For years, Austin has been the subject of magazine polls where dubious statistics are paraded out to prove that our city is the best place for you-name-it: young professionals to date, young non-professionals to nurse a hangover with an artisanal bacon doughnut, a pampered pet to land a job in the tech industry, etc. Either the world finally started taking this go-to feature for any ad rag trying to scrounge up text to go alongside a Jared ad to heart, or word has crept out more organically. more ›

The Storycorps MobileBooth will be spending a month in Austin--the audio recording trailer will be parked in front of the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum from January 6 through February 5. Storycorps is a nonprofit that works to collect diverse oral histories from folks nationwide. Interviews that are made through this Storycorps stop may be aired on KUT or NPR and become part of the collection of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. If you've ever listened to NPR's Morning Edition on Fridays, you've likely heard a Storycorps interview. more ›

• If you didn’t get tickets to the Fleet Foxes show tomorrow at Stubb’s, you can just watch it on NPR's livestream! Score!
• If you were thinking about subscribing to satellite radio just to listen to “Willie’s Place” don’t bother, because it’s (mostly) gone.
• There was actual jousting that took place in Austin earlier this month!

• Following the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, people gathered to celebrate outside of Former President Bush’s current home in the Dallas area.
• NPR is streaming the new Okkervil River album. It sounds darker and more grown-up than their previous work.
• Farmers and small food makers want to be able to more easily sell their products to consumers. (This change might even make it easier to get your hands on raw milk.)

• All of a sudden Moammar Gaddafi cares about the civilians?
• According to the International Nuclear Events Scale, Chernobyl was a 7 and Japan's is a 5.
• House of Reps votes to cut NPR funding.

• Legal battles soon to come from foreclosure debacle.
• Obama administration wins temporary appeal: DADT is back in play, for now.
• Human rights activists worried for safety of some Uganda citizens after newspaper there published names of 100 alleged homosexuals and called for them to be hanged.

• Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is gonna have to pay $1,000 for taking a gun into a bar.
• As the variety of delicious foodstuffs you can get from mobile venues in Austin continues to expand, we’re secretly starting to wonder if people are opening up the most absurd combo they can imagine. Most recent entry: Philly cheesesteak in a double-decker bus!
• Another story about how difficult it is to be a kid in the foster care system in Texas. Note the detail about the girls being goaded into fighting with the promise of “after-school snacks.”

While she first achieved recognition for her guitar and vocal work in indie rock band Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein has quietly become something of a renaissance woman in recent years. She's worked as a feature writer for The Believer magazine, pursued musical projects like The Spells, worked as a actress in independent film, and still has time for a day job writing and doing commentary about music for NPR on her Monitor Mix blog. Given her interests, it shouldn't surprise you that she's also a SXSW regular. We talked with Brownstein by phone on Friday about South By Southwest - and little else.

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It’s a blessing living in a city with a radio station which offers consistent, quality music programming. But, when it comes time for SXSW, that fact doesn’t make things any easier for you. Rather, you just have that many more amazing choices for live music. There are worse things in this world though, seriously. more ›

Today brought some big news from NPR - the public radio broadcaster will return to SXSW in 2010 for two stacked showcases for festival attendees that are sure to be a tough ticket. On Wednesday evening, March 17, NPR kicks off night one of SXSW music at Stubb's BBQ (just after the Austinist/WOXY/BMI party wraps up across the street!) with Austin's Spoon, followed by performances from modern soul legends Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Seattle's Visqueen, The Walkmen, and the Danger Mouse/Shins side project Broken Bells in their live debut. more ›

As we mentioned earlier this week, Spoon definitely have their Springtime plates full with Transference media duties. The band will headline Stubb's during SXSW, but before that, they'll be doing a smattering of Austin performances that you'll have to plan in advance to attend. The Waterloo instore (which is rumored to be taking place in the parking lot) happens on January 25 at 4 p.m. Before that, they'll be at KGSR's studios to do a lounge performance for a live audience at noon. Tune in to KGSR next week at 8:20 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. to get details on that -- or just register at KGSR.com to register. more ›

Spoon are hometown heroes in Austin, even if most of the band are now living in Oregon and Kansas. After headlining three nights there in July, Spoon will return to the main stage at Stubb's BBQ on Wednesday, March 17 to headline the NPR showcase at South By Southwest 2010. The concert will be streamed online on NPR's site and will also be simulcast on 90.5 KUT. more ›

Darling New Neighbors won NPR's contest to create a jingle for Carrie Brownstein's Monitor Mix. Listen to it here. more ›

A respected American humorist, writer, and frequent panelist on NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me, Roy Blount Jr.'s career spans nearly two dozen books (most recently, Long Time Leaving: Dispatches From Up South) and clips in publications far and wide, from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Esquire and Sports Illustrated. He's coming to Austin next week to participate in the live taping of "Wait Wait" at Bass Concert Hall on Thursday, and will also be around the evening before to deliver a special presentation for the Writers' League of Texas. more ›

If you missed the CD release show last weekend for Loxsly's Tomorrow's Fossils, you can get an idea of the record over at KUT today -- "Battalions" is the Song of the Day. Grab it here. more ›

American forces in Afghanistan: Gen. David D. McKiernan out, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal is in. American soldier kills five fellow servicemen at a combat stress clinic in Baghdad. Love among the ruins of Sichuan. During his visit, Pope disappoints many residents of the Holy Land with his lack of specifics. NPR's Adam Davidson argues with bailout monitor Elizabeth Warren. Florida's Governor Crist wants to be Senator Crist. Aziz Ansari on the great IMAX swindle. more ›

n a top 40 world, Austin is a proudly NPR town, so tonight should be a special treat for many of us who enjoy the popular radio show “This American Life.” Tonight only you can catch a live HD simulcast of the show at movie theaters around town. Glass will be there hosting the show, and contributors will include regulars like Starlee Kine, sex columnist Dan Savage, and the hilarious Mike Birbiglia, among others. more ›

Austin label End Sounds has put together a big party to kick off SX music. On Tuesday, 3/17, Red 7 will host Madball, Death In The Park, Reign Supreme, Mike Herrera's Tumbledown, Call To Preserve, True Widow, Bitter End, The Escape Frame, and an ad hoc Minor Threat cover band featuring Zach Blair, Luke Abbey, Frank Carter, and Sam Ghanbar. The show is open to the public and cover is $10. more ›

Tarak McLain, a seven-year-old from Austin, so impressed the producer of NPR's , Sunday, Jan. 18, when it plays on KUT from 7am-9am, or listen to the show online afterwards. [This I Believe] more ›

Paul McCartney's collaboration with producer and founding member of Killing Joke Youth began as an electronic experiment in the early '90s. Their first two releases, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (1993) and Rushes (1998) were largely instrumental experiments, unacknowledged by McCartney himself. This year's Electric Arguments is a different beast - coming on the heels of McCartney's departure from Starbucks' Hear Music label, as well as a brutal public divorce, the album is direct in ways that restores our faith in rock monoliths. The first Fireman album in ten years, its songs are punchy, rockin' and out, paying subtle homage to everyone from Tom Waits ("Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight") to Brian Eno ("Lovers In a Dream"). more ›

American global dominance is expected to decrease in coming years; China, Russia and India may challenge US influence. Attorney General Mukasey collapsed during a speech last night. Verizon workers sneaked a peek at Obama's old cell phone records. We should know Hillary Clinton's status in the Obama administration later today. Maybe. Sarah Palin pardons one turkey, while another unfortunate turkey faces a different fate behind her comments afterward. Best cranberry relish recipe ever? Say it ain't so, ABC! Pushing Daisies cancelled. more ›

The new Riverboat Gamblers album, Underneath the Owl, doesn't come out until March 2009, but SPIN is offering a free download of the single, "A Choppy, Yet Sincere Apology." more ›

Michele Norris, host of NPR's All Things Considered, will be in town next week. The Mary Alice Distinguished Lectureship, William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Visiting Professionals and the School of Journalism at UT Austin are sponsoring her lecture titled "Listening to America in an Election Year: Did the Press Get it Right?" Her lecture next Thursday is free and open to the public. more ›

Thursday Flamingo Cantina takes a break from bringing in bands like The Skatalites and Israel Vibration. Instead, for this free day show they will host the shimmering and sentimental, Swedish alt rock of the Shout Out Louds. You’ll also hear the catchy California rock of Rogue Wave and the love song sing-alongs and quirky experiments of Akron/Family. Sub Pop’s Portland drums-and-guitar duo The Helio Sequence come prepared with spacey indie rock prettiness, and Fleet Foxes are set to impress with charming guitars and melodic tones. Expect a thrilling display from Athens’ psych-folk collective Elf Power. more ›

Primary results from national/state/local races: So even though it seems that Hillary won the Texas primary (it's interesting that Obama led in statewide early voting), Obama may beat her in delegate numbers. In the GOP race, McCain is now the GOP candidate as Huckabee gives up the ghost. In Travis County, Ron Paul won 17% of the vote . . . more ›

SXSW has announced the schedule of events for this year’s official showcases -- start here! Also, check out Greg Hewgill's site for (unofficial) Torrents featuring the various artists playing SXSW 2008 (as well as past years). more ›

• Sex toys are no longer illegal in Texas; federal appeals court overturns the ban.
• McCain adviser tells NPR that if Obama is the Democratic nominee, he won't keep working on McCain's campaign.
• Decapitation wire placed by someone on US/Mexico border fence.

Photo by Herald H. Schoeder courtesty of Essay RecordingsSHANTEL What’s the Deal: Finally, some club music that doesn’t make you want to club yourself for being so easily convinced into going “clubbing.” In case you missed them on NPR’s All Songs Considered, which everyone should be listening to, Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar is comprised of German electronica master Shantel and an ensemble of Balkan sounds. The result of this mix of electronic beats and... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors I don’t want to say that there’s a right way and a wrong way to celebrate The Holidays. That would be foolhardy and dickish. Especially in a city as diversified as this one (we celebrate Christmas AND Thanksgiving!). But something this chick was crying about on NPR this morning got me thinking... more ›

Image from www.kut.orgBefore you get too bogged down with finals, papers, end-of-the-semester projects, etc., you might consider this for next semester: KUT is currently taking applications for their Spring Break/SxSW Intern Program. Interns in this program will undergo an intensive week-long audio journalism training program under guidance from KUT and NPR staff. KUT is looking for two student journalists to cover Film and three to cover Music during the SxSW Festival. You must be at... more ›