Cover Story
Just Like a Woman
How the men of Naughty Austin’s ‘Pageant’ get their glam on
Hitchhikers
Hitchhikers 1971, R, 92 min. Directed by Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian, Starring Misty Rowe, Norman Klar. Classic drive-in fare showcases Hee-Haw’s Misty Rowe as the sexy shill for a band of Manson-like highway robbers.
Eat, Memory
Pickled Pearls of Wisdom Christmas-cooking traditions of my own began soon after my marriage. I’d been a fairly devoted cook prior to the wedding, but there’s something about setting up housekeeping that seals certain culinary deals along with the wedlock. I inherited some traditions from my mother, but others were mine alone. Among these are…
DVDnds
Cabaret VoltaireDouble Vision Present: Cabaret Voltaire (Mute) With the DVD format, we’re seeing more and more artistically challenging audiovisual projects and reissues of lost material, such as this 1982 work from electronic/industrial pioneers Cabaret Voltaire. The electronic beats are coherent and forward-thrusting – albeit strategically muffled at times – but the end result is still…
DVDnds
Branford Marsalis QuartetColtrane’s A Love Supreme Live in Amsterdam (Marsalis Music) It’s taken nearly 40 years for anyone to attempt, but saxophonist Branford Marsalis’ Quartet is perhaps the only jazz band with the integrity and moxie to take on John Coltrane’s magnum opus. BMQ’s electrifying 2003 performance at Amsterdam’s renowned Bimhaus uses the suite’s touchstones…
Dreck the Halls
Music From the OC: Mix 3 – Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah (Warner Bros.) Seth Cohen is a hip youngster with brilliant taste in music. Of course, he’s also a fictional TV character, but in the world where Christmas and Chanukah collide, these nine tracks from Fox’s hit show perfectly shape the contemporary year’s end.…
Naked City
Nineties modern-rock radio vet returns to take Emmis station’s reins
Letters at 3AM
Despite the change in inhabitants, the buildings, people, and mood of the old immigrant neighborhoods haven’t changed. The streets still whisper the same cautionary advice: Survive and get out.
Duck and Cover
It took an international incident of nuclear brinksmanship to teach me the real meaning of Thanksgiving.
DVDnds
The White StripesUnder Blackpool Lights (Third Man Films) “Am I in the right place at the wrong time?” Jack White asks a crowd of thousands in Blackpool, England, January 2004. He’s answered affirmative, but without explanation. Filmed on Super 8, Dick Carruthers’ document showcases the White Stripes’ rabid British fan base alongside White’s nimble guitar…
DVDnds
Soul to Soul(Rhino) In 1971, Eddie Harris & Les McCann, Ike & Tina Turner, the Staples Singers, Wilson Pickett, Santana, and other acts performed for a gazillion people in Ghana on that West African nation’s Independence Day. Peaks: Ike & Tina plumbing the bottomless blues in “I Smell Trouble”; Ghanaian singers, dancers, shamen, and musicians;…
Dreck the Halls
Dwight TwilleyHave a Twilley Christmas EP (DMI) Too short at just six songs, Have a Twilley Christmas finds its namesake having a rockin’ good time in the spirit of the season. Guests include original Twilley Band guitarist Bill Pitcock IV as well as Susan Cowsill and Carla Olson. Twilley’s roots pop originals just might be…
The True Cost of Empire
The sacrifices of U.S. soldiers represent only an installment on the payments due
After a Fashion
Stephen shaves his head and goes Southern … or at least South Austin. And this time, it’s not even SoCo!!!
Food-o-File
The Drafthouse draws a big-name chef; plus, V.B.W. is giving you a big gift basket of foodie news for Christmas!
DVDnds
SladeSlade in Flame (Shout! Factory) Though they never broke big in America, Slade were major stars in the UK during the Seventies. This 1974 film, set in the pirate-radio era of the mid-Sixties, recasts Slade as Flame, a hard-luck Midlands act struggling against small-time crooks and cynical promoters to make it in the music biz.…
DVDnds
Stones Throw 101(Stones Throw) The label Madlib built is actually the brainchild of Peanut Butter Wolf. Augmenting the disjointed raps of Madvillain and Quasimoto with the fruits of a funk rediscovery subsidiary called Now Again, Stones Throw covers all bases under the umbrella of hip-hop expression. Compiling 15 music videos, the DVD is enhanced with…
Dreck the Halls
Maybe This Christmas Tree(Nettwerk) Lisa Loeb rasping out a pop version of “Jingle Bells.” Ouch. Nettwerk’s Maybe This Christmas Tree attempts to placate the younger set, but then adds a dose of Nineties nostalgia (read: Royal Crown Revue and Jars of Clay) to an already-hurting mix. Not even efforts from the Raveonettes (a song also…
Austin @ Large: Highway Ho-Ho-Ho!
As concrete Christmas arrives, who’s got the last laugh now?
Day Trips
Brazos Bend State Park and Palmetto State Park are unique among the hundreds of wildlife refuges in Texas
Mighty Fine
Dixiecrat Jesse Dayton ain’t banging his head against a wall
DVDnds
Iron MaidenThe History of Iron Maiden, Part 1: The Early Years (Sanctuary) In disc two’s lean, 90-minute documentary, Iron Maiden founder Steve Harris explains 25 years of galloping basslines by revealing he originally fancied drums. About the only thing missing from this five-hour first installment of the original Spinal Tap saga, ’75-’83, is Harris elaborating…
Dreck the Halls
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Everything You Want for Christmas (Big Bad/Vanguard)The Brian Setzer Orchestra Boogie Woogie Christmas (Surfdog) These two swing- and lounge-flavored winter platters are upbeat and highly listenable, but BBVD’s sometimes flat singing and Setzer’s showmanship make Boogie Woogie the better. A re-release with two new cuts, it also includes Ann-Margret dueting with…
On The Lege
Sunset proposal to do away with agency gets optimistic response on all sides
Home Cookin’
Jesse Dayton’s Country Soul Brother is at the head of the deepest country class to come from Austin in years. The Top 10 of the honor roll:Kevin Fowler, Loose, Loud & Crazy Dale Watson, Dreamland Willie Nelson, It Always Will Be Johnny Bush, Honky Tonic Charlie Robison, Good Times Redd Volkaert, For the Ladies James…
DVDnds
Cat StevensMajikat * Earth Tour 1976 (Eagle Vision) Cat Stevens didn’t always get detained during air travel and then shipped back to his native London in the name of international security. In 1976, 18 months before abandoning international pop stardom for Islam, the former Steven Georgiou was instead filling arenas like the one at William…
Dreck the Halls
Trans-Siberian OrchestraThe Christmas Trilogy (Lava) The opening trio of tunes on disc one of TSO’s The Christmas Trilogy are joyful, spiraling epics you might play at a family gathering on Christmas Eve. Then, just as Grandma’s reaching for that second cup of hot cocoa, the fourth song is all, like, “Out of the way, holiday…
Dreck the Halls
Frank SinatraChristmas Songs by Sinatra (Columbia/Legacy) Frank SinatraThe Christmas Collection (Reprise) While Sinatra’s crooning Columbia years were more formative than definitive, this collection gives breath to Christmas during wartime with alternate takes, radio airchecks, and “V-Discs,” heavy-duty vinyl shipped to overseas military posts. Hearing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in this context makes its…
The Hightower Report
Jim spreads some holiday cheer
Meet the Fockers
You can Fockerize Meet the Parents all you want, but this new movie is a lame sequel to the comic hit of 2000.
DVDnds
The Rolling StonesRock and Roll Circus (Abkco) Festival Express(New Line) According to Pete Townshend in a new bonus interview, the Rolling Stones’ fabled Rock and Roll Circus was originally envisioned as an all-star musical carnival traveling from city to city by train. Mick Jagger had to settle for a 48-hour UK shoot December 1968. The…
Dreck the Halls
Genuine Austin Christmas (KVET) This lengthy disc works less as a holiday songbook than a generous survey of Austin’s fertile honky-tonk fields. Established breadwinners like Pat Green, the Geezinslaws, Jack Ingram, and Rick Trevino are accounted for, as are newcomers Jason Allen, Doug Moreland, Randy Rogers, and Ricky Calmbach. Standouts are Kelly Willis’ flirtatious “Santa…
Soldier’s Heart
Thousands of Iraq War veterans will come home to face serious psychological problems and a system unready to help them
Maestro and Muse
Jean-Pierre on ‘A Very Long Engagement’
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Bill Murray won’t get the elusive Oscar for this one – for all its visual majesty, The Life Aquatic is too slight – but the film is nevertheless a funny, bewildering, and giddy spectacle.
TCB
Going Braless in city of Small Stars and smashed guitars
DVDnds
Ray CharlesÔ-Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 (Rhino) Savvy Ray Charles insisted he get master tapes from all performances. A control freak, Charles – who passed last June – also realized the value of a full catalog. Thank the Lord he did, lest amazing finds like this Sept. 22, 1963, performance from São Paulo, Brazil, reside…
DVDnds
Paul McCartneyThe Music and Animation Collection (Miramax) Paul McCartney indulges his love of animation, marrying it to original music geared for rugrats. “Tropic Island Hum,” featuring anthropomorphic animals gathered on an island to escape being dinner, is little more than PETA propaganda.”Tuesday” is based on a fanciful book of the same name by David Wiesner,…
Dreck the Halls
Emmylou HarrisLight of the Stable (Rhino) One of the truly great Christmas albums gets the expanded/remastered treatment. Emmylou Harris possesses the voice of an angel, so it only makes sense that her versions of Christmas classics are unequaled, as are special guests Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Dolly Parton. Harris recorded three new tracks for…
DPS Slapped in ‘Troopergate’ Verdict
Jury finds that agency rigged a 2001 promotional exam to favor good ol’ boys
Woo, All Right Now, And Don’t It Feel Like You’re Going Bald and Homicidal!
Thirty years later, Jeff Lieberman is still walking on ‘Blue Sunshine’
Fat Albert
Bill Cosby’s animated kids get a live-action makeover.
About AIDS
Tired of battling the “tell-or-not?” bogeyman as you negotiate the dating scene? For many HIV-positive people, the solution has been to meet friends and potential dates via a personal ad on a Web site for HIVers only. There are several such sites, including Austin’s own LivingPositive.com (or LivingPositive.org), which offers information, news … and an…
DVDnds
The American Folk Blues Festival Series(HIP-O) Popular music would be vastly different without The American Folk Blues series. The brainchild of two Germans, AFBF brought the best blues musicians to Europe every fall from 1962-70, where they taped live TV shows and packed concert halls. In the process, these musicians influenced the UK scene, which…
DVDnds
Eric ClaptonCrossroads Guitar Festival (Reprise) Eric Clapton claims the guitar is adaptable to almost any type of music and then proves it. Imagine “Slowhand,” Carlos Santana, ZZ Top, B.B. King, Joe Walsh, Jimmie Vaughan, Robert Randolph, Eric Johnson, Doyle Bramhall II, J.J. Cale, Bo Diddley, and too many more of the world’s greatest guitarists sharing…
Dreck the Halls
Bobby Helms & Johnny PaycheckA Little Darlin’ Christmas (Koch) Bobby Helms made “Jingle Bell Rock” the No. 2 most popular Christmas song of all time after “White Christmas,” and this yuletide CD contains his similarly upbeat readings of several other seasonal favorites. The late Johnny Paycheck weighs in with four never-released carols of his own,…
Fudging the Numbers
Results of 2001 exam scores for the DPS captain promotion process. Note that the 11 promotion slots (boldfaced names) went to the top 11 scorers on the Nov. 27, 2001, oral interviews, ensuring that applicants who finished as low as 32nd of 33 on the Oct. 9 written exam got promoted. Also note that each…
Film News
Every Word Is True: Austin lands a Killer production; plus, Joe Conway ‘Rocks,’ Rodriguez wraps, and more
The Aviator
Scorsese’s best film in years is a work of bravura, classic Hollywood filmmaking.
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Taking the bark off banana trees with slippers and four tons of potatoes
DVDnds
ErasureErasure Live! The Tank, the Swan, and the Balloon (Mute) This fanciful concert, shot at Manchester’s Apollo in 1992, weds Erasure’s lush, disco-based synth-pop to elaborate staging akin to PBS’ Great Performances and Andrew Lloyd Webber; especially amusing is programming genius Vince Clarke in a kiosklike structure that’s a technophile’s wet dream. Strapping vocalist Andy…
DVDnds
Crosby, Stills & NashThe DVD Collection (Rhino) Without Neil Young, CSN’s value boiled down to hoary old singer-songwriters, yet this 3-DVD set reminds us they were the premier vocal group of their day. 1991’s The Acoustic Concert and ’83’s Daylight Again, were previously available, but not the retrospective disc, Long Time Coming. Crosby comes off…
Dreck the Halls
Jesse Colin YoungSongs for Christmas (Artemis) Jesse Colin Young hasn’t been worth paying attention to since the early Seventies, and Songs for Christmas won’t change that. While the idea of “White Christmas” as a tune from a breezy island has potential, the rest is folk-rock dreck.
Weed Watch
Iowa drug czar says killer (!) marijuana is wreaking havoc
TV Eye
Navigating the ‘multicultural mess’ of the holidays on the tube takes a sense of humor and taking ourselves less seriously; plus Paul Stekler gets a big nod from the Writers Guild of America
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera
The plodding stage musical finally comes to the big screen, its relentlessly bombastic score intact with a vengeance.
To Your Health
What’s behind the rumor that there are again threats to the availability of food supplements?
DVDnds
Yeah Yeah YeahsTell Me What Rockets to Swallow (Interscope) Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be nothing without a stage. The manic frontwoman dashes left to right as though she were being chased by wolves, all the while screaming like a banshee. Performance art doubling as a concert, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ showing…
DVDnds
Los LobosLive at the Fillmore (Hollywood) The lil’ ol’ band from East L.A. prowls the S.F. rock shrine on their 30th anniversary tour. The set leans heaviest on 2004’s The Ride, ’02’s Good Morning Aztlan, and seldom-performed rarities “How Much Can I Do?” from debut EP … And a Time to Dance and the never-recorded…
Dreck the Halls
LeAnn RimesWhat a Wonderful World (Curb) Country’s answer to Jessica Simpson, recently signed to host the next edition of USA’s Nashville Star, cashes her Christmas bonus. “Just Love Me” has a twangy aftertaste, but these renditions of standard holiday fare won’t otherwise blow up your Christmas tree skirt. Gotta love Dallas for cranking out those…
Bar Targeted in APD Bike-Wreck Probe
TABC, DPS, and APD all looking at circumstances of Jacobsons’ fatal accident.
Report From Art Basel
Texans find a place with the art world elite in Art Basel Miami Beach
A Very Long Engagement
The director of Amélie reunites with that film’s star, Audrey Tautou, for this World War One love story.
The Common Law
Basketbrawl – self-defense in Texas
DVDnds
BlondieLive by Request (Sanctuary) Who’d a’thunk it 25 years ago – Blondie doing requests on live TV? Stacking hits (“Dreaming,” “Rapture,” “Call Me”) atop songs from their latest CD, The Curse of Blondie (“Good Boys,” “Undone”), the NYC New Wavers compile a satisfying career retrospective. They could’ve canned insipid emcee Jules Asner and squeezed in…
DVDnds
Robert Earl KeenNo. 2 Live (Koch) A companion to REK’s No. 2 Live Dinner, recorded at the Astrodome-housed Houston Rodeo and originally released in 2001. Under 40 minutes with no extras, this digital reissue is skimpy compared to the extended Austin City Limits DVD recently released by Austin’s New West. Still, Keen is his ever-charming…
Dreck the Halls
Candi StatonChristmas in My Heart (WEA/Lightyear) This reissued collection rehashes the usual holiday suspects with a few refreshing originals. It’s a reminder that Candi Staton has a helluva voice, but you know the drill: Save your money and donate the cost of the CD to a homeless shelter, children’s advocacy group, Habitat for Humanity, or…
High-Powered Help for Hospital District
But can slick, GOP-friendly HillCo defend the public interest?
Arts Review
In A Christmas Carol Roasting on an Open Fire, Rob Nash adds a clever curve to the holiday tale, matching Hollywood stars with Dickens’ familiar characters
Soccer Watch
The ghosts of Pele and El Rey
DVDnds
Dead BoysLive! at CBGB 1977 (MVD) The Dead Boys brought New York punk rock from Cleveland in the mid-Seventies, but there are few recordings of the destruction that ensued. Shot in 1977 at CBGB’s, Rod Swenson’s film captures Stiv Bator’s reckless abandon onstage. Regardless of low-tech recording – including several minutes of blackout – Dead…
DVDnds
The MavericksLive in Austin Texas (Sanctuary) Ralo Malo’s frozen, “We’re filming a DVD” smile, his bad hair day, and big, black wardrobe malfunction (Fat Elvis collar) demonstrate the booby trap of live tapings: zero spontaneity. Two long hours’ worth. Apparently, Nashvegas’ creamy country pop quartet didn’t fill Stubb’s back yard in June either, making all…
Dreck the Halls
Vanessa WilliamsSilver & Gold (Lava/Atlantic) Vanessa Williams dedicates too much time to shilling products on TV; one forgets she has a fantastic voice. This comes to great use on Silver & Gold, a collection that plays it safe, but will likely get played often. Seasonal standards (“Joy to the World,” “Silent Night”) carouse with newer…
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Arts Review
This year’s ‘Rockin’ Christmas Party’ is flashy fun with an onslaught of seasonal classics and popular rock songs that aim to tickle those humbugs away
Eat, Memory
The Food staff on their fondness for holidays past: epiphanies, friendship, near-disaster, disaster, and always a full plate
DVDnds
Burden BrothersRYFOLAMF (Kirtland) Fans of washed-up alterna rockers in leather pants and black fingernail polish should rush to their nearest record store and pick up the Burden Brothers live DVD. Those who really do want to Rock Your Face Off Like a Mother Fucker should put down the car keys, and put on Van Halen’s…
DVDnds
All-Star Bluegrass Celebration(Sugar Hill) Originally a PBS special, All-Star Bluegrass Celebration burned at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in 2002. Old timers like Earl Scruggs and Ralph Stanley, contemporary bluegrass stars (Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek), and some of country music’s best (Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Travis Tritt) all come off filled with energy and…
Dreck the Halls
Ultimate Christmas 2 (BMG) The Soulful Sounds of Christmas (Rhino) In the world of holiday sequels, Ultimate Christmas 2 ranks down there with muck like Home Alone 2. Holiday tunes such as Dido’s “Christmas Day” are the only things saving this from black coal. Meanwhile, there are more soulful sounds on The Soulful Sounds of…
Naked City
Don’t like the answer? Blame the methodology.
Arts Review
“Twister: Moving Through Color, 1965-1976” looks at artists of that era who took the road less traveled, continuing to investigate painting with spatial illusions and other perceptual tricks
Eat, Memory
The Things We Fear at Christmas My Mother attended junior high in Tahoka, a cotton-farming community south of Lubbock. Her most vivid memories from those years were the lessons imparted to her by the home economics teacher she revered. I can’t remember the woman’s name now, but I will always think of her as the…
DVDnds
The ResidentsCommercial DVD (Mute) The Residents were more than just an experimental band; they were an extended art project, brain surgeons with kaleidoscopic scalpels. This DVD contains songs from 1980’s Commercial Album, in the form of 56 one-minute live and animated films, 14 of which were directed by the Residents, and the rest by various…
DVDnds
Dolly PartonLive and Well (Sugar Hill) Dolly Parton’s recent tour was heavy on showbiz pomp, but Live and Well is just her and her eightpiece Blueniques pickin’ and singin’ in the cozy Dollywood Celebrity Theater. Ebullient as ever, Parton’s banter is as much fun as the music; cornier than an Iowa silo, she’s full of…
Dreck the Halls
The Very Best of Celtic Christmas(Windham Hill) Cold Blow These Winter Winds (Green Linnet) What distinguishes Celtic Christmas music collections is the opportunity to hear and enjoy the season’s music that isn’t beaten senseless by overexposure. Celtic Christmas offers 19 light-as-snowflakes favorites like “Lullay Lullay” and “The Wexford Carol” from their annual collections, but consider…
Naked City
Plans for rail station area development would be governed by new rules
Culture Flash!
The new Whole Foods will be getting some tasty new art, the Blanton just needs another $12 million, and where in the world is the Cultural Arts office
Eat, Memory
A Luau Thanksgiving In the November dusk, a motley procession of cars pulled away from our school in the Tenderloin, headed out from San Francisco to a cliff-top back yard some 30 miles away, overlooking San Pablo Bay. Some of the cars were filled with food and beer, others sagged under loads of firewood and…
DVDnds
Peter GabrielPlay: The Videos (Warner/Realworld) Befitting someone who topped the charts with an idiosyncratic, undeniably catchy sound, Peter Gabriel’s videos display a similarly adventurous spirit. “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” changed MTV with a groundbreaking fusion of live action and animation; “Biko” and “Red Rain” thrust politics into pop audiences with elegance and grace. “In Your…
DVDnds
Norah Jones & the Handsome BandLive in 2004 (Blue Note) Who wouldn’t want to be Norah Jones’ friend? It seems everyone wants a chance, as the pianist duets with guest stars as renowned as Dolly Parton and as obscure as David Rawlings. Chronicling an August show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Live in 2004…
Dreck the Halls
Christmas Gumbo(Flambeau) Where even funerals evolve into festive events, a Crescent City Christmas is sure to offer joie de vivre. As Allen Toussaint puts it, “The alligator’s goin’ to fly … the day it snows on Christmas in New Orleans.” While Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias cast the jolly gift-giver as a second-line strutter…
Naked City
Pfluger extension may run through middle of Seaholm- area project
Readings
‘The writing and the ideas here are unimpeachable, and one could hardly question the audacity of the premise,’ writes Josh Rosenblatt of Philip Roth’s terrifying look at a reimagined America, ‘but there is something vital missing’
Eat, Memory
Food, Friends, and Football All I knew about Thanksgiving while growing up in Mexico came from NFL football games on TV. My first five years in Austin after moving here in 1984, I learned that Thanksgiving meant long shifts cooking at Threadgill’s, baking hundreds of pies, smelling roast turkey 24-7, and peeling never-ending cases of…
DVDnds
Galaxie 500Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste 1987-1991 (Plexifilm) This 2-DVD collection of live performances and videos conceptualizes the short but influential career of slowcore trio Galaxie 500 before their breakup in 1991. The quality and sound of the live shows are often cringe-worthy, but worth watching when bassist Naomi Yang, guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham,…
DVDnds
Jamie CullumLive at Blenheim Palace (Verve/Universal) Britpop/jazz piano man Jamie Cullum’s mastery of the stage can’t be denied. From the kick-start of “I Get a Kick Out of You,” the 24-year-old spends two hours proving he’s a talent on the rise. This hybrid performance film/tour doc weaves beautifully captured songs with backstage moments during Cullum’s…
Dreck the Halls
A John Waters Christmas(New Line) Like his movies, John Waters’ Christmas album is a good-natured distillation of perverted novelty and heretical irreverence. Little Cindy’s “Happy Birthday Jesus (A Child’s Prayer)” is a child-exploiting, reason-for-the-season tome recast as side-splitting oddity. An afternoon at Wal-Mart will put you in the mood for Rudolph & Gang’s acerbic “Here…
Naked City
Brandon Moon latest Texan exonerated by new DNA evidence
Page Two
Acting as if God partakes in partisan or national politics is a display of blasphemy, not faith
Luv Doc Recommends: Dale Watson’s Annual Christmas Show and Dance
This may or may not come as a big surprise, but there isn’t a whole lot going on this weekend – at least not anything where you’d stand a snowball’s chance in hell of meeting someone and getting laid without paying for it. Maybe it has something to do with the blatant, unrepentant, in-your-face asexuality…
