The 2012 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is two weeks away. And if that is our own St. Louis Music holiday, then consider this the season: Throughout May, we've been making our cases for all 125 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year, introducing the nominees from one or more of our 25 categories. For each artist you will find a photo, a streaming track to sample and a few words from the staff at RFT Music.

Vote for all categories at the official 2012 RFT Music Showcase Reader's Poll.

Previously
Pop
Rock
Indie Rock
DJ
Chamber Pop
Metal
Folk
Electronic/Dance
Americana
New Band
Singer-Songwriter

More >>

The 2012 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is two weeks away. And if that is our own St. Louis Music holiday, then consider this the season: Throughout May, we've been making our cases for all 125 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year, introducing the nominees from one or more of our 25 categories. For each artist you will find a photo, a streaming track to sample and a few words from the staff at RFT Music.

Vote for all categories at the official 2012 RFT Music Showcase Reader's Poll.

Previously
Pop
Rock
Indie Rock
DJ
Chamber Pop
Metal
Folk
Electronic/Dance
Americana
New Band
Singer-Songwriter

More >>

Starring Rihanna as Optimus Prime.

Last week, Battleship, a movie based on the movies based on Transformers and a board game starring a bunch of plastic pegs that really suck to step on by accident and Rihanna, opened to $25 million. This week, Men in Black 3, starring noted pop-rapper Will Smith, will open to significantly more than that.

Making the leap from music royalty to respected blockbuster-opener is difficult. Here are some other recent attempts that turned out somewhere between Rihanna and the Fresh Prince. (Note: I've decided not to talk about DJ Jazzy Jeff's ill-advised star vehicle, Black-Suit Wearing Guys.)

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Local H - Friday @ The Firebird

[Update: Tonight's appearance by Mighty Diamonds at 2720 Cherokee has been cancelled. In its stead, Zion & The Lion Roots Band will perform two sets tonight; the cover is only $7.]

This weekend is a good one: Bluesweek is bigger than ever, Big Muddy Records is hosting a Chili Cook-off (!), and apparently the 90's are back, based on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, and Local H shows on Friday night (and despite St. Louis' recent loss of 100.3 Gen X Radio).

Speaking of Snoop Dogg, maybe if you hold your breath long enough he'll show up to Saturday's Devin the Dude show at Firebird and lay down a verse of 1998's "Fuck You". One can dream, right? The rest of our picks follow.

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Yesterday, Wednesday, May 23, St. Louis radio station WSGX 100.3 FM switched formats from '90s music mecca "GenX Radio" to "The Brew," a classic rock station. The last song for the Generation X-aimed audience was Blind Melon's "No Rain" followed by jarring transition song "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister to inaugurate the station's new direction.

And there it is. One minute it was here, the next it was gone. Like a thief in the night, the station so subtly and smoothly stole away that I didn't realize it was missing until the following day's morning commute. "Who was listening to KSHE 95 FM in my car?" I wondered aloud to no one but myself this morning -- because it's normal to talk to yourself if you're a self-involved Gen-X kid. So what if my age technically makes me a 'Millennial" -- I reject that nonsense because I can't accept Z107.7 FM as my generation's sound. I can accept Blind Melon. And the Beastie Boys, the Cure, Guns N' Roses, Ying Yang Twins, Fiona Apple, Prince, Harvey Danger, Salt-N-Pepa, Nine Inch Nails. To put it another way, one that honors my fellow Echo Boomers: If I could afford Sirius XM satellite radio it would be permanently playing "'90s on 9."

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Helmet - Playing with the Toadies August 11 @ Pop's

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new shows, so you can do some digging of your own and let us know which ones you are excited about! Click through and start planning ahead:

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Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship.

I was thrilled five-ish years ago when I found out about Last.fm, the music recommendation service that doubles as an obsessive analyzer of one's listening habits. I had long been fascinated with the play count feature in iTunes, since previous mediums of music enjoyment were lacking in the statistical department. Last.fm took that concept and ran with it. If you need to retroactively find out the third most heard artist in your life during the second week in June of 2009, the site can tell you in chart form.

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The 2012 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is two weeks away. And if that is our own St. Louis Music holiday, then consider this the season: Throughout May, we've been making our cases for all 125 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year, introducing the nominees from one or more of our 25 categories. For each artist you will find a photo, a streaming track to sample and a few words from the staff at RFT Music.

Vote for all categories at the official 2012 RFT Music Showcase Reader's Poll.

Previously
Pop
Rock
Indie Rock
DJ
Chamber Pop
Metal
Folk
Electronic/Dance
Americana
New Band
Singer-Songwriter

More >>

The 2012 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is two weeks away. And if that is our own St. Louis Music holiday, then consider this the season: Throughout May, we've been making our cases for all 125 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year, introducing the nominees from one or more of our 25 categories. For each artist you will find a photo, a streaming track to sample and a few words from the staff at RFT Music.

Vote for all categories at the official 2012 RFT Music Showcase Reader's Poll.

Previously
Pop
Rock
Indie Rock
DJ
Chamber Pop
Metal
Folk
Electronic/Dance
Americana
New Band
Singer-Songwriter

More >>

Artwork by Jason Potter

The RFT Music Showcase is just over a week away -- on June 2, 79 of St. Louis best bands and artists will play at twelve venues on Washington Avenue. But there's quite a bit of great music happening in this city before then. Our RFT Showcase Team will be at nine of the best of those shows, giving away T-Shirts, posters and more (all featuring the excellent artwork of Jason Potter). Say hi to us -- we're friendly.

We'll be at 2720 Cherokee tomorrow for oddball Bobby Conn, and Lola on Friday for local futuristic hip-hop/soul duo Hawthorne Headhunters. Somewhere in there we'll squeeze in some time downtown at the newly expanded Bluesweek festivities (the subject of this week's music feature). Saturday night we'll be on hand for Devin the Dude and a stacked bill of local openers at the Firebird, Sunday we'll test out the offerings at the Big Muddy Records Chili Cookoff at Off Broadway and on Tuesday you can find us at the Old Rock House for Orgone. There's more -- the full list is below.

See you around.

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