We’ve got a busy week on the concert front. Our favorite duo from New York arrives at The Meridian tomorrow night. They Might Be Giants have been making quirky alt/pop songs for grown-ups over 20 years now, and a few albums for the kids that us grown-ups enjoy, too. Wilco’s Friday night show at Verizon Wireless Theater is sold out, but if you’re willing to pay a little, you can still get your hands......

Every March, Houstonist takes a little pilgrimage up to Austin to check out our favorite music conference: SXSW. With over a thousands artists playing in about a hundred venues, we know we can’t catch them all. So, we decided to dedicate this month’s Houstonist iMix to those acts that we’re looking forward to seeing this year (since we limited our iMix to 16 songs, we’re only including 1% of the artists performing). Again, their music......

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliot Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

Paging all music nerds and iPhone junkies. Two enterprising Austinites, Jon Loyens and Bryon Jacob, have created a website designed to place the full South by Southwest line up in the palm of your hand. Their site, sxswinfo.com, is optimized for viewing on your trendy little gadget. Just navigate to it via your iPhone browser. The site also works on laptops, but did not seem to load correctly on Houstonist's CrackBerry BlackBerry. The site should......

A number of female artists chance it for a comeback on the charts this week. Prolific soul singer/songwriter Erykah Badu returns with her first album in five years, New Amerykah. -Watch a very cool music video for album single, "Honey," on Youtube -Read an interview with Badu at MSNBC -Badu will be featured in a new Tom Ford Fragrance ad campaign -Read an album review at EW.com -Buy New Amerykah Ethereal electronic star Goldfrapp is......

The Big Sleep has a great band name and a great new album to boot. Instrumental prog-rockers The Big Sleep release their new record, Sleep Forever, today. If you're looking for a calming musical sedative to fall asleep to, you won't find that here. The choice jam sessions on this album mostly make us want to turn up the volume. Really loud. -Download the album's first single, "Pinkies," at French Kiss Records -The Village Voice......

It's official: Houston is taking it's A game to Austin for the 2008 South By Southwest music showcase. From March 12 through 16, you can catch some of your favorite local acts play in the so-called music mecca of the American South. Some of our favorites get to tackle the festival, including Katie Stuckey and (The Band Formerly Known As) The Dimes. In fact, Austin will get the full spectrum of Houston music this year.......

So, we teased you with a new video from Spoon last Friday. This week, we're giving you the real thing -- chance to win a pair of tickets to Thursday night's show at Warehouse Live. We're really looking forward to the concert, not just because of Spoon, but also because The New Pornographers are opening. Still haven't been Spoon-fed? (Sorry) Check out the streaming audio for their new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. If......

Look, we're gonna make this one real easy for you. No thinking involved. Music. Art. Community. And a scientist who raps about space travel to a power point presentation. See? Simple. Houston, Our Ears Depend on You, this Saturday at Diverseworks, materializes Rice Radio's KTRU's presentation of Ashmathitic Kitty's 4th Unusual Animals party. Huh? See, we told you we were gonna make it simple. Just trust us. Or, just keep reading. DiverseWorks is excited to......

Today’s video comes from a highly regarded 5-piece Austin band, The Lemurs. Although you may not have heard of them, The Lemurs have been around since 2004, playing all over Texas including several SXSW festivals. The band is in town tonight playing at Walter’s on Washington, so if you like what you hear, go check them out tonight. Breaking You Down comes from the bands 2006 self-titled EP, and we think it is a......

Just because there are no multi-million selling artists coming into town this week doesn't mean you should sit home. Actually, it's a great week to check out some quality local and regional artists. The Continental Club is hosting a killer Texas country/rock line-up Saturday night -- it includes Hayes Carll, Jesse Dayton and The Weary Boys. Also, Houston's Arthur Yoria is celebrating the release of his new CD at Rudyard's the same night. Other......

While walking down South Congress Avenue on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Austin at SXSW last month, Houstonist came up upon the unofficial Houston music showcase. We decided to hang out for a while, grab a beer and some chips and queso, and catch some great local acts. We chatted with the host of the showcase, Pete Lippincott, who just happens to be the man behind the band Petesimple. Petesimple recently released their second CD......

San Diego-based band Augustana released their debut album All the Stars and Boulevards in the summer of 2005. Finally, almost two years later, the album has taken off and has reached the upper half of the Billboard album charts, thanks to radio embracing the single “Boston.” We recently spoke to Jared Palomar (bass, vocals) of Augustana, as they get ready for their headlining show this Saturday night at the Meridian. We first caught you last......

A lot of people seemed to like last month’s iMix (and, in all honesty, we did, too), so we’re proud to bring you Houstonist iMix: April 2007. This month, we bring you some more new and uprising artists, including some of those that we caught at SXSW last month (The Black Angels, The Bird and the Bee, Mika, RJD2). We threw in some other independent artists we like (Beulah, Marah) and a band that’s so......

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like......

Living With War: The Black Angels / VietNam Official After Party @ Jet Lounge As you learned in yesterday's Music Calendar, some of Houstonist's favorite sounds will be making an appearance tonight at Warehouse Live. Fresh off of SXSW, Austin's The Black Angels and The Fader's recent obsession, VietNam, play tonight, with locals Flowers to Hide supporting. Following the sure-to-be-stellar show, Squad Car Media hosts the Official After Party for both bands at nearby......

Now that most of the SXSW artists have left Texas, we have a slower week for concerts, but there are still some great shows to catch. Houstonist caught The Black Angels and VietNam in Austin this past weekend, and we're glad to hear that they (along with Flowers to Hide) are making a stop at Warehouse Live on Wednesday. The Westheimer Street Festival is this Saturday, with several dozen local acts on the roster.......

Busy week for live music, thanks to SXSW and it's overflow of artists into Houston. Some of the showcases you can check out include Super Happy Fun Land's nightly extravaganza and Alternative Press brings you "Bands you Need to Know" on Friday at the Meridian. Proletariat and Walter's on Washington are just two other of the many venues hosting SXSW artists. We highly recommend checking out a few of these shows this week --......

Last week, we told you about many of the SXSW bands doing “layover” shows in Houston. Well, Super Happy Fun Land is taking it one step further by hosting the SXSW Overflow Fest 2007, which officially kicked off over this past weekend. Don’t worry, you still have plenty of chances to see several dozen new, independent musicians from all over. If tonight doesn’t work for you, there’s always Tuesday night, Wednesday night, etc. Each night......

So as luck would have it, Austin is only about 150 miles away (although we’re sure you already knew that, smartypants), and each year around mid-March there is a well respected music, arts, and media festival known as South by Southwest (knew that, too, didn’t you?). What’s this got to do with Houston, you ask? (See, you don’t know everything.) Well, Houston has become a sort of stop-over point on the way to (or from)......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending......

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate. SFist saw their beloved mayor enter rehab, and they loved the......

This week Houstonist is trying something new to keep you updated on the city's growing internet scene. Every weekend, we'll feature some of our favorite posts from local blogs the past week. So, without further ado, here's what Houstonians have been up to: Nothing's better than food in Houston - uh, Food in Houston. This week featured a post about what could be the death of Houston's Vietnamtown. A shopping center at 2800 Milam, the......

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not......

As the world holds its breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans......

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing. Austinist said goodbye to their co-editor (sell-out) and played rumor monger on the SXSW lineup. And when dozens of dead birds littered downtown Austin, it's......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

Tuesday A good night for the acoustic-minded. The San Francisco Bay Guardian claims that if you were to combine Iron and Wine with Elliott Smith, you’d get Meric Long / Dodo Bird. Throw in some Wilco-styled vocals in there, and whammo – you have a great band. 8 p.m. at The Proletariat | tickets and info Like any serious, country-leaning singer/songwriter, Robbie Fulks has a bone to pick with Nashville, but it doesn’t consume......