"My wife taped it so we could watch it on the bus, God bless her," says Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley of the recent miniseries The Temptations. "It was great. It was kinda cheesy, but I was completely into it. I bought into the whole thing and loved it. They had full versions of the songs, like they had almost the whole thing of 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' with this montage of everybody's descent into madness: David Ruffins getting all fucked up, Paul Williams driving out to the cornfield."

Even with four hours of classic soul and made-for-TV melodrama relatively fresh in his mind, Curley demurs when asked to pick a favorite Temps song.

"Man, I don't know," he says. "Any of the hits. They're all great. 'How I Wish It Would Rain' is one that comes immediately to mind; 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone'; 'Get Ready'; 'I'm Losing You'; 'Ain't Too Proud to Beg.'

"They're all great songs, and they're amazing performances too."

Though it's actually another of Berry Gordy's hit machines that emerges most often on the Whigs' set list (they cover the Supremes, as well as TLC, Barry White, and even something from The Wizard of Oz), Curley freely admits the profound influence the Sound of Young America has had on his band, and that 1965, the group's sixth and latest LP, was so titled as a partial nod to that Motor City magic.

"Originally we called it that because it was the year that Greg [singer Dulli] and I were born, and Rick [guitarist McCollum] was born in '64, so it was the first year that we were all together on the planet," he says. "Then we started looking at what was going on in 1965, and a lot of it was things that related to us directly now. For example, you had Motown and the British Invasion all happening at the same time, and Dylan going electric, a bunch of cool music stuff that was happening. The British Invasion and Motown are a big part of the kind of stuff that we do -- combining sounds like that." -- Christopher Gray

Hellworms, Sangre de Toro, Assnipple

Emo's, Saturday 12

Just as Trance Syndicate has been the purveyor of weird punk rock from Texas, Alternative Tentacles is the beacon of weird punk bands from the Bay Area. One of the better bands on Jello Biafra's indie, Victims Family decomposed into guitarist Ralph Spight's Hellworms, who do the label proud with Crowd Repellent, a slice off the ol' tentacle that flails loud and ugly, but with groove, baby, groove. Good match with the locals in Sangre de Toro, who would do well on AT (or Trance), and Assnipple, featuring Jason Van Henderchristian, back in Austin after the dissolution of his S.F./AT venture, Saturn's Flea Collar. -- Raoul Hernandez

Spoon, Paul Newman

Hole in the Wall, Saturday 12

Spoon

They may be responsible for the Electric Lounge's theme song, but Spoon is always at their best on the little stage at the Hole. Plain and simple: great rock songs by a tight, innovative, and well-seasoned trio. When they're paired with the lusciously intricate melodicism of Paul Newman, you've got a Saturday night well-spent. Billy Joe Winghead opens.

Eugene Chadbourne

Thirty-three Degrees, Saturday 12

Whether working with John Zorn in the Seventies or ex-Mother of Invention Jimmy Carl Black in the Nineties, furthering the No-Wave jazz punk movement of the last decade, or fusing that sensibility with country and western music, guitarist Eugene Chadbourne has built a cult following on the strength of his singular strangeness and virtuosity over the last two decades. What to expect this time? He goes on, solo, at 10pm. Beyond that, who knows?

Suicidal Tendencies

Liberty Lunch, Monday 14

Mike Muir has always been one of rock's most underrated frontmen, but Suicidal Tendencies' comeback at Stubb's in June of '97 was still more exhilarating and vital than anyone had a right to expect. Now, these speedfunk legends return to support a forthcoming EP, Six the Hard Way, and a 1999 full-length, although these recent sets have reportedly relied just as heavily on classic fare as well. Don't miss Jason McMaster's scariest toy yet, the Godzilla Motor Company, perhaps the only Austin metal band that really matters.

-- Andy Langer

Varnaline, Monroe Mustang

Electric Lounge, Tuesday 15

While most record stores watch their inventory fly off the shelves around the holiday season, traditionally, the music industry shuts down in December, roadshows drying up like winter sunlight thanks to unfriendly travel conditions and vacation. Varnaline's upcoming show at the Electric Lounge not only comes late in the season, it's the last notable roadshow of Austin's '98.

"We did the tour with Bob Mould this fall, and when we got back, we just figured it would be a shame to let this time go by," explains Anders Parker, the New York trio's singer/main songwriter. "We figured we'd do a few weeks before the holidays hit."

Unfortunately, Varnaline's first non-South by Southwest local appearance doesn't coincide with the return of one-time Austinite Mould, but after spending nearly six weeks on the road with one of his musical heros, Parker isn't exactly complaining. Acknowledging the privilege of watching the ex-Hüsker Dü/Sugar frontman night after night from the side of the stage, Parker pauses a moment at the suggestion that his own work, '96's solo Man of Sin, '97's Varnaline and A Shot and A Beer EP, as well as the band's most recent release Sweet Life, echo moments of solo Mould and full-blown Hüsker Dü -- not to mention both musicians sharing a similar DIY approach to the music industry.

"I've learned from watching so many of these people and how their careers have gone," says Parker. "Someone like Bob Mould knows who his audience is and what he can and can't do, and just does it. A lot of people in this industry get their heads filled with a lot of convoluted ideas and misinformation and expectations, but I think ultimately, the most important thing is the music. People like him, and Richard Thompson and Neil Young have all done it their own way. They have levels of popularity, but the most important thing always seems to be the music, and to me, that's always the most important thing." -- Raoul Hernandez

Jazz Revolution

The Mercury, Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16

If it takes an insurrection to get jazz on Sixth Street, then so be it. The revolution is on. Heading up the charge is Dallas drummer Earl Harvin, whose trio stunned a SXSW Elephant Room crowd last March with a masterfully conceived and furiously played two hours of hard-edged, straight-ahead jazz. Harvin has recently parted ways with employer/collaborator Seal to focus on this music, and if a recent two-night live recording at Dallas' Gypsy Tea Room is any indication, these guys are serious. On Tuesday, the J.J. Johnson Trio starts it off (7pm), followed by the Edwin Livingston Group, the Malachy Papers from Kansas City, Big Game Hunter, and the Earl Harvin Trio. Wednesday, Reelatkz from Dallas opens, with the Ephraim Owens Group, Blue Construct, and the Hairy Apes BMX leading up to Harvin's headlining set. The revolution will not be televised.

Gilligan Stump!

Flamingo Cantina, Thursday 17

The man is odd. Gilligan Stump! combines roughly played guitar and abrasive humor with a commanding voice, an imposing presence, and synapses that fire faster than any bona fide smot poker's should. He left his Austin home for New York a while back, but he's homesick now, and appearing at the Flamingo Cantina to unveil his new CD, Just Sit Right Back, a collection of intriguing spoken-folk comic-rock. Joining the party are The Kairos Co. and Cactus Smack Conspiracy.

Lloyd Cole & the Negatives, Jill Solbule

Cactus Cafe, Tuesday 15

Some people like a bit of sophistication with their misogyny, and it ain't just the jilted and grievous guys. Last time pop music's poster boy for bachelorhood (and, oddly enough, literacy), played the capital city there were very few Y chromosomes in the sizable crowd. The man responsible for such vitriolic classics as "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken," "Love Ruins Everything," and "She's a Girl and I'm a Man" returns for one show in which the romance of the delivery belies the content of the wallowing.--Michael Bertin

ALSO PLAYING:

Friday: Wayne Hancock, Lucky Pierres, Continental Club; Carlton Pride & Zion, Flamingo Cantina

Saturday: Butch Hancock, Cactus Cafe; Hamell on Trial, Electric Lounge; Meat Purveyors, Flipnotics

Sunday: Six Finger Satellite, Electric Lounge

Tuesday: Gretchen Phillips Experiment, Shaggy's

Wednesday: Trish Murphy, La Zona Rosa

Thursday: Marky Ramone & the Intruders, Stubb's

Recommended

Afghan Whigs, Alvin Youngblood Hart