1. B-Sides

Career (Remix)

The trials and tribulations of R. Kelly.

By Tamara Palmer and Annie Zaleski

Published: January 2, 2008

Six Flags execs should be envious of all the twists, turns, surges and plunges that have taken place in the five years since R. Kelly faced multiple child-pornography charges: They...

2. Cafe

Eh ~scape

The Central West End's newest upscale eatery has Ian looking for the exit door.

By Ian Froeb

Published: January 2, 2008

A restaurant critic's resolutions for 2008: 1) I won't always clean my plate, even when I dislike something, just because that's the way I was raised. 2) I will stop criticizing...

3. Critics' Picks

The Bad Plus

8:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, January 2 through Saturday, January 5. Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington Boulevard.

By Christian Schaeffer

Published: January 2, 2008

Nearly every jazz performer has a list of standards to turn to, classic tunes which offer a common ground to musicians and listeners alike. For the New York-based/Minneapolis-bred...

4. Critics' Picks

The Aviation Club

9 p.m. Friday, January 4. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Annie Zaleski

Published: January 2, 2008

Legendary local punk/new-wave 'zine Jet Lag launched its online archive early last year at www.jetlagmag.net — and during the subsequent months, the amount of scanned-in back...

5. Critics' Picks

Gonn

9 p.m. Saturday, January 5. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Jason Toon

Published: January 2, 2008

"The universe is permeated with the odor of kerosene." With that awesomely absurd declaration, Gonn launched one of the great lysergic spumes in garage-rock history, the lost 1966...

6. Critics' Picks

Dresden Dolls

8 p.m. Sunday, January 6. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

By Shae Moseley

Published: January 2, 2008

The Dresden Dolls' highly stylized aesthetic and penchant for theatrics could make them an easy target for criticism — if the Boston duo's music didn't live up to the visual...

7. Critics' Picks

Jamie Foehner Benefit

12 p.m. Saturday, January 6. Lemmons, 5800 Gravois.

By Annie Zaleski

Published: January 2, 2008

Those who frequent Lemmons — for its popular trivia nights, its weekend shows and, of course, the delicious pizza — know Jamie Foehner, the power-pop-lovin' doorman/booking...

8. Critics' Picks

Oh, Sleeper

6 p.m., Monday, January 7. Creepy Crawl, 3524 Washington Boulevard.

By Andrew Miller

Published: January 2, 2008

Possibly the least groupie-friendly metal band in history, Oh, Sleeper packs its latest album When I Am God with preemptive strikes against foul temptresses. During opening track "Vices...

9. Critics' Picks

Grand Buffet

7 p.m. Monday, January 7. Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

By Kristyn Pomranz

Published: January 2, 2008

Grand Buffet, the dork-rap duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been spitting satirical rhymes for over a decade, waxing and wailing on everything from candy bars to bears and bricks....

10. Critics' Picks

Black Diamond Heavies

9 p.m. Wednesday, January 9. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

By Roy Kasten

Published: January 2, 2008

With the departure of guitarist, singer and songwriter Mark "Porkchop" Holder, the Black Diamond Heavies lost some musical heft. But judging from the recent album Every Damn Time the...

11. Feature

You Say You Want A Resolution

RFT asks an eclectic mix of St. Louisans to imagine how we can get our act together in 2008.

By Aimee Levitt

Published: January 2, 2008

The highway's closed, the Cardinals are rebuilding, the Rams suck and we're still bummed about almost topping the charts in violent crime. Face it, we got problems — among others,...

12. Film

Eye of the Beholder

Julian Schnabel sees only treacle in the story that inspired his Diving Bell.

By Scott Foundas

Published: January 2, 2008

At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the American painter-turned-filmmaker Julian Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) won the jury's Best Director award for The Diving Bell and...

13. Homespun

The Ghost of the Forest

My Time to Die
(Critter)

Published: January 2, 2008

My Time to Die opens with two tracks of rough-hewn, basement-recorded nonsense: a recitation of the Christian prayer "Our Father," followed by "The Hymnal," an ode to the Holy Ghost...

14. Keep It Down

Primal Spirit Foods Primal Strips Soy Texas BBQ Meatless Jerky

Provenance Unknown

By Malcolm Gay

Published: January 2, 2008

Wheatloaf. The very name conjures visions of anemic 1970s-era vegetarians choking down dry chunks of gluten as they contemplated the ascetic virtues of the complete protein. But wheatloaf...

15. Music

Bare Is My Mind?

Bobby Bare Jr. covers up with his ace Pixies and Breeders tribute act.

By Jaime Lees

Published: January 2, 2008

Call him what you will — Charles Thompson, Black Francis or Frank Black. But as the frontman of the Pixies, ol' what's-his-name deserves a little praise. From 1985 to 1993 Black...

16. News Real

University City Gets the Boot

Time to remember Bob Dylan’s admonition: “Don’t follow leaders, watch the parkin’ meters.”

By Aimee Levitt

Published: January 2, 2008

University City has never been burdened with the reputation of being a diligent bill collector. Since 2004, in fact, 45 percent of the more than 40,000 parking tickets its police department...

17. Rotations

David Byrne

The Knee Plays
(Nonesuch Records)

By Nicholas Hall

Published: January 2, 2008

Better to burn out or fade away? The current musical tendency to fetishize the past, creating new markets through nostalgia, has come up with a new answer to this timeless rock & roll...

18. Rotations

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Raising Sand
(Rounder)

By William Michael Smith

Published: January 2, 2008

On the surface, the imagination boggles when confronted with a musical collaboration between two such seemingly polar opposite talents as Americana/bluegrass goddess Alison Krauss...

19. Rotations

Blake Lewis

Audio Day Dream 
(Arista/J)

By Kristyn Pomranz

Published: January 2, 2008

American Idol winners (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood) have it easy, as do American Idol early exiters (Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry). But the penultimate position is a toughie....

20. Unreal

Bandit Man

Unreal intercepts a bit of Wash. U. correspondence and reflects on the best TV show ever.

Published: January 2, 2008

Overland resident John Gleckler remembers the day his father bought the family's first color TV set. That special date coincided with the TV premiere of Smokey and the Bandit. Gleckler...