There is life beyond tacos, at least according to renowned Mexican chef Iliana de la Vega. She's the proprietress of El Naranjo trailer, which has been serving up Oaxacan comfort food in Austin since March. This Thursday, she'll lecture at the Mexican American Cultural Center at the event The Culinary Birth of a Nation: Gastronomy and the Making of Mexican Identity. more ›

Last Friday and Saturday, the Long Center hosted Jason Neulander’s pitch-perfect homage to sci-fi pulp and Weird Tales-inspired radio dramas, The Intergalactic Nemesis. We’re glad they did, it was totally nuts and a ton of fun. more ›

Don't worry, be happy... more ›

Riding a wave of critical adulation, current Austin resident and St. Edward’s creative writing teacher Doug Dorst comes to BookPeople tonight to read from The Surf Guru, his new collection of short stories. Dorst’s follow up to his highly praised debut novel, Alive in Necropolis, The Surf Guru is earning similar acclaim, including an Editors’ Choice selection in the New York Times Book Review and a starred review in Kirkus. more ›

Though she is, in fact, only one female (and a petite one at that), Screaming Females' lead singer Marissa Paternoster packs quite a vocal wallop. Her throat-shredder of a voice is front and center in this New Jersey trio's bombastic punk rock sound, backed by a chugging rhythm section and wailing guitar lines that are heavy on the wah-wah. Screaming Females, who along with Paternoster are Jarrett Dougherty on drums and King Mike on bass, got their start in 2006 with the self-released Baby Teeth album. The scorching punk aesthetic placed them firmly in New Brunswick's D.I.Y. basement punk scene, alongside such bands as The Bouncing Souls, Thursday and The Ergs!. more ›

It’s that time again - The Rumble is rocking Beerland this Wednesday night. The show's lineup includes Pure Ecstasy, Soft Healer and Sleep ∞ Over, which is sure to mean an evening full of delightfully ethereal tunes, all for the bargain price of free! more ›

"Yesterday morning I woke to a soft rain in a Maine barn. And by tonight, I'll be all the way to Oregon. Presently, I plan to take two deep breaths." So goes the unconventional newsletter of folk singer Amy Annelle, who spent the greater part of last month navigating Portland and playing shows like a Woody Guthrie tribute at the Mission Theater, the Portland Folk Festival and the Holocene Festival. But Austin's prodigal daughter has returned, announcing that she and select guests will christen Ruta Maya's new back bar with performances every Wednesday. more ›

The thing about the rain here is that it's almost as if our ground has no idea what to do with it. Like birds and coconuts. Penguins and high-fives. Magnets and Juggalos. If our rain doesn't have somewhere easy to park itself, like a downstream flood-friendly town of some kind, then it just rushes around breaking sh*t around whatever hapless area it pissed down on. A mindless, listless menace. I can't tell you how many times I've come out to my street-parked vehicle in the morning to find what looks like a whole goddamn bail of hay, peppered with used diapers, wrapped around the most uphill tires. Obviously the work of a sh*t-river which, having no where else to wreck havoc, took over my street while I slept. more ›

You have probably already heard some of the music produced by Deakin, even if you don't know who Deakin is. That's because he is an original member of the influential avant-garde pop outfit Animal Collective, and though he isn't as well known as A.C. cohorts Panda Bear or Avey Tare, without Deakin, there would probably never have been an Animal Collective. more ›

What’s more absurd: a puppet karaoke rendition of a little girl’s letter to Jesus, or that such a song was allegedly a radio hit twenty years ago in Houston? That’s the comedic genius behind Matt Bearden’s awkwardly-hilarious rendering of “Dear Mr. Jesus,” which he shared with an adoring crowd of metal-head scenesters when he opened for Brian Posehn at Red 7 last month. more ›

• Religious leaders to Koran-burning church: You're not helping
• Obama pitches business tax write offs, road building in Ohio...
• ...Opposes compromise on Bush tax cuts

Austin, the bad news is that our city is being publicly shamed. The good news is that you can fix it. The Food Network is tallying votes to determine America's favorite food truck -- the winner will get $10,000 and the chance to appear on the next season of The Great Food Truck Race. As it currently stands, not a single Austin food trailer or truck has made it into the top ten. This is nothing short of shocking considering that food trailers are essential to the personality of Austin's food scene. Do you think Philly would stand for some other city winning the title of "best cheese steak"? No freaking way. Austin should be just as indignant. more ›

Don’t let the murky weather get the best of you this week. Instead, embrace the melancholy malaise induced by the relentless rain, and harness all that doom and gloom for an evening of dark, romantic Interpol tunes with us at The Mohawk this Thursday. more ›