Item: The organizers at SXSW have responded to years of complaints about long lines and short notice by dramatically revising the wristband system for the 2008 festival. 4,000 wristbands priced at $139 are reserved exclusively for Austinites and will be distributed via an online lottery system that commences at 9am on Thursday, February 21st. There is a four-day period for sign-up, then the festival will let the winners know they've been selected shortly thereafter. All registrants must live in the Austin area - a credit card with an Austin metro area billing zip code will be required (this generously stretches as far as San Marcos, Georgetown, and Taylor). One can purchase two wristbands, but one of them must be for the purchaser...and the recipient of the second one must be named when placing an order....

This week’s installment of Music Mondays at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz is all country, all the way. You’re Looking at Country, a film that shares the name of a Loretta Lynn song, is a look back on that golden age of country and western music when George Jones, Johnny Cash, and their ilk ruled the airwaves and parlayed their fame into television spots and even shows. Dolly Parton, one of SXSW’s most anticipated performers, also makes appearances in the film, as does Lynn and many, many more....

The list is here....

This year's SXSW Music lineup seems to be taking shape a bit more quickly than last year, as bands have taken it upon themselves to announce showcases publicly before the official list release by SX organizers. This is a departure from prior years, but since festival officials aren't complaining, we assume they're happy to let the hype build as the acts trickle in. This week's top twelve additions:...

That's right: it's time to heat up your winter nights again, with the 14th season of FronteraFest. The Short Fringe, the Long Fringe, or Mi Casa es su Teatro -- FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre presented by Hyde Park Theatre and Austin Script Works. For complete FronteraFest 2007 information, including times and locations for the Short Fringe, the Long Fringe and Mi Casa es su Teatro,......

If it’s true that every music writer wishes they were a musician – and we can say from personal experience that it probably is – then it is apparently also true that “every musician wishes they were in a cover band.” Such are the words of Aaron Miller, guitarist for Friday After Dark and the brains behind the quirky gala being held at Club DeVille on Sunday night. What started as an oddball idea for......

Tire-wielding bass-quackers, teddy bears, Kung Fu, rock music and a little Hamlet. This makes up the world of The Assumption—a super-fun, playfully random, wholly modern deviation on the Bard’s most famous tragedy from Refraction Arts. The show starts from the moment you arrive, greeted by box office staff with Yosemite Sam Southern accents and a tendency to drop “fuck” into most of their sentences. You’re not allowed into the theatre, but one of these......

BOY-O-RAMAShorts Screens: Wednesday, October 4th at 7pm Shorts include Seeing You in Circles (21 min), Intervention, The (15 min), Peking Turkey (13 min), nyc 2057ad (2 min), Available Men (15 min), Boy Wonder (12 min), Cabalerno (5 min), Davy and Stu (13 min) [info] [tickets] GypoDrama, Dir. Jan Dunn, 2005 Screens: Wednesday, October 4th at 7:15pm "Jan Dunn's emotionally charged debut feature Gypo, tells the story of Helen (well-known British actor Pauline McLynn) and......

[The following is an editorial column by contributor Alison Coffey and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Austinist staff. --The Editors] In the tradition of Neal Pollack's Salon.com Grammy's post, I've decided to take us on a live tour of this year's Academy Awards, minute by minute, hour by hour, boring acceptance speech by boring acceptance speech. Well, I hope not, but odds are, the acceptance speeches are going to be boring.......