Maggie Gallant knows that there are two kinds of people in the world - those who understand their favorite band as a spiritual force that communicate important things about life to those listeners who are truly prepared to hear them, and those who don't know anything about anything. more ›

This Canadian trio have made what might one of the most perfect records of 2008 with Come Into My House, and album inspired equally by Janet Jackson, Sufjan Stevens and Arthur Russell. Utilizing charmingly off-kilter vocal harmonies, thick bass lines and brash instrumentation (not to mention the bassoon solos, esoteric time signatures, and Cher-inspired warble-effect vocals), No Kids have crafted one of the most interesting albums we've heard in a long while. The band earned a grant from the Canadian government to work on the record, and brought in an additional 9 musicians to bring the cinematic landscapes they hear in their minds to life. Although tracks like "The Beaches are Closed" smack of '90s R&B (think Usher reminiscing about a girl who dressed sexy at a party, forcing him to sing to a rain-soaked window to his own reflection later that night), it doesn't at all stink of irony. Gorgeous strings layered over the crackling drum machine and the sweet harmonies sing praises to a genre often deemed joke-worthy, demonstrating the elegance inherent therein. "Bluster in the Air" employs a muted horn section ripped straight from a smoky jazz bar, "I Love the Weekend" is a love letter to Brazilian pop and jazz master Dom Um Romão, and "Neighbor's Party" kind of reminds us of Sufjan, but in the way that Sufjan reminds us of the Cure's unabashed pop musings, such as "Close to Me." There's really not enough time to fully describe what to expect out of this one, you'll have to try it for yourself. more ›

Image from Electric Six’s MySpace, by Alicia Gbur Electric Six, The Willowz, & We Are The FuryThursday, November 29Emos (603 Red River St)$10 | Doors 9 p.m.[info] | [tickets] | [Electric Six MySpace] | [The Willowz MySpace] | [We Are The Fury MySpace]After moseying around in the Motor City in the late 90’s as The Wildbunch, Detroit’s dance-rock outfit Electric Six released their breakthrough single “Danger! High Voltage” in 2001 under their current moniker. The... 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 ›

Spoon (6:30pm): So here's the thing about Spoon: they're a studio band. And on record, they're pretty much bulletproof for this decade. But the band also have a deserved reputation as a sometimes shaky live act, and such was the case for the show's beginning today. Britt Daniel and the band emerged without opening music or much ceremony, plowing right into a half-dozen tracks from new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But they... more ›

UPDATE: NME is also reporting that Muse will play at Stubb's on Sunday night, we'll have details as they emerge. A lot of this might be old news for ticket holders who have been scurrying around trying to figure out how they're going to be compensated for their White Stripes @ Stubb's tickets, but it's true: Muse's performance has been moved up, and they will now occupy the White Stripes' slot, while the rest... more ›

New Yorker Leona ("Queen of Mean") Helmsley seals her fate as a heartless biatch by leaving $12 million, the majority of her will, to her dog. Lindsay Lohan checklist: Coke possession. Check. Arrested. Check. Sex Scene? Check! With his last official day of work approaching this Friday, Karl Rove's car got Saran Wrapped and slapped with an I Heart Obama sticker. Straight out of the 18th century--drug dealer gets tarred, feathered while holding a... 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 ›

Thursday, June 28 artOpening Reception for Whitney Lee: Power Craft at Women and Their Work, 1710 Lavaca Street (6-8pm) artOpen House Work Viewing at Atelier 3-D, 2209 Pasadena Drive (4-10pm) artArtistic License: Josefina Guilisasti at The Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress Ave (Free, 6-8pm) booksAmanda Eyre Ward presents Forgive Me at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyPat Dixon with Brendon Walsh at Cap City Comedy Club comedyParallelogramophonograph with special guests Look Cookie at ColdTowne Theater (8pm)... more ›

*The views expressed in Foodie Friday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist (and quite often our readership) as a whole. Ahh, the subjective nature of tastebuds.* -The Editors Growing up in Williamson County, culinary choice was abundant. If you wanted homestyle cooking, you could drive west on 620 to Pass the Bis'kits, Please, where you might be presented with a chicken fried steak and a - you guessed it -... more ›

Oh, Morrissey. Back in the summer of 1991, we drove up from San Antonio to (the former) City Coliseum to see your Kill Uncle tour, only to be met in the parking lot by some guy with a bullhorn saying the show was canceled due to "inadequate security." Unable to drink away our sorrows due to age, we settled for a truly inadequate substitute of seeing City Slickers and buying some licorice. After a... more ›

Okkervil River's long-suffered plan to perform with a string and horns section came to fruition on Saturday night at Hogg Auditorium. The band performed songs from their upcoming album (due sometime this year) as well as familiar favorites such as "A King and a Queen" and "So Come Back, I Am Waiting", and even surprised the audience with a cover of The Fugs' 1966 waltz-like song about hunger pains and knowledge, "I Want to... more ›

FRIDAY [16] music •Of Montreal, Elekibass, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist at Emo's (outside) music •Those Peabodys, Ume, Oh, Beast!, El Paso Hot Button at Emo's music •Spank Dance Company, Hello Lovers at Emo's Lounge music •Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa music •Long John Thomas & The Duff, Bellfuries, Eddie Clendening & The Blue Ribbon Boys, The Aquasonics at Continental Club music •Bruce Robison at Cactus Café (9pm,... more ›

THURSDAY [8] film • Austin Film Festival screens an archival 35mm print of Trading Places, with screenwriter Herschel Weingrod (Trading Places, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Brewster's Millions, Space Jam) introducing the film, at Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (7:30pm, $4 General, Free for AFF Members, "Prince and Pauper"-style menu) books • Dalton Gang Poetry Showdown with Ric Williams, Lyman Grant, W. Joe Hoppe and Rob Lewis at Intellectual Property (6:00pm) film • Love Bites, the 80s... more ›

After taking last week off because we were sure SXSW would release their master plan, we now return as there seems to be no end in sight to the band list embargo. Many indie labels and some marquee acts have simply announced their appearances, as bands attempt to book routing shows in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, or elsewhere to make their long drives worthwhile. The lack of info has started to get the press... more ›

The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) is joining forces with Progress Coffee tonight to host a special screening of last year's My Gay Movie competition. As you might recall, aGLIFF invited amateur filmmakers from around the world to submit 10-minute shorts with a "queer sensibility." Out of hundreds of entries, a select few have been chosen to debut tonight, with various prizes to be given out: Hunter4Love -- Robert L. Camina --... more ›

The Golden Globes are not the most esteemed of the arts awards, but their nominations can sometimes be a sign of what films/people/TV shows will be nominated for Oscars and Emmys. If you are into that kind of thing, you probably already picked your favorites when the nominations were announced Thursday morning. more ›

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward... more ›

Students from The University of Texas RTF Department will be showcasing work tonight from their East Austin Stories project. The student filmmakers have collaborated with the community to develop short documentaries in and about East Austin. Film subjects include two-time Grammy winner Ruben Ramos, restaurant owner Nubian Queen Lo-la, the letter-writing campaign of Sanchez Elementary to save local restaurant Las Manitas, respected porcelain artist Sungyong Chung, LBJ High School, family-owned and operated Kings-Tears mortuary, and... more ›

Man, somewhere along the way we killed anthemic stadium rock, or at least ran it six feet into the ground with overexposure and under-talented hair ripoffs. But don't you wish we could resurrect Queen and T-Rex and and ask them to share (and fucking shread) an Austin stage for just one magical night of robust, raunchy riffs, reminding us rock fans what we're supposed to do and how we're supposed to do it? And... more ›

When you see Damien Brockmann strolling down Congress Avenue, tip your hat, or at least offer a salute nestled somewhere between the Queen's wave and Truman Capote's famed fingers-to-forehead wrist-flick. Why? Because Citizen Damien has been tirelessly laboring to rescue America from its fekockteh political scene. Lucky for us, he's intent on saving Austin first, and doing it by offering up a new website called BillHop.com. A wiki/blog/safe haven for political junkees, the site tracks... more ›

As a follow-up to the $200k special a few weeks ago, this week's column focuses on houses around $700k. Here are this weeks listings: 621 St. George Street, Gonzales, TX - $699,000. 6,000 square feet. Built in 1895. So, this house isn't in "Austin" or "all that close." WHATEV. It is totally awesome. Move to Gonzales, lure small children into one of the two turrets of your Queen Anne Victorian mansion, and bake them... more ›

It took ten years for ex-Sunny Day Real Estate front man Jeremy Enigk to release a follow-up to his first solo album, Return Of The Frog Queen - and it's been well worth the wait. Though not as grandiose as its predecessor, World Waits (released through Enigk's own Lewis Hollow Records) combines all the best bits of Enigk's various projects. And though it doesn't cover much new musical ground, World Waits will definitely please fans... more ›

Good news: Texan lawmakers propose package of sweeping reforms, important enough to hit the national section of the New York Times! Bad news: Said reforms are all aimed toward stripping illegal immigrants of their rights and humanity. Oh, well. We might soon be able to recharge our wireless devices wirelessly (that means no more fighting over outlets at Starbucks). Is there anything Nikola Tesla can't do? iPhone. Surprised? Queen Elizabeth has promised to visit... more ›

The Horrors – The Horrors EP Coming straight outta the swampy backwaters of, erm, London art school…hm, let’s start over. Not to be confused with the US Horrors, who play the same excessively raw neo-proto-punk but don’t get any press because they live in Iowa, these London delinquents split the difference, both visually and aurally, between Edward Gorey’s Victorian grotesques and Elvis in Jailhouse Rock. There’s no doubt that The Horrors are well-connected—how else do... more ›

Blood Brothers – Young Machetes The Blood Brothers maintain an unusually large and fabulous place in today's glutted art-punk market; where the majority of floppy-haired guitar-waifs wail about shards of glass coating their hearts over Punk 101 power chords, the Brothers are more apt to lace their post-hardcore slash and burn with Queen keyboards and falsetto vocals about car crashes. True to form, this record is shriller than a sack of drowning kittens, but unlike... more ›

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... more ›

The Rapture have made a decent career out of pretending to defy expectations while giving its audience just what they wanted all along. In 2002 they were just another gritty post-punk group laying snarly guitar lines on top of hyperreal dance beats, but the release of 2003’s Echoes, and its attendant club smash "House Of Jealous Lovers", propelled them to the forefront of the scene everyone was expecting to save rock and roll. The scene... more ›

We don’t know what you’re doing Saturday afternoon but we’re going to a birthday party for the Queen of Thailand and you’re totally invited. Chef and all-around culinary superstar, Dr. Foo Swasdee, is celebrating both the queen's birthday and the grand opening of her new outdoor garden and patio at Satay Restaurant featuring Thai classical dance, Thai music, complimentary Thai tapas and a cash bar. Now stop sitting around this house complaining about not... more ›

THURSDAY [27] [music] Diplo, CSS, Blonde de Role at The Parish Room LINK [fashion] Summer party with cocktails and music for Austin designer Mark Joiner, maker of some decidedly fabulous belt buckles and mod housewares at Eliza Page (7-10pm) LINK [theatre] "Petra's Cuento" at Dougherty Arts Center (8pm) LINK [theatre] "In On It" at Off Center (8pm, $17) LINK [theatre] Edward Albee's "The Play About the Baby" at play! Theatre (8pm, $10) LINK [theatre] "Radio:... more ›