In 1997, Carl Newman started a side project called The New Pornographers in Vancouver for fun. The cast of characters included the ridiculous gifts of both Neko Case and Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and an indie-pop collective for the ages was born. Now touring behind their fourth album Challengers, Newman and the other New Pornographers have somehow managed to continue the project in addition to each pursuing their solo aims. The band seems to grow in......

What a difference a year makes—certainly in the case of this fledgling music festival. Last December's inaugural Fun Fun Fun Fest featured over two dozen bands and DJs, and showcased a good variety of indie rock, punk, and electronic music. This year, they've grown even bigger, better, and bolder: the second annual installment will span two days and has been pushed ahead by a month, to November 3rd and 4th. Staying true to their......

Another day, another schedule of packed-to-the-gills programming for the National Poetry Slam. It's extremely tough to pick just one or two things to highlight, but here're the events that most piqued our curiosity. Daytime Programming All daytime programs are FREE, so if you live or work downtown, consider popping in for one of these events. NPS won't be in Austin again for a very long time, so this is something of a one-time chance. It......

It's been a week of "lasts" at the original Alamo Drafthouse, including the last Terror Thursday, Master Pancake Theater, A/V Geeks and Butt-numb-a-thons ever to happen at the venerable Colorado St. location. And tonight marks another sad Alamo last--one that we're particularly bummed about--the last Music Monday. Though the series is slated to continue at the Alamo's fancy new 6th Street location sometime in the fall, tonight will probably be the last installment programmed by......

We’ve had a soft spot for Jamie Kennedy ever since his performance as mega film geek Randy Meeks in Wes Craven’s Scream. And we’ve also spent a lot of time watching his short-lived but very funny hidden-camera show, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (which for our money was much more daring and inventive than that lame-ass Punk’d. For example…). At the tail end of South by Southwest this year, we got a chance to chat with......

The following films played Saturday, March 10th as part of the SXSW Film Festival: Campaign - This Japanese doc follows the travails of a "parachute" candidate for the Kawasaki city council. He's called that because he moved to the city specifically to run for office through his allegiance to the powerful LDP party. Japan is as big a character as the candidate, as the candid shots of life there offer revealing snippets of the......

Raggedy Canadian quartet Ladyhawk dropped their self-titled debut last year on Jagjaguwar. On the heels of their accomplishment (it's a fantastic record, probably sorely over-looked in 2006) comes SXSW 2007, and you know what that means: a trip to Austin. We caught up with them somewhere in the wilds of Vancouver to talk about how awesome Austin is... Is SXSW fun or business? If it's business it's probably not fun, and if it's not......

Because we feel like you don’t have enough Canadian music in your life, we’d like to propose to you yet another opportunity to get your Canuck on . This Sunday night at Emo’s, Vancouver denizens Ladyhawk will bring some genuine, riff-heavy Canadian goods and prove, once again, that Neil Young’s influence knows no limits. Ladyhawk play the kind of guitar rock that Canada would be famous for, if only the border extended far enough south......

Jean-Marc Vallée's award-winning C.R.A.Z.Y., recipient of accolades at film festivals around the world (Gijón, Toronto, Vancouver, Boulder), recently garnered yet another laurel: the low-budget indie comedy-drama was given the "Soundpost.com Feature Film Director Award" at the 19th Annual Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF), which continues through Sunday. It's fitting that Vallée, who uses both sound and music to extraordinary emotional effect, will be receiving a $130,000 grant from Soundpost.com. The prize money......

Tonight at the Alamo Drafthouse the Flicker Film Festival celebrates the creativity, passion and art of short filmmaking. The Flicker Fest is a great way for nascent filmmakers to get their works screened. All of the movies in competition are shorts that run no longer than 15 minutes and must have originally been shot on film. “Flicker is a totally Austin experience. It’s fun, it’s cheap, it’s independent, and it’s creative,” explains Matthew Cornelius, HBMG......

When we first got geared up to move to Austin, someone told us Austin was "bordering on lazy," which pleased us. Now, we have something to back up such blanket statements: Austin/San Marcos has been named one of the top "Chill Together" cities in the country. Austin ranked 9th on the list put out by Sperling's BestPlaces and Bailey's Irish Cream (who, of course, would like to remind you to drink responsibly). Among Austin's......

Every single Monday night, music fanatics converge upon the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown to attend Music Mondays, a brilliant series of engaging, informative and sometimes peculiar films about music. It’s an awfully cool series, and while we’ve always assumed that these sort of things magically organize themselves, that turns out not to be the case at all. Music Mondays is actually the invention of writer / music lover / dedicated film junkie Kier-La Janisse. Recently,......

It seems a requirement of living in the South is the enjoyment of iced tea, especially during these long, hot summer months. We've searched the web and found a few recipes that sound both tasty and refreshing--a winning combination! The Carnelian Rose Tea Company out of Vancouver, WA sells a list of awesome sounding teas that would be yummy over ice, we bet. And they offer tips on brewing as well. Epicurious.com provides a......