Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever 1977, R, 119 min. D: John Badham; with John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gormey. Today mostly regarded as disco camp, Saturday Night Fever should rank as one of the great American films. John Travolta seized his moment in his breakout starring role as a young American dreamer who wants something more from life.…
Diary of an African Nun
Diary of an African Nun NR. Directed by Julie Dash, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Anyone who has seen Julie Dash’s magnificent and thoroughly unique feature film Daughters of the Dust doesn’t need me to tell them about the filmmaker’s unique sensibilities and her passion for depicting the lives of black women…
Four Women
Four Women 1975, NR. Directed by Julie Dash, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Anyone who has seen Julie Dash’s magnificent and thoroughly unique feature film Daughters of the Dust doesn’t need me to tell them about the filmmaker’s unique sensibilities and her passion for depicting the lives of black women on film.…
Twenty Short Films From Beirut
Twenty Short Films From Beirut NR. Directed by , Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . 20 Short Films From Beirut is a three-week series that focuses on how young filmmakers ñ the Lebanese “war generation” ñ deal with war, death, love, and hope. The films range from five-30 minutes in length and have…
Howard Zinn: A New Perspective On U.S. History
Howard Zinn: A New Perspective On U.S. History NR. Directed by , Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . This film documents a 1999 lecture by the author of the longtime bestseller A People’s History of the United States. Even if you’re not aware of it, if you’ve seen Good Will Hunting you’re probably…
Illusions
Illusions NR. Directed by Julie Dash, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Anyone who has seen Julie Dash’s magnificent and thoroughly unique feature film Daughters of the Dust doesn’t need me to tell them about the filmmaker’s unique sensibilities and her passion for depicting the lives of black women on film. “African Nun”…
Festival of New Cinema of the Americas
Festival of New Cinema of the Americas NR. Directed by Various, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . Now in its fifth year, the renamed Festival of New Cinema of the Americas is a nine-day event that focuses on contemporary films from a diverse array of Latino cultures. Featuring more than 65 films, titles…
Risky Business
Part caper comedy, part suburban satire, and all Eighties, this film was Cruise’s breakthrough performance, albeit for dancing in his underwear.
Letters at 3AM
Evaluating the Ten Commandments as a teaching tool in the American classroom
Celtic Airs
It is spring. Add with the soft and gentle weather this trio of Austin releases to an already impressive list of recent local Celtic and Gaelic music titles (Silver Thistle Pipes and Drums, Brobdingnagian Bards). It could be a stretch to link that activity to the very successful Austin Celtic Festival last fall, but all…
And They’re Off!
Austin is changing and there’s nothing we can do about it. Or is there? That’s the question voters may want to consider as they head to the polls by foot, bike, bus, or car on May 6. Those various transportation modes, by the way, are also something to ponder when selecting from the big crop…
The Sound of One Psycho Cracking
John Cale talks abut composing the original soundtrack for American Psycho
Book Reviews
Horse Heaven: A Novel by Jane Smiley Knopf, 576 pp., $26 Jane Smiley’s new novel is enormous and overflowing — a cheerful, generous monster of a book. But like a thoroughbred, all that power and size come in a splendid shape, kept under perfect control. Smiley, author of A Thousand Acres and Moo, among many…
Mr. Smarty Pants
One dictionary defines a memo as “a business statement made by a consignor about a shipment of goods that may be returned.”As a child, Albert Einstein couldn’t tie his own shoes.St. Thomas Aquinas said sodomy took place when a woman was on top of a man during sex, even if they were married. Punishment included…
Dancing About Architecture
Aqua Fest seems unlikely, but there’s plenty of other summer fun to be had; the Austin Music Network is a bit of a mess.
The Ballot
MayorKirk Watson Leslie Cochran Jennifer Gale Dale ReedAustin City CouncilPlace 2Raul Alvarez Rafael Quintanilla Gloria Mata Pennington Monty Markland Ray Blanchette David “Breadman” Blakely Place 5Clare Barry Will Wynn Linda Curtis Amy Babich Chip Howe Place 6Willie Lewis (incumbent) Danny Thomas Nelson LinderAustin Independent School District Board of TrusteesDistrict 2Rudy Montoya (incumbent) Wanda Rogers District…
Short Cuts
Upcoming events and workshops of interest to the Austin film community.
Book Reviews
House of Leaves: A Novel by Mark Z. Danielewski Pantheon, 709 pp., $19.95 (paper) House of Leaves pursues two broad plot lines, hinged together with the old “found manuscript” gambit. One plot device follows Johnny Truant’s descent into a panic psychosis. Johnny is the product of a horrendous childhood, which has left scars on his…
After a Fashion
PORTFOLIO COLLECTIONS Most fashion shows wind up being an hour late, and then it’s all over in 20 minutes. The UT Fashion Group’s annual show, last Thursday, April 6, at the Erwin Center, was an exception. That the show was being staged in the main arena, and going to be an hour and a half…
Record Reviews
Adult RodeoTexxxas (Shimmy Disc) It can be difficult keeping up with Adult Rodeo, but it sure is fun trying. The wickedly convoluted course of a single song — layered and delayed warbling of dense and scattered lyrics, banjos dancing with Casios, hidden echoes and sudden time changes — makes digesting an entire album’s worth of…
Early Voting Locations
Early voting for the May 6 election starts Wednesday, April 19, and runs through April 28. CentralDowntown 206 East Ninth Austin Recreation Center 1301 Shoal Creek Blvd. HEB Food Store #18 4001 N. Lamar University of Texas (West Mall) Flawn Academic Center Lobby East ACC Eastview Campus 3401 Webberville Road A. B. Cantu/Pan American Recreation…
Video Reviews
The Glass ShieldD: Charles Burnett (1994 ); with Ice Cube, Michael Boatman, M. Emmett Walsh, Michael Ironside, Bernie Casey, Elliott Gould. The Glass Shield’s opening credits are set against panels from a cop action comic, paralleling the way that eager rookie J.J. Johnson (Boatman) views his new job on the force. The wide-eyed young officer…
Book Reviews
Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970 by Ken Smith Blast Books, 240 pp., $24.95 (paper) In “Shy Guy,” a teen portrayed by a young Dick York is playing alone in the basement with his ham radio. Dad wanders downstairs, to ask Son how things are going at high school. Son confides that he feels he doesn’t…
Day Trips
The Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens offer a unique combination of exotic and native plants in a tropical setting for the visitor to smell, touch, and admire. Among the gardens’ many holdings is perhaps the largest orchid collection in Texas open to the public. “We offer a unique combination of botanical gardens and nature preserve,” says…
Record Reviews
Doug Sahm HootLive at the Hole in the Wall “We’re here to honor our good friend Doug Sahm tonight,” Alvin Crow greeted the audience stuffed into the Hole in the Wall February 10. The funeral was over, but the tributes to Sahm had just started, God love them all. And God love the Doug Sahm…
Seeing the (Green) Light
Credit the appeal of environmental and neighborhood activism — or at least fear of rampant growth — for turning this year’s City Council race into a round of To Tell the Truth: Will the real champion of compatible development please stand up? Or maybe we should credit Mayor Kirk Watson, who after only one term…
Video Reviews
Frankenstein’s Daughter D: Richard Cunha (1958); with Donald Murphy, John Ashley, Sandra Knight, Felix Locher, Sally Todd, Harold Lloyd Jr. Forget Clive. Forget Cushing. Dr. Frankenstein was never slimier than when he was portrayed by Donald Murphy in the 1958 bomb Frankenstein’s Daughter. Not to be confused with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, this film…
The Interview
The Interview 1998, NR, 103 min. Directed by Craig Monahan, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aaron Jeffery, Tony Martin, Hugo Weaving. Imagine a scene from a special Franz Kafka-produced episode of Cops. A tired, haggard-looking man (Eddie Fleming, played by Hugo Weaving) snoozes alone in a dismal bachelor apartment filled with stacks of…
Book Reviews
Kitty & Virgil: A Novel by Paul Bailey Overlook Press, 280 pp., $25.95 Love at first sight is, at best, an implausible notion. A novel about two characters who fall in love at first sight must engage the reader very deeply and convincingly detail the relationship that is the foundation of the novel. In Kitty…
Coach’s Corner
Coach goes the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Great Western Forum in L.A.
Record Reviews
Sister SevenWrestling Over Tiny Matters (Arista) Reinvention? Maturation? Radiation? Opening with pure Garbage, “Fallen Angel,” Wrestling Over Tiny Matters is not your mother’s Little Sister. Having defined Austin’s jam aesthetic over the better part of the Nineties, Sister Seven have just released their most accomplished album. Designed and engineered for radio, it of course stands…
Take Five
Place 5 is one of two City Council seats with retiring incumbents — which means that for the first time, come what may, fresh blood will be injected into a council on which Mayor Kirk Watson has long held monolithic power. Come June, one of the five people discussed herein will replace Council Member Bill…
Video Reviews
Tarzan and the Lost City D: Carl Schenkel (1998); with Casper Van Dien, Jane March, Steven Waddington. Before Disney’s recent animated Tarzan, Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) donned the loincloth for this live action flick. Loosely based on Burrough’s novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar, the movie follows the jungle man (educated and civilized…
Keeping the Faith
Keeping the Faith 2000, PG-13, 129 min. Directed by Edward Norton, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman, Anne Bancroft, Kryss Anderson, Lisa Edelstein, Ron Rifkin, Eli Wallach. Edward Norton, comic genius? Not quite, though this, Norton’s first film behind the camera, is a self-assured romantic puffball that neither…
Book Reviews
With Your Crooked Heart: A Novel by Helen Dunmore Atlantic Monthly Press, 250 pp., $24 Bestselling British writer Helen Dunmore has written a psychological family drama that, though set in contemporary London and vicinity, feels timeless. With Your Crooked Heart is the story of brothers Paul and Johnnie, Paul’s wife Louise, and the product of…
About AIDS
The Ohio legislature has established a new record for short-sighted stupidity by instructing the state to turn down a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that included funds for AIDS education. Conservative lawmakers opposed to the grant want abstinence-only sex ed for students, without discussion of alternatives, and the proposal to be…
Record Reviews
Joe West & the SinnersJamie Was a Boozer (Rehab) Seeking common ground between Jerry Springer and Woody Guthrie may turn some folks’ hair whiter than prime-time TV, but if music doesn’t adapt to its times, it winds up on life-support alongside Sousa marches, Shaker hymns, and (some would argue) jazz. Thus, Joe West & the…
Willie or Won’t He?
Willie Lewis Draws Two Opponents in Place 6
TV Eye
Fail Safe, the much-heralded live television event shepherded by George Clooney, hits its mark.
Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement 2000, R, 123 min. Directed by William Friedkin, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Dale Dye, Ben Kingsley, Anne Archer, Blair Underwood, Bruce Greenwood, Philip Baker Hall, Guy Pearce, Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson. For a movie that spends so much of its time trying to figure out whether a…
Book Reviews
When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams Simon & Schuster, 246pp., $17 In Lori Aurelia Williams’ intriguingly titled novel for young adults, young Shayla Dubois tells the story of how her life changed when the little girl Kambia Elaine moved in next door. Shayla is one of those staples of children’s…
Imperfect Alloy
What you may miss at Gilligan’s is the little epiphany that can come when the kitchen and the wine list are singing in-synch, playing off each other’s strengths and idiosyncrasies, Chronicle wine critic Wes Marshall discovers.
Record Reviews
Damon Bramblett(Munich Records) The cover art for Damon Bramblett’s self-titled debut disc is direct and unadorned: a shot of the rawboned local country singer in a dark suit, playing an acoustic; on the back, the rusty frame of a revolver, a drawing of a housefly, and a log chain set across a piece of burlap.…
Historical Revision
So, does anyone really want to save Rainey Street? Judging from the surprisingly contentious not-really-a-hearing at last week’s City Council meeting on the Rainey neighbors’ not-really-a-redevelopment-plan, it appears not. Instead, the city is wrangling with dueling visions for reinventing the last single-family neighborhood in the 78701 ZIP code. Do we turn Rainey into a new…
28 Days
28 Days 2000, PG-13, 103 min. Directed by Betty Thomas, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi, Alan Tudyk, Michael O’Malley, Azura Skye, Reni Santoni, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. When she boosts a car at her sister’s wedding and plunges it through some strangers’ living…
X
X 1996, R, 98 min. Directed by Rintaro, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Stacey Jefferson, Danica Fairman, Adam Henderson, Larissa Murray, Alan Marriot. “What is going on here?!” cries a bloodied character midway through director Rintaro’s apocalyptic anime bloodfest. What, indeed. As is so often the case with Japanese animation, X’s plotting is…
Book Reviews
Being Dead: A Novel by Jim Crace Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 192 pp., $21 The language reserved for the subject of death throughout literature, with varying degrees of success, usually aims to be dressed and layered in a universal and innately human pathos, drugged with a hallowed nostalgia, existing on its own illusory plane of…
Gilligan’s — Picks of the List
Scramsberg “Mirabelle” Brut Rosé, $34 Albert Mann Pinot Blanc Auxerrois, $30 Caymus Sauvignon Blanc, $35 Murphy Goode Reserve Fumé Blanc, $30 St. Francis Old Vine Zinfandel, $44 Seghesio Zinfandel, $28
Record Reviews
Pat GreenCarry On (Greenhorse) Over the course of the past five years, Pat Green has accomplished some pretty amazing feats. His audience has grown by astonishing proportions, allowing him to sell more than 100,000 copies of his first four albums combined. When he first started performing, Green was a dead ringer, both vocally and in…
Naked City
john gilvar, paul saldana and jill george are leaving their aide positions at city hall; the police oversight focus group is slated to sign its settlement on friday, alan sager won the gop party chairman’s race, willie lewis holds a fundraiser.
Judy Berlin
Judy Berlin 1999, NR, 93 min. Directed by Eric Mendelsohn, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Edie Falco, Barbara Barrie, Carolyn Glynn, Anne Meara, Julie Kavner, Madeline Kahn, Aaron Harnick, Bob Dishy, Bette Henritze, Novella Nelson. “I always wanted to make a documentary about this town, about the paperboys, about the PTA ladies, but…
Book Reviews
Animal Underworld: Inside America’s Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species by Alan Green Public Affairs, 272 pp., $25 Although heroes do emerge in Alan Green’s catalog of wrongs, Animal Underworld: Inside America’s Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species, including the for-profit Austin Zoo, a sanctuary for embattled beasts on the outskirts of town,…
City of Great Bread
“For some time now,” Virginia B. Wood writes, “I’ve had this fantasy about putting advertisements in selected East Coast newspapers to entice Italian immigrant or Italian-American bakers to relocate to River City and bake their wonderful breads for me. And for you, too, of course.”
Record Reviews
The El Orbits(Freedom) Sahm meets Sinatra. Bingo. David Beebe’s parlor game lines ’em up straight across the top, diagonally, and down the side, like empty gin bottles back of the bar. Just as the Continental Club proudly flaunts its red velour drapes, The El Orbits revels in the dim light of Fifties hollow-body guitar, soft…
Naked City
Runoff election results for the April 11 primary.
Ready to Rumble
Ready to Rumble 2000, PG-13, 100 min. Directed by Brian Robbins, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring David Arquette, Oliver Platt, Scott Caan, Rose McGowan, Bill Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page, Joe Pantoliano, Martin Landau. I’m sorry. I laughed. I know the whole country has spent the past week trashing this wrestling comedy’s asinine plot,…
Second Helpings: Mexican Bakeries
Chronicle writer Greg Beets gives the lowdown on Austin’s Mexican bakeries .
Postscripts
How to apply for UT Press’ publishing fellowship; upcoming literary events in Austin.
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood urges interested readers to get involved in the local chapter of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, gives details about the Wine & Wildflower Trail, and updates readers on local restaurant news.
Record Reviews
Junior VarsityBam Bam Bam! (Peek-A-Boo) Better make sure your sweet tooth doesn’t need a root canal before slapping this one down. Houston’s Junior Varsity reinvent the goody-two-shoes, high-school spirit bunny clique as a pepped-up, super-clean rock combo hopelessly stuck somewhere between JFK’s assassination and the Summer of Love. Packing 14 songs into just 20 minutes,…
Naked City
Trout Unlimited works to convince the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority not to increase the amount of water it releases from Canyon Reservoir, which the group says would harm a fragile trout fishery.
Where the Money is
Where the Money is 2000, PG-13, 89 min. Directed by Marek Kanievska, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Frankie Faison, Susan Barnes, Dermot Mulroney, Linda Fiorentino, Paul Newman. Given the enormous success of his “Newman’s Own” line of eco-friendly comestibles, I was concerned that Paul Newman might have finally given up the acting gig…
Warning! Nudity!
Austinites love to shed their clothes, and a number of them do it onstage — what’s up with that? Some of the city’s most nakedness-prone actors, performance artists, and directors expose their reasons to arts writer Ada Calhoun.
Off the Bookshelf
Lone Star A History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach Da Capo Press, 784 pp., $22 (paper) Bookshelves are sagging this spring with hefty historical fiction set in Texas. This month an updated edition of T.R. Fehrenbach’s definitive general history, Lone Star, weighs in at more than 700 pages. First published in 1968,…
The Coffeehouse Chronicles
Neighborhood: Clarksville Address/Phone: 1206 Parkway at Lamar/476-1829 Hours: Mon-Fri, 7am-midnight; Sat, 8am-midnight; Sun, 8am-11pm Munchables: Deep menu of quick fare Standard Cup o’ Joe: $1.50 (free refills) Bean Source: What’s Brewing (San Antonio) Crowd: Post-Greenbelt runners, Clarksville locals Soundtrack: Satellite salsa station Bonus Points: Dangerous desserts, no portion controlThe Room:Definitely more neighborhood restaurant than coffeehouse,…
Record Reviews
Mastica’99 (First World) On ’99, local warehouse pop trio Mastica offers up an inviting selection of uniquely phrased, definitely not-Top 40 original music. The Austin three-piece is Gum B. on bass, cello, mandocello, and vox; Monkey on bontempi, guitar, reeds, and vox; and Pat Mastelotto on drums and knobs. If you haven’t heard of the…
Naked City
Former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes speaks on taxes, Gov. Bush, and the state of the state of Texas.
American Psycho
American Psycho 2000, R, 100 min. Directed by Mary Harron, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Chloë Sevigny, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Guinevere Turner. Don’t believe the hype: American Psycho is no more “the most disgusting film of the year” (as dodgy Brit tabloid…
Articulations
A spring full of architecural blooms.
Off the Bookshelf
The Sikhs by Patwant Singh Knopf, 320 pp., $27.50 Described as “the only comprehensive history available in the U.S.” of the Sikh faith, The Sikhs also serves as an exhaustive study of the political, cultural, and religious background of India. Beginning in 1500 B.C. with the formation of India’s caste system, to the destruction in…
Magnetic! Resonant!
Wayne Alan Brenner might be the only fool alive who actually digs getting shoved into one of those terrible tubes for an MRI.
Record Reviews
99 PoundsFade Complaints have been heard in the past regarding Austin’s sullen lack of any sort of proper electronica groups that aren’t simply a DJ and his/her Technics. For a city as musically diverse as this, you’d expect a few more actual bands incorporating fluid programming alongside guitars, instead of one or the other. Thankfully,…
Naked City
AISDSuperintendent Pat Forgione fields protests about the recently-mandated end to block scheduling, and teachers’ groups present alternatives.
Exhibitionism
The familiar misadventures of the wooden puppet who wants to be real get a high-spirited comic treatment in JohnnySimons’ Pinocchio Commedia, and Tongue and Groove Theatre’s spirited and playful production make the hundred-year-old tale delightfully fresh.
Off the Bookshelf
Altar Music A Novel by Christin Lore Weber Scribner, 249 pp., $23 In a family saga reminiscent of D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow, Christin Lore Weber’s first novel explores the places where spirituality, sexuality, and church restrictions intersect for three generations of Catholic women. A former nun, Weber casts much of the book’s attention on Elise…
Out Front
Profile of newly minted solo artist Gurf Morlix
Record Reviews
Playdoh SquadMutate (Animatronic) Just try not to bob your head to the Playdoh Squad’s debut CD. This quirked-out Austin quartet implicitly understands the virtues of infusing their guy’s-guy rock aspirations with big-booty bounce. Steve Austin’s all-meat drumming on tunes like “Girl,” “She Spins,” and “Satan’s Legs” are models of dance-floor consistency. If that’s not enough,…
Naked City
Four candidates compete for the Place 7 position on the Austin Community College Board, which Hunter Ellinger is vacating.
Exhibitionism
One Theatre Company has smartly produced Weldon Phillips’ delightful, zippy, and merrily rakish play, an adult-oriented fable of love under the big top.
Local Bestsellers
Local bestsellers are based on recent sales at Austin bookstores selected to reflect varied reading interests.
Gulf Morlix Reviewed
Gurf MorlixToad of Titicaca (Catamount) Since Gurf Morlix has worked with folks like Jim Lauderdale, Slaid Cleaves, and of course, Lucinda Williams, for so long, the idea of him singing and writing his own songs may seem a bit peculiar. Nevertheless, Morlix has fashioned a fine solo debut in Toad Of Titicaca. At its most…
Record Reviews
Dead End CruisersThe Patron Saints of Wheless Lane (Unity Squad) The question “What happens to punk rockers when they get old?” remains largely abstract, mostly because the only examples to date are Iggy Pop’s inadvertent self-parody and Johnny Rotten hosting a talk show on VH1 (talk about pretty vacant). “I feel like an old man…
Naked City
Austin Metro Trails and Greenways will host a Town Lake Trail Charrette to plan improvements to the Town Lake Trail. The planning session, in which participants will strategize in small groups, is open to the public and will be held from 9am-1pm on Saturday, April 15, in the Third Floor Training Room of One Texas…
Exhibitionism
Inspired by the sonnets of Shakespeare, the seven plays in Love’s Fire are the confession of a love affair with language, and this Mary Moody Northen Theatre production passionately voices that confession with the help of a vigorous young cast of St. Edward’s University students.
Page Two
A school principal was busted for allegedly possessing pot and everybody’s shocked, which is reasonable. More than a role model, this principal is a community leader. Even more shocking to me is that his career may be over because he was foolish enough to get caught with a bag of vegetation. The definition of criminal…
Alt.Country Upgrade
Detailing the still-wet merger of Doolittle and New West Records
Record Reviews
SpotUnhalfbaking (Upland) Being one of those damned (and damned few) people who can seemingly pick up any instrument ever created and assume an immediate fluency at playing it, the infrequently appearing solo albums by famed punk rock producer Spot (Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, you name it) always make a fine listen for any musician or…
Council Watch
The Watson council has, for the most part, continued its breakneck whirl through Austin’s various fields of public policy, sometimes seeming to solve long-entrenched problems at will. But some of the old baggage is still hanging around; and the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge, to consider one example, is a whopper. Discussion on the fate of the…
Exhibitionism
In the new solo show Bucky, playwright / director Alice Wilson and actor Brad Armstrong celebrate the life and work of Buckminster Fuller with energy and fervor, but their show is not for everyone : certainly not for anyone who dislikes audience participation.
Public Notice
Debra Schmidt’s custody case leads the concerns in this week’s Public Notice, jam packed will all sorts of benefits and the like..
A Time of Recognition
An excerpt from John Cale’s new autobiography, What’s Welsh for Zen?
Record Reviews
SambaxéMacacada The house band for Austin’s popular Brazilian Carnaval, Sambaxé puts their best studio foot forward with the 13 rhythmic cuts of Macacada. In their quest to spread the gospel of samba — the Brazilian dance of African origin — this local 10-piece ensemble used to pack the Ritz at its weekly gig, but since…
Party Girl, Interrupted
Sandra Bullock walks straight to the buffet table. “Now what I have to do is see what you have here that the other rooms don’t.” She pokes around the pastry plate, between the bagels and croissants, and spies something. “Oooh, a cheese danish!” She picks it up with the pads of her fingers so her…
