If I were obnoxious, I would mention that Muscle Shoals has one of the secretly great music histories in the United States. I would say bands like the Rolling Stones would sneak into town to record great...
About two weeks ago, the Bama Theatre’s Tuscaloosa Get Up show sold out the venue and truly created a wonderful, emotional experience among one of the city’s greatest nights. While my thoughts on the...
While tickets are already sold out to the Bama Theater’s Tuscaloosa Get Up show on Friday, the show’s anticipation is still worth covering. Actually, hold on a second. I want to ask you a question....
While 2012 has not yet produced the type of brilliant music that made the last quarter of 2011 so special, there have been an impressive number of interesting records worthy of your listen. Here are a...
If there were three basic things to take away from the 2012 Grammy Awards, they would be as follows: 1. Willie Nelson can make me cry watching a Chipotle ad. 2. Jennifer Hudson can make me cry singing...
One of the chief lines in the 2003 Richard Linklater film “School of Rock” involves the idea that “one great rock show can change the world.” The line is both a mantra and a throwaway joke, considering...
I know that list making does that annoying thing where I try to quantify art by saying one thing is somehow more valuable than the others. I also know that this framing device is pretentious, and that...
Sometimes it is extremely difficult to honestly critique music. It may be because you’ve developed a friendship with the people involved, compromising any attempt at a more distant critical view. You...
When meeting local musicians in Tuscaloosa, many students are surprised to find that these artists are in the same age range as they are. The guy who wrote “Sassprilluh Champagne” is barely out of...
We clearly don’t know what to do. In lieu of the recent horrific racist chalking found at Moody Music Building on Tuesday, a tepid email was sent to us by UA President Robert Witt. To no surprise, his...
On the track “Surgeon” from St. Vincent’s third album “Strange Mercy,” Annie Clark says, “Best, finest surgeon, come cut me open.” Clark’s lyrics come from a quote said by Marilyn Monroe...
Last Wednesday night, it seemed as if Green Bar in Tuscaloosa was approaching fire code capacity. The building, which is legally maxed out at 150 people, hosted Alabama Shakes, a band from Athens, Ala....
I’ve always thought a truly great live show can turn a mere building into a visual and aural experience, transforming that venue into a memory. This might be the experience I’ll feel several years...
In honor of the new semester, I decided to talk to a couple of fine musicians about their recent favorite albums from the state. I will pass the floor on to them to comment. Reed Watson The Secret Sisters...
Forms of media (movies, television, music, et al.) tend to go in these strange cycles almost entirely independent of what it is hyping in terms of quality. Great things get embraced somewhat by accident,...
"I feel like I could tell the weather was getting bad,” said Tuscaloosa musician Joshua Folmar. Folmar and I are standing right outside of Egan’s as he recounts the story of what happened to him on...
The toughest thing to learn in the midst of tragedy is how to really care about the more pedantic things in life, like opinions on the arts. Of course, I personally wasn’t thinking about new records...
As the school year closes, it always feels like a series of departures. For better or for worse, Tuscaloosa is shaped (or destroyed) by the people who stay here for four years of their life. And unfortunately,...
"We're going to play some songs." Adam Morrow, lead vocalist of Callooh! Callay!, opened our little chat with that line, and while he meant it as a joke response parodying bad interview questions, it...
Egan’s To make a ridiculous and probably flawed comparison, Egan’s is our own little Austin, Texas. In a city of typical Southern culture, it is our weird area. Metalheads, hipsters, outsiders and...
We are exactly the same. What I mean is that we have the same mindset in trudging through the school week to get to Friday, to the weekend, and partying (or drinking or studying). Fun and partying (in...
Five men in suits cornered me outside of Egan’s on Saturday night. Normally, this is petrifying for a human being, as it seems like the beginning of every mob movie ever made. Thankfully, the guys weren’t...
I knocked on the door of Reed Watson’s apartment and was immediately greeted by a fierce cat. The cat, named Otis, was a stray – only a few weeks old – picked up by Watson outside a Barnes and Noble...
Record stores aren’t known for packing in the people these days. They hopefully get enough money to get by, but they tend to please the “quiet browsing” crowd. But on Saturday, Feb. 5, Oz Music...
Blaine Duncan accidentally introduced me to Tuscaloosa’s music scene. Back in August 2009, I was assigned to write a story about a band that I had never listened to before. The band was called Blaine...
Blaine Duncan accidentally introduced me to Tuscaloosa’s music scene. Back in August 2009, I was assigned to write a story about a band that I had never listened to before. The band was called Blaine...
10. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang While it could be considered “more of the same,” the branch of great stories and upbeat rock ethos of vocalist/lyricist Brian Fallon and his men makes this...
I have to admit I’ve felt a little sick the past few days. You see, I still actually pay attention to reviews from major media, because I guess I have nothing else better to do with my day-to-day life....
Two months are left in 2010 and it already feels like the year is over. Of course, big albums are supposed to come out in this period because of the holidays, but other than Kid Cudi, not much good is...
I wish I could have no problems with Kanye West. The guy was at one point a quiet force of hip-hop with a good ear for rhythm. But something set him off. Whether it is success, tragedy or just pure ego,...
Let’s talk about football. Relax, there is still music discussion, but I want you to think about your Sunday habits. Presumably, you watch football and thus watch CBS’s coverage of the NFL. (And if...
So-called “progressive rock” is one of the most redundant genre titles in all of music, since no one else ever refers to “regressive rock,” or to what they view as music beholden of clichés, thus...
“This song is called ‘Memphis,’ it’s about Nashville.” With those words, Blaine Duncan and the Lookers went from extremely solid to amazing last Friday night as they opened for Lee Bains III...
“Remember when MTV played music videos?” This is the dumbest question that is most constantly asked by anyone in their 20s, because, no, I have no memories of an all-music channel. No students at...
This economy hasn’t helped sports gamers at all. If you buy the entire collection of Electronic Arts sporting games made for this year, you’ve spent a good few hundred dollars. As it turns out, that...
I hope you’ve read a letter to the editor by Reed Watson, co-owner of Hackberry Records (although, he would argue it is more a creative agreement than a traditional label). In it, Watson writes out a...
I will admit to you early on, dear reader, that I’m not too hot on pop music. I really don’t have a good excuse other than not liking the beat, auto-tune, or the look of the artist. Of course, better...
After three agonizing years of wait, the Canadian-American group The Arcade Fire has finally brought a new record to the world, titled “The Suburbs.” To those unfamiliar with the baroque pop band’s...
While it is true that we are in a different time and place for music than in times past, it still seems like major exposure for “popular” groups is as commonplace in the modern climate...
An art exhibit of chilled expression will take place at the Mellow Mushroom on Thursday night at 9 p.m., as Elliott McPherson showcases his “Lightboxes” for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Art Show. Rabid Tuscaloosa...
Illinois-based group The 17th Floor is bringing their genre-bending set list of covers and originals to the Jupiter Bar and Grill this Friday night. Boasting over a decade of experience and a reputation...
Sleigh Bells new release “Treats” comes off of a massive wave of Internet hype and a label connection with highly acclaimed hip-hop savant M.I.A. (of “Paper Planes” fame). Sleigh Bells brandishes...
