The Beach Boys' latest reunion seems to be doing all the right things. Sadly, the group won't be surfing out to St. Louis.

When it comes to the ever-subjective exercise of ranking the greatest bands of all time, The Beatles tend to be the default number one. Number two varies: Some would pick an obvious choice like the Rolling Stones or Led Zepplin, while others would pick a less universally popular band with great influence such as the Kinks or the Who.

But a solid contender for the somewhat-coveted number two spot would be the Beach Boys, the bodacious band that composed some of the greatest music of any age. This is a group, after all, that wrote catchy tunes about surfing and the sheer essence of longing and love. And more importantly, the members were intensely impressive musicians that influenced countless bands throughout the years.

Since most of the Beach Boys' biggest hits came about in the 1960s and 1970s, it would be easy to assume that group's best days faded long ago. But the group has been playing shows in various incarnations for the past couple of decades, including a worldwide tour that kicked off last week in Arizona. Previously feuding band members managed to patch up any hard feelings to get together for the group's 50th anniversary.

More >>

English space-rock heroes the Telescopes shared both a record label and a scene with bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, but never shared the acclaim. And though the Telescopes are worshiped by modern noise makers as O.G. shoegazers, its influence hadn't translated into a full band tour until now.

With one week of U.S. shows scheduled around Austin Psych Fest -- including tomorrow's stop at the Firebird -- and band members borrowed from hard-working Texas bands, Stateside fans will have their first opportunity to catch the Telescopes at full power.

We worked out a quick interview with Telescopes' singer and founder, Stephen Lawrie, and found him to be both friendly and playfully cryptic.

Jaime Lees: Your show here is in a week, have you made it to the States yet?

Stephen Lawrie: Yes, we're down in Fort Worth rehearsing. We have the first show tonight. At Lola's.

More >>

Wikimedia Commons

Sue Sylvester would not approve of Gotye's criticism of Glee. Or maybe she would. Who knows?

Regardless of what anybody thinks about the actual program, there's no disputing that Glee has become an absolute juggernaut in the music industry. As of October 2011, songs from the show have been downloaded 36 million times. And during that same time period, 11 million physical albums that have been sold. That's impressive by any objective measure.

Those sort of sales provide some significant attention [and, more likely, oodles of royalties] for artists being covered for the show. It's fair to say that Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" received a bigger bump in the mainstream consciousness for its Glee cover than when the White Sox inexplicably won the World Series in 2005.

More >>

Craig Hlavaty/Houston Press

Fiona Apple's first single off her upcoming album was released earlier this week.

Fiona Apple is in an elite club of critical darlings that persevered, despite finding commercial success during the 1990s. Using the word "Despite" may sound odd, since selling a lot of records should indicate that a musical artist has something unusual to offer - a boisterous voice, an instrumental skill or a penchant to attract attention.

All three of those attributes would apply to Apple. But fair or not the 1990s have a reputation for being a superficial, freewheeling time before America went to war and sunk into economic calamity. Only a few artists have emerged unscathed and stronger, long after acres of Furbies ended up in landfills. Apple fits into the category, as she managed to make her comeback in the mid-2000s with Extraordinary Machine. More recently Apple's garnered a noticeable amount of buzz for her impending album, which will be supported by a tour that includes a July 14 performance at the Peabody Opera House..

More >>

Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is now 10 years old.

Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is rightfully associated with excellence, a piece of work commonly heralded as one of the best albums of the 2000s. It's the type of record with enough depth, lyricism and experimentation to get people interested in serious music, no small feat for any band, and this one features members from the St. Louis area.

But great records often have back stories. Radiohead's Kid A, for instance, was created after the band went through a disorienting and punishing promotional regiment for OK Computer. And Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here came about as the group was still coming to grips with Syd Barrett's disconnection with reality. Appropriately, the tale behind Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- which was released ten years ago this week -- shows that a defining album doesn't come without patience or pain.

More >>

Never heard of Hautewerk? You're not alone. Fans of the Rock Band video game franchise were perplexed when the Orange County band received a DLC release in 2008.

It's not hyperbole to say that downloadable content sparked a huge revolution in console video gaming. Expansions prolonged replay value of many titles, especially music games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

The Rock Band franchise in particular has produced an impressive amount of downloadable content since it burst on the scene in 2007. Heck, "impressive" may be an understatement: Including the user-driven Rock Band Network, well over 3,000 songs have been released thus far. With so many tunes in the pipeline, it's not surprising that weekly releases receive both adulation and fierce criticism. For instance, the recent release of four songs from P!nk was well-received by the singer's fans and panned by her critics.

More >>

Levon Helm

There will never be enough praise that could be directed to Levon Helm. Notwithstanding his incalculable contribution to the Band's brilliant rock & roll ride, Helm's titanic craftsmanship and distictive voice provided a heartbeat to an untold amount of musical acts. Not only did he inspire others, he helped cultivate and nurture a earthy genre of rock music.

Helm's death on Thursday from throat cancer sparked emotional tributes -- and for good reason. Helm connected himself to countless music spheres: Touring with Bob Dylan, creating an immense catalog of influential songs with the Band and luring in younger fans with his Midnight Rambles.

More >>

Syna So Pro's Syrhea Conaway has been undertaking a capella "SMASHups" of local music.

Syna So Pro has been bending St. Louis' collective mind for a while now, taking the concept of the solo act to new heights. Syrhea Conaway - the brainchild behind Syna So Pro - uses an array of foot pedals, instruments and looping technology to create a hypnotic stream of very rad experimental music.

Conaway - a finalist in the Best Solo Project category for the 2012 RFT Music Awards - has also created a series of a capella clips that incorporates songs from one local band at a time. The most recent edition came out earlier this week, when Conaway performed a "SMASHup" of songs from The Blind Eyes. She's also done renditions of songs by Bo and the Locomotive, Ellen the Felon, the Dive Poets and more. In total the series has had eight installments.

More >>

Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

Bill Streeter unveiled Lo-Fi Cherokee, which shows off artists from Tower Groove Records. Streeter and company shot fourteen bands in one day.

Bill Streeter's acclaimed Lo-Fi St. Louis unveiled an ambitious new project earlier this week: A collaboration with Tower Groove Records that showcases fourteen artists playing at Cherokee Street businesses.

Even more impressive? Streeter's crew managed to film fourteen different musical acts in one day without going completely bonkers.

The first video features Humdrum playing "I'll Find You" at STL-Style, the unique t-shirt shop that celebrates St. Louis' identity.

More >>

Wikimedia Commons

With music being so subjective, it's no surprise that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame emerged over the years as a colossal punching bag. When people disagree over whether Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music is dreck or a stroke of genius, no decision is going to be universally loved.

The Cleveland institution has received flack for various reasons, from its nebulous voting system to its questionable decision-making (seriously, did Neil Peart spit in Jann Wenner's tea?). And the ceremonies for the venue have sparked some awkward moments with less-than-cohesive bands.

More >>