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November 28 • 2014

Nov 28 - Dec 4, 2014 / Vol. 34 / No. 13
Digital Edition

The Luv Doc: Deeper Than Sex

Dear Luv Doc, How can two people that meet on a dating website become close friends, meet, date, have great sex, then exchange the L word, then he never wants sex again? It’s been a year and a half now of excuses, avoidance, and millions of failed attempts to engage this person in any kind…

by The Luv Doc

Texas Platters

Since compact discs have become expendable vessels of digital information, destined for upload then discarded, CDs worth cherishing are now increasingly rare. You won’t throw away Versus, a collaborative project of give-and-take covers by Borrisokane and like-minded locals, lovingly housed in a die-cut wooden box containing six EPs that can be puzzled into a visual…

by Kevin Curtin

Arts Review

In these narrative paintings, the complex human interactions of suburbia depicted are so strange and yet so familiar

by W. A. Brenner

Texas Platters

Garage rock hippies Harlem are dead, but if you sync up the ensuing work of Curtis O’Mara’s Grape St. and Michael Coomers’ Lace Curtains, the results equal the charmingly immature late trio’s drunken juvenile pop. Besides “Pink and Gold” and “Saint Vitus” – a level of energy unto itself in this circle – the latter’s…

by Chase Hoffberger

Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex are holding their 2015 Launch Party as we go to press, Downtown at PGi Austin, with the big news being their affiliation with Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew SC. They’re also unveiling season ticket info, and the 2015 jersey, along with the revised logo introduced last week. I don’t know a lot…

by Nick Barbaro

Texas Platters

Power pop might be one of the few sub-genres of rock with a pulse. Moonlight Towers exists on the edges of that brand, taking its cues from American heartland acts like Cheap Trick and Tom Petty. Heartbeat Overdrive, the locals’ fourth disc and first since 2011’s widely praised Day Is the New Night, finds singer,…

by Jim Caligiuri

Oops!

Last week’s story on worker compensation at the airport, “Wages up in the Air,” improperly noted that a new runway’s going in at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In fact, that is not part of ABIA’s expansion plans. A pre-existing taxiway is getting an extension.

by Chronicle Staff

Headlines

City Council meets again in two weeks, Dec. 11, its final meeting of the year and last of the seven-member, at-large era. Last week’s meeting (Nov. 20) left unfinished, much contentious business, including a potential decision on the proposed Decker Lake golf course and disputed zoning cases. Happy Thanksgiving? Holiday lights are blinking on around…

by Chronicle Staff

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Jim Henson’s saxophone-playing muppet is named “Zoot,” after saxophonist Zoot Sims. The Spanish Duchess of Alba is recognized by the Guinness World Records as being the noble with the greatest number of titles – more than 40. Unusual privileges come with some titles, such as not having to kneel before the pope, and being allowed…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Texas Platters

Gothic, electronic, madrigal: The distinctive vision of Lockhart’s Michael Laird swirls through a catalog of seven beguiling LPs bewitched by centuries-old traditions. His band’s first compilation, Ghosts Captured turns on an axis of pop/rock covers found on prior platters. A few pieces of low-hanging fruit aside (the Cure; fellow travelers Current 93 and Qntal; Projekt…

by Michael Toland

Texas Platters

Primitives commences with droning organ tones soaring over splashes, chirps, and warped vocals before hitting on a pulse of guitar scrapes that unfold into an angel harmony of triple-tracked cooing. It’s an art composition revealing itself as a pop song, and thus a mission statement for Roger Sellers, who scuffs the lines between indie folk,…

by Kevin Curtin

Acronyms Explained

Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) LEE (www.educationalequity.org) calls itself a “nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Teach for America corps members and alumni to grow as leaders in their communities and help build the movement for educational equity.” With funding from various underwriters in the charter and “reform” movement, they provide local “leadership training” for community…

by Chronicle Staff

Quote of the Week

“They still don’t care! They’re never going to care!” – An emotional Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s mother, after a Ferguson grand jury failed to indict the officer who killed her son.

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Austin native and erstwhile ex-Go-Go Kathy Valentine’s current combo the Bluebonnets has quietly become one of the best and most distinctive rock & roll bands in town, with a surfeit of seasoned talent and an irresistible swagger that helps to make the foursome’s second long-player a consistent blast. Such lyrically barbed numbers as “She’s Got…

by Scott Schinder

Chronicle Endorsements

Here are the Chronicle editorial board’s endorsements for the Dec. 16 run-off election. See more info at austinchronicle.com/elections. Austin City Council Mayor: Mike Martinez Entering the run-off, we’re aware that Martinez faces an uphill battle: He was behind 37-30% in the first round, his broadest support appears to be in lower-turnout districts, and the only…

by Chronicle Staff

Food Events

Gypsy Dubbel Coffee Porter Tastings Christine Celis’ collaboration with Austin Java and Uncle Billy’s Brewery is the first of its kind. That’s worth raising a glass. Times and locations online. Through Dec. 17. www.gypsycollaborations.com. Thanksgiving Shopping Spree Instead of Black Friday, try some reds and whites. Fri.-Sat., Nov. 28 & 29, 11am-5pm. Flat Creek Estate…

by Chronicle Staff

Dec. 16 Run-Off Election

Early Voting: Dec. 1-12 Election Day: Tuesday, Dec. 16 Early voting: You may vote at any early voting location in the county in which you are registered. Election Day: You may vote at any precinct polling place in Travis County. VOTER ID: Texas law requires registered voters to show a current photo ID issued by…

by Chronicle Staff

Ground Plan

Lisa Scheps’ Christmas gift to the local stage scene is a new performance venue, Ground Floor Theatre

by Robert Faires

Texas Platters

Signaling Austin’s holiday season as much as pecan pie, KGSR’s annual 2-CD compilation of broadcast recordings arrives with an additional charity in the mix, a portion of the proceeds benefiting construction of the new Seton Medical Center alongside the station’s unsparing support of the SIMS Foundation. Introductory honors go to Australian quintet Boy & Bear,…

by Doug Freeman

Hornography

Don’t invite Charlie Strong to your Thanksgiving dinner. He probably wouldn’t accept your weird, stalkerish invitation anyway. Guy’s got a family and also a pretty important football game against TCU to coach. But seriously, you wouldn’t even want him at the table. Coach Strong is a Thanksgiving lunatic. In his Monday morning press conference, the…

by Eric Sollenberger

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