Cover Story
Double-Barrel Beautiful
Texan sweetheart of the 1960s folk rodeo, Carolyn Hester
Ghajini
Ghajini 2008, NR, 180 min. Directed by A.R. Murugadoss, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aamir Khan, Asin Thottumkal, Jiah Khan, Riyaz Khan, Pradeep Rawat. Not reviewed at press time. This new Hindi-language film is a remake of a 2005 Tamil film, which was inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento. In the romantic action thriller,…
Who is the Craddick Killer?
Republicans announce they have a consensus speaker challenger, but won’t say who
White Christmas
Miss Lavelle White shines for the holidays
Open House Part II
More photos of Austin musicians in their abodes
Happy Holidays from the Chrontourage
We here with the Chrontourage want to wish you a very happy holidays and want to thank you all for following us in addition to all of the great feedback and support you have provided.
Cool or … What?
Sackaroos will get to you
Gonzales and the WMDs
US Rep. Waxman condemns former AG over intelligence abuses
To Hell With Inner Beauty
Ellen: the face that launched a thousand housewives (to Wal-Mart)
Run Rudolph Run
Revisiting Keith Richards’ “Run Rudolph Run”
England Plays Through
Boxing Day football from England
Livin’ La Vida Local
Vida Loca Vintage showcases Austinite’s super-style
Tragedy for Alonzo Family
Brother, nephew of Dallas state rep die in fishing accident
A Very Good Way for You to Spend Your Monday Night
Yes Man can wait another day. Go see A Christmas Tale.
Benkiser for RNC Co-Chair?
State Republican chair eyes joint run with former Ohio secretary of State
Slaton Propels Texans
Houston’s rookie RB having stellar year
Gale Rumor Untrue
Speculation about cause of death lead to inaccurate accusations about shelter provision
Austin Energy Freezes Fuel Charge
Customers to benefit from drop in natural gas futures
Before the Lights Go Out
One last local look
Coal for Your Stockings
A hard round-up of year-end hip-hop
12 More Days of ECM
12 More Days of vintage ECM jazz Touchstones
Memorial for Jennifer Gale Sunday
Donations should go to organizations for the homeless
UT Falls to Stanford in NCAA Semifinals
Texas volleyball loses despite early 2-0 lead
Truth Seeker
Photographer Sebastião Salgado bears witness to the world in black and white
Reissues
Warren Zevon (Asylum/Rhino) Although Warren Zevon released Wanted Dead or Alive in 1969, his eponymous major label debut was the first exposure many had to his dulcet wit and busted-knuckles sense of melody. Jackson Browne, prominent in getting Zevon the record deal, produced, bringing along SoCal compadres David Lindley, John David Souther, Waddy Wachtel, Beach…
Reissues
Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy) Creedence Clearwater Revival Bayou Country (Fantasy) Creedence Clearwater Revival Green River (Fantasy) Creedence Clearwater Revival Willy and the Poor Boys (Fantasy) Creedence Clearwater Revival Cosmo’s Factory (Fantasy) Creedence Clearwater Revival Pendulum (Fantasy) While perceived as less seminal than other Northern California groups of the late 1960s thanks to an astounding string…
APD Blood-Draw Plan Needles Opponents
APD moving full speed ahead on plan to draw blood from people suspected of driving while drunk
The Tale of Despereaux
Despite this animated film’s overabundance of vocal talent and source material that won the Newberry Medal in 2004, The Tale of Despereaux is a multispecies offender.
Book Review
A different voice tackles the Mississippi blues, with varying effect
Reissues
R.E.M. Murmur Deluxe Edition (A&M/Universal) Before “indie rock” had a name, R.E.M. discovered a vaguely gothic sound signaling something new. Now, the 1983 indie rocket that carried the Athens, Ga., quartet to college airways, Murmur, has been given silver anniversary treatment. The murky original today shimmers with the gloss of a swamp-bound oil slick, while…
Reissues
Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette (Tompkins Square) Few bands can boast being blurbed by Mark Twain, who declared Polk Miller’s group “about the only thing the country can furnish that is originally and utterly American.” One of the first integrated acts recorded, Miller, a Confederate vet, and his four African-American backers embody the…
Politics Gift Guide
News staff suggestions for the wonks and smartasses on your list
Seven Pounds
Will Smith stars in this dramatic film about a man who whose melancholia compels him to devise a unique plan to redeem what remains of his life.
Book Review
More than half a century since its publication in Turkish, a landmark novel is finally available in English
Reissues
This holiday, the ECM jazz institute regifts 40 catalog classics spanning 1971-1993, “new packaging, special price.” Inner science complements winter like pie. Teasing the Italian trumpet classicist’s Jan. 27 release New York Days, Enrico Rava’s stellar ECM debut, The Pilgrim and the Stars (1975), glows in the firelight of his brass haze and John Abercrombie’s…
Reissues
Tommy James & the Shondells 40 Years: The Complete Singles Collection (1966-2006) (Rhino/Collectors’ Choice Music) Here’s Tommy James & the Shondells’ string of unassailable 1960s singles in a 2-CD set that’s a perfect case for single-disc packages. The Ohio-born James started churning out hits in 1966 with obscure Ellie Greenwich-Jeff Barry B-side “Hanky Panky.” Its…
Headlines
• Attorneys from three different firms have been hired to see whether the city can get out of the agreement city legal signed with BFI Waste Systems not to oppose their landfill expansion; see “Council Blindsided on Landfill Deal.” • Solid Waste Advisory Commission Vice Chair Rick Cofer and Downtown advocate Chris Riley have both…
After a Fashion
Your Style Avatar gets all Ginger-y for the season
Reissues
Lou Reed Berlin: Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse (Matador) The harrowing chronicle of Caroline and Jim is forever preserved in Lou Reed’s cardinal work Berlin, a venerably filthy rock opera originally released in 1973. In 2006, he galvanized his energies and resuscitated the album in a live performance at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn after…
The Hightower Report
The Downturn Hits High-Dollar Sports; and Lobbyists Change Their Stripes
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond
The Common Law
Taken Advantage of on Holiday Shopping?
Reissues
Tom Verlaine Dreamtime (Collectors’ Choice Music) Tom Verlaine Words From the Front (Collectors’ Choice Music) On Tom Verlaine’s eponymous solo debut of 1979, he was still adjusting to going it alone after being one-half of the virtuosic guitar team in Television. He redeemed himself on 1981’s Warner Bros. follow-up, Dreamtime, a more fully realized vision…
Dig Deeper: The Austin Underground Film Festival
The third annual Austin Underground Film Festival
Res Publica
Citizen’s calendar, Dec. 18-25
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The first marriages in America were civil, not religious. The Pilgrims instituted the Dutch custom of civil marriage. It is believed the Scots were an Irish people who migrated to Western Scotland in the fifth century (“Scotus” in Latin originally meant “Irish.”) “Colly” is an English dialect word for coal dust. Blackbirds were hence known…
Reissues
The Clash Live at Shea Stadium (Epic/Legacy) Conventional wisdom tells us the Clash had jumped the shark by the time they played Shea in 1982. That October night, the UK punk foursome endured rain and a classic rock crowd eager to see the Who – headlining and claiming the tour to be their last –…
Austin Film Critics Association 2008 Awards
The AFCA goes batty for the Batman
City Hall Hustle: Do You Feel a Draft?
Big-leaguers back Leffingwell, but really, who’d want the gig?
Letters at 3AM
It’s a dangerous world, and some nights the most cruelly dangerous people may be you
Reissues
U2 Live: Under a Blood Red Sky (Universal/Island) U2’s Under a Blood Red Sky captures the Irish renegades in all their early glory, though few realize that the 1983 live EP was actually culled from three separate recordings in West Germany (“I Will Follow,” “The Electric Co.”), Boston, (“11 O’Clock Tick Tock”), and Denver (“Gloria”).…
When the Science Guy Is Still in Short Pants
Welcome to Enzoology.com
Beside the Point
We made it! After God only knows how many PowerPoint slides, hours of testimony, and interminable Carol Anne Rose Kennedy songs, it’s the final meeting of the year. Unsurprisingly, it’s a rather full agenda – although not as momentous as last week’s meeting. To recap: Brewster McCracken’s item proposing to extend approved site plans’ validity…
Restaurant Review
Recenty reopened on Sixth Street, Athenian Bar & Grill serves great Greek food at a reasonable price
Reissues
Blue Ash No More, No Less (Collectors’ Choice Music) Formed in 1969 amid a landscape of concept albums and elongated solos, Youngstown, Ohio, power-pop progenitors Blue Ash moved forward by reaching backward. The bar-bred quartet distilled the meatiest, beatiest aspects of the British Invasion; imported some Byrds-inspired jangle from the left coast; and delivered Blue…
How to Be an Online Supastah!
Austinites work the Web
Day Trips
Scott Simon of the Texas Cheese House makes specialty cheeses using all natural ingredients
Restaurant Review
Texas French Bread is now open for dinner
Reissues
Death Cab for Cutie Something About Airplanes (Barsuk) The last decade has seen Death Cab for Cutie evolve from Bellingham, Wash., college rockers into millennial idols. Former playground Barsuk releases the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut LP, along with a live recording of DCFC’s first Seattle show. It’s all very cute – Ben Gibbard…
TV Eye: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Uh oh. Turns out Jay Leno’s not going away after all.
Gay Place
Remembering Paris Chanel
Event Menu
Your local food events for Dec. 20
Reissues
Pavement Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. (Matador) By 1997’s Brighten the Corners, Stephen Malkmus had proven the most pivotal and prolific voice of the slacker generation. From tongue-in-cheek single “Stereo” and the pendulous crunch of “Transport Is Arranged,” Pavement’s underrated fourth album marks the California outfit’s most consistent and complex work, solidifying the middle…
Arts Review
Six actors play everyone in the holiday favorite, and they become Bedford Falls
Playing Through
UT volleyball star Destinee Hooker is a role model for fans and teammates alike
Food-o-File
Eat Local Week cook-off finale, hot-dog happy hour, and Central Texas food businesses closing
Reissues
Ry Cooder The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (Warner Bros./Rhino) One would have thought it impossible to narrow Ry Cooder’s nearly 40-year career into a 2-CD set, but The UFO Has Landed has managed the feat admirably. From his 1970 debut to I, Flathead, released earlier this year, UFO exposes the guitarist’s affinity…
Arts Review
Cynic admits: Ballet Austin’s take sparks the imagination with beauty and grace
Oops!
Following up from last week’s News story on what Austin-area legislators are planning for the next session (“2009 Lege: Local Delegates Lay Out Agendas”), Rep. Elliott Naishtat’s office called to say that what was described as a “death sentence moratorium” is more accurately described as giving the governor power to declare a moratorium on executions.…
Kitchen Gadgets
Spice up your favorite foodie’s kitchen with one of our recommendations
Stop the Loss
Austin veterans turn away from Iraq and war
Arts Review
The Ransom Center reminds us of the power of seeing originals over reproductions
Page Two: A Time of Peace and Light
Snapshots for swiftly passing days
The Next Chapter
Three Austin-based national-security experts offer their views on how America can rebuild its reputation in Iraq and beyond
Off the Record
Ice Cube racks up the body count at Mohawk, Loxsly shines a light on Tomorrow’s Fossils, and gift-wrapping local holiday offerings
Gallery Lombardi
The 12-year ride of Downtown Austin’s most rockin’ gallery is coming to a close
Reissues
Movement: The Factory Years; Power, Corruption & Lies: The Factory Years; Low-Life: The Factory Years; Brotherhood: The Factory Years; Technique: The Factory Years
Wish List
Here’s your chance to give back to the areas of our community that need it the most
Council Blindsided on Landfill Deal
Council questions whether legal department acted appropriately in giving BFI the thumbs up on landfill expansion
Nothing Like the Holidays
This Christmas-themed movie centers on a family gathering in Chicago’s Humboldt Park, a predominantly Puerto Rican section of the city.
Aziz Ansari
On his return to Austin, the co-creator of Human Giant goes solo in the spotlight
Reissues
Otis Redding Live! in London and Paris (Stax) Otis Redding didn’t do anything nice ‘n’ easy. Live, the Georgian was double-time or bust, dropping blasts of soul power out front of his dynamic backing band, Booker T. & the MGs. This lot, two full-length concerts on one CD, originally from 1967’s Live in Europe and…
Reissues
Wild Side of Life: Rare and Unissued Recordings, Volume One; Honky Tonk Kind: Rare and Unissued Recordings, Volume Two; Long Time Ago: Rare and Unissued Recordings, Volume Three
Climate Outlook
We’re in the critical stage of a drought, y’all
Yes Man
Jim Carrey plays a guy who just can’t say no, a predicament which creates more a collection of humorous set-pieces than a satisfying movie.
Camp Camp
The queer performance series’ last show may not have been the finale advertised
Reissues
Neil Young Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968 (Reprise) Prefacing a stark rendition of “Mr. Soul,” Neil Young likens himself to a radio station, a mere conduit to the songs pouring out of him. Such is the charm of Sugar Mountain, documenting a 22-year-old songsmith tangled up in transition. More relaxed and personable than…
Developing Stories: Walking on Water
A roundup of Lady Bird Lake planning efforts that are all wet
Executions Maintain Steady Clip
When it comes to the death penalty, Texas throws caution to the wind
A Christmas Tale
Catherine Deneuve stars as the matriarch of this family, whose holiday gathering is like some marvelous do-si-do in which the characters partake in endless swirls of accusations, confessions, and glimpses of grace.
Luv Doc Recommends: 33rd Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
Let’s assume for a moment that you’re growing psychotic from holiday shopping and want to take the edge off your misanthropic rage with a couple of longnecks at the Carousel Lounge. You exit the top ramp of I-35, cross Airport, and head north on the access road where you will cross 51st onto Cameron and…
