Driver slams his bulldozer into a crowded bus in Jerusalem, killing at least 3 people Manhunt ends in Illinois for suspect in eight murders Hospital employees disciplined after ignoring a woman who collapsed and died in an ER waiting area Starbucks closing 600 stores across the country President Palmer from '24' believes his role helped Obama Tabloids buzzing about potential Alex Rodriguez-Madonna hookup Texas ex Piersol sets world record at Olympic swimming trials......

With the geographic world continuing to shrink in the 21st century and the increased ease of travel and communication opening new doors every day, today’s musical landscape is constantly evolving. Instruments from other cultures have always been utilized in western music, but of late, world styles are making major dents in the indie scene. Be it Vampire Weekend’s African accentuation, M.I.A.’s Bollywood beats, or Beirut evoking adventures in far off lands, we have been privy to some choice innovations in this decade. New York based Gogol Bordello’s brand of “Gypsy Punk” (falling in the geographic vicinity of Beirut’s concoctions) has been garnering momentum with the release of 2005’s Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike and last year’s Super Taranta!...

Paris Is Burning DVD Cover Scion Independent Film Series Presents Paris Is BurningWednesday, November 28thAlamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S. Lamar)Free, 9:30PM, RSVP Required[info]The musical stylings of "strike a pose, there's nothing to it", "you better work" and "I'm too sexy" entered our lexicon at a time when we were still sporting a perm and a retainer, so understanding that these pop radio songs were simply a corporatization of an entire underground subculture was far......

A popular dance-workout phenomenon that's been getting asses in shape in New York City and Chicago is now catching on in Austin. It's called the Dance Dance Party Party — think of it as a ladies-only, free-form, DIY Sunday night Rock the Casbah to help you work off that weekend of boozing. In their October/November issue, BUST magazine explains its appeal as bringing back that "giddy, uninhibited spirit of those bygone slumber parties, when you......

With the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival set to take over the town shortly, it’s worthwhile to note that the music will naturally not be restricted to the fenced confines of Zilker Park. "Official" ACL-Fest after shows and sexy time aside, downtown should be bumping with a plethora of quality events. The wonderful folk from FactoryPeople and DFA Records present one such extravaganza on Friday at Red 7. The Outdoor Stage will feature quality......

Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. THE UNFORTUNATE HEADS What’s the Deal: The Austin indie folk fivesome has just released their sophomore disc, Come Be Light. Featuring multi-instrumentation by the likes of banjo, keyboards, upright......

Chances are pretty good that you’ve heard of The MisShapes – New York's party-throwing trio and current It-kids. Last fall, the New York Times wrote about “the phenomenon known as the MisShapes” and their 15 minutes of fame. They've been in countless pop culture magazines, most of which reference the one time that Madonna dropped in on their weekly residency at Don Hill’s in SoHo. They've been on ads for those Eastport backpacks that kids......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

Saturday June 30th marks the 5th installment to the multi-media spectacle Everyone Knows Everyone, sponsored by The Onion. This event is held twice a year and focuses on the celebration of artistic community in our city. Many have compared it to Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, where visual artists and multi-genre musicians, DJs and filmmakers showcase their talents in front of a live audience. The event is being held on all of Emo's stages......

Saturday night the wonderful folks at Mohawk are throwing a Winter Dance Party. Now hold on minute o jaded one, this isn't your wastoid scenester roommate's type of dance party. No DJs in funny hats. No Madonna/Bloc Party mash-ups, no ironic 80s, and probably no bump 'n' grind. This is a 100% pure rock dance party, and you can bet your Beatle boots that you will be moved along with the rest of the......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

Contributed by Phil West Austin band ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, in its decade of evolution, has long had a reputation for controlled (and sometimes out-of-control) chaos in its live shows as one of its hallmarks. Back in the day, the band would make shows at now-defunct venues like the Blue Flamingo and Liberty Lunch just that much more interactive. We still remember the Lunch show, for instance, in......

The woman who encouraged us to shove dimes into jukeboxes long after they had switched to quarters, triggering a nationwide coin shortage in the early 80s, is coming to Austin. Joan Jett, the hottest 46 year old since Tina Turner in 1985 (or Madonna in 2004, for that matter), is still lovin' rock and roll, touring like a madwoman and turning her nose up at the prospect of ever investing in a pair of......

Ever since renovating the space where Just Guns used to reside, FactoryPeople's clothed tons of fabulous Austinites, thrown dozens of rockstar parties, and brought sexy back to Central Texas. What's next? Well, this week they're turning three. Thursday Night: they're bringing in DFA Records' DJs Tim Sweeney and Juan Maclean, along with DJ Ramesh from Voxtrot, to spin instore from 7-10pm. Come and enjoy complimentary cocktails on the rooftop deck, or check out Boom......

FRIDAY [6] agliff/party • here! presents the aGLIFF member mingle at Rain (9pm) theatre • "Psycho Beach Party" at Arts on Real (8pm, $30) theatre • "At Home With Dick 2" at Dick's Apartment (3309 Grooms) (8pm, $10-$25) ® theatre • "Stillborn" at Hyde Park Theatre (8pm, $15) theatre • Zell Miller III: "Mix Tape, Theatre Style" at Off Center (8pm, $10) theatre • "Bitten: A Zombie Rock Odyssey" at Dougherty Arts Center (8pm,......

So what if petty future penitentiary dwellers ganked some of his equipment? So. Goddamn. What. Mel’s pushing on. And forward. Less one car window. And that’s alright. ‘Cause it’s time to dust off that Roger Rabbit, and Electric Boogaloo like your mamma named you Ozone! (Sucka) This Saturday is the 23rd ROCK THE CASBAH, and you know what that means. It means you’re going to get drunk and sing some Prince as if Madonna herself......

Now in its third instantiation, the multimedia arts showcase dubbed Everyone Knows Everyone brings together some of Austin's creative types, spanning artistic mediums from music to performance art. Drawing on the success of last December's pre-holiday event, the production quality of tonight's EKEIII, at Emo's, seems to have grown tremendously in the past six months: Throughout the evening, sets by Those Peabodys, Visitors, Mars Wars, Young Love, Rory + the Artificial Heart, and Pirates......

MONDAY [17][music] The High Flyers at Continental Club (10pm) (link) [lecture] Josh Rushing, future host of a show on Al Jazeera International and "accidental media star" in "Control Room," speaks at UT LBJ Auditorium (7pm) (link) [art] Opening Reception for Michael Schliefke's newest works, "What If We Could Get It All Back?" at bolm Studios (6pm-11pm) (link) [film] Oscar-Nominated Documentary shorts at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] Anime Movie Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm)......

MONDAY [10][karaoke] Monday Karaoke at Beerland (Free, 9pm) (link) [film] Monday Movies al fresco, with 'Heavenly Creatures" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" at Sidebar (link) [comedy/books] David Sedaris at Bass Concert Hall (8pm) (link) [music] Elizabeth McQueen at Theadgill's (Free, 8pm) (link) [film/drinking] FUSEBOX Happy Hour at Blue Theater (6pm, $5, screening of short films by Austin's Zellner Brothers as part of the ongoing FUSEBOX Festival) (link) [theatre] "Durang/Durang" at Mary Mood Northern Theatre (8pm,......

As always, let us know about any corrections or suggestions! MONDAY [3] [music] ICP Orchestra at Scottish Rite Theatre (link) [art] Gabriel Perez-Barreiro, Curator of Latin American Art, discusses "Art is Connection: America/Americas" at Blanton Museum of Art (Free, 6-8pm) (link) [books] Michael Gordon presents Cobra II at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [books] AAIM, Austin Area Interreligious BookGroup will discuss Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra. Lori Seremetis will be the Special Guest at BookPeople......

Austinist is running around town (just like you) catching as much South By action as is possible this week. The following are our thoughts on the first three films we caught on Friday and Saturday: The Last Western (Documentary) - This short feature (65 minutes) tells stories from Pioneertown, CA, a small outpost built in the 1940's to film western movies. An oddball mix of drifters, eccentrics, and Roy Rogers fans have made the......

We reviewed Not Clown. Hilarious!. So much good music this weekend. You wouldn't have believed it if you didn't read it here. We might be the best blog in town, but there are plenty of other great ones out there. Jason McElwain, hoops legend. The feel-good story of the year (with video). The Texas re-districting battle takes to the Supreme Court. Round Rock Express tickets went on sale. The Great Mundane prepares to bring......

Madonna painting on the window of the Tamale House on Airport.......

The SWAT standoff off of Riverside yesterday ended in the arrest of a 19-year old who allegedly shot two people overnight-injuries were minor. George W. Bush's visit to India-in hopes of congealing some kind of partnership with the country-is laughable. His next stop is Pakistan where, ironically, he has been deemed as The Most Hated Man. If only we had his confidence, after a 5 year search, Bush insists that Osama Bin Laden will......

It could have been a lot worse. Mariah Carey could have walked away with Song, Record, or even Album of the Year; at that point, we would've completely given up on the music industry. Not that we have an extreme degree of faith in the corporate arts as is, but giving the big one to an album titled The Emancipation of Mimi would have all-but confirmed that those people are insane, evil, and totally......

The following review is from new contributor Jonathon. This was the last weekend for Frontera Fest's Long Fringe, so we hunkered down for a live performance triple-whammy on Saturday and Sunday. (Note to Frontera Fest staff: for future triple-whammy weekends, we'd appreciate some sleeping accommodation at the theatre. Thanks.) Of or Pertaining To…, the first show in our Saturday night line-up, was some of the most refreshing fringe dance performances we've seen in awhile.......

Last week, two of Austin's bastions of style jointly celebrated their second birthdays - FactoryPeople, purveyor of the hautest threads you'll find in Austin, and Youth of Tomorrow, a custom-fashion design house whose clients run the gamut from darling indie bands to elementary school chess clubs. As is typical of every soiree we've attended at FP this year, the decadent open bar and wicked grooves - provided by mixmaestros Black Madonna, DJ Shit Robot......

M O N D A Y [ 2 4 ] Happy United Nations Day! music · Coheed & Cambria, Dredg, mewithoutYou and Blood Brothers at Stubb's music · Elizabeth McQueen and Jason Roberts - of Asleep at the Wheel - hold court at Threadgill's (8pm) film · The Austin Film Festival at various venues around town (Through Thursday) books · Tram Nguyen discusses We Are All Suspects Now, her investigation into the "human cost of......

Back in May, Alamo Drafthouse and DJ Nick Nack teamed up to bring us a screening of Fritz Lang's magnificent Metropolis, set to a live turntable score by the vinyl maestro. This Saturday, they're bringing it back with back-to-back showings of the black and white sci-fi masterpiece at the Downtown Drafthouse, at 7pm and 9pm. The screening we attended last time sold out, so we had to settle for seats at the very front;......