PLUS: Austin Chronic & 4/20 Merch • Summer Camps

Cover Story

Phases & Stages

Frank Ocean Channel Orange (Def Jam) Usher. R. Kelly. A D’Angelo revival in the works. 2012 is shaping up as quite a year for R&B. Inciting the highest celebration is Odd Future affiliate Frank Ocean and his major-label debut Channel Orange, an ethereal, embattled, and introspective work that puts everything in its right place in…

by Chase Hoffberger

Quote of the Week

“We are not rolling back health care reform. The Supreme Court has spoken. We are moving forward.” – President Barack Obama, speaking in Austin on Tuesday

by Chronicle Staff

Phases & Stages

The Beach Boys That’s Why God Made the Radio (Capitol) Hatched in the wake of multiple intra-band lawsuits, That’s Why God Made the Radio ebbs and flows the Beach Boys’ most cohesive album since 1977’s Love You, the final LP that the Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis, and Carl – collaborated on at a functioning…

by Greg Beets

Headlines

� Not much official action at City Hall in July, but Austinites for Geographic Representation turned in its petition signatures (est. 33,000) supporting a 10-1 City Council districting plan and an independent commission to draw the districts. Council has already put the plan on the November ballot, but AGR says it wants insurance against official…

by Chronicle Staff

July 31 Primary Run-off: Endorsements

Here are our endorsements for the July 31 Democratic and Republican run-off elections. On the Republican side, we found only a single race and candidate as a potential choice for Chronicle readers; on the rest, you’re on your own. As always, read up on our complete election coverage at austinchronicle.com/elections. Democratic Ballot U.S. Senate: Paul…

by The Austin Chronicle News Staff

Early Voting: July 23-27

You may vote at any early voting location in the county in which you are registered. On election day, you must vote in your precinct. For a list of precinct locations: www.traviscountyelections.org or 238-VOTE. Williamson County: www.wilco.org/elections or 943-1630. Hays County: www.co.hays.tx.us/elections or 393-7310. EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS Open Mon.-Fri., 8am-6pm, unless noted otherwise. CENTRAL Travis…

by Chronicle Staff

The Luv Doc: Magic Pixie Dream Girl

Dear Luvdoc, The only boy I’ve ever loved lives approximately 4913.39 miles away. When he came to visit me recently, it’d been two years since we’d seen each other in person. And he told me that he just wanted to be friends. Broke my heart again. I think I understand his motivations (distance factor, too…

by Chronicle Staff

The Dark Knight Rises

An uncannily accurate mirror of the contemporary cultural zeitgeist, this epic finale to the Batman trilogy is just that: epic.

by Marc Savlov

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Burgess Meredith once sued Larry Hagman because he said the height of Hagman’s roof was two inches too high (they were neighbors and on-again, off-again friends). In chess, when a knight is able to attack more than two pieces at the same time, it is called a “family fork.” The recent discovery of the Higgs…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Day Trips

The collection of photos, clothes, and trophies at the Selena Museum are a reminder of a voice silenced much too early

by Gerald E. McLeod

Phases & Stages

Beach House Bloom (Sub Pop) Beachwood Sparks The Tarnished Gold (Sub Pop) Sub Pop’s freshman class of new millennial pop, led by Beachwood Sparks and the Shins’ Oh, Inverted World, rebooted Seattle’s grunge imprint as a post-9/11 salve. The former L.A. quartet’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo ride peaked on its second of two initial albums,…

by Raoul Hernandez

Chess

‘Chess’ is a mess, as musicals go, but this local staging achieves some success with it

by Dan Solomon

Oops!

In Josh Rosenblatt’s “Geopolitical Fault Lines” (News, July 6), we introduced Fred McGhee as a Heritage Society of Austin member. HSA Executive Director Jacqui Schraad wrote the Chronicle to say McGhee is not in fact on the organization’s membership roster. She wanted to further clarify that the nonprofit doesn’t have an official stance on the…

by Chronicle Staff

Phases & Stages

Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (Epic) It’s not what’s missing so much as what’s taking its place. “I just want to feel everything,” intones Fiona Apple on Idler Wheel opener “Every Single Night,” thus tipping…

by Chase Hoffberger

Phases & Stages

Chelle Rose Ghost of Browder Holler (Lil’ Damsel) A decade plus is a long time to follow up a first album. To Chelle Rose, the years between 2000’s Nanahally River and the Ghost of Browder Holler were long enough for the Tennessee native to raise a family and have her muse return. Now, Ghost appears…

by Margaret Moser

Everything the Traffic Will Allow

Here’s where you can get your musical theatre fixes in Central Texas in July. Annie Get Your Gun: through July 29, Palace Theatre, 810 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown. 512/869-7469, www.georgetownpalace.org. Into the Woods: through July 29, Hill Country Community Theatre, 2003 W. FM 2147, Cottonwood Shores near Marble Falls. 830/798-8944, www.thehcct.org. The Sound of Music:…

by Robert Faires

Phases & Stages

The Lumineers (Dualtone) By now, comparisons between this Denver Americana trio and UK folk-rockers Mumford & Sons are well documented. Both groups belong to the roots revivalist movement flooding the indie consciousness, but there’s something more compelling about the Lumineers. For starters, there’s the sepia-toned aesthetic evoked by Neyla Pekarek’s soulful contributions on violin and…

by Melanie Haupt

Phases & Stages

Smashing Pumpkins Oceania (Martha’s Music) Forget the cluttered cultural context that surrounds this once-monumental band. Oceania is a well-thought-out album with respectable execution. Varied yet familiar, it hits marks on three key Pumpkin elements: sandpaper guitar, dynamic drumming, and compelling emotion with a grandeur that shows Billy Corgan still wants to be a hero. Forget…

by Kevin Curtin

Civics 101

Thursday 19 REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK MASTER PLAN UPDATE Consultants have been working on a redesign of one of Downtown’s three remaining historical squares. Come hear the latest and weigh in. 6-8pm. Ballet Austin, 501 W. Third. www.austintexas.gov/republicsquare. Saturday 21 AUSTIN CALL TO ACTION Discussion group of Catholics affiliated with the Call to Action national movement.…

by Chronicle Staff

Recent

See all

Gift this article