few decades, more and more electronic music began making its way into mainstream culture. It's not tough to understand why; people just started picking up the mixers and beat pads and saying, "Hey, I can do this too." As a result, we've reached a point in modern music where teeny-boppers and soccer moms alike jam electronic songs that previously would have been playing in a club.

Still, as technological progression continues, so does the progression of electronic music. The genre is diversifying every day, with new branches of sound and unprecedented infusions of music arising.

In other words: No, not all electronic music is techno.

So, as your prepare for the upcoming Identity Festival's stop through town at the Gexa Energy pavilion on Sunday, August 28 -- and, believe us, we're going to be keeping you plenty prepared for that festival -- we figured it high time to take a closer look at the slight differences in blips, womps and various tempos that help classify various performers into separate, distinct subgenres of electronic music.

Already lost? Don't be. Just hit the jump for our Beginner's Guide to Electronic Music, and we'll carefully navigate you through these robot-infested musical waters.

More >>

Danny Fulgencio

R.L.'s Blues Palace #2 is as old-school as it gets. For more photos, check out Danny Fulgencio's slideshow.

​In this week's print edition, along with an awesome profile of 69-year-old regular concert attendee John Ferguson, you'll find a Daniel Rodrigue-penned tribute of sorts to R.L.'s Blues Palace #2, the revered, but oft-forgotten, South Dallas institution that remains as badass as ever. More >>

"It stinks!"

​Quite the hullabaloo here on DC9 over the past few days, namely in regards to this post that we ran last week on The King Bucks, and our reviewer's somewhat controversial opinion that they lack a certain amount of necessary on-stage showmanship.

It happens, I guess. Musicians tend ***SWEEPING GENERALIZATION ALERT!*** to be a sensitive lot. So too their friends and die-hard fans.

Listen: We understand that, when we run a negative review, it will most likely ruffle some feathers. Especially if those feathers belong to a group of musicians so firmly entrenched in the local music scene and so greatly revered around these parts as The King Bucks happen to be.

I don't want to say we expect a backlash when we run such pieces. But, certainly, we're prepared for it. To a degree.

This instance, though, has been a little different. Things turned fairly ugly in the aftermath of that initial post from Sophia Dembling. One member of The King Bucks, Danny Balis, who happens to be the co-host of "The Hardline," a popular drive-time radio show on KTCK-1310 AM The Ticket, went on the air the day after her post ran and responded to Dembling's take by calling her an "ugly, fat old bitch."

Not exactly the coolest of responses. Balis has since taken to Facebook to apologize for his comments, but, still, the imbroglio continues: Dembling has posted a response on another blog she works for, and local feminist blog Hay Ladies, penned by former Observer scribe Andrea Grimes, has taken a particularly strong stance against Balis' comments as well, first calling them sexist and then calling us out for not immediately jumping out of the gate and agreeing that his comments were sexist.

As for our stance here at DC9? Well, as we told Hay Ladies, we expect a jerk-ish response from bands we critique from time to time. It happens. I, for one, have been called every name in the book by various musicians. A few times, even. Got somewhat hilariously accosted by a heckler last night, even.

Still, that doesn't make Balis' response OK. Nor does it necessarily make any such childish remark made in response to a negative review OK either. Listen: We're just doing our jobs -- offering criticism to bands that either come from or play somewhere within our coverage area, more often than not in response to a band asking us to do so.

People send us albums. They invite us to shows. They do so because they want feedback -- and honest feedback at that -- because, let's face it, their friends and family more often than not will simply just tell them how great they are so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. That's where we come in, offering criticisms and praise as necessary, in part in effort to help push the act in question in the right direction.

It helps them, it helps the overall scene, and it helps our readers develop their own opinions on these acts.

It doesn't really help anyone when a band throws a hissy fit in response. So, in that vein, a primer of sorts after the jump, a reminder on how to best take critiques, you sensitive musicians you.

More >>

​The tunnels are long gone. But on Good-Latimer Expressway, near where they once stood, another entrance marker for quite some time welcomed visitors to the music-centric neighborhood just east of downtown Dallas -- an old neon sign that, if a little rustic (and thankfully so), more than served its purpose of noting the neighborhood being entered.

Until early June, that is, when the Deep Ellum Foundation replaced the old sign with a new one that looks straight ripped from the "In-N-Out Burger Comes to Dallas!" headlines. The new green, yellow and red sign, shaped like an arrow and pointing people in the direction away from downtown and toward the supposed action on Main, Commerce and Elm streets boasts a simple goal -- to "let you know you've entered into somewhere," Deep Ellum Foundation president Barry Annino told the Morning News back on June 8. It's certainly an eye-catcher, sitting 20 feet above the street.

But why change it? Just because?

More >>