Remember when Tony Soprano trips on peyote on the outskirts of Vegas? That’s what this video for Shapes Have Fangs‘ excellent “The Desert” reminds OTR of.

Apparently, it was directed by Austin Psych Fest historian Oswald James on abandoned Western film sets in the Chihuahuan Desert, which straddles the border between Texas and Mexico. SHF’s long-awaited debut LP, Dinner in the Dark, drops early next year through the Reverb Appreciation Society.

Around the time of the Chronicle‘s hip-hop report, “This Time Just the Girls,” Chelsea Hernandez posted this insightful mini-documentary on KB the Boo Bonic, arguably the scene’s leading lady. It’s worth your time.

Kudos to the folks over at the AV Club. For the latest installment in the Onion‘s Holiday Undercover series, Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater covers Randy Newman’s “God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind).” It’s unsurprisingly depressing, but on plus side, there’s fake snow and plenty of Christmas lights to go around. Check it out here.

This article appears in December 10 • 2010.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US