The wait for SXSW Music is almost over but the information overload will persist for another few days! Our writers combed through stacks of emails, tons of event listings, and pages and pages of our beloved "Party Flyers" slideshow to come up with a list of recommended happenings....

Image by flickr user loreleiLet's face it: the official SXSW website isn't all that handy when it comes to planning out your festival. So the folks at B-Side have once again put together a fantastic SXSW Film Festival guide, complete with movie info, trailers, reviews and (best of all) scheduling tools to help you plan out the next nine days. And this year, the folks at Film Threat will be providing some blog-a-licious content and......

“Ever wanted to be a space ship pilot in an 8-bit Nintendo game?” With that subject title, the latest press release from local synth-pop outfit Built By Snow grabbed our attention well before we even ventured into deep space. The “rad dudes” rescue a princess in the brilliant video for “Underneath”, the first song on their debut EP Noise, eventually scoring cheeseburgers for their troubles. The video incorporates plenty of eye catching imagery and retro animation and the result is a hilarious conglomeration of pop culture influences....

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

Photograph of Michael Strahan, coach Tom Coughin (holding the Vince Lombardi trophy) and quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning by Tien Mao Gothamist was amazed after the Giants won the Super Bowl, the city went wild, and it witnessed a ticker-tape parade.Barack Obama drew 20,000+ ahead of Seattle’s Saturday caucus.Londonist had Super Tuesday too.Elusive guerrilla street artist Banksy revisits Los Angeles.After the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and came this close to making......

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

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."...

What sets Laura and her show apart is a wild imagination and an ability to get the audience inside her head. Not only that, but she pulls this off with no set to speak of and very few props, key among what little she uses being a ukulele and a shopping cart. Luna Tart, the character, much like her creator, is not just from another era, she’s from another planet....

This might not technically be theatre, but it made for some great comedy. On Saturday's show [listen], the Car Talk guys repeated the name of Austinite and Puzzler-winner Quentin Fennessy eight times in a row.......

Photograph of the Trump Soho by Riccardo Sinti...

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

Dame Edna had to cancel her entire North American tour due to complications from appendix surgery. Said the Dame in a letter to her loyal Austin fans, "Texas is no country for sick Megastars, so I will see you in November 7-9, 2008 [at the Paramount], possums."...

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

There was no escaping the gravity of Austin in 2007. Three major festivals drew artists, labels, promoters and press from around the world. Critically and commercially, Spoon was an undeniably dominating force. Production power increased with the emergence of C3 Presents, a joint venture between heavyweights Charles Attal, Charlie Jones and Charlie Walker. Yet our unique universe still grows from within. Bands like Okkervil River and businesses like Transmission Entertainment continue to expand our horizons. My best of list is a celebration of what makes the Austin music scene independent and innovative....

It's been a big year for local acts. Big name bands like Spoon, Iron & Wine and Okkervil River made a huge impact on the independent music scene world-wide, while up and coming acts like White Denim and Moth!Fight! captured our attention at the indie rock water cooler all year long. As rising hopes and swelling egos swept the town alongside buzz and bravado, we parted ways with bands like SOUND Team and Clap!Clap!. ...

ImageAfter Art An art industry boom? Yahoo reports that, despite unrest in the financial markets, the art industry appears to be doing quite well. Experts say the market's robustness is due to "the weak dollar, expanding world wealth and new buyers from countries not previously associated with the art collecting community." /// Jeanne Claire van Ryzin at the Statesman has released her "Best of 2007" for Austin's art scene. Film Fox and iTunes will sign......

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh, right, read below....

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh,......

It's hard to explain in 2007 what it feels like for music to be both uniting and important. Having spent nearly three years of the '90s living in London, it's with honest nostalgia and wonder that we examine Rhino's The Brit Box. The set's mission is rather broad: it attempts to examine the whole of UK indie rock from 1985-1999 and devotes a disc each to '80s indie, shoegaze, Britpop, and the late '90s. One......

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh,......

As we move to the next square on the calendar you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the best of the above. Oh,......

SFist witnessed a new apartment building tszuj the skyline with spectacular, gaudy turquoise aplomb, the (informal) renaming of the Mission/SOMA neighborhood border, the return of the Maltese Falcon, the Mayor Gavin Newsom mea culpa-ing over his Hawaiian getaway during the oil spill, and double-decker buses hitting the streets of San Francisco. Oh, and some baseball player named Barry Bonds is a liar whose pants, it seems, are totally on fire. LAist continues to cover the......

Flyer courtesy VICE Records VICE Presents Mr. Oizo, DJ Mehdi, OCELOTWednesday, November 14Antones (213 W 5th St)(Free, 10pm-2am, RSVP Required)[info] | [rsvp] [ozio myspace] [dj mehdi myspace] [ocelot myspace]Tonight, our friends at VICE records have teamed up with Scion to throw a massive "house party" at Antone's—best of all, it's completely free if you RSVP in time. They've flying in legendary French music producer Quentin "Mr. Oizo" Dupieux, who's best known for his 1999 techno......

Dear Pillow poster by Rob Jones Dear Pillow DVD Release PartyMonday, November 12thAustin School of Film8pm, Free, Beer and snacks provided[info]Austin-made indie favorite Dear Pillow will hit the shelves tomorrow in DVD form (courtesy of Heretic Films), and tonight the Austin School of Film will host a party to celebrate the occasion. Written and Directed by Bryan Poyser (who we interviewed about his latest short Grammy's during SXSW), Dear Pillow tells the story of a......

How is it possibly November already? Time flies we suppose, when you're out there putting it on the line to make your way in this world today. And to be honest, it takes everything ya' got. So wouldn't you like to take a break, from all your worries?! We certainly would, it sure would help a lot, but unfortunately we have to keep gathering the best of last week's Missed Connections so that you......

Photo by johnkoetsier on flickr Utter Reading SeriesMonday, Nov 5BookPeople [map]7pm, Free[info]This month’s Utter Reading Series features two standouts from a couple hours south on I-35. Both teach at Trinity University in San Antonio, and both are long-overdue candidates for the Utter Series, which spotlights hot Texas-based writers. One has just won a national award for his short stories, and the other is an Austin-bred recent graduate of the Michener Center at UT. After the......

Same thing, another week. As you move on to the next line on the calendar, you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the......

P&K Grocery, South Austin's fancy mom-and-pop corner store, has gone out of business. Though open for only a year and a half, the tiny market on West Mary became a neighborhood staple, offering, among a host of more exotic specialty foods, wonderful sandwiches, hot dogs, and (best of all) cupcakes. The store did what it could to help out the community, and, in turn, became a much-appreciated part of the community as well. "We are......

Baby it's cold outside, and that means it's time for more connections. Time to snuggle up indoors, at least until it heats up again next week, and make some connections. If you're too shy to get the job done then just slap them up on the web and see if you get a reply, although it would just be better to say hello. Luckily we're here to help decipher the best of last week's......