Photo by Marina Chavez; Image from MySpace. The Hold Steady + Art BrutThursday, November 15La Zona Rosa (612 W. 4th Street)$21 Advance, $23 Day Of Show[info] | [tickets]Brooklyn's The Hold Steady may well be America's best bar band. Their 2006 release Boys and Girls In America made Austinist's 2006 top albums list (and everyone else's) by combining sharp lyrical wit, meat and potatoes power chords, and dry vocals that the listener either loves or hates.... more ›

15. Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Matador) As ever, Mogwai manage to blend unadulterated post-rock weight to their shoegazer tendencies with tracks like "Glasgow Mega Snake" and "Folk Death 95," showcasing their ability to create anthems with no words. This is where Mr. Beast really shines, in between blistering chord progressions and gradual swings into corybantic climaxes. In some ways a throwback to earlier (and heavier) Mogwai material, Mr. Beast isn't merely a rock album.... more ›

In America, we rock summertime barbeque. Hamburgers, ribs and the sacrosanct tofu pup all roast under our fair dominion. But soups are not quite within the purview. Austin's very own authority on the subject is trying to change that. His name is David Ansel, known to many as The Soup Peddler. He rose to fame locally in 2002 by delivering homemade soup to residents of Bouldin Creek (atop a yellow bicycle, of course, with... more ›

An 80-year old passenger on an American Airlines flight originating in Austin apparently got disoriented as the plane neared its destination of Los Angeles. He got out of his seat and pushed a stewardess. Then he made his biggest mistake: he wandered into first class. more ›

Congratulations to Dina Bonazzoli and Andrew Fogelsong, each who won a copy of Goldfrapp's Supernature in our giveaway contest yesterday. Today, we're giving away a special prize package, coinciding with The Sounds' show at Emo's this Sunday (with Morningwood and Action Action). more ›

In America's post-war period marked by seemingly limitless technological advances, science-fiction radio serials dominated the airwaves. Families gathered to hear dramatically narrated tales of astonishing foreign worlds, populated with heroic space cowboys and insidious alien overlords. In some ways it was almost better than watching a movie; supplied with colorful, gorgeously effusive dialogue and then-impressive sound effects, you were free to envision the stories in your mind. Some of these serials - The Adventures of Superman and Journey Into Space, for example - were hugely popular, enjoying lengthy runs on the radio. Most famously, Orson Welles' broadcast of The War of the Worlds was so convincing in its authenticity that many listeners believed the tale of a Martian invasion of Earth was actually taking place. more ›

We approached the State Theater’s latest production with a bit of skepticism, as we saw an inherent difficulty in trying to translate this book to the stage. “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America,” struck the American social and literary scene with force seven years ago. Written by journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, the book examined, with outrage and indignancy, the sad fate of many of the millions of women around the country who... more ›