Cover Story
Painting by Numbers
Wherein we recall how we got here … and contemplate the baleful map-drawing future
Finntroll
Finnish metal returns to Emo’s for a sequel
This Week’s Waste of Time
A browser game to cure the Thursday rages
The Daily Hustle: 2/3/11 (Update)
I did it all for the nookie, solid waste
The New Way, Part Two
Passing the digital collection jar with Kickstarter
Duct Tape Messiah
A Q&A with Gurf Morlix
Polygamist Prophet Update
Jeffs back in court this week
We Have Power
No news from ERCOT is good news for Austin Energy
‘Austin Chronicle’ Cover 2/4
Rolling blackouts be damned.
SXSW Film: The Whole Enchilada
Red-hot and really long list of all the titles to date
Emergency: Blankets and Heaters Needed
Meals on Wheels reports it has none
SXSW Announces Films
Miike, mumblecore faves and more than your screen can hold
Release Me!
New drugs for your winter blues
Wednesday Rewind
Spoon’s ‘Take Away Show,’ Bridge Farmers, and the Motards
Short Story Contest Reception Canceled
Rolling blackouts mean BookPeople’s closing for the day
The Daily Hustle: 2/2/11
Wind chill round up
Turn It Off, Unplug It
Austin Energy makes further request
Newsgeist: 2/2/11
The spirit of the news
Blackouts Could Last Up to 45 Minutes
Updated information on rolling blackouts expected today
State Short on Power
Rolling blackouts to help correct statewide problem
We’re Freaking OUT! Fashion Freakout IV
Spring fun begins with Fashion Freakout.
Puppy, It’s Cold Outside!
Cold weather tips for keeping pets safe
Stars Win, Lose, Then Pause
Four-game point streak has Texas in good shape
Devo Redux
Satisfaction guaranteed!
The Daily Hustle: 2/1/11
Troubled waters at utility?
Austin Rockin’
Live music picks on FOX 7 for the first week of February
Bedside Manner: Black Holes, Fake Legs, and the Shaggs
Confessions of a late-night page-flipper
Newsgeist: 1/31/11
The spirit of the news
On the Bailey Train
Place 3 challenger fires up
Of Skates and Scars
Honey Homicide talks TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls’ 2011 season opener
The Lineup
Recommended music for the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3
A Steady Rise to the Top 10
UT men’s basketball reach No. 7
Newsgeist: 1/28/11
The spirit of the news
Arts Review
This show of three Beckett shorts embraces both their absurdity and tragedy
Phases & Stages
The Dirtbombs Party Store (In the Red) The Dirtbombs excel at paying homage. Mick Collins’ Motor City five memorialized the protest-soul movement with 2001’s Ultraglide in Black, unearthed Death years before Drag City Records on a tour-only split 7-inch, and latest LP, Party Store, tackles Detroit disco of the late 1980s and 1990s, an era…
It’s Raining Mama Money
Senate proposes funding increase for Alternatives to Abortion program
The Way Back
In this film set in 1940 and directed by Peter Weir, seven multinational prisoners in a Siberian labor camp escape and walk 4,000 miles to safety in India.
Arts Review
A playwright hallucinating crazed figures makes for a frenetic, fast-paced riot
Phases & Stages
Deerhoof Deerhoof vs Evil (Polyvinyl) In the absence of a Venn diagram, let’s agree that Deerhoof has become a generational anomaly. The aesthetic intersections between 2007’s pop-oriented Friend Opportunity, 2004’s trout-mask-sniffing Milk Man, and the noise hopscotch of 2002’s Reveille make for a frustrating listen. Deerhoof vs Evil, the San Francisco quartet’s 10th disc and…
Avert Your Eyes
Perry declares emergency for ultrasounds before abortion
The Mechanic
A mediocre remake of a Charles Bronson assassin film that’s downright repellent at times.
Arts Review
This ambitious time-tossed tale of love lost isn’t all there but shows promise
Phases & Stages
Wanda Jackson The Party Ain’t Over (Nonesuch) A post-Who Live at Leeds opening shudder through “Shakin’ All Over” proves The Party Ain’t Over. Produced by Jack “Of All Trades” White, Wanda Jackson’s major-label close-up paves its first lady’s two-stepping 1950s twang into a toll road – fast, smooth, roomy. White’s bass and It Might Get…
Identity Crisis
Voter ID debate continues
Biutiful
Javier Bardem earned an Oscar nod for his performance in this grim but poetic Spanish drama.
Arts Review
This shadow-theatre staging of the sci-fi classic is, indeed, incredible
DVD Watch
A meat-on-the-bones romantic comedy set at a tipping point in network news’ history
Austin Theatre Alliance
After a seven-year run, Stein exits the Paramount and State theatres
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster
This sequel is a model of the martial arts movie form.
Arts Review
The comedian’s tales about sex are often uproarious and always intimate
Rambo Redux
In an unlikely passion project, one man seeks to unseat Stallone
Anton Nel
The star pianist and actor Martin Burke welcome the elephant king
Is That a Wrap for Incentives?
Amid economic woes and a race-baiting controversy, the future of TV, video game, and film funding in Texas looks shaky
Off the Record
‘Hot Smoke & Sasafrass’: Bubble Puppy reunites, James McMurtry fires back, and a final verdict for the estate of Don Walser
‘Robert Wilson Video Portraits’
Give in to their leisurely pacing, and Wilson’s images yield richness of detail
Food Review
Co-operation makes noms happen
Best Beloveds
Molly Ivins’ kickass boots are an ideal fit for prized actor Barbara Chisholm
Day Trips
The Frydek Grotto commemorates a miraculous event and serves as a cohesive element for a small farming community
Lonestar Rollergirls Season Opener
TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls celebrate their season opener and 10th anniversary
Letters at 3AM: A Sweetness of Brick
Old New York is gone; only the replicas remain
Gay Place
The Gay Place is. It just is.
Soccer Watch
U.S. national teams see first action of the year, and more
Wine of the Week
Fortified wines make for mighty-fine times
TV Eye: Sample Wisdom
Austin Film Festival now accepting pilot submissions; returning shows; and TCM talks Oscar
Page Two: Somebody To Love
It’s the last chance to make your case in 2010-11 Austin Chronicle Music Poll
City Hall Hustle: The Lure of Rainey Street
Bars, cars, and teeny tiny homes
Event Menu
Local foodie events for Jan. 28-Feb. 3
The Hightower Report
Ding-Dong Dumping on Texas’ Doorstep; Judy Bonds’ Legacy
Counting the Campaign Money: It’s a Bundle
Incumbents rake it in with help from Armbrust
Headlines
� Change Austin co-founder Brian Rodgers filed a complaint with the county attorney claiming violations of the Open Meetings Act by the Austin City Council, after a report in the Austin Bulldog raised similar issues. Council has set a special-called meeting Friday, Jan. 28, to privately discuss “legal issues relating to the Open Meetings Act.”…
Food-o-File
Austin foodies win hearts and competitions
Loaded Dice
Less is no longer more to Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam
Council Challengers Take Their Marks
Fresh faces emerge to take on the incumbents
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lee Harvey Oswald, Phil Collins, Edwin Booth, and Caligula
After a Fashion
A look back at a 50-year career and Steven Tyler’s big, fat lips
City Retreats From Bungled Bid Process
Staff likely to bulletproof the next plan
Res Publica
Citizens’ calendar, Jan. 27-Feb. 3
You Know Nothing of Their Work
Don Graham and the many minds of Texas
Phases & Stages
The Decemberists The King Is Dead (Capitol) Standing at the junction of folk and indie rock, the Decemberists have grown a career by plying what’s old into new, effectively employing hoary tricks of the roots trade – song cycles, murder ballads, and folk tales – in garnering worship for The Crane Wife and 2009’s The…
AISD: Long on Ideas … Short on Funds
AISD looks for answers to budget dilemma
Point Austin: News Not Fit To Print
Trying to find a silver lining … anywhere
‘Austin Chronicle’ Short Story Contest Reception
Join us for the announcement of this year’s winners of the annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest Wednesday, Feb. 2, 7pm, at BookPeople (603 N. Lamar). There will be snacks and wine – but no whiners, please – and the three winningest stories will be read aloud by their authors. The first-place story will be…
Phases & Stages
Rodney Crowell revisits the most important relationships of life
Child Advocates Seek Reforms
Budget cuts could wipe out key programs
Quote of the Week
“I am not advised.” – State Sen. Troy Fraser’s repeated response to Democrats’ questions regarding his voter ID bill
New in Print
Furman blocks together stories of incredible grace and heft from materials as humble as they come: the dips and turns of family life
Iron & Wine Reviewed
Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean (Warner Bros.) Kiss Each Other Clean is an album of and about metamorphosis, and metamorphosis is rarely pretty or easy. The essential dilemma for Iron & Wine’s fourth official full-length and major-label debut lies locked in its bookends, two compositions that refuse to realize a connection or an…
Budget: The Kirk’s Notes Version
Watson secures 48 hours for reviewing budget changes
Arts Review
Twelve superheroes plus The Tempest equals FronteraFest at its finest
Phases & Stages
Gang of Four Content (Yep Roc) If 1979’s Entertainment! weren’t already a cardinal point in rock history, it would be tempting to say that Gang of Four have equaled it with Content. While such an assessment is contextually impossible, this surprising new LP trounces the Leeds-born quartet’s post-1983 output along with most everything unleashed by…
Bill of the Week
House Joint Resolution 20
No Strings Attached
Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play characters who test whether a relationship can remain purely sexual.
Luv Doc Recommends: Beard Prom
Your beard may look ridiculous, but here’s some good news: You can shave it off. You can’t say that about your My Chemical Romance armband tattoo. Sure, you might have been a cutter, but you probably don’t have the sack (or unexpressed emotional pain) for a bloodbath like that. Maybe it’s best that you stick…
