PLUS: Summer Camps

September 5 • 2008

Sep 5-11, 2008 / Vol. 28 / No. 1
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Cover Story

The Sixth Sense

Clout is a word often sought and rarely seen among hip-hoppers. More than any other commercial musician, rappers must constantly walk a very thin line separating authentic from played out. Look no further than the top, where Jay-Z’s out-of-retirement album, 2006’s Kingdom Come, was so removed from the personality fans attached him to that he…

by Chase Hoffberger

Drambuie Den & Maker Faire Austin

Two things that you need to do before this weekend! 1. RSVP so that you can enjoy some nice tasty Drambuie at the Drambuie Den. 2. MAKE SOMETHING!… or at least propose to. ———————————————————————————— 1. Monday and Tuesday (Sept 15 & 16) Drambuie will be hosting their Drambuie Den over at Pangaea night club (409…

by Logan Youree

UT Stays Awake, Sober in El Paso City

The most Texas sounding of all Longhorns apologized Monday. Not for the nonexistent pass defense against lowly UTEP, but for drunken driving. “It’s not how I was raised,” Lamarr Houston said of the drunk driving arrest that kept him from traveling to scenic El Paso for a game that mercifully ended at 12:51pm Sunday morning…

by Joe O'Connell

Proud American

This narrative film is presented by Coca-Cola, MasterCard, American Airlines, and Wal-Mart – and how American is that?

by Josh Rosenblatt

Something Better Than a Green Apple

Did you miss the first episode of this season’s Top Design on Bravo? Shame on you! Well, ok, I forgive you. But just this once! One thing is for sure, Jonathan Adler don’t like no green apples. So instead of green apples I give you something waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cuter: the Spoka night light from those industrious…

by Andy Campbell

Babylon A.D.

Vin Diesel stars as a mercenary hired to escort a woman with a dangerous virus out of Russia.

by Marc Savlov

Phases and Stages

The Stills Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts) Weathering the sophomore slump in today’s profligate disposability practically defies comprehension. Polishing off a third disc with negligible erosion of verve and skill while cementing identity boggles the mind. Global warming means Oceans Will Rise, but the Stills navigate DayGlo 1980s art-pop like captains of our water…

by Raoul Hernandez

Phases and Stages

The Walkmen You & Me (Gigantic Music) The Walkmen began fierce, fleeting even, Hamilton Leithauser screaming tantrums, but there comes a time when life becomes less severe, when it means something bigger. The NYC quintet’s fourth original effort, You & Me, astounds in its strong restraint and classicism. Leithauser enunciates (!) through midnight mullings as…

by Darcie Stevens

Frozen River

In order to make ends meet, two women in upstate New York smuggle illegal aliens across the St. Lawrence River into the U.S. in this unusually thoughtful and expertly acted movie.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

Deadlocked Over Density

Neighbors say ARA’s development plans for East 11th Street would clash with existing homes and businesses, including the historic Victory Grill

by Lee Nichols

Arrest Fest at the RNC

Throw a rock up in St. Paul, and you’ll apparently find someone being arrested – actually, don’t throw any rocks in St. Paul

by Wells Dunbar

Phases and Stages

The Charlatans You Cross My Path (Cooking Vinyl) Shouldn’t there be a Charlatans tribute band by now, possibly dubbed the Snake Oil Salesmen or the Band That Would Not Die That Was Not Oasis? Whoops, not necessary: This 10th studio album from the Norwich, England, Brit-psychers pulls double duty as its own tribute LP, layering…

by Marc Savlov

The Little Red Truck

A chronicle of the work of the Missoula Children’s Theatre, which travels the country to introduce children to the joys of musical theatre.

by Josh Rosenblatt

Take Five

The Hole Sound Recording tapes aren’t the holy grail. That doesn’t exist, since Vaughan’s studio output was finite and accounted for. As Bob Irwin commented, the best hope for quality SRV releases of the future remains in curated live material. Yet the historical interest of recordings from Vaughan’s early years has legitimate meaning, especially to…

by Margaret Moser

Phases and Stages

Rodriguez Cold Fact (Light in the Attic) This 1970 gem of a debut from Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who only cut two LPs, was largely ignored stateside and became a mysterious underground sensation in apartheid South Africa, striking a contemporary chord with its street-tough lyricism and psychedelic folk arrangements. “Hate Street Dialogue,” “Jane S. Piddy,”…

by Doug Freeman

Surfer, Dude

Matthew McConaughey joins with the director of Hand on a Hard Body in this ode to near-naked bodies, weed, and surf-speak. Oh, and it’s also a work of fiction.

by Kimberley Jones

Off the Record

The Low Lows make a fresh start in Austin, Jon Dee Graham returns to the stage, Tim Kerr and Mark Arm talk Monkeywrench

by Austin Powell

Phases and Stages

Carrie Rodriguez She Ain’t Me (Manhattan/Back Porch) There’s less twang and more pop to Carrie Rodriguez’s second solo effort, She Ain’t Me. Her emerging singer-songwriter talents are airbrushed into a pleasing package with a little of everything but not quite enough. Sophomore albums aren’t the time to experiment when fans want more of what they…

by Margaret Moser

Phases and Stages

Even the hottest fire can fizzle if not handled properly. Out to shed its image as a troupe dependent on the otherworldly production of the Neptunes, Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang (Koch) hustles a myriad of undeveloped coke anthems ’round a “Million Dollar Corner.” “Re-Up Gang Intro” wails triumphant on Sleepwalkers’ synth-horns and distorted vox, but…

by Chase Hoffberger

Phases and Stages

Movin’ on Up: The Music and Message of Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions 1965-1973 (Hip-O) Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions’ chapter of music history proliferates as a landmark citation even the most educated of fanatics might have missed. To the rescue arrives Movin’ on Up, a three-hour lesson in groundbreaking soul as indelible as the…

by Raoul Hernandez

Oops

In last week’s profile of filmmaker Alex Holdridge, “La La Love You,” Screens, Aug. 29, the Chronicle reported that Holdridge’s second film, Sexless, won the audience and jury awards at the Austin Film Festival in 2003. In fact, Sexless won the awards at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The Chronicle regrets the error.

by Chronicle Staff

Conspirare

The Austin choral ensemble’s new CD of Tarik O’Regan music is set to captivate the world

by Robert Faires

Headlines

• After pledging a solid $2.3 billion for an East Texas biomass plant last week, City Council skips a session, gearing up for final passage of the 2008-09 budget. See “City Hall Hustle.” • Gustav’s a pisher! The latest hurricane to threaten the Gulf gave a last-minute pass to New Orleans, although nearby towns suffered…

by Chronicle Staff

Luv Doc Recommends: Will’s Mad Hatter Boat Party

As your burnt-out lawn will attest, it was really hot and dry this summer. Thankfully, it’s almost fall. In a few more months, you may actually have to throw on some leg warmers with those hot pants and heels. It really depends on the look you’re trying to achieve with your Halloween costume. Temperature-wise it…

by The Luv Doc

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