They drink Brains, they support Cardiff City FC, and they don’t give a fuck. Best of all, the Super Furry Animals churn out off-kilter psychedelic pop at a prolific rate. Despite having put out eight stellar full-lengths in fifteen years (a couple of those accompanied by simultaneous DVD releases as well), the act is still somewhat under-appreciated, especially outside their home island. Their talent is boundless, their music all over the place yet melodious, and their shows are often enhanced with video medleys as the backdrop, including the clips of that adorable Golden Retriever that accompany, well, "Golden Retriever."...

Smarter than Tyler Florence and cuter than Mario Batali, the thinking foodie's older man crush — Anthony Bourdain — chatted with a sold out audience at the Paramount last Saturday. At once charming and challenging, cynical and optimistic about the state of food and travel, the audience was walked through "The World According to Tony Bourdain" for an hour an a half - and he didn't disappoint. Bourdain on stage is no different than his......

THURSDAY [31] music • Scion Live Metro presents GZA, Fyre Department at The Parish Room (FREE, RSVP before 5pm!) art • Opening Reception: George Krause: The Elizabeth Portraits & Other Works at d berman gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St (6-8pm) books • Douglas Brinkley presents The Reagan Diaries at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Russ Nagel, "America's Funniest Biker," with Trey Galyon at Cap City Comedy Club film • "Notorious" at The Paramount Theatre film •......

Jason Quever combines anecdotal songwriting with lush folk-pop in Papercuts’ Can’t Go Back, out soon on Gnomonsong. The San Francisco based musician finds a unique balance between malaise and vigor on his new release. Moody narratives are married with layered orchestrations to conjure a somewhat manic depressive feel. The album opener, “Dear Employee” ends with resigned refrains of “I don’t need you no more” while the possibly tongue-in-cheek “Unavailable” repeats “He’s stepping out for a......

Jona Bechtolt is no more a normal human being than a toaster is a Ferrari. His eye and ear-boggling work with his pet project YACHT testifies to the hamster on acid that is constantly running in the wheel full speed in his head. As part of the duo that is The Blow, he is at least partly responsible for last year's awesome Paper Television. We e-cornered him to share a bit about himself and......

Crowded House released six studio albums during the course of their underrated career. Songwriter and vocalist Neil Finn regularly combined lyrical insight with pop-folk melodies to conjure up many almost classics throughout the band’s hey-day. Although we’re still smarting that “Fall At Your Feet” never broke into the Top 50 on US charts, we can now take comfort in Crowded House’s latest release, a double disc (and DVD) from their last show in Sydney......

Austin may be the "Live Music Capital of The World", but there is a relatively dry season. Once UT lets out for the fall semester and this city shuts up for the holidays, what's an audiophile to do? Suggestion: like bears that build up fat deposits to live off of once they retire to their relatives' caves to hibernate, you should catch a few great shows to delay the onset of withdrawals. Tonight, Emo's......

THURSDAY [12] music • FactoryPeople turns 3, and they're throwing a whole weekend's worth of awesome activities, starting with DJs sets by DFA Records' Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at FactoryPeople (7-10pm) ® music • DFA Records artists Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $12/$10) ® music • Man Man, Thermals, Oh, Beast! at Emo's ® music • San Saba County at Waterloo Records (5pm) music • San Saba County, Sorta......

Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller (ATO): Mr. ACL nosebleed's new disc is a strong rebound from 2004's sub-par On My Way. Despite Kweller's jangly, simple writing style, there is evidence of real maturity here, from the crisp Gil Norton production to the consistency of the material. There's nothing quite as catchy as "Wasted And Ready," but the album is a hook-filled, enjoyable indie-pop listen all the way through, and that's pretty rare these days.......

If you were at the past two UT football games, you might remember a couple of commercials that played throughout the game and received a lot of attention from the 80,000+ crowd. Those advertisements were only two out of nine created for The University of Texas last year as part of their latest ad campaign entitled, What Starts Here Changes The World. Legendary journalist and UT alum Walter Cronkite narrates the ads, the brainchild......

FRIDAY [8] theatre • Salvage Vanguard Theater's The Intergalactic Nemesis at UT PAC's Hogg Memorial Auditorium music • Ghostland Observatory, Lions, and Crash Gallery at Trophys ($8, 10pm) ® film • Sinus Show: Xanadu at Alamo Downtown (7pm & 10pm, $12.50) film • Raiders of the Lost Ark at Paramount Theatre (9pm) books • Mark Wangrin presents Hook Em Horns: The Story of Texas Longhorn Football at BookPeople (7pm) ® music • Cruiserweight, Rory......

Whilst attending any gallery reception, you might start to feel wings of social fabulousness budding just beneath your shoulder blades. Don't panic -- they look so cute. Besides, can you help it if art lifts you up where you belong? This Friday, aim to get a rise out of a number of art openings around town. Those who like lacquer (and who among ye doesn't?) should visit the Fielding Lecht Gallery. A new exhibit,......

WEDNESDAY [12] [music] Brightblack Morning Light, Daniel Higgs, Mariee Souix at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] The World Famous Bros Grim Side Show, the AK 47s at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] Bill Stidham and Jimmy Scarborough at the Parish (link) [music] Blues on the Green presents Antone's 31st Anniversary Celebration w/ Eve Monsees & The Exiles, Gary Clark Jr. at Zilker Park Rock Island (Free, 7:30pm) (link) [music] Graham Wilkinson and Underground Township at Cactus Café......

MONDAY [10] [music] Rancid, Street Dogs, Complete Control at Emo's (link) [music/party] End of an Ear and XL Recordings presents a special midnight sale and listening party for Thom Yorke’s The Eraser, with loads of giveaways! Plus, hear new albums from Peaches, Sufjan Stevens and others at Emo's Lounge (Free, 10pm-1am) (link) [music] Girls' Tribute to Clifford Antone with Marcia Ball, Angela Strehil, Lou Ann Barton, Toni Price, Carolyn Wonderland, and Eve Monsee at Antone's......

LAist is flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with their new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds us of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We......

MONDAY [5] [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm, Free) (link) [film] Be Here to Love Me at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Memento at Austin Java (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Strangers on a Train at Paramount Theater (7pm) (link) [film] North by Northwest at Paramount Theater (9:10pm) (link) [film] The Puffy Chair at Alamo Downtown (Though 8th, 7pm, except Tuesday, 9:45pm) (link) [film] The Fall: The World of Mark E. Smith at......

(Ed. Note: If you’ve paid even the slightest bit of attention while out and about around Austin’s many parks, you’ve noticed that we’re a fairly big soccer town. Men’s leagues, women’s leagues, co-ed leagues, indoor leagues, etc. thrive all around town. With that in mind, we thought we’d bring you a preview of the biggest sporting event in the world, the World Cup. One of the hosts of KOOP radio’s Soccer Mad, and friend of......

What do we want? MOVIES! When do we want them? NOW! *Before the Fall An interesting film set in 1942 Berlin about an elite school where the country’s brightest young men were trained to be future members of the Nazi regime. Yeahhh, there’s just nothing funny about that. A Good Woman Holy crap, Scarlett Johansson and her breasts are everywhere, it seems. At least this movie finally answers the question, “What ever happened to......

F R I D A Y [ 13 ] [party] Box Magazine, purveyors of tastefully-obscured softcore porn, are throwing another swank launch party to celebrate the release of Issue 2 - this time at The Peacock. DJs, "debaucherous times," and a special performance by Skinny Boy Burlesque. [music] Heard on Veronica Mars Featuring David Garza, Fire Marshals of Bethlehem, Daylight Titans, and Rite Flyers at Stubb's BBQ [in-store] AUX CD Release Show at End of......

The Austin Asian Film Festival kicks off tomorrow at the Drafthouse Downtown. The annual showcase runs through Sunday, and features over thirty full-length films, documentaries, and shorts. Countries represented in their schedule include Bhutan, China, North and South Korea, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and more. A full-access pass to the festival costs $25 for AFS members, and $35 for the general public - those of you on a budget can still enjoy many of their......

Brian Eno – Another Day on Earth Eno’s latest is a departure from his usual ambient recordings. Instead he offers a record of more conventional songs filled with synths and vocal. Probably not for the Eno rookie, but it is nice to know that Eno can still mix it up after so many years. Foo Fighters – In Your Honor The FooFoos release a double album split between hard rockers and quieter acoustic jams.......