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Sebastiane

Sebastiane 1976, NR, 85 min. Directed by Derek Jarman, Paul Humfress, Starring Barney James, Leonard Treviglio, Neil Kennedy, Richard Warwick. This early film by Jarman emphasizes the physical torture experienced by the future saint when he was a Roman soldier who was banished for his Christian faith and resistant to a superior’s homosexual advances.

by Chronicle Staff

Soccer Watch

Several international games were canceled in Europe this weekend, following Friday’s terror attacks in Paris (which included a failed bombing attempt at the Stade de France, the French national soccer stadium), but London’s Wembley Stadium was decked out in red, white, and bleu Tuesday night for the friendly match between England and France. Look up…

by Nick Barbaro

Headlines

City Council meets today (Nov. 19) with a housing-heavy agenda, including revised rules on “accessory dwelling units,” public hearings on homestead preservation districts, a look at the density bonus program for planned unit developments … and plenty more. See “Council: ADUs Coming to Your Neighborhood?,” Nov. 20. Navigant Consulting released its review of Austin Energy’s…

by Chronicle Staff

Quote of the Week

“At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans.” – President Barack Obama popping off at GOP governors who have said they will refuse aid to Syrian refugees

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

All ATX has turned 1,000 locally sourced cover tune cavalcades into a funding stream for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. In conjunction with the Gary Keller-chaired advocacy organization’s August benefit show, this year’s compilation plunges into psychedelics. Twenty-one tracks from a local wellspring effectively summon the spirit of late Sixties/early Seventies free-form radio, the…

by Greg Beets

Texas Platters

Given the absurdities of contemporary culture, Kinky Friedman’s first new studio recordings in almost 40 years warrants a sly slap in the face from the infamous raconteur and Texas Jewboy. Instead, they’re a sentimental gut punch. Friedman’s cigar-worn voice and the downbeat, intimate production cut brazenly sincere on opening Willie Nelson duet “Bloody Mary Morning”…

by Doug Freeman

Texas Platters

Today’s bro country thrives on images of John Deere tractors and perilously short Daisy Dukes, but its stomp-clap beats and prefab licks listen more like a city kid’s wild weekend on a ranch. Local swampy-tonk duo Mayeux & Broussard have a different take on bro-dom. “This one’s for my boys back at home,” Broussard intones…

by Abby Johnston

Texas Platters

While the title references the Grateful Dead, Bellfuries haven’t gone hippie-dippy. Rather, it’s acknowledgment of the locals’ work ethic and their treks between Austin and Chicago to make the LP a reality. The Windy City is home to producer/studio owner Jimmy Sutton, who’s made waves producing and playing bass with JD McPherson. The latter recorded…

by Jim Caligiuri

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

The wholesome Twiggy (Twiggy Lawson) was an extra in Ken Russell’s very unwholesome movie, The Devils. Lindsay Lohan likes carrot juice. A 2014 University of Iowa study done over 10 years and sampling almost 60,000 women determined that women who drink two or more diet drinks a day are 30% more likely to have a…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Texas Platters

Like the schizoid edition of Tame Impala, Shmu composer Sam Chown throws a kitchen sink of influence and experimentation at his sophomore full-length. Early single “Pictionary” substantiates as standout, its drone tremolo tone revealing the concurrent Zorch drummer’s My Bloody Valentine backbone. Built around the local’s kit and sampler, the 29-year-old Toronto native “recycles” sounds…

by Neph Basedow

Texas Platters

No second-salvo stumble for this ulcerative Austin post-punk quartet. Collisions lives up to its title by unleashing one curiously bent sonic skeleton after another, fomenting a steam-heated mix of unrest and exhilaration. Roots stretching back more than a decade to when the belligerents were still juveniles, the Ghouls’ yowling performance aesthetic taps clear antecedents in…

by Greg Beets

Texas Platters

Not unlike the Russian dog breed they’re named after, young Austin trio Borzoi pounces lean, scraggly, fast. Recalling late-Eighties Sub Pop punk on “Pinnacle,” guitarist Zach Wood moans tuneful Cobain apathy over a menacing two-chord hook. Flipside “I Feel Alien” toughens up via drummer Rhys Woodruff’s in-your-face shouts and a jagged guitar solo by Wood…

by Kevin Curtin

Texas Platters

Imagine the MC5 high on meth instead of revolution or AC/DC wallowing in punk. Loud, raw, and reckless serve as tenants on the Damn Times’ debut vinyl – 15 years in the local making. Ryan Anderson spews generalized animosity on “Don’t Like People,” his Bon Scott screech propelling garaged-out classic rock. B-side “I Got This…

by Kevin Curtin

Texas Platters

ATX guitar and drum loop duo Chipper Jones pushes the limits of a 45rpm 7-inch, logging over 12 minutes on their stunning third release. Delay pedal enthusiast James Lambrecht proves himself a six-string phenom on “Tropics,” layering textures, tap solos, and silky Afro-indie licks in short passages that ebb and flow atop disco-prog pattering by…

by Kevin Curtin

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