Cover Story
Heavy Metal
Even in blazing summer, Austin’s welders and forgers fire it up and make like rock & rollers
We Don’t Need No Education(al Software)
If UT is so hard up for cash, why is it removing computer labs to make way for “student meeting spaces”?
The New APD Execs (or, Art and Debbie, Sitting in a Tree)
Art Acevdeo unveils his executive team; will the ACLU be on board?
Signs of the Tacopocalypse
It’s the the important things that get the Austin blogosphere riled up!
Austin Green Art Donates $10,000 Artwork to Kill-a-Watt Challenge
Local eco-art outfit Austin Green Art will be giving a work of art worth $10,000 to one of the end-of-summer winning businesses in the Water Cooler Kill-a-Watter Challenge. AGA will be working with the winner to develop a unique piece of art fitting to their company. Read more about Austin Green Art’s work in Chronicle…
Iraq Wins Asian Cup, and More
Iraq won the Asian Cup on Saturday, edging Saudi Arabia, 1-0, in the championship game. It was the first time Iraq had even made the final, and obviously a tremendous feel-good story for the stricken country. But players and coach were relatively subdued, seeing as at least three players have lost family members recently, three…
Bad Grammar Jammin’
Getty keeps the windows rolled down and the bass on teh low low…
Doing the Continental
The LeRoi Brothers and Pat MacDonald at the Continental.
Putting the ‘Budget’ in Budget
We liked the Statesman’s City Budget Project the first time – when it was called the City Budget.
Someone Want to Say ‘Faith-Based Initiative?’
Which evangelical got a promotion from Bush this week?
Laney and Price vs. Craddick
Two ex-speakers come out against Tom Craddick’s attempts to claim absolute authority in the House.
Talmadge Heflin: Not a Name To Forget
Texas GOP hires a new exec director with a storied history.
Ear to the Underground
Another Ear to the Underground pummeling.
O Silent Night
John Hunt on Dontrelle Willis, Barry Bonds, and Hank Aaron
Victory in 08! or Victory in 08?
When it comes to the ’08 election, what’s already being talked about when it comes to Texas Republicans?
Safety at the State House
False alarm bomb scare clears the lege.
Homers for Coolbaugh
The sports world was shaken this week when the tragic death of former Round Rock Express infielder Mike Coolbaugh was reported. Coolbaugh, 35, was killed after being struck in the head by a line drive while standing in the first-base coach’s box during a game between the Tulsa Drillers and the Arkansas Travelers in Little…
Psych-Out
A collection of psych reviews in haiku form.
Buddy Daddy: A boy and his dog
ColdTowne’s Arthur Simone and his dog, Robin Goodfellow, perform onstage as an improv duo – seriously
Off the Record
Singled Out According to data released by British Phonograph Industry, the sale of vinyl 7-inches are up 13% for the first half of 2007 in the UK, due largely to the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump,” the bestselling single in 20 years, and End of an Ear in South Austin confirms a recent increase in vinyl…
Fine Print
A closer look at Texas film incentives
Reptile Hunters Rattled Over Ban on ‘Texas Tradition’
Feeling singled out, they’re threatening to sue state over legislation banning roadside hunting of wild animals
Arts Review
The Vortex’s 2007 Summer Youth Theatre showcases more talented youth with Terry Pratchett’s lighthearted, adventurous Wyrd Sisters
Off the Record
All Hail West Texas The original television soundtrack for NBC’s award-winning and locally shot Friday Night Lights, which spotlighted Austin artists like Li’l Cap’n Travis, Jon Dee Graham, and Billy Joe Shaver, was released Tuesday by Artists’ Addiction Records and features Spoon’s “I Turn My Camera On,” Trail of Dead’s “So Divided,” and Iron and…
Hold Those Tolls!
Road conditions: funding hazy, future unclear
Reefer Madness
As questions about possible political improprieties dog White House Office of the National Drug Control Policy, agency head John Walters hits Austin in search of good PR
Arts Review
The young musical thespians of Summerstock Austin’s Thoroughly Modern Millie are determined to entertain you, and they succeed impeccably
Off the Record
NAMM Dropping Unknown Hinson is an unexpected spokesman for the International Music Products Association, commonly referred to as NAMM. The Charlotte, N.C., native is a professed vampire who claims to be the “King of Country Western Troubadours,” but the music industry has always been dominated by image, and Hinson’s mug shot — greased sideburns and…
What’s Doing on Austin’s Roadways
Contrary to what was once popular belief, it turns out that Austin’s road map for future toll-road projects wasn’t cemented in asphalt after all. See the black dotted lines along this map? Transportation authorities peg them as planned projects, but time, money, and the current political climate have rendered them more, shall we say, flexible…
Naked City
Quote of the Week “As brothers in the fight for equality, our separate struggles are really one for freedom, dignity, and humanity.” – Presidential candidate Barack Obama at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference in Miami Beach, quoting a 1968 telegram the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sent to fellow civil rights leader…
Arts Review
At Salvage Vanguard Theater Gallery, artists Debra Broz and Adde Russell both try to say something important, but it’s difficult to make out what
Summer Chores
Summer blockbusters become video games, and fun is lost in translation
Tire Tracks: What the Lege did
Private Slowdown: Senate Bill 792, the major transportation bill of the session, halted (with some exceptions) the use of comprehensive development agreements — between government and private companies to carry out transportation projects. Between now and when the moratorium expires in 2009, a study committee will review CDAs, but unless the 2009 Legislature reinstitutes the…
Northcross: ‘It’s Not a Done Deal’
Demolition under way at former Northcross Mall site doesn’t signify that planned Wal-Mart is foregone conclusion
Readings
New work from Joe Matt and Ben Snakepit
Texas Platters
St. Vincent Marry Me (Beggars Banquet) Titling your major label bow Marry Me builds certain expectations. Thankfully, everywhere on her full-length debut, Annie Clark makes the title’s request impossible. Of course, this only makes the ebb and flow of her music even more engaging. As St. Vincent, the Dallas singer-songwriter plays a handful of instruments…
Kick-Starting CarShare
Austin CarShare hits the road
Downtown Coolin’ Plant Chillin’ Like Paul Robbins
Who’s Paul Robbins, and what’s a cooling plant?
The Common Law
“Security Freeze” your identity theft worries, part two
The Bigs
2K Sports, $59.99 While Sony’s The Show and 2K Sports’ Major League Baseball 2K7 pride themselves on replicating the intricacies and subtleties of an actual big-league game down to the most minute detail, 2K’s The Bigs prefers the fireworks and flash of arcade-style ball and the power-ups and special effects that accompany this fun and…
Film News
It would behoove you to read this and read it quickly
Damage Control at Shelter Raises More Dander
Animal shelter saga continues in Williamson County
After a Fashion
Stephen forgives someone for being themselves even though that person did not seem to extend the same courtesy
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Activision, $49.99 Dear “real” musicians: For sure, Guitar Hero is bogus compared to the real thing. And plastic controllers are way lamer than honest-to-goodness frets and strings. But there’s good reason behind the Guitar Hero craze consuming bars everywhere: Activision’s top-selling, axe-grinding-simulation PlayStation/Xbox franchise is unabashedly addictive … and … dare I say … hip…
Cap Met Axes Labor Relations Manager Position
Transit authority’s union concerned about unexpected move’s impact on upcoming negotiations
Community Colleges Bestow Dunce Cap on Perry
Community-college presidents and allies launch barrage of explosive verbiage on Perry after he vetoes $154 million in school funding
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Ink cartridges give people the psych-out
Off the Record
The Ghostface of You Lingers Before South by Southwest, Gregg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, predicted that every third-grader soon would be able to make audio mash-ups with the ease of collaging images in Adobe Photoshop. Shortly thereafter, Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell of Chicago’s May or May Not launched the Hood Internet, a…
TV Eye
Watch List
Happenings
July 26-Aug. 1
Papa’s Brand-New Bag
Jazzers and jam bands alike just wanna funk, Austin style
Texas Platters
Kinky Friedman Live From Austin TX (New West) With New West plumbing the vaults of Austin City Limits over the past couple of years, viewers have been able to experience some of the magic that’s happened on the legendary PBS staple in uncut form. The issuing of this Kinky Friedman show is another animal altogether.…
DVD Watch
Les Enfants Terribles Criterion Collection, $39.95 Jean Cocteau’s sharp metallic voice slices and dices like his guillotine profile. Collaborating on the French Renaissance man’s source material, which Cocteau swore couldn’t be interpreted onscreen, Jean-Pierre Melville’s thick skin might just have been accessorized with earmuffs for the two filmmakers’ 1950 cinematic tryst. “There was no embarrassment…
It’s Too Funky in Here
This weekend offers a great chance to check the local funk and beyond as the Funkybatz present FunkFest II. It kicks into gear Friday at the Parish with Galactic drummer Stanton Moore leading his Trio, featuring young guitar whiz Will Bernard, and Mike Dillon’s Go-Go Jungle opening. Things move to La Zona Rosa for the…
Texas Platters
The Freddie Steady 5 Tex-Pop (Steady Boy) After reviving the Explosives to back the resurrected Roky Erickson, drummer/guitarist Freddie “Steady” Krc takes aim at the long wake of the Beatles with Tex-Pop. True to the album’s title, Krc filters the Fab Four flavor through homegrown influences, most notably the organ-fueled axis of Sir Doug Sham,…
Off Course: City Fees Trip Up Athletic Events
Organizers of local running, cycling, and triathlon events grapple with increased traffic-control costs
No Reservations
While No Reservations is no Big Night, it’s surprisingly winsome in parts, by virtue of Catherine Zeta-Jones’ performance, and a romantic fable that lingers on the palette of the mind’s eye.
Two More on the One
While not directly associated with the newest set of funk bands in town, two other local acts are adding something undeniable to the scene. Every Tuesday at the Continental Club, Mike Barfield gets as down and dirty as a white guy from Houston can. Billed as the Tyrant of Texas Funk and leading a stellar…
Texas Platters
Kevin Carroll Tourmaline Austin scenesters from the Nineties might remember Kevin Carroll’s band the Sleestacks, though today most know the local guitarist as a longtime sidekick for Charlie Robison. Tourmaline, his second solo disc, was a long time in the making, but its breezy attitude and engaging combination of roots and soul add up to…
Day Trips
The Santa Fe School of Cooking mixes the fun of watching someone else do the cooking with a great foodie store
Sunshine
The sci-fi reunion of Danny Boyle and Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) is never less than beautiful but has a profoundly implausible plot turn that cheapens the sentiment.
Food-o-File
Mark and Melanie McAfee set the Barr high
Texas Platters
Gordy Quist Here Comes the Flood As his singer-songwriter syndicate Band of Heathens continues to congeal, Gordy Quist further stakes his own claim with his second solo release. Quist’s songcraft sets itself in a long line of Texas troubadours, kicking off the album with the Steve Earle-styled “Rehab Facility” before settling into the smoother folk…
Oops!
Our latest batch
Rescue Dawn
German arthouse director Werner Herzog tells the story of Navy air pilot and POW Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) and proves that he is capable – like his characters – of almost anything.
Event Menu
July 27-Aug. 2
Texas Platters
Terri Hendrix The Spiritual Kind (Wilory) As contemporary Texas folk artists go, few can match the success of Terri Hendrix. The Spiritual Kind is the San Marcos-based songbird’s ninth CD. While perhaps her most cogent work to date, like some of her previous efforts it’s once again marred by overly simplistic lyrics and a tendency…
Soccer Watch
Beckham debuts to Hollywood royalty, Lightning conclude season, and more
Ten Canoes
Ten Canoes is as much a work of anthropology as it is a narrative, and its true strength lies in its exploration of ancient aboriginal hunting practices, death rituals, and legal traditions.
Bocaditos
Whole Foods 365 Brand Organic Flour Tortillas
Texas Platters
Lou Ann Barton Old Enough (American Beat) For those too young to remember Lou Ann Barton at Antone’s or to know her as Jimmie Vaughan’s vocal partner, the reissue of her debut album, Old Enough, is long overdue. Produced by Atlantic Records guru Jerry Wexler and the Eagles’ Glenn Frey in 1982, Old Enough hasn’t…
The Hightower Report
Representing the Real America; and Unfriendly Skies
Jan Heaton: Watercolor in her blood
Watercolor master Jan Heaton, who’s been painting since she could hold a brush, explains how she makes art
‘The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners’
by Matt Lee and Ted Lee Norton, 589 pp., $35 This encyclopedic regional jewel was named Cookbook of the Year by both the James Beard Foundation Awards and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards in the spring of 2007. After reading and cooking from it, I can understand why. I first became aware…
The Darkness
2K Games, $59.99 The Darkness’ antihero, Jackie Estacado, is having a horrible birthday. Not only has he pissed off his adopted uncle, head of the New York Mafia, he’s inherited the power of the Darkness, a millennia-old force for chaos and evil that shows up as two writhing snakes perched on his shoulders. Uncle Paulie…
Point Austin: Endless War
One, two, three, four – what are we fighting for?
Small-Town Surprises
Dining around Central Texas: part II
In Memoriam: Linda Pace and Javier Arista
Remembering San Antonio artist and patron Linda Pace and Austin actor Javier Arista
Off the Record
NAMM’s encore run at Austin, Dead Oceans floats a boatload of upcoming releases, and the Hood Internet doesn’t care if vinyl singles sales are up, because their mash-ups are the singles of the 21st century
Texas Platters
Belaire Exploding Impacting (Indierect) Close your eyes, cue instrumental opener “Jen,” then wait for the colors. Belaire’s full-length debut bursts with an entire spectrum of yellows, blues, and greens. “There’s No Tomorrow” is perfect, Sixties-style Spectorian pop; “Filling in the Cracks of Time” could be the lighter sector of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the…
Beside the Point
The plots thicken at City Hall
Luv Doc Recommends: Music Under the Star
There are so many things to bitch about in Austin, but in the ought seven, the weather isn’t one of them. It’s nearly freakin’ August and we still haven’t cracked the century mark, much less the high 90s. Sure, it’s been a little wet … OK, crazy wet … Girls Gone Wild wet, but if…
