Tonight will be a welcoming party, of sorts, at Mohawk - Sophia Knapp of the band Lights recently relocated to Austin from New York and it will be interesting to see how she integrates herself into the indie scene here. Lights was formed six years ago from a chance meeting in an art supply store; the small Language of Stone label released their self-titled debut in 2008, and have signed to Drag City for Rites, a collision of fuzz-wrapped, overdriven guitars, slinky backbeats and vocal harmonies somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and Ut. Initiated by guitarist Sophia Knapp and drummer Linnea Shults, what was a quartet/quintet (featuring former White Magic bassist Adam McLeod) is now a trio and, ironically, with a tightened format they have captured a much larger and more explosive sound. more ›

Sophia Knapp began dipping into songwriting in secret; her main affiliation was with the visual arts, a passion she explored through painting and collage. But thanks to a chance meeting with another music-loving visual artist, Knapp began working with sound more seriously, and with the band Lights she and her partners plumb their own combination of freak-funk. The band signed to Drag City for the release of last year’s Rites, and in anticipation of their show on Friday at the Mohawk, Knapp spoke with us about her beginnings and recent move to Austin. more ›

Bill Callahan, the staring-into-the-void force behind Smog, has been at the forefront of the lo-fi scene since the early 90s. Although Smog’s music was highly personal and bore Callahan’s signature cold vocals and dolorous lyrics, this year’s warmly lauded Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle is only the second album released under his own name. Touching upon his on-again, off-again relationship with darkness, it not only features some of the best lyrical lines of 2009 (“I used to be sort of blind but now I can sort of see”), but more than fully justifies his movement away from lo-fi instrumentals through his most supple arrangements yet. more ›

• Doh! Don’t rob the mayor of a small town! He won’t be happy about it, and he’ll really want the cops to catch you.
• Do you know a real, no-nonsense girl who rides horses, and who is between the ages of 12 and 16? If so, you might want to tell her about this casting call for the lead role in a Coen Brothers movie. Squee!
• Pitchfork covers Fun Fun Fun Fest! (They liked it, they really liked it!)

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

The huge ACL balloon lights up in the evenings, wonderful nightlight for music lovers. more ›

*Editor's Note: Every Wednesday, we will be bringing you a set of photographs taken by our photo essay staff. Any opinions conveyed via the photographs or commentary are those of the essayist and are not representative of Austinist as a whole.* more ›

It's not official yet, but yesterday evening Nikke Finke reported on her blog that NBC is making a deal with DirecTV to keep airing critically-acclaimed and locally-filmed Friday Night Lights. more ›

"Unfortunately, no one watches it": NBC's head entertainment honcho seems pessimistic about the chances of a third season of Austin-filmed Friday Night Lights. KLRU's Tom Spencer to head up Austin Area Interreligious Ministries. All of the City's diesel fleet will soon run on bio-diesel. 17-year-old charged with two counts of sexual assault on the Texas State campus. more ›

On the show, KXAN's Chief Weathercaster warns of a tornado approaching the fictional town of Dillon, TX. The episode spoiler reveals that a rival high school is subsequently damaged by the twister, forcing both teams to share Laribee High's weight room, football field and lockers. Antics doubtlessly ensue. more ›

Woman who had worked as pharmacist for the CVS on Riverside had fake documents. 60 soldiers who had been serving in Iraq for over a year return home to Ft. Hood for the holidays. Look what our city might be gifted: a 60-foot saxophone sculpture! more ›

Photos from this weekend's inaugural Santa Speedo Run, which took place during the Trail of Lights 5K. Check out triman's blog recap for more about this festive fundraiser for Out Youth. more ›

Photo by jmtimages on flickr Help out: Volunteers needed to take people with mobility issues through the Trail of Lights. Austin/Travis County EMS asks people to not block the driveways at fire and ambulance stations; it's not against the law, but it does slow their response to emergencies. The NY Times thinks the Justice Dept. needs to take a look at the Texas Youth Commission. Body of murder victim's mom found in San Marcos. Jerry... more ›

Photos from opening night of the Trail of Lights in Zilker Park. Visit the city's Trail of Lights events page to find out about the various festivities taking place this year. Photos courtesy of Keith Gaddis. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.... more ›

Achilles' Last Stand: Led Zeppelin to play gig this evening in London for the first time in decades in honor of deceased Atlantic record mogul Ahmet Ertegun. Show is rumored to be their last. US President hopeful Mike Huckabee appears to be gaining ground, which is quite interesting considering his shockingly inhumane views on carriers of the HIV virus, for example. Another interest rate cut expected by the Fed to counter-balance more sub-prime mortgage... more ›

Photo by Northern Transplant on flickr The Trail of Lights will open this Sunday evening. Suspicious black powder sent to office at Ninth and Congress today. Looks like vice chancellor and dean of agriculture Elsa Murano will soon be A&M's first female president. The former TEA science director forced out for forwarding an email on evolution thinks she is now unemployable. Will the upcoming strip club "tax" affect the Alamo Drafthouse? The Texas Comptroller's office... more ›

Photo by The Chaninator™ on flickr Travis County officials hope to extradite former UT student from Peru; in 1996, her drunk driving led to the death of her passenger. Attorney General Greg Abbott's office collected $2.3 billion in child support last (fiscal) year. Chief Acevedo to decide today if any disciplinary action will be taken against Sgt. Olsen for the death of Kevin Brown earlier this year. Secretary of Defense Gates visited Fort Hood this... more ›

Photo courtesy austinsantaspeedorun.com Santa Speedo Run at Trail of Lights 5kSaturday, December 8Zilker Park6pm[info]During next weekend's Trail of Lights 5k Run, Zilker Park's festive arrangement of lighted scenes won't be the only eye candy on display. Some steely individuals will get together to participate in Austin's first annual Santa Speedo Run, wearing, as you might have guessed, nothing but the trademark Lycra swim briefs. It's all in the name of good fun, while (informally) fundraising... more ›

Image from nbc.comAustin's favorite high-school football drama, Friday Night Lights, could be changing networks. Radar is reporting that ESPN is in talks to bring the critically-acclaimed, but little-watched, show into its lineup of original programming. Friday Night Lights, which follows the lives of the fictional Dillon High School Panthers, films in and around Austin. Despite winning critical awards and having a loyal following, the show has moved time slots three times and has struggled in... more ›

Image from Myspace; Photo by Colin Smith The Ponys + Chin Up Chin UpWednesday November 14The Mohawk (912 Red River)Doors at 9pm, Free![info] [The Ponys MySpace] [Chin Up Chin Up MySpace]Chicago's The Ponys traffic in post-punk and dark overtones, and have been tirelessly touring the club circuit for years. The band have recently opened for both Spoon and Bloc Party, but are now headlining their own fall trek through the South. Their latest work Turn... more ›

As Austinist's music staff were preparing for Fun Fun Fun Fest coverage, we realized that many of the festival's headliners had kindly spoken to us for interviews over the last year or two. For any of you who may have missed the original pieces, or for those who have recently discovered these fine acts, a recap and links are presented below. Explosions In The Sky - Saturday, 8:40pm, Stage One: Austin's Explosions In The Sky... more ›

Connie Britton, of Friday Night Lights fame, appeared earlier this week on the Late Show with David Letterman. Dave brought up filming in Austin and she discussed Keeping Austin Weird. They also had a lengthy conversation about Leslie, whom she couldn't recall by name, as well as her interactions with our actual mayor.... more ›

Have you been missing out on NBC's Friday Night Lights? Did last season's Wednesday night showing time not gel with your schedule? Well, we're going to give you five reasons why you should make time to watch this award-winning, but low rated, show. 1. The show is filmed in Austin. Local landmarks show up on the show, from EZ's in the opening credits to the Dairy Queen on Manor (where Matt works) to Brackenridge Hospital... more ›

As Fantastic Fest kicks off tonight, Austinist will be bringing you previews of films playing at the festival. We begin today with Wendigo director Larry Fessenden's latest, The Last Winter. An interesting yet practical genre mash-up, the film is an eco-horror piece concerning the fate of an oil crew who are damaging the environment in rural Alaska. There's no serial killer here: the antagonist(?) is actually the planet, which begins to fight back when... more ›

You know how Texas has those new Film Incentives dollars to throw around now? Well, they're not limited to movies and Friday Night Lights only. The gaming industry gets a piece of that, too. And since there are over 50 gaming studios already in Austin (not to mention the availability of increasingly slick development/programming courses) it's a given that gaming will continue to blow up here in the Capitol City. But all that's a major... more ›

ACL Previews Interview: Ghostland Observatory Previews: The Broken West, Big Sam’s Funky Nation & Rose Hill Drive Previews: Billy Joe Shaver and Fionn Regan Previews: Brandon Rhyder and Ocote Soul Sounds Interview: The Broken West Previews: Sylvia St. James, Jeffrey Steele, and Amy Cook Interview: Bloc Party ACL Fest Updates: Google Mashup, Contests, Eco-Chic Previews: Augustana, Amos Lee Interview: Peter, Bjorn, and John ACL Band Clash, Round 3: Wilco Vs My Morning Jacket Travis... more ›

David Owen has an interesting article in last week's New Yorker (the Aug. 20 issue - only the abstract is online) discussing light pollution. The bottom line is that leaving the lights on all the time (mainly streetlights and building-exterior lights) not only brightens the night sky, but is also economically wasteful, environmentally damaging and probably causes cancer. It also doesn't decrease crime or have any other real benefits. Lights like the "glare bomb"... more ›

ACL Previews Austinist Launches Dedicated ACL Page! Preview: Manchester Orchestra and Patterson Hood Preview: Ian Ball and the Little Ones Interview: Paolo Nutini ACL Band Clash, Round 2: The Killers Vs. Björk Weekly Features Tales Of Mere Existence Hots On #9: Sound Off New Release Tuesday: Frisell's Floratone The Argyle Academy New Movie Releases: The Invasion, Superbad, Death at a Funeral, and More Truesday: Friesday The Laurie Show News, Features, and More Travis County... more ›

The Invasion Kidman stars in this remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While some might argue that this particular sacred cow does not need a remake, others might argue that a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that was first directed by the German guy who made the fantastic Der Untergang, and then meddled with post-production by the Wachowski Brothers, is a totally different story. Monstruous and beautiful hybrid, we hail you. [Trailer]... more ›