Cory GravesThis Week, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein Were Perfect Strangers.
Each week, we take a survey of the local music scene and try to determine which acts in town are really putting in work and seeing it pay off. Which bands have the most intriguing shows coming up? Which bands are getting the most press around town? Which bands have accomplished the most notable feats of late? Based off these criteria, our music writers submit a list to be weighted and compiled into a master list revealed each week in this here space. We like to think it's fairly revealing. Check out our previous Buzz Rankings here.
When not watching the RNC clusterfuck with mouths agape, or being forced to go out and exercise by that drive to capture all the Pokémons, there's a good chance you were binge-watching Netflix's newest original series Stranger Things. There's an even better chance you've been told how amazing the '80s horror-indebted series is by no fewer than half-a-dozen of your closest social media follows. It's a thing, and people are talking about it.
Besides how wonderful it is and that you should totally be watching it, another thing you'll often hear people mention when bringing up the subject is how killer the show's theme song is. As we mentioned earlier this week, that song was lovingly handcrafted by Dallas-bred Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, now of Austin-based synth band S U R V I V E.
Pretty cool, right? Anyway, being the talk of the entertainment world helped these dudes earn their first-ever trip to the top of our weekly, local music power rankings.
Similarly, Dark Rooms' frontman did some scoring of his own a la the upcoming Pete's Dragon remake. The sexy pop band also headlines the Harvest House tonight.
Speaking of moving pictures, Parquet Courts and Son of Stan were each on TV this week. The former was joined by Bun B when they played Late Night With Stephen Colbert, and the latter drummed it up real good on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
What's more, Son of Stan also produced this new Lizzie Boredom jam, which you should totally check out. That band, by the way, plays its first-ever show this Saturday at Double Wide's Bad Bitches Ball.
Also on that Bad Bitches Ball bill is Party Static, another band whose new single we premiered today. Check that one out, too, why don't you?
Elsewhere, Seryn, Ishi, Quaker City Night Hawks, Vaden Todd Lewis and Sealion played/will play Granada shows; Kacey Musgraves got some lyrics on a Coke bottle; Erykah Badu helped put a dent in Detroit's rape kit backlog and Dead to a Dying World helped battle depression.
(Also receiving votes this week: Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Lizzie Boredom, Mo3, Jordan Walker, The Unlikely Candidates, Todrick Hall, Ashley Myrick, Clayton Smith, Pearl Earl, New Science Projects, Somebody's Darling, Grayson James, Reverend Horton Heat, Moon Waves, Vandoliers, Slobberbone, The Azalea Project, Booty Fade, War Party, Pageantry, Blue, The Misfit, St. Vincent, Deep Blue Something, The Cush, The Roomsounds, Loafers, Salvation Egg, Natural Anthem, Starbass Laboratories.)
