Anyone who’s been subjected to Baha’i ska or Krishna punk can tell you that Christianity is not the problem with Christian rock — it’s the adulteration of secular music with religion. Reggae, on the other hand, is religious music in the first place, with a distinctly Judaic root. No surprise, then, that Matisyahu, Brooklyn’s Hassidic reggae cantor, eludes the…
Phosphorescent’s albums, as well as the band’s short but heartfelt EP, are the kind you reach for when you could use a companion — someone to share in an inspired, poetic struggle that your friends would only mock. Singer Matthew Houk — an Alabama-born resident of Athens, Georgia — delivers a sincerity and familiarity rare among today’s more guarded, image-conscious…
On the only occasion that Murder by Death played a Kansas City show, its keyboardist terrified El Torreon’s staff by unwittingly blowing fireballs within inches of an overhead gas main. Meanwhile, a homicide took place within blocks of the venue. Murder by Death concerts don’t necessarily occur within a circumference of impending doom — numerous Lawrence gigs have spawned no…
Deerhoof Bay Area art-rockers Deerhoof stomp all over the traditional pop-song template and then superglue the tiny, serrated pieces back together. The choruses don’t come in when they’re supposed to (when there’s a chorus at all), or there are five mini-choruses — it’s practically impossible to guess what’s around the corner in a Deerhoof song. The band employs a pack-rat…
It’s out with the old and in with the oldies for our dear Dolly Parton, that painted hill girl who broke the hearts of Merle and Porter and who, with Judy Garland, is the fresh-water source of American drag. Her very Dollyness overshadows, powders and rouges her true accomplishments, most notably her leap from buxom sight gag to one of…
Exactly one year ago, the Pitch reviewed the Golden Republic’s Astralwerks debut EP, People. Since then, the group has toured extensively, added a new member (drummer Ryan Johnson) and lost a treasured instrument. Singer Ben Grimes reviews 2005’s highs and lows. Best show: “The last one we played, in Los Angeles. We were opening for Caesars at a sold-out…
Eighty thousand new Web logs (blogs) are created each day, and whereas most read like low-rent diaries, some are gold mines for free music. One of our favorites is Frank Yang’s Chromewaves. Along with his daily entries (which are actually well-written and packed with downloadable goodies), Yang has a soft spot for indie-rock cover songs, typically posting a new hard-to-find…
Last month, St. Louis’s favorite rapper, Nelly, inked a deal to star in his very own reality series. The show’s storyboard is being kept under tight wraps, but the Pitch recently obtained a copy of the pilot episode, complete with minute-by-minute accounts of the megastar’s fascinating life. Synopses of a few of the more exciting scenes follow. 11:32 a.m. Nelly…
For all y’all who dozed off during Sunday-school lessons on the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the prodigal son is a simple story. A father loves his son so much that, even though the son asks for his inheritance early and goes out and squanders it on fast times and Holy Land whores and ends up wallowing in pig…
During the Great Depression, a mind-boggling number of rowdy clubs and ballrooms sprang to life in downtown Kansas City, creating the perfect environment for a late-night community of bootlegging, gambling and boogie-woogie to take hold. A prolific jazz scene took shape, and musicians from all over the nation flocked to town, eager to participate in the wild musical climate…
Rodeo queens: I can’t believe that I wait all week to read the Pitch, only to find the cover is about queer cowboys! (Ben Paynter’s “So You Wanna Be a Cowboy?” October 20). Was I expecting some more of the trials and tribulations of Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields? No. But an honorable mention regarding the Kansas Board of Education’s…
Hip-hop MC Priceless Diamonds describes herself as a “boss bitch” who grew up boosting clothes and turning the occasional trick. She swears that she’s leading a straighter life now, but we figure she’s still learned lots of good life lessons. So listen up, y’all. Why do you think that Tom DeLay is grinning in his mug shot like it’s picture…
Kansas City Star gossip columnist Hearne Christopher Jr. must be a very jealous man. Or just a punk. It pains me to waste good newsprint elaborating on these theories. But a gal can take only so many tiny little pricks at her ankles before she’s forced to kick back. For three years, I’ve kept quiet while Christopher has taken…
November’s GQ magazine had the Strip choking on its own cud. This meat patty isn’t talking about the hide-it-under-the-mattress spread on Alison Lohman, who looks like Lolita (she’s 26), spooning with a teddy bear, wearing a see-through nightie and a pink thong, sucking seductively on a lollipop and drinking from a garden hose. No, the Strip is talking about what…
Kelly Salchow was still jetlagged. Just days earlier, she’d been in Greece, competing in the final heat of the quadruple sculls at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She’d placed a disappointing fifth — behind the German, British, Australian and Russian teams — then packed up her gear, flown back to Cincinnati and driven nonstop to Kansas City. In town only…
