• Tragic. An unresponsive infant was found in a parked car today, later pronounced dead.
• Do you have an extra-large dog crate or some towels you aren’t using? The Austin Humane Society could use your help taking care of the 150-plus dogs who were just rescued from a Bastrop home.
• One of the women from The Real Housewives of New York visits The Big D. Sadly, the actual part where she “visited” with fans doesn’t sound like much fun.

• Wanna vote in the November Elections? This is your last day to register!
• Teen video game whiz from the 80’s tells what it was like back in the day.
• Keeping Austin weird: Frankenstein done by puppets!

Charged with the bittersweet task of christening the orange stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest, The Laughing - whom many still remember as a band with a fetish/fondness for plush toys and neon - did their best to disabuse audiences of that recollection, playing up beat-based compositions lacking in either face paint or saxophone. The band is sharper this metamorphosis around, with a heavy emphasis on drums. more ›

It might not be a total surprise that one of the underground debut records of the year is a volatile stew of insistent, young and charged vocals, driving guitar and churning, turn-on-a-dime rhythms. It's the stuff that garage, punk and hard-rock legends are made of. But it might be unprecedented that it's a recently-uncovered and nearly 35-year-old recording made by a band that disappeared from the radar screen almost as soon as it popped up. more ›

• Is it just us, or does a bank robber fleeing by bike—and making a clean getaway-- seem totally out of place in Houston? In the ATX, you might blend-in while riding a bike, but in H-town?
• Look at the 85 comments on this Statesman story on the closing of the Zilker lawn after ACL! This is an issue that Austin totally cares about!
• That Austin Chronicle cover-art of Bob Schneider is actually a self-portrait. Who knew?

Tickets go on sale today at the brand new Fun Fun Fun Fest Web site. For two weeks, early birds can get a weekend pass for $67.50 or a PIP (Pretty Important Person) pass for $135. more ›

Two weeks ago my friend Scott died suddenly. Two days ago my friend Charlie also died suddenly. I’d been mostly out of touch with both of them—Scott for a couple of years and Charlie for a couple of decades save for his trip here last spring for SXSW, when we reunited over Ethiopian food along with Chad, whose wife died suddenly five years ago. Chad and Charlie and Scott and I were all, I think, born in 1964, making us not terribly old. But perhaps, as some friends have speculated aloud upon hearing news of these deaths—and I have speculated, too—it’s getting to be “that time.” That time being, of course, when news of dying peers is going to become more common. more ›

In the early 70s, brothers David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney started a band in their Detroit garage. Fed by a healthy rotation of Alice Cooper, the Stooges and Black Sabbath, the trio recorded a demo under the moniker of DEATH. The demo saw a bit of radio play, and eventually caught the attention of Clive Davis of Columbia records. more ›

Satch died in my arms yesterday. Today is the seventy-ninth anniversary of my father’s birth. And while I have already written beyond extensively about my father’s life—namely our horrible relationship—and my oldest dog’s life (and waiting for his death), I’m not quite finished with all that yet. Living with Satch was, at times, like living with my father. There were vast differences, of course—for one, Satch was slavishly dedicated to me, eager for my time and attention, at the ready with a wag far more often than not. And yet, like my father, Satch was difficult, randomly aggressive, tenacious to a fault, not interested in putting things down, and extremely bossy with the rest of the pack. He snapped unpredictably, and in the end that snapping extended to me—twice in the past few weeks he came close to biting me. more ›

At 7:30 this morning a motorist noticed a lifeless body on the roof of the 64-car train passing by Oltorf Street. The train was en route to from San Antonio to Hearne and was stopped by police shortly after the 911 call. Expect Oltorf Street between Lamar and South First to be closed until the investigation is closed -- police believe the road may re-open by noon. more ›

This is what SXSW free day parties are all about. Twelve bands, two venues, and short sets so that you can see as much as you can stomach. Forcefield and Terrorbird are having their blow-out at Emo’s and Emo’s Jr. on the first day of SXSW, kicking things off with quite a bang. more ›

Watching the presidential primary unfold these last few weeks, the thought has often occurred to us: "When will Obama and Clinton shut up about saving the people of Darfur from displacement and genocide, and start talking about the important stuff, like plaigarized speeches and superdelegates?" Haven't had the same reaction? Tonight, a very different kind of politics will be on display at the B. Iden Payne Theatre at the University of Texas. Our city will play host to one of the great voices for democracy and social justice in post-colonial Africa. more ›

Once upon a time there was a Virginian noise-pop band called Skywave, who released a tidy avalanche of washed-out fuzz-rock singles and one full-length before calling it a day in 2004. Bassist Oliver Ackerman moved to New York to form A Place To Bury Strangers and build custom guitar pedals under the banner Death By Audio, while co-Skywavers Paul Baker and John Fedowitz formed the similar-minded Ceremony and stayed behind to hold it down in Fredericksburg, VA. Skywave (and to some extent its offspring) engaged in post-psychedelic guitar mangling of the My Bloody Slowdive Chain 500 variety, featuring massively distorted guitar chords recorded inside the world’s largest underground parking garage, slamming drum machine beats, and vocal performances so completely humorless they might have been (but probably weren’t) a put-on. Seeing as how bands featuring former Skywave members are currently the talk of the town, we've put all three bands' records head-to-head to see what’s what: more ›

It's no surprise that Sex, Death, Cassette was released on Asthmatic Kitty. Multi-faceted and experimental yet easily accessible, Rafter matches its label-mates in quirky, humble pop. more ›

Death and the King's Horseman is a complex drama based on a true story. When an African king dies, tribal tradition dictates that his horseman commit suicide in order to guide his leader to heaven. But a British colonial ruler stops the process, causing "disruption of the cosmic order of the universe and thus [putting] the wellbeing and future of the tribe in doubt" (Wikipedia). It's heady stuff, and we have no doubt this production will be thought-provoking and intense. more ›

Skating, art and music has always been a big part of Warren McKinney’s life. The Austinite is sharing his passion for all three this weekend during Art on Deck, a special exhibit of rare skateboards, a skate demo and concerts at United States Art Authority. more ›

Modern art can baffle and delight, and sometimes leave you wondering, "What in the what was that artist thinking?" more ›

Our Indieroke night returns this Tuesday to The Mohawk. What started out as a one-off fling with rock stardom has turned into a monthly gathering of like-minded folks craving that fleeting moment of exhilaration. If you haven’t made it to one yet, we strongly recommend getting there in a timely fashion to get your name and song on the list early…and often. (You know who you are!) We will have multiple song list books going forward to ease that pain. more ›

Do you ever think as the hearse goes by, that you will be the next to die? more ›

Austinist Present IndieRoke
Wednesday, January 9th
The Mohawk (912 Red River)
10pm-2am, free
[info]