Few folks, including Galvestonians, are aware of the large bear population that can be found on the island. The species, known as the Galvez Bear, are nearly as elusive as Big Foot.......

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......

Do You Like Rock Music? If so, British Sea Power has made the perfect record for you. The band's third full length album is aptly titled and rocking and rolling enough to satisfy your musical genre tastes. -Read an album review at Spin.com -Watch the music video for the song, “No Lucifer,” at Youtube -Download the song “Waving Flags” at World's Fair -Stream entire album at AOL -British Sea Power is set to perform at......

We know it's only February, but we would like to prematurely speculate and say that Lightspeed Champion has released one of the most accomplished debuts of the year. Who knew that Dev Hynes [pictured], guitarist of the now defunct thrash punk outfit Test Icicles, was a brooding singer/songwriter bursting at the seams with sentimental feeling? Dev, recording under the moniker Lightspeed Champion, releases his stunning new solo album, Falling off the Lavender Bridge, today. -Watch......

It's a struggle not to talk about how awesome the Super Bowl was last night, but since we're here to talk about Houston teams first and foremost, we'll have to stick to our mission. But how 'bout those commercials, huh? We went and looked at the GoDaddy.com Danica Patrick one online; who knew that she could put both legs behind her head while playing "Smoke On The Water" on kazoo? Here's what the blogosphere has......

Okay! So! Earlier this week, People.com reported that a "well placed" source said a New Kids on the Block reunion was gonna happen. But then elsewhere on the internets, an even BETTER placed source said that's not true!!! So what does this all mean?!? And why are people comparing the New Kids to the Beatles?!?!? And should grown men really be called Kids when they are pushing forty?!?!?!?!?!?! We don't know! But! This has given......

Artists from both coasts duke it out on the charts this week. We’ve been fans of the Helio Sequence's ambient sound for some time now, and today the band releases their fourth album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead. -Download some songs at CNET -Aversion interviewed Helio singer Brandon Summers -Read an album review at Billboard.com -Buy Keep Your Eyes Ahead So if you visit the Mars Volta’s website, you can read a very elaborate story about......

Unfortunately, our pick of the week has already aired. Kimya Dawson and Adam Green of the Moldy Peaches performed our favorite song from the Juno soundtrack, "Anyone Else But You," on The View this morning. We're hoping it'll pop up on The View's website or on Youtube soon. Monday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Ringo Starr -NBC, 11:35pm: Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Subways -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Velvet......

Three female singer/songwriters who march to the beat of their own drums are releasing albums this week, including a 20 year old British musician with a penchant for colorful language named Kate Nash [pictured]. Singer Kate Nash’s debut album, Made of Bricks, is already a hit in her native England, and today it is being released stateside. Nash matches witty and honest lyrics with playful piano chords much like another young star, Regina Spektor. -Read......

For once, there's a reason to watch 60 Minutes beyond Andy Rooney's senile rants. Everyone's favorite hometown anti-hero, Roger Clemens, will be featured on Sunday's episode of the ABC news magazine, talking with his personal friend Mike Wallace about the steroid use allegations that surfaced as part of the Mitchell Report last month. Ever since the report came out, Clemens has issued a series of denials, starting with a press release, working up to a......

This looks to be the last big release week of the year, and 2007 is going out with a bang. We'll see you in '08! The Cool is Lupe Fiasco's follow-up album to last year's fantastic Food and Liquor. The record is filled with clever and forward-thinking tracks like “Dumb it Down” that manage succeed on both an underground and commercial level, and features noteworthy contributions from Snoop Dogg, UNKLE, newcomer Matthew Santos, and Food......

It was weird. Sunday rolled around, and there wasn't a Texans game to watch. So we just chilled and ignored the TV for a change; what else were we going to do? Watch the Cowboys' game? What are we, Jessica Simpson? Between the Astros trades, the Texans resurgence, and the Mitchell Report, there was a lot to blog about this week. Everyone grab your number 2 pencil for the review: - The Miguel Tejada trade......

With all the excitement surrounding the new Wu-Tang Clan record, what are some other bands you'd like to see return to the spotlight? We still say a prayer for a Fugees' comeback album, even though we know it's a lost cause. 8 Diagrams is the long-awaited new album from Wu-Tang, featuring the much-talked about Beatles' sample and guitar work by John Frusciante. Group members Ghostface and Raekwon have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the......

::NetSquared Meet Up: Careflash:: Ever wonder who the rowdy group in the back room at Stag's Head is every 2nd Tuesday of the month? We did, too. So last month we barged in. Ok, we were invited. And we found out where all the big hearted techies have been hiding, at the NetSquared Meetup! The mission of Net2 is to spur responsible adoption of social web tools by social benefit organizations. There's a whole new......

We know that American Idol Mania is almost a religious experience in certain parts of this country, but we will not, cannot recommend that you buy Blake Lewis’ new album. We just… can’t. Sorry. What have you wrought, Doug E. Fresh?! Listening to Alive 2007 will give you a sense of what the Daft Punk concert experience is all about. Well, you won’t have beer spillage on your shoes, or dudes smoking trees all up......

It’s a slow week. So slow in fact, that the big release of the day just might be the Spice Girls' Greatest Hits CD. We'll be rooting for Scary Spice on Dancing with the Stars tonight, but we've decided to highlight some other musical imports for now. Might we suggest the perfect holiday gift for the music nerd in your life? The Brit Box: U.K. Indie, Shoegaze, and Brit Pop Gems of the Last Millennium......

If he isn't already, Joe Mathlete should be considered a local hero. It isn't enough that he has given us two of the funniest blogs on these here Internets (Joe Mathlete's Great American Blog and Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke), but he's also the ringleader of one of the most enjoyable live acts in town. The Mathletes' "Pinocchiobot (or, The Devil and Robot McGee)" is a testament to Joe Mathlete’s brand of (successful) oddball......

It’s like Divas Las Vegas 2007 this week, but in a good way! Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, and the Queen of Soul all have new albums debuting on the charts. It took us a little longer than usual to warm up to Alicia Keys’ new single, “No One” from her latest album, As I Am. But now that we’ve heard it endlessly on the radio and on TV, and it’s formed its own repeat loop......

Henry Dittman and Joan (justjoan) are the hosts of the Internet-based travelogue called The Smart Show sponsored by Holiday Inn Express. By now you're probably familiar with the H.I.E. ads that purports to convey savant-like intellect on its patrons. "I'm not a vascular surgeon, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night," says a broke writer after requesting a scalpel from the O.R. nurse. Despite having a title sponsor, The Smart Show does......

This past week was a study in contrasts for Houston sports fans: the Texans were idle but the Rockets played host to the most-watched basketball game in the world; the Astros made a trade that ended the Houston career of one of our biggest anti-heroes while the Dynamo set the stage for what may be Houston's first championship dynasty since the Rockets' run in the 90's. Let's take a look at what the blogs were......

This week, we learn that Jay-Z is officially out of retirement indefinitely, that heima means home in Icelandic, and that Chris Brown is like a real grown-up! So the new film American Gangster served as inspiration for Jay-Z’s latest album and made big bucks at the box office last weekend. Could this mean huge numbers for Jay-Z’s CD of the same name? -Read an album review in the New York Times -Watch Jay-Z on VH1's......

We like to peruse YouTube for interesting videos that pertain to Houston. Today we have come across this classic gem of Stevie Ray Vaughan playing slide guitar as he performs the national anthem at the Astrodome back in 1985. We hope you enjoy this short clip. Rest in peace, Stevie.......

Britney and Backstreet are back alright, but we’ve got our eye on a few other notable releases this week. However, if you’re still looking for some last minute Halloween costume ideas… We’re really excited about the lovely Nicole Atkins’ latest album, Neptune City. The fact that Atkins’ dramatic low-register voice vaguely reminds us of early Stevie Nicks is merely an added bonus. -Watch the video for the album’s title track on Youtube -Stream the......

Lots of CDs are released week after week. And though we unwisely spend a bulk of our disposable income on music, Houstonist understands that you work hard for the money, honey! So every Tuesday, we'll bring you a list of CDs that we think will give you the most bang for your buck. Ryan Adams and his band the Cardinals release an EP called Follow the Lights today, just months after the acclaimed full-length Easy......

The song is simple, totally electronic, and very new wave, but we still love it. It's hard to believe that it's been 28 years since the release of "Cars" from Gary Numan. A Top 10 hit from 1980, it was a very left-field hit that year, sounding like nothing else you heard on the radio. We're happy that the YouTube poster included the lyrics to the song; we just now realized that for almost......

It's time again to look into the wilds of the internets and see what people are saying about Houston's sports teams. Without further ado, here we go. -Jacoby Jones is hands-down the most exciting player on the Texans right now, and probably their most anticipated rookie since David Carr. The national press is starting to take notice as well, as noted in this NFL.com article that compares Jones to last NFL season's IT GUY Devin......

Here we have an interesting video architecture tour through Houston with an emphasis on two Renzo Piano-designed galleries: the Menil Museum and the Cy Twombly Gallery. One interesting aspect of this video are the inside shots of the aforementioned museums. Sneaky!......

When we were very young, there was a pizza joint called Showbiz Pizza (which became Chuck E. Cheese), which featured the usual: cardboard pizza, games, and singing animals. Well, those singing animals (known as Rockafire Explosion) that scared the bejesus out of us back in those days are back -- singing Bubba Sparxxx's hip-hop tune "Ms. New Booty." It seems that someone who calls themselves Christhrash on YouTube, bought these mechanical animals and decide......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Chronicle Tech Round Up The tech guys over at the Chron are pumping out the technology news and we are going tell you about it. ---Dwight Silverman Dwight Silverman reviews and discusses the newest version of the popular image editing software, Photoshop. The new version is called Photoshop CS3. Dwight also informs us that Houston is the 5th most e-mail-addicted city in the U.S. A fact......

What we have here is supposedly a rare video of U2 performing in a Houston bar. While Houstonist can't vouch for the validity of this video, we can take note that this is probably from the Rattle & Hum era of the band's career. If anyone can shed some light on this rare video, please do so by leaving us a comment. We'd like to know where and when this video was taken. In......