As development of our popular music landscape gets increasingly complex and a little overcrowded, the simplicity and purity of golden era punk - groups like The Clash, Buzzcocks, Ramones and Sex Pistols - risks being overlooked by the rising generations. What better way to get reintroduce and remind everyone of the energy of songs like “London Calling,” “God Save the Queen” and “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” than in a live setting? And, since the original members of these groups are largely either no longer living or in different shades of disarray, the next best thing is a spirited cover tribute. Austin rock and rollers Electric Touch are doing just that, a special punk tribute show, touching on the music of all the aforementioned bands and more, tonight, July 12th at Mohawk. You can pump your fists, shout the same choruses that have echoed through concert halls and dives since the 70s and 80s, and enjoy DJ sets and drink specials. Btw, the show is free. more ›

The release of 30 celebrates that many years since the Buzzcocks first release, Another Music in a Different Kitchen. In 1978, their arrival solidified the punk movement begun in earnest with The Sex Pistols just a year before, but while The Sex Pistols exemplified the gritty, rebellious side of the genre, Buzzcocks were the prototypes of pop-punk, setting the stage for all of the good and the bad that was to come later. As punk came, went, and metamorphosed, so did the careers of the original Buzzcocks. Howard Devoto, later of Magazine, left the band after just their first single, and as their solid seventies line-up went their different ways after the band first called it quits in 1981, Buzzcocks started up again with two new members in 1993 with Trade Test Transmissions, and haven’t let up since. more ›

University of Florida journalism student provokes John Kerry, gets Tasered by campus cops. A 10-year-old boy has woken up with a posh English accent after undergoing life-saving brain surgery. Betty Perry is charged with resisting arrest and failing to maintain her landscaping, both misdemeanors. Fed up with the threats, tired of natural disasters, Nebraska's longest-serving state senator is using his legal muscle against who he says is the culprit - God. State Sen. Ernie... more ›

Bad Brains Build a Nation (Mega Force) It's been a decade since the proper Bad Brains lineup released a proper studio album, and Build a Nation finds the group just as furious as ever. Produced by the Beastie Boys's Adam Yauch, Nation is reminiscent of I Against I-era BB, and the album's songs are split pretty evenly between hardcore and reggae, as you might expect. For those uninitiated, the release of another full-length by... more ›

Sometimes, no matter how much we loathe certain bands, we can't deny their importance and influence. Attitude and intent can often be more important than substance, and in the case of the Sex Pistols, their nihilistic rejection of "pompous authority" actually became their substance. Their earliest live shows set off a chain reaction of influence that would birth some of the most important bands, producers and labels in the UK's punk, new wave and rock... more ›

Believe it or not, Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon’s sixth solo record. His third since leaving the band, LTAIS boasts crunching guitar hooks and sparkling pop-rock along with a plethora of downtrodden, forlorn ballads. As the title of the album suggests, Coxon tackles the fluctuating fortunes of love and the struggles of being smitten. Lyrics like "When I saw you / my life turned so beautiful / I never met no one like you before” in “Tell It Like It Is” lead to “You came into my life and then you disappear / And when I reach out ‘cause I want to hold you near / There’s nobody here” later in the song, seemingly summing up the gist of Coxon’s laments. more ›

Targeting two dozen establishments around the country, nonprofit music licensing outfit ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) today issued a slew of lawsuits against nightclubs, bars and restaurants for alleged copyright infringements. The two Austin bars targeted were Spill (Sixth Street) and Nasty's (near UT), both now accused of playing "copyrighted works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without gaining permission, resulting in lost income for the writers and... more ›

In recent years the UK has supplied an otherwise apathetic American audience with sensational rock bands, of such intensity that one might pronounce this decade the renaissance of New Wave Britrock. Or not. These virile ejaculations so recently spewed forth from the fertile loins of the Queen's Land include The Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, and the Futureheads. Among those whom we adore, consider British Sea Power: a troupe of five young lads from Brighton, England.... more ›