Local noise brokers Horse + Donkey dropped their eponymous full-length recently and this Saturday, The Hole In The Wall hosts an official CD release show to celebrate this fine collection of droning post-rock. Opener “At A Station” along with standouts “Dot Dot” and “Riddle” will be familiar to the band’s loyal fans from their live performances; the tracks blend surf rock and psychedelic guitars with wonderfully dark and echoing vocals to create a dreary haze of dissonance. It is often impossible to decipher the lyrics on Horse + Donkey but that only adds to the mystique of it all. “Things” seems to be about some impending doom, “Shoal Heirs” and “Amorous Mare” tell tales we’d love to hear with clarity, and good luck decoding the words and howls in “S.F. S.A.” or “Big End.” more ›

href="http://londonist.com/2008/02/air_bound.php"> remove one man from Gatwick.

Image credit: Nature abhors a vacuum more ›

Image by the "Subway Cyrano," from GothamistNew York City was at its strangest and swellest this week. On Sunday, tens of thousands people ran in the NYC Marathon, including Mrs. Tom Cruise, aka Katie Holmes, who ran it in just under 5 hours, 30 minutes. Gothamist also found out that limes in Corona are sometimes illegal, the weird maple syrup might be back and a famous punk music pioneer-turned-real estate broker was possibly killed by... more ›

Chinese petroleum company PetroGas set to become world's largest company by market value, surpassing ExxonMobil. Interesting gender-bender story from the Middle East... Mac users now entering the cross-hairs of the computer virus world...at least, the naughty Mac users (for shame!). Canadian study: P2P-file sharing actually INCREASES music purchasing? But how can this be?? Most Earthlings are ready to make sacrifices for the planet's environment, BBC study says. Is the next American economic recession on... more ›

You bring up the idea of “art”, and you’re definitely begging for some heated shit talking. Opinions are the first to fly, then potentially followed by epithets, then perhaps some brass knuckles. All metaphoric in form, of course. Why must these disagreements come to pass? Notorious MSG comes to mind. It could be said that this is exactly what art and artists, as functional cogs in the machines of social industry, are supposed to... more ›

Ming's Cafe (Chinese) Location: 2604 Guadalupe St. [map] Phone: (512) 476-8888 Cost: Lunch specials $6-8; Dinner dishes $6-12 Atmosphere: Clean, good tunes, comfy booths and a semi-private outdoor patio. Food: The word on the street is that Ming's is hit or miss, so we decided to check in and assess the situation. We ordered straight off the Daily Specials menu: crawfish with jalapeno black bean sauce, curry chicken with potato and the specialty spinach. We... more ›

Mars Restaurant & Bar (Asian Fusion) Location: 1400 South Congress Avenue (map) Phone: (512) 472-3901 Cost: Brunch plates $4-6 dollars Atmosphere: Sleek, modern décor; airy and sunlit; nice people-watching from the spacious deck; attentive waitstaff Food: This just in: if you wake up on the weekend with a craving for a la carte Chinese hors d’ouevres, you no longer have to travel north of the river to get them! Mars, South Congress’ newest culinary addition,... more ›

Believe It or Not: My Bloody Valentine reuniting for Coachella 2008? Last weekend, the American Psychological Association rejected a moratorium that would have prevented its member psychologists from participating in interrogations at U.S. detention centers in Guantanamo Bay and secret CIA "black sites" around the world. Venetian Macao Aims to Transform Chinese Gambling Enclave Into Full-Fledged Resort City. Leslie Feist, joined onstage by members of Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Grizzly Bear, The... more ›

Big surprise: Obama doesn't care much for "Obama Girl". Hurricane Dean was a category 5 when it hit Mexico, but settled down to a category 3. The "Daily Show" tries to recapture its cultural relevance by really and truly sending a correspondent to Iraq. Gaddafi's son wants a free media (among other reforms) in Libya. The gal who works on your nails definitely deserves a bigger tip. Rumor is Google is investing in Chinese... more ›

First things first, people: enough of this “stop shilling Emo’s all the time” nonsense! You can shout “scene/lifestyle” all you want, but the fact remains that there just aren’t many clubs downtown that attract big-time touring bands and assemble kickass local bills for under $20. Case in point: tonight’s performance by Toronto avant-punks F*cked Up. The notoriously obscurist five-piece, who write 8-minute progressive hardcore anthems about things like anarchist computer hackers and the Chinese... more ›

• Get your trans-fats now: Mayor Mike for Prez!
• Some Chinese toys are made with lead paint. Global capitalism's free-wheelin' ways still look good to you?
• What do you get when a Texas priest drives his truck into a restaurant? Not much but a sort of sad news story.

SXSW has truly built a strong reputation around the world, and every year various countries send their top-notch artists to Austin to display their nation’s talent. Scandinavia is one such area with a booming music scene. Danish band Mew and Sverige’s own Loney, Dear (Emil Svanängen) will bring their best to the festival this year. Finland, too, is doing its bit, with the Finnish Moosic Tour. Featuring punk rock from Disco Ensemble and electro-pop from... more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal... more ›

Hailing from Scotland, and pursuing melodious, riff friendly pop-rock, popup is coming to town for our beloved SXSW music festival. Their latest single, “Chinese Burn” has been blazing feverishly on our playlists lately but we would like to stop short in trying to sell them as the next big thing from across the pond, especially since NME (Issue dated 27.1.07) recently stated that Babyshambles would like popup to tour with them. And having Pete... more ›

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing. Austinist said goodbye to their co-editor (sell-out) and played rumor monger on the SXSW lineup. And when dozens of dead birds littered downtown Austin, it's... more ›

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor... more ›

Let's look back at a week in which no site in the -ist network adopted anyone from Africa... -Austinist reveled in the dumb antics of some U.T. law students and posted some great audio from former New Orleans natives who've decided to stay in Austin. But the best news for Austinist? They were voted Best Local Entertainment Web Site by the local Austin alt-weekly. Congrats, Austinist. -DCist gloried in being told their musical tastes made... more ›

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A beautiful and excited crowd politely stormed the gates of The Paramount theater Friday night to catch one of indie-rock's most unlikely superheroes, Sufjan Stevens. Arguably the most anticipated and talked-about show of the year this side of The Stones, Sufjan and his prodigious backing band provided a salivating audience of Austinites a glimpse into their corn pone mystique, and we weren't disappointed. If anything, as many questions were raised as were answered about one of recent music's most curious and potent success stories. more ›

You can blame higher rent, blame Starbucks, or blame the cheapness of college students, but Little City on Guadalupe is serving their last cup of coffee tonight when the shop -- a Drag mainstay for over ten years -- will close its doors for the last time. This west campus sidewalk café is the latest in an already high number of coffee shops that just can’t compete on the Drag anymore. Donna Taylor, owner of... more ›

Whether you go down to the local record store or shop through the Tubes, today is new release Tuesday. Birdmonster No Midnight (SpinART) Despite the rock n roll media's underwhelmed response, No Midnight is going to be the biggest indie seller this week, quite easily. Considering the fact that they gained their audience primarily through the web, and were unsigned at the start of the year, it's a pleasant surprise to see such a... more ›

Standing before thousands of screaming geeks at this weekend's 2006 San Diego Comic Con International, Quentin Tarantino announced the cast "Death Proof," one-half of a double-feature collaborative project entitled "Grindhouse" that he'll be working on with Austin director Robert Rodriquez. From wiki: A "grindhouse" is an American term for a theater that showed exploitation films; it is also used as an adjective to describe the genre of films that played in such theatres. While just... more ›

THURSDAY [13] [art] Opening reception for new work by Jeffrey Dell and Marjorie Moore at d berman gallery (Free, 6-8pm) (link) [music] The Paper Chase, Billy Nayer Show, Hello Lovers, the Snake Trap at Emo's (link) [music] Powerman 5000 and Powderburn at the Parish (link) [music] Yellowman at Flamingo Cantina (link) [music] Butch Hancock at Cactus Café (Through Thursday) (link) [music] Goodbye Stranger, Manager's Choice, Surrender Avenue at Trophy's ($4, 9pm) (link) [art] Luke Savisky... more ›

That dish to the right looks pretty damn amazing, but you're not gonna find this particular establishment anywhere near Town Lake: Bubba's Texas-Style Bar-B-Que & Saloon just opened last month in Shanghai, China, and our intrepid brethren at Shanghaiist went over to have a looksee. more ›

MONDAY [10] [music] Rancid, Street Dogs, Complete Control at Emo's (link) [music/party] End of an Ear and XL Recordings presents a special midnight sale and listening party for Thom Yorke’s The Eraser, with loads of giveaways! Plus, hear new albums from Peaches, Sufjan Stevens and others at Emo's Lounge (Free, 10pm-1am) (link) [music] Girls' Tribute to Clifford Antone with Marcia Ball, Angela Strehil, Lou Ann Barton, Toni Price, Carolyn Wonderland, and Eve Monsee at Antone's... more ›

Sampaist is on the scene in São Paulo beginning this week, becomin the only Ist south of the Equator. Editor Leandro M. Pinto leads the paulistanos down there. You can protest someone at his office, sure, but when the whistle blows at the end of the day can you follow him home? D.C. has sports fans, apparently, and elephants aren't really cut out for zoos. There's this trick where you can read information from a... more ›

It's a mad, mad workd out there, folks. And here's the proof... SFist commenters pose for before and aftershocks when the mayor commemorates a 1906 earthquake...at 4:30 in the morning. A hot tip on the Chronicle vending machines comes in and the SFist war correspondent risks life and limb to post this dispatch from the frontlines. Houstonist announces their new Cops spinoff "World's Funniest Tazer Videos" and the possible cancellation of their pervs' "World's Grossest... more ›

• The UT football team picked up another highly touted recruit, a 6-4, 305-lb.offensive lineman. One thing: he's only a junior in high school.
• When the Pope speaks, we do our best to understand him. This weekend, he called for an "honourable solution" to the Iran nuclear disagreements in an effort to bring about World Peace.
• Last week, our favorite President George Jr. met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. There were several things on their agenda to discuss.
• This morning, many homosexual parents and their children will participate in the annual White House Egg Roll. We think that this is a great way to show off your sexual orientation. And fun for the kids, too!
• Some priests think they can get away with murder. A Priest is on trial this week as he is accused of the murder of a nun over 25 years years ago that apparently involved Satantic Ritual.
• The Department of Homeland Security released a report recently that criticises the way that FEMA dealt with natural disasters last year, especially hurricanes. The agency was apparently pre-occupied with potential acts of terrorism and overlooking the immediate needs of many Americans.
• Australopithecus anamensis, you know, that guy. Well, his remains were found in Ethiopia and they fill a really important gap in the study on evolution.
• Today begins the fifth effort of the Texas Legislature to come up with a solution for school funding. We are hoping they can get something accomplished during this Special Session, or well before we decide to have children.
• Still unsure of what to do with your life? We are. Consider this list of the Top 50 Jobs in America. Being s Surgeon sure looks appealing.
• So now Katie Holmes is a Scientologist and she's not going to get a giant pacifier. more ›