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KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

Archives for December 2018

Texas Standard: December 19, 2018

Texas requires contractors to sign a pledge against boycotting Israel. Is that a violation of the First Amendment? A legal challenge to a new state law today on the Texas Standard.

This time yesterday we told you about landmark legislation on criminal justice–with passage in the Senate last night, we’ll hear why some behind bars in Texas choose to stay there.

Also, history meets what planners call the future of El Paso as preservationists fight to save a neighborhood from the wrecking ball. We’ll hear what’s at stake.

Plus the editor in chief of Kirkus Reviews with some last minute gift tips, and more.

Linen Closet: “Warning Sign”

Here are a few labels that local six-piece Linen Closet ascribes to their sound: “contrarian pop”, “boogie bummer”, “grump pop”, “norm horror”, and “glum core”. And while we could debate what any of those actually mean, it’s safe to say that Linen Closet’s music is just as bleak as it is pleasant and just as catchy as it droning.

Their October 2018 self-titled full-length brought layers of rock and symphonic indie out of the closet and laid an eight track bed of excellence. You can see Linen Closet playing 9pm this Saturday at ABGB and get a little languid this hump day with “Warning Sign”!

This Song: Nik Ewing, aka Chewing, of Local Natives

Nik Ewing, leader of the band Chewing and bass player for Local Natives, explains why he chose to cover Dennis Wilson’s solo album “Pacific Ocean Blue” in it’s entirety. This project is part of Turntable Kitchen’s Sounds Delicious   series, a monthly subscription service where artists cover classic albums and subscribers get a limited edition vinyl copy of each project.

Listen to this episode of This Song

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We talked to Nik for an earlier episode of This Song.  Check out this episode.

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song

Texas Standard: December 18, 2018

After Obamacare, then what? The governor’s suggesting he’ll push for a Texas healthcare plan. But what would Abbottcare look like and is it for real? The story today.

Texas’ senior senator, the number two man in the Senate, delivers an impassioned plea for a criminal justice bill. And it looks like it could be one of those rare opportunities for something resembling real bipartisanship. What John Cornyn said and why he’s now in the spotlight.

Also, a creature long rumored to roam the swamps of the south–turns out it’s for real. We’ll talk with the Texas researcher who helped discover a new species. And much more today on the Texas Standard.

Marmalakes: “Geneva Hall” (Live in Studio 1A)

If you’ve seen any live music in Austin in the past ten years, chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of drummer Josh Halpern or singer-guitarist Chase Weinacht, either onstage or in the crowd. Halpern provides percussion for Palo Duro, Shearwater, Hello Wheels, Still Corners, Taft (and probably a dozen other groups) while Weinacht puts time towards solo songwriting and The Hermits, but it’s all on top of the strong bond formed over a decade ago as Marmalakes.

With both members determined in their own right, Marmalakes walks a path between the two extremes of friendship and discipline (not to mention an insatiable hunger for indie folk rock), and when we named them our May 2018 Artist of the Month, it was practically overdue! Marmalakes‘ debut LP Please Don’t Stop came out in May, filled with songs we’ve heard live for years, now provided with some in-studio clarity. Live is still the best way to enjoy Marmalakes, so catch ’em around town whenever you can, starting right now with the Studio 1A rendition of one of their latest and greatest, “Geneva Hall”!

Texas Standard: December 17, 2018

After the death of an undocumented Guatemalan girl, politicians return to tour what was once called a temporary tent camp at Tornillo. The story today on the Standard.
A Trump administration proposal to deport certain Vietnamese immigrants sends shock waves through parts of Texas: home to some of the largest Vietnamese communities in the US.
Also, the year that was in energy. Plus, a tumultuous year in review from the previous century- and why a Texas museum is turning a spotlight on it.
All those stories, plus the changing face of Texas politics and more coming up today on the Texas Standard.

Scone Cash Players: “My First Divorced Christmas (Santa Claus Got a Divorce)” [feat. Lee Taylor]

When you’ve spent years backing up the late great Sharon Jones, Lou Donaldson, Lee Fields and more, the word “master” seems fitting. There’s no exception when it comes to Adam Scone, a wizard of the Hammond Organ and founder of Scone Cash Players. With a world of experience under his belt, Scone reunited with his fellow Dap-Kings this last year for two big recordings, the Scone Cash Players soul-soaked debut LP Blast Furnace, and the Holiday-themed 45 Scone Cold Christmas.

Both records raise the bar high for Scone and his band, who’ve been comfortably expanding their touring obligations from national to international audiences. The future is bright for Scone Cash Players, so deck the halls Daptone style with the first single off Scone Cold Christmas featuring Brooklyn vocalist Lee Taylor, “My First Divorced Christmas (Santa Claus Got a Divorce)”!

Higher Ed: Developing “Intellectual Bravado” A.k.a. The Courage To Ask Any Question

Ever feel like you want to ask a question, but you hold back because you think the question is stupid or you will look silly asking it? In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss getting past those barriers that keep us from asking what’s on our mind.

We have all been there: a question pops into out head, but then so does the self-doubt. We fear that others will find the question stupid or elementary, and we will look foolish if we ask it. So we clam up and fervently hope that someone else will pipe up with the same query.

How can we get past that feeling that our questions are dumb?

Ed says all of us could stand to develop a little “intellectual bravado” when it comes to learning and asking questions.

What’s “intellectual bravado?”

“Intellectual bravado means that you’re brave enough to explore the outer limits of your own thinking or other people’s thinking,” says Ed, ” and you are not afraid to go beyond and to maybe be in a place that’s a little bit uncomfortable or a little bit awkward or that’s new.”

Ed says one way to get braver asking questions is to understand that questions do not need to be exceedingly sophisticated or complicated. Sometimes, he says, simple questions are the most profound.

“If we were brave enough to actually ask what seems like a foundational or fundamental question,” Ed asserts, “we actually will go deeper even though it might sound silly at first.”

Ed says a tremendous payoff results from investing more in a presentation, activity or conversation by asking questions.

“We get more out of life’s experience when we actually know we’re going to a – create a question; and b – actually going to ask it,” says Ed.

What event in Ed’s life freed him to feel like he could ask questions without fear? Listen to the full episode to find out, and to hear this week’s unusual take on a puzzler. It may prompt some questions in you!

This episode was recorded on Dec. 4, 2018.

Frank Washington, pt. 1 (Ep. 2, 2019)

In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation about the history and future of the automobile industry with Frank Washington, Managing Partner and Editor of About That Car-Dot-Com, a website that features columns and features on all manner of automotive matters.

KUT Weekend – December 14, 2018

Apple announces a major expansion in Austin. Plus, how football provides teenagers a way out of the Texas juvenile justice system. And who are those people who ride horses around downtown Austin? Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!

Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org

Texas Standard: December 14, 2018

Weeks of meetings on climate change come to a close, but what’s changing? Other than the climate? We’ll explore today on the Texas Standard.
Reduce, reuse, recycle, they say…but now what? What’s there to show for a conference on climate and what role can individuals play today?
Also, ’tis the season for graduation? A 19 year old gets her PhD in North Texas and we get schooled on her story.
Space the final frontier? What about that frontier separating Texas and Mexico? How Elon Musk may stand in the way of a border wall.

Plus the week in Texas politics and a whole lot more.

The Cone

We think they’re good for our pups, protecting them from their own urges to lick or scratch. But plastic cones are far less fun – and let’s face it, they’re confusing – for those pooches who have to don them after a visit to the vet.

Mélat: “Coffee So Black” (Live in Studio 1A)

If you don’t know the name Mélat, you’re seriously missing out. Between her voice, lyrics, world view and work ethic, this native Austinite and Studio 1A veteran is an insanely talented beacon of energy and with the release of her latest album Move Me II: The Present, it was kind of  a no-brainer to name Mélat our February Artist of the Month. Mélat’s live performances are just as breathtaking as her studio recordings and in addition to regular live shows she promises new recorded material in 2019.

While we eagerly await the new stuff, let’s bask in the glory of her most recent Studio 1A visit around the time Move Me II came out, with a live rendition of one of the album’s midpoints, “Coffee So Black”!

 

Honesty & Happiness

If you’ve caught yourself wanting to lie in a social situation, you’re not alone. Honesty is a huge part of trust in every relationship but can be difficult to maintain across all sorts of interactions.

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about honesty and happiness.

Texas Standard: December 13, 2018

A food fight on Capitol Hill may be coming to an end, what’s in the massive farm bill and what isn’t? That story and more today on the Texas Standard.

As much of the US is focused on disarray in DC, why dramatic European disunion right now should be on our radar here in Texas.

Also, how the recent wild ride on Wall Street is hitting the home front.

How pop-up PACs are skirting campaign laws.

And is there an echo in the room? If not, there may be a few under the tree. How the hottest gifts of the season, those smart speakers, really stack up against each othe

Matthew Perryman Jones: “Lovers In Another Life”

Pennsylvania native Matthew Perryman Jones has been playing music for so long that his discography is old enough to vote. Jones is a current member of Nashville’s Ten Out Of Tenn singer-songwriter collective and his phenomenal solo work sheds light on a ground between indie, folk, Americana, pop and rock.

In September Jones released his fifth full-length, The Waking Hours, a wanderlust-inspired album that explores how we drift towards love and how difficult it can be to let go. Matthew Perryman Jones plays tomorrow night at the Mohawk and you can pre-game with “Lovers In Another Life”!

Photo: Robby Klein

The Wild Reeds: “Lose My Mind”

When life’s a marsh, sometimes you gotta draw reeds. Enter Los Angeles quintet The Wild Reeds, who have been averaging at about an album per year since their humble start in 2014. The five members of The Wild Reeds have been through a lot recently, and their upcoming (and appropriately-titled) album Cheers is an amalgamation of working through those difficulties. Cheers channels optimism in light of life’s obstacles, and this baker’s dozen of new tunes show off the best that The Wild Reeds’ three chief songwriters have to offer.

Cheers is out March 8th, but you can raise a proverbial glass this Hump Day with a brand new R&B-infused single from The Wild Reeds, “Lose My Mind”!

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