Cover Story
Looking for Cheap Dirt
Trying to make housing ‘affordable’ has a whole lot to do with the facts on the ground
Darker Than Amber
Darker Than Amber 1970, PG, 96 min. Directed by Robert Clouse, Starring Rod Taylor, Theodore Bikel, Suzy Kendall, Ahna Capri, William Smith. John D. MacDonald’s reluctant detective Travis McGee brings one more slimebag to justice.
True Stories
True Stories 1986, PG, 90 min. D: David Byrne; with John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, Spalding Gray. Talking Head Byrne made his directing debut with this idiosyncratic look at a fictional Texas town.
News/Print
Notable upcoming events of interest
Food-o-File
Journey into my misuse of “journeyman”; plus, Phil and Amy buddy up on Burnet Road; Mother’s Day; and more
Texas Platters
Albert and GageCry Love (MoonHouse) Over the course of nearly 10 years and five releases as a duo, Christine Albert and Chris Gage have developed quite a fan base among lovers of Texas music. Cry Love is sure to keep that audience satisfied as it keeps their professional demeanor and unquestionable musical talents at the…
Honoring B Rapoport
Center for Public Policy Priorities to recognize legendary Texas philanthropist
Props Forum Gets Down and Dirty
Props 1 and 2 supporters and opponents prove themselves talented beer-drinkers, chip-eaters, and yellers at Democracy for Texas forum
Readings
Because Jessica Abel’s La Perdida takes place in Mexico City and involves a sometimes frictional intermingling of Mexicans and Americans, it’s attracted comparison to Los Bros Hernandez’s classic Love and Rockets
Wine of the Week
Alamos
Texas Platters
Zom ZomsYellow Rainbow (Business Deal) If a cadre of savage geeks had commandeered a Brook Mays Organ store at the mall in 1981, the resulting disturbance might have resembled the Zom Zoms’ third album in both tone and attitude. With synthetic rhythms oscillating at full speed, the Twister-mat-patterned, sleeveless-shirt-wearing local quartet injects as much ferocity…
Just My Luck
Lindsay Lohan takes on a grown-up role, but we can’t tell the difference.
Jeffs Makes FBI’s Big Top 10
Jeffs’ oblong mug now alongside the likes of Osama Bin Laden, and Mafioso murderer James “Whitey” Bulger
Readings
It’s clear that these two writers are trying to impress each other, rather than the reader
Transcendentalism
Shearwater soars out from under Okkervil River
Texas Platters
Charanga CakewalkChicano Zen (Triloka/Artemis) Word is out that Charanga Cakewalk’s second album is as good as the first, but that’s wrong. Chicano Zen is sublime. From start to finish, it delivers a jaw-dropping rhyme of memory, spirit, and clear-eyed reality. While Michael Ramos – Cakewalk’s master musician – leans toward electrified cumbias, here he dabbles…
Sewer Politics in Rollingwood
Community’s mayoral race just a snippet of larger, incestuous tale involving some of Austin’s most prominent players in regional planning, politics, and pork
Nighttime in Northern Uganda
Austinites pay tribute at Capitol to horrific struggle of war-torn country’s young
Readings
Pity the poor costumed heroes of our childhood
Shearwater Reviewed
ShearwaterPalo Santo (Misra) Of the more pointed “none-of-the above” type bands in Austin, Shearwater is the most difficult to peg. Palo Santo, the quintet’s fourth, doesn’t make things any easier, introspective stillness alternating with grandiose prog-rock, which shifts into jagged, poppy nuevo wavo. While this approach is not new for Jonathan Meiburg and friends, Palo…
Texas Platters
Blunt Force TraumaGood Morning America … (Shattered World) In the works for five years, the Austin hardcore/metal fourpiece finally releases Good Morning America …, loud, raucous, political, and without sympathy. Slayer riffs and punk rock attitude crash into a five-alarm blaze held together by Bobby Fuentes’ fury. Unfortunately for Red River thrashers, Blunt Force Trauma…
The Syrian Bride
This story about an arranged marriage taking place in a remote outpost of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights will be familiar to anyone ever caught in an avalanche of red tape.
Point Austin: A Living City
When you vote on Saturday, keep in mind the real soul of the city
Readings
America’s Great Depression of the 1930s isn’t the backdrop for this story; it is the story
The New Mechanic’s Guide
Phil Waldorf’s tips to landing on Misra Records.
Texas Platters
Exit the King Not to be confused with Epic’s Chicago rock band of the same name – better get a lawyer, boys – Austin hardcore trio Exit the King debuts with whips, spaz, and five hiccups. Furious and stressful, as all good hardcore should be, the King is a jackhammer on the fritz: slowing down…
Art School Confidential
This follow-up to Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes’ transcendent Ghost World is too scattershot to be truly great, but their smarty-pants campus yarn is on fire with satire.
Beside the Point
On the eve of election day, what in a saner universe might have been this spring’s community focus – how the city prioritizes its needs in financial terms – is little more than marginalia on Prop. 1 and 2’s increasingly dog-eared pages. This Saturday, the now-tentative November bond election is noticeable only by its absence,…
TCB
Come sail away with Peter & the Wolf, mellow out with Summer Wardrobe, and reflect on some mighty fine cock-rock from SINIS.
Readings
If James Kochalka is ‘Magic Boy,’ then Jeffrey Brown is ‘Over-Analyze Lad’
Six Misra Records You Should Own
Evangelicals, So Gone Release date: June 6, 2006 Initial pressing: 4,500 Lovers of the Flaming Lips take psychedelic pop to a new level. Shearwater, Palo Santo Release date: May 9, 2006 Initial pressing: 5,000 See “Transcendentalism,” p.74. Centro-matic, Fort Recovery Release date: March 7, 2006 Initial pressing (CD): 8,000 Repress: 2,000 Initial pressing (LP): 500…
Texas Platters
LionsVolume One If Matthew Drenik could trade in his Josh Homme for a little more Bon Scott, Lions’ debut, Volume One, would catch fire. Like QOTSA on a bicycle, Lions play it straight, but the production and enthusiasm knock ’em up a rung. “Underground” smokes and addicts, especially up against ballad “Systems Down.” With a…
Weed Watch
North Dakota could be first state to issue farmers licenses to grow industrial hemp; and Limbaugh off the hook
The Hightower Report
Librarians Battle For Freedom; and a Gusher From Exxon Mobil
Page Two: Unreasonable Discourse
When it’s ‘good vs. evil,’ political discourse is impossible
Misra by the Numbers
Number of releases: 40 Number of active artists: 11 Average initial pressing: 4,000-5,000 Average number of promos sent out: 1,400 Average cost of releasing a record: $7,000-$40,000 Percentage of digital sales: 15-20% of total Number of artists from Canada: 2 Number of artists from England: 2 Number of artists from Texas: 4 Number of Texas…
An American Haunting
A satanic-possession thriller set in 1817 stars Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek – to little avail.
Water
This film which examines the second-class status of women in traditional Hindu society is beautiful yet sad, a tale drenched in centuries of stagnant, holy water.
The 2006 Paramount Summer Classic Film Series
Schedule: May 24-Sept. 8
Letters @ 3AM
Apart from the boycott, and separate from it, the theme of May 1 was, over and over: Register and vote.
Texas Platters
Alejandro EscovedoThe Boxing Mirror (Back Porch) Five years between albums can be a lifetime for most musicians, and no more so than for Austin’s Alejandro Escovedo. The journeyman singer-songwriter-rocker’s near death bout with hepatitis C left his loyal fan base holding their collective breath in hope that he would survive until such a feat was…
Texas Platters
Plane of ExistenceKinetic Remember VH1’s Bands on the Run – a reality show pitting Dallas alt-rockers Flickerstick against San Diego alt-rockers Soulcracker? They blew like Katrina, yet the Texas boys came out on top. Austin fourpiece Plane of Existence would hold Flickerstick to their guns with this second EP of radiorific, glossy, generic, and limp…
Endorsements
Yes, it’s spring in Austin – and there’s an election in the air. We know our readers are asking themselves sagely, “Didn’t I just vote a couple of weeks ago?” Not exactly, since most of you skipped it – but the state specials and primaries and run-offs are over (at least until November), so try…
DVD Watch
The quintessential musical for sentimental cynics
Getting Physical
Anna Deavere Smith returns to Austin to investigate the resilience of the human body
After a Fashion
Stephen takes off the gloves, throws down the gauntlet, and whips out the wire hangers. Dang.
Texas Platters
Shandon SahmKnock Yourself Out (Killingbird) In 10 songs and under 28 minutes, Shandon Sahm connects on his second solo CD, Knock Yourself Out. It’s not the knock-out punch, but it’s solid enough to rock fans back on their heels, a position his late father Doug Sahm would have relished. The youngest Sahm emerged in the…
The Celestine Prophecy
The New Age metaphysics-cum-pulp thriller novel is now a movie.
Naked City
Headlines and Happenings from Austin and Beyond
TV Eye
Irritations and considerations
Finding Writer’s Voice
Suzan-Lori Parks isn’t coasting, ’cause she’s still listening
To Your Health
Correcting keratoconus and other cornea-related concerns
Texas Platters
Insect Sex Act Act I (Stacked) With a pedigree extending from Scratch Acid through Pong via Ministry, ATX’s Insect Sex Act are quotable experts in Texas-style slam-bang rock psychosis. Their debut sounds like it was birthed in an overheated, foul-smelling rehearsal space, where spiraling waves of noise pulverize their way into the limbic system. Act…
Darna Zaroori Hai
Unusual Bollywood film is an anthology horror film with segments directed by seven different directors.
Election Notes
The propositions and beyond
Art of the Pot
Art of the Pot, the annual showcase of local and national pottery, is here for your Mother’s Day weekend family activity and gifting pleasure
The Common Law
E-mail privacy: Can my boss read my e-mails?
Texas Platters
Waco’s Verbal Seed dives headlong into a soil previously cultivated by artists of the Okayplayer ilk. Nourished by the soulful production of Symbolyc One of Strange Fruit Project, Afronauts (Black Son Records) reaches out to fellow Texans, including Bavu Blakes and Kay of the Foundation as it wafts an aroma of true-school intelligence. The high…
Texas Platters
RollergirlsMusic From the A&E Television Series (Koch) If a compilation is to be judged on musical merit alone, Rollergirls gets a C. There are highlights (Dale Watson’s “Way Down Texas Way,” Red Meat’s “The Girl With the Biggest Hair”), and buzz kills (Kacy Crowley’s “Badass,” Ani DiFranco’s “Amazing Grace”), but what it comes down to…
Cleanliness, Godliness, and Money
Critics charge that Clean Water Clean Government’s finances are a bit murky
Election Notes
Critics charge that Clean Water Clean Government’s finances are a bit murky
Cultural Benefits
Blue Lapis Light and the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament host fundraisers for their respective creative enterprises
Day Trips
The Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin houses nearly 800 animals representing every continent except Antarctica
Texas Platters
Dixie Witch Smoke & Mirrors (Small Stone) The cream rises to the top. That’s the theory, at least. A band enters the studio with a shitload of new songs, records as many as possible, and after mixing, mastering, etc., the best tracks make the cut. This only works, of course, when culling from a hefty…
Texas Platters
ShortfilmMythical Beast Where the genres meet, Shortfilm goes haywire. Mythical Beast, the local fourpiece’s debut, is a schizophrenic trapped in a labyrinth, volleying rock for jam and jazz for emo, and never quite knowing which alley he’s in. It’s a mess of words and rhythms, but Mythical Beast is a perfect jumping-off point for a…
Who’s Buying the Votes?
The C&E reports show whose money is funding which campaigns
Election Notes
The C&E reports show whose money is funding which campaigns
Dance Repertory Theatre
UT resident student dance company Dance Repertory Theatre makes the leap to the national stage, as in the Kennedy Center, via the 2006 National College Dance Festival
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Puggles, Labradoodles, and Christopher Columbus
Texas Platters
John Cage once said, “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones” – advice that seems to encapsulate the zeitgeist of current experimental music. What sounds can be used that nobody’s heard? The beeping of an alarm in the a.m. is not a pleasant sound, but ECFA…
Poseidon
A handful of talented actors checked their egos at the door in hopes of … something, but this Poseidon is a wash.
ACC Race
A tangled web of work relationships roils the Kaplan / Mejia-Dietche contest
Election Notes
Prop. 2 will shape the way the area develops at a time when the community is trying to decide for itself what sort of neighborhood it wants to be
Funniest Person in Austin Semifinals
Wayne Alan Brenner describes being a judge for one of the semifinal rounds of the 2006 Funniest Person in Austin Contest at Cap City Comedy Club
Soccer Watch
The 2006 World Cup is just around the corner, the European leagues wind down, and more
Texas Platters
Cardinale31:13 (Arclight) It’s so much more than just a name. Austin newbie metalheads Cardinale, spawn of Sea of Thousand, crank their debut in Tia Carrera style: one track, undulating between agro thrash and lulling near-poetry. And it must be said: Twist one up and park your butt. If the mind-space isn’t right, the music will…
Defending a 290 Toll
Engineer over US 290 West project through Oak Hill sticks up for future toll project
Election Tidbits
Incorrect polling place notice; early voting surges; Williamson Co. elections chief steps down
Election Notes
Props 1 and 2 supporters and opponents prove themselves talented beer-drinkers, chip-eaters, and yellers at Democracy for Texas forum
Arts Review
With cheating so hip today, Andrea Skola and Shrewd Productions have put together eight original 10-minute plays that explore the contemporary nuances of being a cheat
Oops!
Last week in Naked City, in an item about the city of Rollingwood, we wrote that the small municipality just west of Austin contains 1,400 homes. In fact, there are about 500 homes and 1,400 residents. The Chronicle regrets the error.
Texas Platters
Pete RodríguezMind Trip Pete Rodríguez doesn’t waste any time exploding out of the blocks on his debut Mind Trip. From the opening notes, this imposing trumpeter with amazing technique is off and running with the speed, agility, and physicality not often seen in a local jazz musician. A New York transplant and son of salsa…
Triumph in the Lege?
Lawmakers could pass tax legislation before it’s curtains on Tuesday, handing the governor and lawmakers something to crow about when they return to the campaign trail
War Watch
“Volunteer” international war correspondent visits Austin
Election Notes
A tangled web of work relationships roils the Kaplan/Mejia-Dietche contest
Arts Review
Violet Crown Players’ revival of the revue ‘Tintypes’ doesn’t always work theatrically, but musically, its celebration of early 20th-century American music is pleasing to hear
Musicians on the Menu
In concert or in the kitchen, these locals have the chops
Texas Platters
Robert Socia Band The photographs of Robert Socia have apparently been doctored. Surely that fresh-faced, whisker-free youngster can’t be the guy who sings with a world-weary rasp and writes the same sort of shadowy tunes on this self-titled debut. If it is, Socia is mature beyond his years. That’s not to say he’s beyond beginners’…
Goal!: The Dream Begins
From East L.A. to the soccer fields of England, this rags-to-riches story sticks closely to the sports movie formula.
Supremes Give Death Row Inmate Another Chance
Supreme Court orders new trial for South Carolina death row inmate, ruling state courts erred by excluding evidence that another man may have committed the crime
Election Notes
Incorrect polling place notice; early voting surges; Williamson Co. elections chief steps down
Luv Doc Recommends: aGLIFF’s fifth annual Mommie Dearest Roast
Mothers. Everybody’s got one. Prerequisite to most peoples’ appearance on planet Earth is a gory luge ride down the vaginal slip-n-slide. To be sure there are those who, like Caesar, emerged from an ad hoc tummy twat in a scene reminiscent of the prison break in Raising Arizona, but the rest of us begin life…
