Oh, indie rock. Does such a genre even really mean anything anymore? What was once "independent" is now major label material; a few major label material acts are now "independent." The grass is blue, the sky is green, up is down, down is up; nothing makes sense in this day and age. Leave it to Built to Spill to defy space and time by continuing to rock the same songs they've been playing since 1993......

Happy Halloween ghosts and ghouls! There’s a slew of great bands playing in Houston this week before heading up to a certain festival this weekend (hint: ____ ). We’ve got mega-celebs that have their own fragrances wrecking the Toyota Center in English AND Espanol on Wed., we’ve got huge indie bands Spoon and the New Pornographers teaching class on Thurs, and we have the Houstonist pick o’ the week: M.I.A. and Paul Wall on......

On the heels of last week's performance on David Letterman, Atlanta-based indie-rock outfit Manchester Orchestra arrives at Warehouse Live tomorrow night. If you'd like to hear a man with a fantastic voice, check out former Mavericks lead vocalist Raul Malo Thursday night (also at Warehouse Live). Friday night, check out some local indie rock -- .belville at Rudyard's. Saturday is a tough call: The Killers with Louis XIV are at Reliant Arena and Reverend......

How does a band with "Church" in its name end up playing more dive bars than youth groups? That's what we set out to discover in our conversation with The Woodlands-based group The Church of Philadelphia. Their sound is evocative of some of the big names in indie rock and Americana, and ranges from foot-stomping hoe-downs to hauntingly dreary dirges. Houstonist had the opportunity to sit down with members Brian Tharpe and Joey Matthews (they......

For once, this week's music calendar is light on local acts, heavy on touring acts. Tonight, catch classic crooner Tony Bennett (who turns 80 this year) at Jones Hall. Tomorrow night, we recommend California indie rock band Rocco Deluca & the Burden at Warehouse Live. Mix things up a little bit Wednesday night and catch Austin's Belleville Outfit at the Duck, combining jazz, swing and Americana. Houston's own R&B legend Archie Bell will "tighten......

The Dimes may not have swept the Houston Press Music Awards last week, but they did leave with the most trophies – three, to be exact (Best New Act, Best Indie Rock, and Song of the Year). While puppies (in age, that is) compared to many on the Houston music scene, they’re making a big splash right out-of-the-box. We caught up with Carlos Sanchez, guitarist and lead vocalist for The Dimes, as he and the......

Last night, Warehouse Live played host to the annual Houston Press Music Awards. Houstonist was there to absorb all of the entertainment and was treated to some of the best local music around. The Dimes (pictured above) walked away as big winners, with three awards – Best New Act, Best Indie Rock, and Song of the Year, for “Delilah,” which they performed on stage midway through the night. Other performers included Million Year Dance......

Tokyo Police Club @ Meridian We love when a band with critical-acclaim like Tokyo Police Club stops by the Bayou City. Sure, albeit on a Monday night, probably headed to or from Austin, but we are glad to have them nonetheless. We caught TPC at a few festivals this year and every set we've seen has been stellar, even in the hot, hot heat of a 2:00pm set time at Cocahella, they still got the......

Some good acts are in town this week. We have free tickets for one in particular -- Charlie Robison. You must send us an e-mail with your name, e-mail address and phone number to contest (at) gmail (dot) com by noon tomorrow to win. There's so many good shows Saturday night, it's hard to decide which one to hit. Kings of Leon will probably win out. The Tennessee indie rock band plays Warehouse Live......

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......

The weeks starts out right when a sucker punch on the field lands Chicagoist in the middle of a Sox/Cubs throwdown and the fists continue to fly in the comments. Despite suburban resident Ms. Pinney's best little try no books will be banned anytime soon and the El is really really gross. Houstonist is there to start compiling the punditry when when the guilty, guilty Enron verdict comes down. This guy seems to be able......

Tim Westergren wants to introduce you to great music. In early 2000, he founded The Music Genome Project. In 2005, Westergren introduced his mission to the Internet, beginning Pandora, Web radio that utilizes a listener's favorite bands or songs to find similar music based on the components of the song — melody, lyrics, instruments, etc. Westergren hails from the Bay area, is thorough in everything he does and recently embarked on a journey across the......