The last time Grimes came to Dallas, she pranced across the Granada stage at Gorilla vs. Bear fest, essentially giving the middle finger to anyone who wouldn’t get on board.

I was skeptical then (Mosley said it would be worth it for all of us to get there early to see her), but my opinion’s turned the corner. And just in time for a free in-store at Good Records March 1. Show starts at 4 p.m., though I’d probably arrive around 3 p.m. to get in the door.

Gorilla vs. Bear is (again) putting on the show. For (a little) more info, head here. She’ll also play at Dan’s Silverleaf later in the evening.

The first review I ever had posted online was a recap of Pavement’s 1997 appearance at Trees on their Brighten The Corners tour. I was seventeen years old, and quite proud of this achievement. To people of a certain age and lifestyle, the band was an almost unavoidable fact of life during that time. So, of course, when a singer of an iconic band releases enough records that he or she threatens to equal, better, or do worse by the ..read more

Question: What do Sting, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and The Rolling Stones all have in common?

Answer: They’ve all worked with legendary Irish band The Chieftains, who will return to Bass Hall on February 28th as part of their 40th anniversary tour — and we’ve got tickets. As usual, The Chieftains are bringing guest musicians with them to the stage, and though we can’t promise that Sting will be among those guests, here’s hoping.

To win a pair of tickets, all you ..read more

Back in October we told you about local DJ Prince William aka Will Boston selling out a show in Los Angeles, which coincided with his bass-heavy, Brooklyn/Dallas-based label venture Fade To Mind. That’s the attention-garnering imprint he started with Fool’s Gold recording artist, Kingdom that has had a respectable share Well, unsurprisingly, that will soon be a Brooklyn/Los Angeles-based label, since the Prince will soon make LA his home.

Dallas will certainly miss him, and it was an honor to have him at our “High Brow/Low ..read more

This is worth watching just to hear Tweedy say “let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it.” Kudos to TimeOut Chicago for capturing this gem to taunt Tweedy with throughout eternity.

Lost in the hubbub of all the 35 Denton acts announced in the past month are (is?) The Mountain Goats, one of the first acts to sign on for the March 8-11 fest.

The festival folks remedied that this week with the concluding video of their cover series, asking Jessie Frye to put her spin on The Mountain Goats’ “Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton.” The haunting, eerie cover wraps up an eclectic series in a NSFW kinda way. So if you’re the kind of person who works in an office that frowns upon topless women (professionally, not personally), maybe save this one for home.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, Confirmed Artist 35 DENTON 2012 from 35 Denton on Vimeo.

No word on whether Satan’s Fingers and The Hospital Bombers will make a surprise appearance at the festival.

“Hit ‘Em in the Head” is a track that was brought to my attention via Twitter by Leon The Professional recently, and it’s featured on the local rapper’s new mixtape, entitled (B)EAST, which is available today. Following a classic spliced-sample intro, it’s the first actual song on the release. I was immediately reminded of an old Big L track (“All Black”) the moment I heard the opening horn bleats. I was also reminded of East Coast hip hop in general.

Trying to confirm these theories, I emailed ..read more

THURSDAY

Big Eyes/War Party/Rocket for Ethiopia/The Half Truths (Center House): A recent show at the DIY venue, Center House, resulted in an early shutdown and intervention from The Fort Worth Arlington Police Department. I’ve been waiting for a reason to share a little summary of that night’s events from someone who was arrested in the incident. Tonight’s performance at the spot by Seattle’s Big Eyes is the perfect excuse, since they describe themselves as pop and punk and are somehow much less ..read more

Picture this: spinning leather chairs that could/should belong to Doctor Evil, Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine arguing about almost everything, and teams of singers selected only on the basis of their singing ability (seriously).

No, we don’t have tickets to Season 2 of “The Voice.” But we’ve got the next best thing—two tickets to see Season 1 winner Javier Colon at Granada Theater on February 22nd. And did we mention that we’re throwing in VIP meet-and-greet passes, too? Told you this ..read more

I have been an unabashed proponent of mash-ups since I first heard an unlikely Juvenile-Shania Twain joint my freshman year of college. It was a devil’s brew of songs, and I couldn’t stop drinking.

Years later, I saw two people having sex on the dance floor at a Girl Talk show, unimpeded by social mores. To say that was a confusing show would be an understatement.

That said, the time I’ve dedicated to mash-ups in recent years has waned. It’s not that I dislike them, I just don’t seek them out anymore. But this seems like an appropriate time to return.

Apparently this track has been kicking around the internets for a year, but Whitney Houston’s death brought it back from the GeoCities-occupied dregs of the web.

Without further comment, Whitney Houston and Robyn:

Robyn vs Whitney Houston – Dancing in Houston (Zooash ”Glam-Pop” Mashup) – supported by EARMILK.com by Zooash

(h/t Vulture)

If the thought of “two lovers entwined passing you by” makes you as miserable as it did the people’s poet laureate Esteban Morrissey, then you should not watch the video at the bottom of this page. Especially not today. In it, multiple Denton residents, artists, and musicians get rather comfortable with one another in the back of a stationary vehicle, at first shifting uncomfortably, before becoming lip-locked and especially grope-happy.

Subtle it is not. Guys and gals, gals and gals, but noticeably ..read more

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a new track that dropped last night from producer Steel Tipped Dove, featuring Big Baby Gandhi, Cutty Carmichael, DVS, and Lakutis. “Hey Ma, Wassup,” is a love song, but one you’ll probably not want to play during dinner. Each verse drops something a little different than the last, but they’re all tied together well by STD’s synthy, Mission:Impossible-tinged beat.

Disclaimer: I grew up with STD and Cutty in New York. But the track is getting a decent amount of love, so I don’t feel like a complete homer.

Every week, I scroll through the listings of the Granada, Sons of Hermann Hall, and the other venues around town to see what’s coming up, what I missed, and what I’ll be missing.

This week I was met by the duo BoomBox, a couple of fellas who love hats almost as much as their “electronic blend of vintage Rock and Blues made to move dance floors while incorporating their signature Backbeat, Psychedelia and Funky House sounds.” Exhale.

It's small, I know. Squint.

Anyway, this poster pretty much killed. Look at the intent stare of the Mad Hatter, supported by his friend, the elusive flat-brimmed walrus. It’s rare to find these kinds of specimens in the wild.

That said, the music isn’t as terrible as the poster suggests, and Ishi is opening. Plus, it could be worth the price of admission just to see Abraham Lincoln in action.

Show’s Thursday night.

Sweatshirt’s back! Well, maybe.

Yesterday, he dropped this track, “Home,” immediately fanning the speculative flames that come with anything Odd Future-related. It’s a tight track, both lengthwise and flow-wise. His two year stint in a Samoan boarding school didn’t seem to hurt.

His Twitter feed’s up and running, so he’s at least reaching out. Here’s to more, hopefully.

I’m gonna embed a knockoff YouTube clip below, but if it disappears, just click on the link in the text above; same jaun.

THURSDAY

Treasure Fingers (Rio Room): Another big Rio Room Thursday night, with Fool’s Gold recording artist Treasure Fingers, who has remixed the likes of Chromeo, Kid Sister, Empire of the Sun, and Ocelot.

When I mentioned to a friend that I feel it’s imperative to make a stop to the dry cleaners a few days in advance of attending anything at this venue, she replied, “Ha, the douche is always loose at Rio Room!” But I find that unfair. I shot back, ..read more

In a huge booking coup for 35 Denton, iconic British act, The Jesus and Mary Chain, will be closing out the festival on Sunday, March 11. This will be the first time the mercurial band from Scotland, who once referred to themselves as “so much better than everybody else,” will play in the United States since their lauded and much discussed reunion at 2007′s Coachella, which they headlined. It is the first time the band will land in Texas since ..read more

According to the fine folks on StubHub, a lot.

Drake’s March 2 show at UT-Arlington is sold out, forcing fans of the child actor-turned-rapper onto the secondary market. And those people seem to think they can snag up to $1,090 for a pair of tickets.

Tickets sales were open only to students, faculty, and staff, meaning there’s either some Ramen-starved students trying to turn a quick buck or an economics professor who’s putting the theory of supply and demand to good use. When they went on sale, tickets ranged from $50 to $80, plus $15 student discounts. Now, StubHubbers are seeking between $150 and $545 a pop.

I like Drake. I like him a lot, and I think his supporting acts (A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar) make for the strongest nationally-touring rap bill to come through DFW this year. But if I was paying $150 to see them, I’d expect at least a few cups of drank.

As a general rule, I have only disparaging things to say about genre classifications. The practice has enabled lazy music-writing and turned “core” into a totally meaningless suffix. Genres have become as multivariate as religious sub-sub-denominations and just as useless. They do provide an occasional road-map kind of helpfulness, but in general I think you can divide music into two types: the coat-and-tie affairs and the ones that let me drink a beer inside.

Even with my extreme dislike of labeling, ..read more

The trend this weekend appears to be having a show in the requisite Dallas-proper market, followed by a similarly-themed night in Denton or Fort Worth. This is assuming that these cities are as far apart as every griping motorist claims they are. I don’t find it all that bad myself, and I’m willing to put on some extra miles if the location is more comfortable, and the artists more enjoyable. So in those cases, I’ll tell you which setting has ..read more

Still relatively new in the world of local dance weeklies, “Denton is Burning” has been described as an “LGBTQI-friendly” dance night at Rubber Gloves, but just about every night as this place is similarly all-inclusive. I’m assuming that the title is a reference to Paris is Burning, the acclaimed 1990 documentary on New York “drag ball” culture. If that’s the case, it should be a fun night for everyone, as promised.

The DJs usually include Oleg Belogorsky and Tiago Varjao, but there is a completely different lineup this ..read more

In yet another entry to 35 Denton’s “Cover Series,” where a known local act interprets the music of a known national act, we have the Dallas duo Leg Sweeper doing a completely rock-based job of Rice University Guest Lecturer, former UGK rapper, and wonderful Twitter read, Bun B’s tough neighborhood anthem, “My Block.” At first listen, the twosome is reminiscent of another two-man band and former 35 Denton performers, Japanther, at their most pop-punk, but is essentially a rock band ..read more

THURSDAY

U-Tern (Rio Room): LA resident U-Tern is well-known for his remix work of pop artists from both today and yesteryear, and though it’s more likely the average, casual, music fan has heard his rework of Britney Spears, let’s just say it is a little more impressive when he tackles the era of James Brown or Stevie Wonder. But of course, that’s hardly fair. To paraphrase Vonnegut—regarding comments he made regarding film industry—it’s akin to the ancient sculptors who worked with gold, since ..read more

THURSDAY

Black Gold Social Club (Zubar): Once in a lengthy discussion regarding what is the most sublime of all music combinations, I finally settled on a particular pairing. “I’ve got it,” I said. “Soul music…with a string section. Soul with strings. That’s my answer.” Thinking I had touched upon something very profound, I was instead met with an unimpressed sparring partner in this musical debate. “Well, duh” she said.

The reason I bring it up is because the great Curtis Mayfield is ..read more

The week wouldn’t be complete without a little Granada love, so this Thursday’s giveaway consists of a pair of tickets to The Kills with Jeff the Brotherhood and Hunters. Get ‘em while they’re hot! Answer the question in the form below: Tell us what fan favorite TV genre The Kills music is known to appear on. We’ll pick a winner after 3pm.

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var z7p7w7 = new ..read more

When I composed my 2012 wish list, I made eleven pretty lofty requests and one that was pure snark. Among the sincere wishes, perhaps none was more of a stretch than to see underground hip hop gain a foothold in North Texas. At least that’s why I thought it was a stretch. It turns out five Dallas emcees struggled with the same goal about a year ago and decided to direct energies toward that end. The fruit of that struggle ..read more