Longtime Eklektikos DJ John Aielli recently recovered from a heart attack earlier this month, but we received news that Aielli is in the hospital this morning. Our contact at KUT says, "We are in touch with John and he is alert and in typical good spirits...The main thing is he’s OK, we’re in contact with him and we hope he returns soon." more ›

Even though most of America has turned down the volume on their radios long ago and pressed play on their iPods, community radio is still chugging along in an age where digital music was supposed to have killed the radio star. Luckily, for us in Austin, we still have the brave and adventurous programming of KOOP radio. If you've never tuned in KOOP, you've been missing out on a tremendous amount of noise, avant-jazz, neo-classical, reggae, and progressive talk radio. more ›

The last decade has been a particularly good one for Austin, musically speaking. The city continues to attract some of the best talent to play its venues; several of our hometown heroes have achieved national and international prominence, and the ever expanding diversity and reach of our four major music festivals continue to demonstrate our city’s dedication and passion for the art form. more ›

The Radio Television Digital News Association has awarded two National Edward R. Murrow awards to KUT News. The public radio station's first national Murrow awards are for the "hard news" story Doctors on Healthcare (reported by Nathan Bernier) and the "audio news" series on the end of the space shuttle program. Since the News program at KUT was established in 2002, they've garnered 26 regional Murrow awards. The complete list of the 2011 National Murrow awardwinners is here. more ›

• Why the spectacle of the Super Bowl is a snapshot of our society, aka a "pop culture nexus point."
• Quelle horreur! There weren’t seats for some of the Super Bowl ticket holders! This is ironic, given that it totally wasn’t a problem getting a seat at the first Super Bowl.
• Looking at the Super Bowl commercials with the crazy idea that women are people.

For the better part of two decades, Austin's KGSR has been producing the Broadcasts CD series - a one-off run of highlights from the station's in-studio and on-air performances that is pressed each November as a souvenir of the year in music for Austin-area fans. The catch with the series is that it isn't for profit - all proceeds are donated to the SIMS Foundation, which provides mental heath services to the Austin musician community and their families. The discs started as a limited edition of just a few thousand, but have now grown in popularity to the point that 22,000 2-disc sets were produced this fall. We recently spoke to KGSR's Andy Langer, part of the team producing and curating this year's Broadcasts project, to discuss the changes, challenges, and highlights of this year's edition.

more ›

Austin is too cool to stay under the radar forever… right? That’s the question that creator Al Letson and the producers of State of the Re:Union, an online and public radio show, are attempting to answer in their latest episode entitled Austin: Growing Pains. more ›

Last Friday and Saturday, the Long Center hosted Jason Neulander’s pitch-perfect homage to sci-fi pulp and Weird Tales-inspired radio dramas, The Intergalactic Nemesis. We’re glad they did, it was totally nuts and a ton of fun. more ›

UT student radio station KVRX, 91.7 FM is having a benefit event at Karibou Ethiopian restaurant on April 9. The community-supported station will be raising money for their upcoming digital archiving project, which will preserve the hundreds of incredible live performances they've recorded over the years. more ›

Less than a year after moving to Austin from Ohio, popular internet radio station WOXY.com has closed. The station went silent around 9 am today, and a note on the station's website read: "Due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding for WOXY's operations, we've been forced to suspend our live broadcasts as of March 23rd. We're continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive." more ›

• Governor Perry issues a legal challenge contesting the idea that greenhouse gasses are bad for people.
• The Texas Supreme Court will be hearing the case about how “exotic dancing” is free speech. If so, then a $5 tax (per strip-club patron) violates the First Amendment. (Maybe they’re thinking that the Constitution includes the right to bare anything you want?)
• Austin's ubergamer Richard Garriott launches a new social-networking game company!

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 ›

Power 92 isn't the only Internet station to find a home in Austin. In September of 2009, Ohio's WOXY.com moved to South Austin. WOXY broadcasts 24/7 and concentrates on independent rock and roll. more ›

The two were discussing the ongoing Zilker Park mud issue when O'Keefe made a suggestion along the lines of, "Why don't they just go hire some wet vacs at Home Depot?" more ›

Fred Cantu and Michelle Valles' early morning news program on KEYE-TV is being canceled, the station announced today. In its place, KEYE will begin broadcasting a live feed from Mix 94.7's JB and Sandy in the Morning radio show. more ›

WOXY, the popular internet radio station currently based in Ohio, will be setting up shop in Austin in September. WOXY started using its current alternative/modern rock format in 1983, began an internet stream in 1998, and went internet-only in 2004. The current DJs are making the move to our town, with Austinist's own Paige Maguire joining the staff as Director of Marketing and Development. The station will be operating out of the Austin Theater building on South Congress; the plan is to have HD video of their Lounge Act sessions up by the first of October. [woxy.com: Austin FAQ] more ›

• Man tries to hide his baggie where the sun don't shine during strip search at Travis County Jail, police make him take a laxative.
• Taylor man arrested for housing 277 pot plants (as well as illegal firearms) on his property.
• Manor High School student tries to sell pot in class.

How will George W. Bush's presidency be treated by history? Sunday morning at 11am, KUT's "Best of Public Radio" will air a co-production of the radio station and ' Frank Rich, LBJ's daughter Luci Baines Johnson, and former Bush staffer Daniel Bartlett, among many others. [KUT] more ›

Southern California's KCRW (home of Morning Becomes Eclectic) has announced their SXSW showcase, taking place at Buffalo Billiards on Wednesday evening. The lineup is solid, featuring experi-psych darlings School of Seven Bells, as well as Port O'Brien, Ida Maria, Other Lives, Boat People and Angus & Julia Stone. 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 ›

As part of KUT's 50th anniversary celebration, BBC has been in town since Monday doing their live show, . Yesterday they were on the air from UT's Communications Courtyard, discussing capital punishment, when KLRU's Docubloggers found them. They will be in town through Friday - their show is airing throughout the week at noon on KUT. more ›

World-famous radio station WFMU made a special appearance in Austin this past Monday when the weekly show Sound and Safe with Trent roadtripped its way into a south Austin back yard. WFMU has a long history of creatively unhinged musical programs, beginning its broadcasts in 1958 and more lately enlisting the DJ talents of notables including Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, Matador records main man Gerard Cosloy, author Irwin Chusid, etc. more ›

Preview Okkervil River's new album, The Stand Ins, at their MySpace, where you can listen to "Lost Coastlines." more ›

The University of Texas’ student-run radio frequency 91.7 KVRX dropped their latest compendium The Technicolor Yawn as part of a tradition of releases featuring both local and international artists who have stepped into their studios to perform live. More ambitious with each passing year, this, the twelfth volume in the series, combines both a cd and dvd to present an unmistakable impression of Austin as a city that continually pulls in upcoming and noteworthy talent from all over the world while also fostering an ever-evolving and impressive local scene. more ›

The Radio-Television News Directors Association's 2008 Regional Edward R. Murrow award-winners were announced yesterday. Texas and Oklahoma share Region 6, and some of our local news broadcasters cleaned up. more ›

Arson may have damaged the studio that housed 91.7’s KOOP Radio, but they, and the Austin community at large, will be damned if they let the station go without a fight. Another benefit is happening this Saturday, presented by Church of the Friendly Ghost and Commercial Suicide, and taking the shape of Rick Reed’s 6th installment of the Toneburst series. Begun about two years ago, Toneburst is billed as “new and unusual experimental music from Austin and beyond...” and this will be its first show in The Salvage Vanguard Theater. more ›

Emo’s Free Week has come and gone, but the venue and the city march on with a buffet of mouth-watering shows available for consumption tonight. Eclectic beats from Dan Deacon pace Emo’s inside stage (as a part of the Ultimate Reality Tour) while Steamroller, She Craves, Killer Crocs of Uganda, and The Banner Year rock Emo’s Lounge. more ›

For the third time in two years, community based public radio station KOOP 91.7 fm has suffered a studio fire that has put a halt to programming. more ›

Andy Langer is Austin's nearly ubiquitous multimedia music journalist. In the past, he's worked for both The Austin Chronicle and KUT. He now hosts music news segments on News 8 Austin, writes a column for Esquire magazine, and appears on both KSGR and KROX radio on Thursday mornings. Now, after twelve years of (also) hosting 101X's Sunday new music program The Next Big Thing, Langer is migrating to a prime weekday evening spot at KGSR. His show will air Monday-Friday from 6 to 10pm, immediately following Jody Denberg's drive-time broadcast. Though KSGR's format is pretty flexible for AAA, it's a big change for the guy who's been playing lots of loud indie, Britrock, electronica, and lo-fi material at KROX. We spoke with Langer yesterday about the changes to his radio job, and he had a lot to tell us more ›

When Built By Snow contacted us via MySpace to share their love of The Beatles and Weezer, we were admittedly intrigued by what these local lads are capable of. It’s not everyday we get a message from an act about having the same two favorite bands as us. Noise, Built By Snow’s debut EP, appeared in our mail in due time and we discovered a talented act with catchy tunes that land somewhere between The Rentals and Ozma with a dash of Weezer mixed in. more ›