Hard-Fi - Once Upon A Time In The West (Atlantic): Not all rock music has to be serious. Our first thought was that this album was slickly overproduced to the point where it was impossible to be objective. But this was followed by the notion that it would sound great in the car. Trying again there, we found an album that jumps out of the speakers with beats pilfered from 90's Manchester bands, guitars straight......

We knew it would happen. After an unseasonably cool June and July, August is here, and it's hot. It's clearly time to eat a ginormous salad. This is what we're having: Jo's Cobb is surprisingly delicious. You could douse Grandma Winslow's hand in the tamari dressing at Mother's and I'd nibble on it. Hence, the side salad there is to die for by default. (Editor's note: While Mother's recovers from a little incident they......

MONDAY [23] books • David Sedaris at The Paramount Theatre books • Bill Bradley presents The New American Story at BookPeople (7:30pm) art • Artistic License: WorkSpace Artist Jedediah Caesar at the Blanton Museum of Art at The Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress (Included with Museum Admission, 6-7pm) comedy • "Funniest Person in Austin" Contest, Hosted By Mario DiGiorgio (Winner 1999)" at Cap City Comedy Club dance • The Whirling Dervishes at......

SXSW today announced an exciting new contest they're sponsoring with director Robert Rodriguez, in anticipation of the upcoming Rodriguez-Tarantino double feature, Grindhouse. Filmmakers are invited to submit their best "grindhouse trailers" for a fictional feature-length film, in the same vein as those being made by celebrity directors Eli Roth and Rob Zombie. Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) himself will judge the best submissions and share these at a......

WEDNESDAY [13] food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road (10am-2pm) film • Terror Storm with Alex Jones Live at Alamo South (7pm) film • AFS Doc. Tour: The Trials of Darryl Hunt at Alamo Drafthouse (7pm, $4 members, $6 non) ® film • Once Upon a Time in Mexico at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • Get Carter at Spider House (9pm, Free) film • AICN......

M O N D A Y [ 7 ] TV · Screenings of episodes from Twin Peaks and Carnivale, with free popcorn! At Beerland (Free, 7pm) music · Pre-Election Day Party at Stubb's, with the Blues Crawlers, Daniel Kang, Booher/Davis, Pompeii and Roma 79 (10pm) music · Elizabeth McQueen and Jason Roberts at Threadgills (Free, 8pm) film · "The T.A.M.I. Show", documenting the 1964 Teenage Awards Music International - footage includes The Rolling Stones, The......