White Shoes & the Couples Company are rumored to be coming in from Indonesia (via) for SXSW 2008. The band, formed in 2002, is inspired by Indonesian films of the '70s and retro disco beats, as well as classic '30s jazz. They recently signed to Minty Fresh, and we predict 2008 as their break-out year, provided they roll into town with a couple of good shows booked....

Shilla offers delicious beef and pork bulgogi, tabletop barbecuing for marinated ribs and the like, and whole broiled mackerel. Shilla also offers sushi that, while not exactly top-tier, is fresh and better than we expected....

Photo by cote on flickr Fans of creepy, overpriced and sort of socially awkward grocery shopping will be disappointed to read that after weeks of redesigning, adding more people to the store employee rosters, doubling the checkout lanes and stocking shelves with the kind of stuff most of us have become accustomed to buying, H-E-B is ready to re-open two Albertsons stores that had mysteriously remained open under the quirky Albertsons brands into the new......

Photo of Girl Talk by Davisayer on FlickrFun Fun Fun Fest lived up to its name in spades last weekend, showcasing local and not-so local bands of all genres on three stages in two short days. Day one included local acts White Denim, Brothers and Sisters and Okkervil River, as well as touring acts like Neurosis, Final Fantasy, of Montreal and Girl Talk. Last year's event was a success, albeit overshadowed by too-cool temperatures and......

This time, Liars didn’t catch us off-guard. Whereas 2006’s Drum’s Not Dead came prepackaged with low to no expectations—a result of 2004’s nearly unlistenable and critically panned They Were Wrong, So We Drowned—yet managed to stun and satisfy with its deliberate grittiness and an art-house-from-hell approach to the concept album, this new release of theirs, Liars, is blessed with no such reprieve. Liars is an honest attempt to recreate the razor-like precision of Drum’s Not......

Taking their name from a Jack Kerouac poem, Rail Road Earth combines elements of bluegrass, rock and roll, jazz, and Celtic music with extensive forays into improvisation. Fans of Astral Weeks era Van Morrison and No Depression Americana will be delightfully pleased when the band takes the stage at ACL on Saturday afternoon at the WaMu Stage. Rail Road Earth Sparta, NJ Latest Release: Elko Hotel Double Live Saturday the 15th, 3:15 p.m., WaMu Stage......

The New Pornographers Challengers (Matador) Once in a while, you walk into a bar, and you order a martini. You know what a martini is, you've drank dozens of martinis in your life. Maybe you have a martini recipe you make at home and particularly love. Maybe you're even the sort of person who can say smart things about the differences in various gins. But, on occasion, you order a martini, and it's not just......

In the latest issue of Newsweek, "admission officials, educational consultants, students, parents and college and university leaders" were questioned to find the best American colleges in specific fields. The Top 25 Listing included topics such as Hottest Sports Fans (Florida), Hottest in the War on Terror (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) and Hottest for Loving the Outdoors (St. Mary's College of Maryland). Individual achievements by various UT professors and the efforts of Teach......

Stay tuned this week for full-length review of the latest New Pornographers and Rilo Kiley albums. Caribou Andorra (Merge) Dan Snaith's project formerly known as Manitoba is the realization of a degree in mathematics, numerous electronic gadgets and a nothing if not agile companionship between the past and the present. Though Andorra is the product of Snaith's deft handling of quite modern equipment, the feeling of listening is more nostalgic than expectant. "Melody Day,"......

The Carousel Lounge is hosting a night of mysterious, dark and definitely dense music tomorrow in the form of a couple of reclusive Texas bands. Headdress (formerly Worship) specialize in predominately instrumental songs thick with echo, space and traditional elements. Fans of Dirty Three will like the band's latest album, Turquoise, a dark, brooding jaunt into a dimly lit motel room on the edge of some southwestern town. Each note and every carefully chosen guitar......

Update: Saturday's scrimmage has been canceled because of heavy rains and forecasts of more in the Austin area. However, the autograph session is still slated to begin at 11 a.m. at the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center. More details at the Texas football website. The Texas Longhorns will run through a final preseason scrimmage on Saturday morning, then hold their annual Fan Appreciation Day. The scrimmage, which is open to the public, begins at 7:30 a.m.......

1990s Cookies (Rough Trade/World's Fair) The 1990s "play music like a blond gets out of a car." This, we assume based on listening, means something like, "Our sound is snotty, a little fucked up on we-don't-remember-what, and always f-u-n." While John McKeown (Yummy Fur) won't make any news showing his knickers to paparazzi during a limo exit, he will succeed in promoting the display of everyone else's underthings on the dance floor, as Cookies......

Bishop Allen The Broken String (Dead Oceans) So, the Brooklyn-based (man, it gets tiring typing that out every week) blog band Bishop Allen are a sort of east coast Voxtrot in that they've wet the pop-frenzied masses with a series of well-received EPs over the last couple of years. Instead of releasing an album full of highly anticipated new material, however, they've polished a bunch of old tracks (and previously only available live songs)......

Salvador Rey (vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute) and Alex Llovet (keyboards, samples, drums) have been forging ahead in the Spanish pop scene with their unique brand of electro-pop since 2004, and in that time, they've acquired quite the following. Fans of the Pizzicato Five here in the States will love them for their brisk attention to detail, the fusion of '60s bossa nova with modern day cartoon-ish charm, and those who lean more towards British......

We talked about Ryan Adams' latest full-length, Easy Tiger , just recently: The album is truly an Adams Tex-Mex combo meal: an entrée of Heartbreaker, Gold, and Cold Roses with a side of Rock’N’Roll ... Fans will really like this record, while newcomers might ask someone to recommend the five best tracks to download (we’d start with “These Girls,” “Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.,” and “Everybody Knows.”) If you're an old school fan or......

In our ongoing efforts to make it as easy and intuitive for you folks to see just what's going on around town, today we're pleased to launch the newest version of our Weekly IST List. Instead of appearing on the front page with the rest of our daily articles, the Weekly IST List now has its own dedicated place on the site: you can access it through the navigation menu at the top, or......

Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger (Lost Highway): We like Ryan Adams: he’s witty, annoying, moody, talented, and 100% rock star. It’s unfortunate, then, that his output is so often uneven. Like a poster child for iPod album editing, Adams throws a handful of gems on each album, then adds lots of C+ songs with gratuitous swearing and purposefully off-key vocals. Easy Tiger isn’t the complete return to glory that early press suggested, but it......

As Independence Day approaches, it's tough not to think of patios, grilling, and fireworks. This weekend will find half the city decamping to visit family and friends elsewhere and the other half of us running around buying meats, beers, wines, and chips for our mid-week July 4th celebration. In the spirit of the holiday, we've selected six American wines from California and Oregon that are each classic examples of both their grape and the......

Fridge The Sun (Temporary Residence) Kieran Hebden, Adem and Sam Jeffers have been working hard since 2001's Happiness, though perhaps not with each other. Hebden's Four Tet is almost as prolific as Prefuse spin-offs, and Adem has released one of the greatest folk-pop albums of the decade with Love & Other Planets (2006). Jeffers is no slouch, working hard in the graphic design and web industry, as well as continuing his musical aspirations. As......

This morning marks the release of the ACL 2007 schedule grid. This is probably the most stressful day of the year for the avid ACL festivalgoer, as hopes of seeing every act one likes are dashed when seeing how many of your favorite bands are playing at the exact same time. It's impossible to program such a big festival without a couple of conflicts, but three stand out to us this year as particularly......

There are times when it is difficult to look at a band without thinking of what might have been, and Son Volt is undoubtedly one of them. When the wildly influential alt.country group Uncle Tupelo disbanded into two camps, Son Volt was one resulting act. The other was Wilco. In 1995, the Jay Farrar-led Son Volt released their debut album Trace, one of the best albums of the 1990's bar none. At the time,......

- If you are one of the many in the South Austin area who feel that downtown is hogging all of the good wine bars, take heart. Central Market's Westgate location has actually opened a wine and cheese bar in the middle of their store. The bar, dubbed A22, will feature a rotating mix of 16 wines by the glass, along with approximately 25 cheeses. Both wine and cheese flights will be available, and......

We know what you're thinking. Weren't The Shins just here last month at the same venue? And weren't they at Stubb's in September, and at ACL? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. But success means new fans, and the #2 Billboard debut of Wincing The Night Away has led to a headlining spot on the MTVu tour of college towns - thus, the Shins play Austin for the fourth time in a year......

When Austin's newest Chick-fil-A opens its doors this Thursday, it's planning on handing out $26,000 in free food to the first hundred adults eagerly salivating in line. "We have given away more than $4.2 million in free Chick-fil-A food since we launched the 'First 100 Fans' promotion in 2003 to celebrate each grand opening," boasted Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy, the Willy Wonka of breaded poultry. "It's our way of thanking our raving fans who have......

Blanton Museum is hosting their monthly B Scene art party tonight, and Austin's own My Education will be providing their gorgeous sound to the festivities. If you're not familiar with them, they sound like the perfect marriage between Dirty Three and Sigur Ros, with a little Do Make Say Think sprinkled on top for good measure. Fans of Popol Vuh, Red Sparrowes and Gastr Del Sol will also find plenty to sink their teeth......

Hipsters, take note. The gauzy and gloomy melodies of Baltimore duo Beach House are coming to Emo's this Sunday. After an 8.1 review in Pitchfork and raves from the music bloggerati, this group is quite the flavor of the month. If you've not yet heard this band, Mazzy Star is a good jumping off point. The songs are spacey, minimal, and accented with pretty guitar lines, church organs, and female vocals. It is no......

BackstageDrama, Dir. Emmanuelle Bercot, 2005 Screens: Monday, October 2nd at 7pm "In a world relentlessly tuned in to “American Idol” and the daily lives of the TomKats and Bennifers, the universal obsession with celebrity can cross the line into fanaticism. In keeping with the times, Emmanuelle Bercot’s stunning feature directorial debut explores the psyches of both the star and her adoring fan to reveal a troubling view on the world of celebrity worship and......

Fans of the indie-rock will find much to like in the latest concert update. Flying V lovers My Morning Jacket, the willfully obtuse Fiery Furnaces, and alt.country godfather Jay Farrar have each been added to Austin's fall music schedule. As we've mentioned, the sheer volume of shows is unprecedented, so get out and enjoy the fact that every band you like is coming to town in the next two months. Thanks as always to......

Is it a coincidence that one day after The University of Texas is named #1 Party School In The Nation, the school offers a campaign aimed at tackling drunk and inappropriate fan behavior? Because, in a few days when the defending National Champion Texas Longhorns take the field to defend their title against North Texas, you, your buddies and that obnoxious frat boy behind you will be asked to be a little nicer when a)......

Anyone who saw Jersey Girl could see Kevin Smith's struggle with moving away from his decade-long relationship with New Jersey malcontents and underachievers. The comedy had left his writing, and what remained felt anonymous and, well, uninteresting. Smith's decision to follow up with Clerks II seemed like a pretty bad idea: how could he revisit his cult classic without ruining it? Well, he went for it, and it all worked out just fine. Clerks......