It's been nearly five years since an appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" rocketed Alexi Murdoch's songs into Honda commercials,The O.C., and Garden State. The teen drama association doesn't do justice to the careful and serious tone of Murdoch's music, which he recorded and released independently despite multiple offers from the major labels. After a long silence since his Four Songs EP, Murdoch's 2006 full-length debut Time Without Consequence didn't pander to casual fans.... more ›

• The Bush Admin. will need a warrant with that wiretap now. Finally.
• Colbert on "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight, and us with no TV. We'll be over at 7, 'mkay?
• For maybe the first time, more American women are living without a man than with one. The NYT celebrates the occasion by photographing a woman with her cat. Why not put her in front of her spinning wheel and be done with it?

15. Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Matador) As ever, Mogwai manage to blend unadulterated post-rock weight to their shoegazer tendencies with tracks like "Glasgow Mega Snake" and "Folk Death 95," showcasing their ability to create anthems with no words. This is where Mr. Beast really shines, in between blistering chord progressions and gradual swings into corybantic climaxes. In some ways a throwback to earlier (and heavier) Mogwai material, Mr. Beast isn't merely a rock album.... more ›

THURSDAY [2] film • Austinist, PartyEnds.com, and a bunch of other folks team up to host a free screening of the Vice Guide to Travel at Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (7:30pm, Free!) fashion/party • Prototype Vintage celebrates their first anniversary on First Thursday, with snacks and beverages, DJ Little Joe, and more at Prototype Vintage (7-10pm) art • Celebrated Skin: Tatoo Art and Artists Opening at Julia C. Butridge Gallery @ DAC (6pm) art... more ›

If you're not heading over to the Parish tomorrow night after our party at Birds Barbershop, here are two excellent alternatives: The IV Thieves -- that's "4," mind you -- formerly known as Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, returned to Austin a mere week ago after a whirlwind stateside tour supporting The Pretenders. Originally hailing from the tiny village in England of Nottingham, this lovable foursome now (mostly) call Central Texas their home. They'll be... more ›

New York City indie rockers The Walkmen made it big with 2004's Bows and Arrows, an aggressive, exuberant, and borderline-theatrical production that ended up on tons of year-end "best of" lists. Over the past two years, the guys have gone through some big changes: the Harlem building housing their personal recording studio, dubbed Marcata (where B&A was born), was bought out by Columbia University, in the school's ever-accelerating expansion north of Morningside Heights. After... more ›

Below is a list of the new albums released in recent weeks. You can get most at End of an Ear or Waterloo Records. SpotlightMusic From The O.C. Mix 5 - Soundtrack (Warner Bros) Fox’s The O.C. might only be in its third season, but they’ve somehow already released five accompanying soundtracks. Their latest, aptly titled Music From The O.C. Mix 5, is thus far the best in their ever-expanding collection of indie-rock showcases:... more ›

LA's Dios (Malos) - formerly simply Dios - like drugs. A lot. A least, that's what we gather from their latest album, dios (malos), which finds lead singer Joel Morales repeating things like "I get high! / So do I!" Catchy hooks, simple lyrics and a generally sunny disposition make this record a pleasure to listen to. And while it's not terribly revolutionary nor as invigorating as their first album - we particularly like a reviewer calling them "slacker pop" - we have a hunch why they were nominated for last year's Shortlist Music Prize and were featured in one of The O.C. Soundtracks: they're a fun escape from the mundacities of our ho-hum lives. [Dios (Malos) Official Site] Members:
J.P. Cabellero - bass
Kevin Morales- guitar, vocals
Joel Morales - guitar, vocals
Jimmy Cabeza DeVaca - rhodes, keyboard, samples
Jackie Monzon - drums Latest Record:
dios (malos) , released last month by Startime International Artist Quote:
"It's weird thinking about that. My main goal is always to mix it up. Our music, it's just a melting pot. I've never been into doing what's hot. This whole retro thing's been going on a long time. Like anything retro is cool. From the mid-'90s on, like 1996-97 you had bands like Beachwood Sparks in California. Then garage rock in 2000. Then late '70s New Wave, then you got '80s. The fads right now are '83, '84. Pretty soon we'll have the "new Smiths" sound. It's already happening with Jesus & Mary Chain bands. It's getting out of control." - Joel Morales, from JunkMedia Playing At:
Stubb's
Monday, November 14th more ›

UPDATE: Tim Goodman, at the San Francisco Chronicle says,"The funniest show on television is all but dead." Come on. How could a show with a character named "Bob Loblaw" (played by the irrepressible Scott Baio) die? ! more ›

This is a post by our new contributor, Elizabeth... more ›

You might have heard that we have something in the works for all of you that don’t want to get scorched by the Texas heat or don’t have the cash to pay for 3-day passes. We are throwing our own FREE end of summer party that will feature FIVE great local bands to show how much we appreciate you, the local music fan. We will be releasing all the details shortly, but for now we... more ›

A new campaign geared to a healthier lifestyle was kicked off this week by the Austin/Travis Country Health and Human Services department. The campaign, called i thrive is a "community initiative to motivate people to make healthy lifestyle choices so they can live longer, more fulfilling lives." more ›