Is Texas an epicenter for human trafficking? A bust in Texas’ biggest city points to how bad the problems become, we’ll explore. Also after California, Texas has more military bases and active duty servicemen and women than any other state: now a groundbreaking study on what can be done to help those with Post Traumatic stress. Plus Texas senator Ted Cruz says he’s consistently opposed government shutdowns. If you don’t like green eggs and ham, you may want to hear today’s fact-check of the senators claim. And three things many Texans can’t live without: caught in the crossfire over NAFTA? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Archives for January 2018
Christina Cavazos: “Mile Marker” (Live in Studio 1A)
At 17, Christina Cavazos sounds and writes like she’s been making and performing music for at least that long, commanding full rooms with songwriting that strikes the perfect balance between low-key and intriguing paired with a floating voice that can only be described as rich and lovely. Recently accepted into the prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU, Cavazos is also coming upon the anniversary of her debut EP Cold, a short album that’s landed her on many of Austin’s finest stages and listening rooms in the last year. Cavazos brings her hallowed talents to an upcoming Microsessions set at Mosaic Sound Collective this Saturday.
Check out the rest of Christina’s Studio 1A set here.
-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
Texas Standard: January 23, 2018
Why did President Trumps voter fraud commission ask for the names of all hispanic voters in Texas? The story not be what it seems, we’ll have details. Also wildfires shut down two interstates and force evacuations west of the metroplex. Welcome to wildfire season 2018: we’ll hear what the experts at Texas A&M are bracing for. And after marches over the weekend, women ask how to build on the momentum: one potential answer gaining momentum in a Texas high school classroom. Also 25 years after that siege outside of Waco, a perspective seldom heard: one from the inside. A survivors story. And the shift away from the war on terror: who are the revisionists? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Put Yah Foot in It (Ep. 3)
Kitchen Diva Angela Medearis talks about the history and concepts of African American cuisine. Jackie also talks about the movie “Soul Food” and her theory of how Big Mama led to her own demise.
Bakbonz – “Twisted Love”
Austin’s Bakbonz is an up and coming masterpiece of soul R&B musical collaboration. One half of the duo is Kelly Doze, a locally renowned blues-soul singer-songwriter with a couple of albums under her belt and appearances on tracks from the likes of Ray Prim, Zeale, and D.O.S. Doze’s complementary collaborator is drummer/singer Les Fisher, whose talents have earned him spots onstage alongside Gary Clark Jr, Bob Schneider and Patti Labelle. Joining forces seems like a pretty good idea at this point, right? Luckily for us listeners, Doze and Fisher have teamed up to form Bakbonz (pronounced “back bones”) and are set to release their debut album Worth the Wait tonight at the One 2 One Bar. Worth the Wait‘s thirteen tracks showcase Fisher and Doze’s talents across a variety of sonic textures, but you can end the wait right now with a slammer of an R&B single – “Twisted Love”.
-Jack Anderson (Host, Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Texas Standard: January 22, 2018
A surprise in Texas election year politics: one of the state’s biggest unions turns its back on the democrat hoping to unseat Ted Cruz, we’ll have the latest. Also, he’s supposed to be second in command in the Lone Star state and yet some believe when it comes to power, the number two is number 1. A pre-primary primmer on the powers on the Lt. Governor. And prices of Texas crude, hitting new levels not seen since the market fallout of 2014. Time to sell the gas-guzzler? Plus after losing most of his family to a shooter, a father asks the state for clemency for the convicted killer…his own son. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Superfónicos: “Sigue Pa’lante” (Live in Studio 1A)
Fusing Colombian funk and Caribe soul, Austin’s Superfónicos is a fruitful source of lush and local Latin licks. Bound together by an advocacy for peace and unity through therapeutic dance, Superfónicos was founded four years ago amongst bassist Nico Sanchez and guitarist Erick Bohorquez over their shared passion for Afro-Colombian rhythms. Performing now as a seven-piece, Superfónicos’ pairing with famed Austin producer Adrian Quesada gave birth to the group’s 2017 debut full-length album filled with infectious Latin sounds riddled with Caribbean textures.
Superfónicos stopped by KUTX’s Studio 1A last June and they’re performing this Friday at Hotel Vegas alongside Frederico7, Dub Seance and Steven Lee Moya. You can listen to Superfónicos right here on KUTX!
–Jack Anderson (Host, Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Higher Ed: What “Like” Means In Education
We know what it means to “like” something. But does that word carry extra meaning in education and learning? What does it mean when students say they “like” a class or fear a teacher doesn’t “like” them? In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger explore perceptions and realities of “likes” in education. Whether or not students and teachers like a class or each other is actually a pretty complicated topic. Students may “like” a class because they did well, but is that the best criteria for judging a class? What about teachers who bring in donuts on course evaluation day; should their goal be for students to “like” them and write a positive evaluation? In this era of “likes” on social media, Ed and Jennifer discuss what it really means – and should mean – to “like” something in the realm of education and learning. Check out the full episode to see if you like the latest puzzler about a “random walk.”
This episode was recorded Nov. 7, 2017.
Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams (Ep. 7, 2018)
In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams, stand-up comedian, actress, and author of Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat, the story of her journey from an impoverished childhood to her current success.
KUT Weekend – January 19, 2018
Why a warming arctic could be responsible for cold spells in Texas. Plus, the story behind the upper and lower decks of I-35. And why people are developing a community of tiny homes just outside the Austin city limits.
Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org
Texas Standard: January 19, 2018
Not ready for Prime time? Houstonians wonder how they missed out as two other Texas cities make Amazon’s cut for a possible second HQ, we’ll have the latest. Also, when disaster strikes, who’s gotcha covered? A new investigation by the Austin American Statesman finds billions of dollars in Texas state property uninsured, and taxpayers routinely on the hook, we’ll explore. And baby its cold outside, but colder than past winters in Texas? We’ll double check the thermometer. Also, automakers spending billions hoping to win over the biggest market for pickup trucks on the planet. You know where that is, right? All that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Solar Shield: “ASixTwoSix”
Austin’s Chris McDowell, aka Solar Shield is somewhat of a keyboard/synth wizard. Solar Shield exploded onto the local electronic scene in 2014 with his Reesis EP, serenading listeners and dancers with his seductive key changes and synth grooves. Next month Solar Shield is releasing his self-titled full-length, nine tracks that were created between 2011 and 2013 but still hold their vigor in 2018.
Solar Shield stopped by KUTX’s Studio 1A last year alongside Soundfounder and Brother Bear as part of Exploded Drawing’s 7 Years release, and you can enjoy that session here. Solar Shield comes out February 5th, but feel free to download the album’s second track, one that’ll surely get your head bobbing, “ASixTwoSix”.
–Jack Anderson (Host Monday-Wednesday 8-11pm, Saturday 6-10am)
Why Was I-35 Designed As A Double-Decker Through Central Austin?
Interstate Highway 35 is many things to many people. It is a vital thoroughfare for commerce and shipping. It is also an economic and social barrier through much of Austin. And nearly from its construction, it has been a source of frustration for drivers stuck in its traffic. I-35 has inspired a number of questions and even legends about its design and those who made it.
Nostalgia
Last month on All Things Considered NPR’s Kelly McEvers and Pop Culture Happy Hour‘s Linda Holmes and Glen Weldon talked about this era of TV and movies, many of which are catering to Gen X nostalgia.
Weldon asserted that, “…the strongest nostalgia you feel is for the stuff that you chose. So in your teens and 20s, you make a decision. You make your first cultural choices. You say, this is mine.”
But is that actually true? How does our brain process memory? And what is nostalgia?
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of nostalgia and how it works in our brains.
Texas Ice Scrapers
The weather in Texas set record lows this week. School districts and city offices shut down because of — what’s that? Is that ice? Why is there ice sticking on my windshield? That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: January 18, 2018
The eyes of Texas are on Washington this hour and a federal shutdown looms, non essential services stopped. We’ll explore what that means for Texas. Plus, Governor Abbott’s kicked off his reelection campaign with a promise on property taxes. With more than a few challenging him for his seat, what can a governor really do? We’ll explore. And the wintry mix that shutdown several of Texas’ biggest cities, one of the weeks biggest stories, but how’s it been playing out down on the farm? There may be a bit of good news, for some Texas farmers and ranchers, we’ll hear why. And one of the most popular smartphone apps in the country right now, not available in Texas? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Meanswell: “Meanswell” (Live In Studio 1A)
Photo: Robinette Films
New name, new attitude, new album. That’s the current mantra of Austin’s Meanswell, a reinvention of beloved Austin group The Gents, who after releasing their third studio EP last year, turned the lens on themselves and started working towards a new sound that played to the group’s strengths, and allowed a bit more room for creativity and the ability to carve out their own sound against the grain of the Austin music scene. Under the deft recording hand of Chris “Frenchie” Smith, the result is tantalizing.
“Meanswell,” is the debut single under the new name, and true to the group’s reinvented sound, possesses the beautiful ability to mix the softer sounds of Doo-Wop and Buddy Holly with the growling blues sound of decades’ past, and pouring it into their skillet of personal touch to give it the 21st-century saute.
Catch Meanswell at Barracuda on Thursday, February 1st with Star Parks.
-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
This Song: Milky Chance
German indie folk group Milky Chance released their second record Blossom in March 2017. Listen as DJ/ producer Philipp Dausch and singer/guitarist Clemens Rehbein explain how Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist John Frusciante’s “A Name” and the unreleased Bob Marley demo “Rumors” helped them clarify how direct and raw they wanted their own music to be.
Check out Milky Chance’s Tour Dates
Listen to Milky Chance perform “Ego” backstage at ACLfest
Listen to Bob Marley’s unreleased demo “Rumors.”
Subscribe via the Podcasts App, iTunes or Stitcher to get the new episodes of This Song delivered to you as soon as they come out.
 |
 |
|---|
Listen to Songs from Episode 120 of This Song
Texas Standard: January 17, 2018
The big freeze—it’s not just a buzzphrase for Texans right now as congress is stuck over DACA and the threat of a government shutdown. The search for a thaw today on the Standard
The Trump Department of Justice asks the Supreme Court to intervene over a California judge’s order to keep DACA going. We’ll hear why that judge’s move has become a controversy in legal circles.
Also Governor Abbott’s opening volley in his reelection bid: property taxes.
And a solution for Texas schoolkids living in poverty: weekday boarding?
Also after a false alarm in Hawaii–parents talking about apocalypse with their children.
And what’s the key to keeping your car from getting stolen? A politifact-check and more today on the Texas Standard.
MOTORCADE: “Desertion”
Photo: Jerome Brock
Cutting a fresh reputation built on the sounds of the 80s underground comes Dallas’s MOTORCADE, ready to whisk you away to the lands of dark, smoky bars, equally smokey eyes, and plenty of scuffed leather. After members spent time touring with prolific acts like St. Vincent, Apples in Stereo, the War on Drugs, and Daniel Johnston, the group came together to noodle around with some things guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist James Henderson had been whipping up, and as it tends to go when congruent music minds are put together, a few pieces of songs turned into the group’s debut album.
“Desertion” opens with a bouncing synth line that initially sounds like you’re being ushered into the 8-bit world, but takes a hard turn down the 80s post-punk rabbit hole as soon as it’s met with darker synth sounds and smooth-spinning vocals. The song’s arrangement leaves a lot of room to air out the layers, allowing you to take it head on and at its face value: Motorcade aren’t here to reinvent the wheel of alt-rock, they’re just reveling in one of its greatest sounds.
“Desertion” appears on MOTORCADE, out this Friday via Idol Records.
-Taylor Wallace// Host, Thursdays 8p-11p & Saturdays 2p-6p; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli