Saturday Saturday Saturday! It's a bounty of goodness unlike anything most people of privilege (or non-privilege) have seen, seeming that it is filled not only with SXSW's usual wealth of day-funs and joys and diversities, but that it is also privy to the wonderment that is Mess With Texas 2, a noon-to-ten cornucopia of music and comedy at Waterloo Park. It's sort of like a day of Fun Fun Fun Fest plus comedy minus the price plus the knowledge that there's great stuff going on everywhere else as well. So let's get to it, and all the other great stuff going on EVERYWHERE, shall we? Mess With Texas 2 @ Waterloo Park At this event, it's almost ridiculous what a wide range of musics you'll be able to see, from electro-folk to softcore-punk to anti-pop to alterna-world to whatever-other-hyphenated-genre-you-could-possibly-fabricate. Headlining are the Kim Deal-led Breeders and late-nineties punk-stars NOFX, but they are just icing on the cake of a day that features acts as intriguing as the inimitable Islands and the ever-so-subtle Atlas Sound. And, take a deep breath, because also lining up on one of the three stages is rise-from-the-ashes-via-Juno story Kimya Dawson, the mysteriously-spelled Wooden Shjips, hype-machine Simian Mobile Disco, quick risers Yeasayer, Monotonix, and No Age. And in case you haven't already caught them, this may be a convenient time to check out local respectables Shearwater and White Denim. Seriously, though, that's a ridiculous list already, and it's really just the beginning. And it's free, for God's sake! And there was some comedy at this Mess With Texas thing, too, right? Yeah, you can expect some laughs from the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Todd Barry, and Eugene Mirman, among a veritable slew of others. Make sure to get there before the sun goes down if you want to check that out, though, because we all know humor goes best with some sunshine....

They Might Be Giants have been making music as a band since 1982. Their odd but endearing mix of accordian, saxophone, and guitars coupled with witty lyrics earned them a huge college radio following from the mid-80's on. Songs like "Don't Let's Start" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul" even became hits, and the duo toured and recorded ad infinitum. A second chapter of their story is quite unusual: TMBG are now famous in children's circles. In 2002, the group released "No!", a kids record they had recorded years earlier for fun. The record was a surprise smash, leading to deals with both Disney for a series of children's music CD's and Simon and Schuster for the CD + book Bed, Bed, Bed (which also features a pre-Juno Kimya Dawson). Having conquered the grownups and the kids, They Might Be Giants have also become in-demand composers for TV, doing the themes for "Malcolm In The Middle", "The Daily Show", and even some Dunkin' Donuts ads. We're unsure when the group sleeps, because they seem to be awfully prolific. ...

The Black Crowes are accusing Maxim Magazine of writing a review of their record without actually listening to it. When Busey Attacks: Gary Busey crashes the Oscars, much to the chagrin of Ryan Seacrest. Over the weekend, Hillary Clinton provides the public with further evidence that she's basically already lost by doing the one thing she shouldn't do: Go even MORE negative. Check this video footage from Rhode Island last Saturday... Ralph Nader's running for President again. We guess he's just bored or something. What other reason could he possibly have?...

What’s the Deal: There’s one main, overwhelming reason why The Blow made it into this week’s Le Diamant, and that’s because of their song “Parenthesis.” It’s the kind of cute and quirky pop tune that made the songs off the Juno soundtrack so viral. The Blow is the devious and rascally spawn from the mind of musician, visual artist and performer Khaela Maricich. The other half of the creative team that is The Blow is (or was) Jona Bechtolt. According to the group’s MySpace, Bechtolt has left the band, most likely to further his singing and programming in his solo project, YACHT. The Blow have this whole middle school crush ‘Do you like me? Check yes, no or maybe’ thing going on that sinks its teeth in all the way to the gums with a swirling mixture of video game-style electronics and poppy folk. ...

Frontera Fest is such a playing-field-leveled egalitarian opportunity for creative types from all walks and skill levels to have a night in the spotlight. Totally worth the $12 -14 price of admission but don’t wait to figure this out later. The wait for unclaimed tickets on sold out nights starts an hour before showtime and baby it’s cold outside....

Full disclosure: we wanted to like Juno, long before it was released. We knew we would like it from the very first stirrings of online teaser previews. The cast alone was enough to make us giddy....

Director Jason Reitman and Screenwriter Diablo Cody have just been confirmed as panelists for this year's Austin Film Festival. Reitman and Cody are the team behind the brilliant new comedy Juno, which is screening as the festival's centerpiece film (and which we highly recommend seeing). Jason (son of legendary comedic director Ivan Reitman) is best known for his critically adored feature film debut Thank You For Smoking, but he has also directed several shorts, including......

If you’re planning on attending the Austin Film Festival this weekend, you’re probably beside yourself with excitement about the lineup this year; with such highly-anticipated films such as Control, Juno and Reservation Road on the schedule, and appearances by legends like Oliver Stone and John Milius, who wouldn’t be? But one sorely-overlooked facet of the festival deserves special mention: the panels. Last year’s panel lineup featured some of the most powerful, if not famous, people......

The complete schedule for the 14th annual Austin Film Festival has been announced, and it looks pretty amazing. 79 feature films and 98 shorts will screen over the course of eight days at various locations in Austin, beginning on October 11th with Brett Morgen’s much hyped docudrama Chicago 10, starring Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Wright. Jason Reitman's brilliant new comedy Juno (starring Ellen Page, Michael......

Arcade Fire Neon Bible (Merge) Unless you live under a rock, you're well aware that Neon Bible's official release date is today. As expected, the web is ablaze with commentary and reflection on the band's sophomore effort, and for the most part, it's been a lot of good news. A relief, considering the album's reference to the John Kennedy Toole novel of the same name. The book is a sort of exercise in temporal......

Kevin Dini is fresh. Ask any of his clients at Namaste Salon (as well as his many friends) and they'll tell you the truth - he's a peach. That's why we were thrilled last night when he accepted our invitation to check out the Downtown Farmers Market at Plaza Saltillo at 5th and Comal, which will be open Thursdays from 4-7pm until September 28 in addition to their already wildly popular Saturday downtown presence.We......

It was while trekking around Australia earlier this year that we first heard mention of a rambunctious band from Melbourne called Architecture in Helsinki. We all but forgot about this after returning to the states, and it was only one day while browsing the new releases at Waterloo Records that we happened upon AIH's second LP, In Case We Die. Needless to say, we love these guys. AIH is is more of a performance......