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on ChronCast:   free audio news and streams from the Chronicle

Speak Week Is for Lovers 

 Tue Feb 9, 10:23am
The music industry is marching towards South by Southwest, but we have something this week to look forward to. I'm talking about Austin's premiere pop electronica outfit, Speak, and their barrage of musical delights appropriately titled Speak Week.
 

KGSR hires Clear Channel’s Mark Abuzzahab 

 Mon Feb 8, 5:08pm
Emmis Austin announced today that KGSR hired Mark Abuzzahab as its new Music Director and afternoon drive personality, replacing iconic deejay Jody Denberg, who signed off on Dec. 5.
 

Grounded in Music 

 Mon Feb 8, 3:55pm
Funding for music and art has been cut from public education for a long time now, leaving math and English as the main priority, and basic music classes behind. Locals Grounded in Music address this problem and more.
 

The Lineup 

 Fri Feb 5, 4:31pm
This week, a sample of Casual Victim Pile, Dub Police, and Retribution Gospel Choir.
 
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Videos: Spoon and the Strange Boys 

 Fri Feb 5, 11:31am
Fresh off Transference, Spoon is taking the Saturday portion of SpoonX3 on the road with the Strange Boys. Click through for new videos from both bands. First up: Spoon "Written in Reverse"
 

Texas Union Faculty: We Didn't Know 

 Thu Feb 4, 3:49pm
The role of the Texas Union Board in the decision to close UT Austin's Informal Class Program and the Cactus Cafe has been broadly discussed. Now board member Dr. Thomas Garza (one of UT President Bill Powers' three appointees to the body) has said that not only did faculty have no input on the decision, but it was not on the agenda for last Friday's meeting.
 

One's not like the others
Todd V. Wolfson

Three Things 

 Wed Feb 3, 1:41pm
Saturday afternoon the news of the Cactus Café’s closing hit the Internet with the force of a hurricane. I felt lucky, since I planned to attend the Todd Snider show in the Union Ballroom that night and I’ve got a good relationship with Griff Luneburg, the venue manager.
 

The Residents are still weird
John Anderson

Master Bungle 

 Wed Feb 3, 11:48am
After 40 years as a "group" and an avalanche of unclassifiable albums, pop deconstructionists the Residents have had no problem reaching "myth" status, eschewing identity and structure in favor of touching the raw nerve. The good news: Last night's bizarro affair at Stubb's was as close as they'll ever get to VH1's Storytellers.
 

Cactus Showdown at ACES 

 Tue Feb 2, 1:27pm
While it was intended to be a discussion about the entire university, it now seems that UT President Bill Powers' budget town hall meeting scheduled for this afternoon will have to tackle the closure of the Cactus Cafe and the ending of the Informal Classes program.
 

He Called Me Baby 

 Mon Feb 1, 12:24pm
At 55, I'm the old fart on our music writing staff, but when I put One Eskimo's "Kandi" in my 2009 Top 10, I knew that young band grand-slammed it outta the ballpark, using the one weapon that never fails: a killer song. When Bob Lefsetz wrote about it yesterday, I grinned.
 

Union board
Photo courtesy of University of Texas Department of Student Affairs

UT Axing Cactus Cafe, Informal Classes 

 Sun Jan 31, 11:58am
The legendary Cactus Cafe is in its 30th anniversary year. The University of Texas has been offering its Informal Classes since 1971. Now the University Union has announced that these two key components of its community outreach will be "phased out" in August.
 

The Lineup 

 Fri Jan 29, 3:35pm
This week, music from the Dex Romweber Duo, Ratas del Vaticano, the Residents, and Fred Eaglesmith.
 
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OTR - 33rpm 

 Fri Jan 29, 11:22am
 

AfterMath Afterglow 

 Fri Jan 29, 10:23am
After recent visits from Blues Mafia and the Carson Brock Group, Europe dusts off its welcome mat for yet another group of talented young Austinites: Pop quartet AfterMath, which recently won the School Jam USA competition in Anaheim and title Best Teen Band in America.
 

Ben and Jay's excellent adventure
Doug Freeman

One Fast Move 

 Thu Jan 28, 11:54am
Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard wasted no time last night at Antone’s, launching immediately into “California Zephyr,” the lead track from their recent collaboration One Fast Move Or I’m Gone.
 

Jonathan Richman's Eyes 

 Wed Jan 27, 3:08pm
It’s in his eyes: Dark, haunted, at times vacant but rarely smiling, no matter what the subject of the song or the raw emotions he was trying to convey. Last night at the Cactus Café, Jonathan Richman played two short 30-minute sets of proto-folk. He continues tonight and tomorrow at the Continental Club.
 

For the purposes of this Anvil blog, that's what she said
Gary Miller

I Like It Hard 'N' Heavy 

 Tue Jan 26, 2:40pm
If you've seen Anvil! The Story of Anvil, you've witnessed how far the rock and roll dream can take some people, and how others get side-swiped by bad timing. In our culture of reality show second chances, it's not often someone gets to relive the rock and roll dream outside of Guitar Hero.
 

OTR - 33 RPM 

 Fri Jan 22, 11:30am
 

Hello Cleveland! 

 Thu Jan 21, 2:59pm
Odds are that on Feb. 2, when this year's Oscar nominations are announced, Anvil! The Story of Anvil will go from heavy metal music legend to full-on cultural touchstone – never mind if the documentary gets nominated and wins. Canadian Steve “Lips” Kudlow, dropping Anvil at Emo's on Monday, would rather talk music than film.
 

Great White Lie 

 Thu Jan 21, 12:41pm
The Greatest White Liar by Nic Armstrong & the Thieves is one of the great overlooked gems of the past decade. Released in 2005, it’s a bouncy blast of Britpop that could have been beamed from the middle of the original British Invasion.
 

<i>Under Great White Northern Lights</i> gets its U.S. premiere come March
courtesy of www.whitestripes.com

White Stripes Doc to Ring SXSW's Doorbell 

 Wed Jan 20, 1:05pm
SXSW started as a music fest first, so it's kind of a no-brainer that SXSW Film would make room for movies about music. Hey, you know who makes music and is in a new movie? The White Stripes.
 

Chaos In Tejas 2010 

 Tue Jan 19, 2:47pm
The annual punk and hardcore soiree known as Chaos in Tejas just gets better every year. The initial lineup has been released, and it features a reunion from New Jersey's Rorschach. Also of note: Grass Widow, Ty Segall, Bone Awl, and the lone 2010 date of the Marked Men. See you in the pit.
 

Update: Hope for Haiti 

 Mon Jan 18, 6:23pm
The horrific 7.0 earthquake that ripped apart Haiti near Port-au-Prince on Tuesday has sparked a global outpouring both profound and personal. The tragedy hit particularly close to home for Aaron Ivey. The local musician has been trying to formally adopt a four-year-old boy from the neighboring city of Cazale for more than two years.
 

The Lineup 

 Fri Jan 15, 4:36pm
This week, music from Black Milk, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Frank Smith, Movits!, and Lissie.
 
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FEATURED POSTS
A Super Bowl to Remember
Mark Fagan, Mon Feb 8
Who Dat nation rejoices
Texies and the City
Richard Whittaker, Sun Feb 7
Council's new partnership with flat-track Roller Derby league (video)
Videos: Spoon and the Strange Boys
Austin Powell, Fri Feb 5
"Written in Reverse" and "Be Brave"
Powers on the Spot
Richard Whittaker, Fri Feb 5
Footage from the UT budget town hall [video]
This Week's Waste of Time
James Renovitch, Thu Feb 4
A free online game lets the lasers fly.


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Photo courtesy of University of Texas Department of Student Affairs
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