SXSW Music kicks off on Wednesday the 12th, as always with the Annual Austin Music Awards at Austin Music Hall, but it has become clear over the last few years that the music really starts the night before. Just thinking back to last year, we remember walking up and down Red River, watching bands like Golden Bear, White Denim and Broken Teeth at venues such as Beauty Bar, Emo’s and Red 7, and congratulating ourselves for getting started early....

No survivors in Venezuela plane crash. Protesters set fire to U.S. embassy in Belgrade. "Whatever happens, we're going to be fine." Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud and money laundering. McCain manages to dodge "improper relationship" political bullet. ...

The Mohawk presents a solid double bill of local pop this evening. The Lemurs have been writing new material over the last few months and a handful of those songs will be included in their set tonight. The band enjoyed a stellar 2007 -- highlights included licensing their music to NBC show Las Vegas (as well as an Australian indie flick called Newcastle) and touring with Canadian act Stars. This past Sunday, ME Television telecast a 2nd ME Live! featuring The Lemurs' shimmering melodies in concert at a recent La Zona Rosa gig....

We here at the Austinist Film Section believe that holidays should be extended for as long as possible, which is why we are just now bringing you all the news that is fit to be released regarding SXSW 08. Don't judge us. Everybody needs a little vacay now and then. That said, we are super pumped about the 2008 opening night film, 21 and the slew of other titles that have been released for this year's festival....

An asteroid could hit Mars next month prompting Mars' threat level to move to Orange. Riots erupt in New Orleans over the demolition of public housing buildings. Why can't New Orleans get a chance to relax? Hearings have been set regarding the destruction of the CIA torture tapes. Bush claims to be totally ignorant about everything, especially this and especially you!...

Photo of Perry filing Giuliani’s ballot paperwork by christopherleonard on flickrCurrent Travis County DA Ronnie Earle will retire when his term is up. Now-removed YouTube video showed Perry dissing Dubya and contrasting him with Giuliani. Is nothing sacred? State Rep. Dawnna Dukes caught playing hooky in Vegas. Some parents braved the icky weather this morning for a wristband to get them in line tomorrow for Hannah Montana tix. Pimp C's memorial service was held yesterday.......

Photo by Patrick Dentler Barack Obama "Texas Countdown to Change"Saturday, November 17The Backyard (13101 W Highway 71)$25 General, $15 Students, 3pm[info] | [tickets]Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama dazzled over 20,000 Austinites last February at his Auditorium Shores rally, and this weekend he aims to do the same. Tickets to this Saturday's "Texas Countdown to Change" rally at the Backyard are still available for $25, and even cheaper ($15) if you're a student. Still, if you......

Division Day Beartrap Island (Eenie Meanie) Formed in Santa Cruz in 2001, Division Day honed their craft in a small sound-proofed bedroom. They put together an EP, The Mean Way In, in 2005, and have earned a bit of blogosphere recognition since then thanks to their catchy indie pop hooks and knack for a good cover song. Beartrap Island, their first full-length, is full of toe-tapping, old fashioned sing-a-long start and stop rock'n'roll that......

Austin is full of small, out of the way places that we have grown to love. These aren't the big name restaurants that everyone already knows about or the restaurants in the warehouse district or downtown locations. In fact, two of them are in nondescript strip malls, and one is surrounded by giant safety cones. These places offer up good (and in the case of Tomo, great) food in locations away from the city center.......

Excuse us while we step into the blogger battlefield compost bin. This isn't an attack; it’s just our new media way of recycling – turning lies into truth, melding age-old stereotypes into something a little more flattering. Al Gore is coming to town in October, people. It’s time to set things straight. Daisy Whitney runs a blog called “Trial and Error” over at TelevisionWeek where she keeps tabs on the ever-changing medium that is......

Every fall, Austin looks forward to ACL Fest, and each year, there's always a point where two of your favorite bands are playing on different sides of the park at the exact same time. ACL Band Clash is a weekly series in which Austinist scribes Paige Maguire and Tom Thornton examine the worst ACL scheduling clashes, and try to provide good advice on finding a resolution. Well, good advice might be a stretch, but......

Today we're rolling out a new weekly feature: Fashion Flash, where we profile one standout guy and girl. We may not be the style police, but we have a style-crush on these two people this week. What do you think? Tell us in the comments!TAS2-ONEAlison Benton Musician, spotted outside of Spiro's Where did you buy your clothes? Buffalo Exchange, Urban Outfitters and Cream Vintage. (The limited edition Sailor Jerry Chuck Taylor All Stars he's wearing......

In this week's edition of the IST List: AIDS Services of Austin hosts its annual Viva! Las Vegas faux-casino soiree at La Zona Rosa, replete with top-notch catering and silent auction Transmission Entertainment's back at it again with another special guest at The Mohawk. Our lips are sealed, but the comments section certainly isn't! London's electro-dance-punk wizardess Dandi Wind works her magic at the Beauty Bar The final installment of the Harry Potter series......

We all know that Austin is a great city for kids looking to date around or have a drink, but according to a new study, it's also among the top ten job markets for college grads. Bizjournals, the national publisher of metropolitan business newspapers with branches in over forty cities, reports that current economic conditions couldn't be better for the million-plus college seniors entering the workforce this year. "The outlook this year is very good,"......

For the sixth year in a row, MovieMaker Magazine has ranked Austin in the top 3 of its “Top Ten U.S. Cities to Live and Make Movies” list. And though we’ve slipped a little this year (we sat at number two for the last two years, just behind New York City), we still beat the crap out of Shreveport, which feels pretty good. Moviemaker cited the “unique education and support that the [Austin] community fosters......

Bush's approval ratings have hit a new low, but Paula Abdul's star rating is still rising. A local Senate bill is asking that the revenue from red light cameras be transferred into a state fund to support trauma and emergency medical care. This is better than not knowing where the added revenue will go, but we still do not like the idea. Austin City Council members have approved a resolution to get $30 million......

They say that Jazz is the only truly American art form. But clearly “they” had never visited the back rooms of Las Vegas’ most popular casinos during the 1950s, where a group of oddball performers were developing a unique, hyper-regional brand of live entertainment known as the lounge act. Strictly speaking, lounge acts combined art forms that already existed; they were singers, dancers, comedians and impressionists. But in the swirling haze of booze, broads and......

MONDAY [8] film • Celebrate Elvis' Birthday with Viva Las Vegas at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film • Holy Mountain at Austin Java (9pm, Free) film • Music Monday: Lost Vegas: The Lounge Era at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $2) music • The Onlys, Ghost of the Russian Empire, Midgetmen at Emo's music • Elvis Birthday Tribute with Dale Watson, Ray Benson, Wayne Hancock, Derailers, Carolyn Wonderland, and lots more at Continental Club......

Spec's had their soft opening last Friday, and we couldn't hold ourselves back. We felt like Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. You'll have to take our word that the snapshot above is the first of three Austin stores, but there it sits, at 290 and Airport. Though they're still working with their distributors to get all of their wares in place, they promise it'll be ready for the grand opening this weekend.......

It appears the rumors we’ve been hearing for a few months now are true: Chuy’s (or part of it, at least) has been sold and will be expanding its brand over the next five years with up to 30 new restaurants. The privately-owned restaurant, founded by Mike Young and John Zapp in 1982, has received a bunch of cash from Goode Partners LLC of New York, a private equity group. As part of the deal,......

If you survived the Deliverance-esque Ikea parking lot this weekend, and didn't get shot trying to get yourself a PS3, you deserve to spend even more of your hard-earned cash on records. Here's what you can find on the shelves at fine local establishments like End of an Ear or Waterloo today. Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas (Asthmatic Kitty) Featuring five discs worth of holiday music spanning the course of five years, tinsel used......

Zagat's 2007 America's Top Restaurants Survey is out and although the setup on this one begs for an immediate rimshot, it's true - we love eating out. In fact, only Houston residents eat out with more frequency *snicker* than Austinites. Hungry Houstonians are eating out an average of 4.2 meals per week while residents of Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth eat out an average of 4 times per week. Trailing in weekly eating-out outings are......

In the mood for a vacation with some enhanced procreation? It isn't Vegas... Plastic trash in the Pacific just might affect the taste of that Nigiri. Next summer's unlikely blockbuster: Monkeys on a Boat. U might be Hauling your crap off the highway if you use a particular rented truck. Some people just want a dumb phone. Before you go out and buy that special edition Monster Manual, you should know that Dungeons and......

You need to slap something together that’s just good enough to get you through a stranger’s threshold without them noticing that you brought no booze and obviously know no one else on the premises. But there’s no need to slave over this shit. Be clever. Be creative. Crank up your lazy side. Turn down your overly-analytic side. And put together something easy and stupid....

MONDAY [23] music • Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins with Will Sheff & The Blow at Stubb's music • Planes Mistaken For Stars, The North Atlantic, Mustangs and Madras, Tomorrow's Too Late at Emo's music • Howard Tate at Waterloo Records (Free, 5pm) music • Farewell Party for Tina R., from Jo's Hot Coffee, with Tina & The Jo's House Band plus special guests at Continental Club (10pm) music • Cue, Bullet Train......

Is it the thrill of competition? The potential for victory? The overcoming of devastating odds to prove you’re an overwhelming badass? Because honestly, anyone can get that rush of supremacy by taking three Tylenol PMs and then racing like a motherfucker to beat the sandman to their orgasm....

Loud enough for college parties but cute enough to go on your sister’s bedroom wall, sharp enough for wizened indie kids but soft enough for your mom, the endlessly promotable Las Vegas quartet The Killers have balanced themselves between the normally exclusive worlds of rock and pop with a headline-ready alacrity unseen since the heyday of Duran Duran. Their second CD, Sam’s Town, came out Tuesday, and will no doubt outsell everything in existence....

A&E's tattoo-parlor-based reality show, Inked, is looking for Austin body artists interested in becoming a part of the Hart & Huntington team. H&H is preparing to open a Cabo San Lucas location, and they need some ink artists who might also look good on the tv. For those of you blissfully unaware of the concept and its appeal, Inked chronicles the happenings at the Hart & Huntington Tattoo Lounge in Las Vegas. Tattoo-covered men......

Bob Dylan - Modern Times (Columbia): From the opening notes of Modern Times, you can't help but feel that Dylan has been strongly influenced by his recent tours with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. 'Spirit On The Water' and 'When The Deal Goes Down' each sound like Stardust-era Willie, while several other numbers channel vintage blues stomps and rockabilly in the vein of Haggard's 'Workin' Man Blues' with surprising freshness. The operative word for......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......