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Texas lawmakers have until Monday to pass their latest proposal on cutting property taxes and boosting school spending. Plus, how death certificate delays have put healing on hold for a grieving family. And how an Austin woman helped change the Texas constitution to make dads pay child support. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Chers at the capitol as lawmakers pass changes to school finance and property taxes. Will Texans more broadly be cheering as well? We’ll explore. Also, both Money for schools and property tax cuts passed by the Texas legislature. How’s that gonna work, exactly? We’ll take a closer look. And 50 years after Apollo 11, another trip to the moon in the works: this time it could be permanent. Plus the week in politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
This Typewriter Rodeo poem is for all the ‘Game Of Thrones’ fans who just don’t know what they’re going to do with themselves on Sunday nights now that the show has concluded.
Though the phrase “Italian pop” may only remind Westerners of European soda, for twenty-two-year-old Lake Garda singer Giulia Fontana it means something much different. Fontana premiered her dark synth-pop project HÅN in 2017 with her breathtaking EP, The Children, corralling Fontana’s flawless vocals and knack for electronic production together into an eight-track that’s just as spacey and ethereal as it is pulsating and driving.
Be on the lookout for HÅN’s sophomore EP, due out in a few months, and enjoy the enigmatic, sleek, beat-heavy single released today, “gymnasion”!
It turns out when it comes to magic it’s more about psychology than it is hocus pocus. On this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the role our perceptual system plays in understanding trickery.
Today’s Austin Music Minute features a snippet of “First Began,” from the album Gumbo by the phenomenal PJ Morton. Seriously, stop what your doing and listen to his enticing rendition of The BeeGees‘ “How Deep Is Your Love” on Gumbo Unplugged. I – said – damn.
Now imagine just how awesome it’ll be to see Morton performing live. You can, as a matter of fact, during this year’s Hot Luck Festival, an entire Memorial Day weekend’s worth of chef-prepared culinary delights, and an aural smorgasbord of live music.
Your mouth’s watering. Good. Get started tonight with performances by Robert Ellis & Friends at the Mohawk, 912 Red River; Erika Wennerstrom at Barracuda, 611 E. 7th St.; New Breed Brass Band at Antone’s, 305 E. 5th St., and more. Throughout the weekend, check out performances by Sunflower Bean, Archers of Loaf, El Tule, Leftover Salmon, The Suffers and more. Get the full line-up and schedule at the Hot Luck Fest website.
Chow down, get down. Recommended.
-Photo of PJ Morton by Alex Smith.
-Please note that tomorrow night’s show with PJ Morton and Mélat at Antone’s is now sold out.
A border detention facility in McAllen shutdown, this in the wake of the death of a detained 16 year old migrant. We’ll have the latest. Also, the U.S. is blacklisting Huawei, the China-based phone maker. And the effects of that decision is hitting home harder than you might think. Plus a new investigation shows police in Texas accused of serious crimes and possible jail time using their badges as bargaining chips. Plus one of Texas’ biggest counties trying to make it easier for voters to do their thing…but will it work? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
At the malleable age of twenty-one, ambitions are pretty dang high for Atlanta singer Faye Webster.
It’s only been a couple of years since her self-titled debut but Webster’s already gained a steady following thanks to her airy vocals, complex emotional lyrics, and genre-fluent songwriting. Webster’s sound is a hybrid of Americana, indie, folk, R&B and hip-hop, equally inspired by vulnerability as it is confidence, and she’s set to bring that Georgia humidity to your stereo just in time for Summer. Webster’s new album Atlanta Millionaires Club comes out tomorrow and to tide you over here’s some affectionate aural aftershave from Faye Webster, “Right Side of My Neck”!
It’s so good! The track featured on today’s Austin Music Minute, “Juniper St.,” is the latest from Frosty Palms, an awesome trippy-noise folk artist based here Austin by way of Chicago. And songwriter Bryan Dalle Molle recently informed your AMM host that a new album is on the way, set for release around late July.
Don’t miss Frosty Palms’ single release show tonight at Beerland, 711 1/2 Red River, along with Sasha and The Valentines, Holiday Music, and Frozen Orange. Doors open at 9 p.m. So recommended.
-Photo by by Cristian Apodaca.
Writer and entrepreneur Thea Wood describes how hearing Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” while watching the documentary of the same name reignited her passion for music and inspired her to make a huge change in her life. Listen as she explains how that experience led her to create the “Backstage Chats With Women in Music” podcast as well as the the Backstage Chats Foundation which seeks to “eliminate gender disparity in modern music by amplifying the voices of women in music and accelerating their careers through grants and scholarships.”
Listen to this episode of This Song
Check out the “Backstage Chats With Women in Music” podcast
Check out the Backstage Chats Foundation
Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song
The biggest mental health bill of this legislative session killed. Then in literally the 11th hour, brought back to life. It was one of Governor Abbott’s top priorities in the aftermath of the school shooting at Santa Fe: a bill to connect children to mental health services. We’ll hear how it went down, and roared back. Also, the lone democratic presidential contender with a detailed immigration plan. Plus the charge that 80 to 90 percent of asylum claims are unfounded, a politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
For the dozen years she’s been on the road and in the studio, Welsh singer-guitarist Cate Le Bon has shared the stage with Velvet Underground’s John Cale, produced for Deerhunter, toured alongside Perfume Genius and St. Vincent, and earned praise from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. These merits don’t come undeserved either, since Le Bon’s talents on acoustic and electric guitar, piano and vocals make for a captivating concoction of pop, rock and folk.
Le Bon sought a period of solitude for her fifth full-length, Reward, and that extensive, isolated writing process has shed more light on her private thoughts than any record so far. Reward is out on Friday, Le Bon is already up to her ankles in a multi-month international tour, and today you can illuminate what makes this songwriter phenomenal with the album’s third single, “The Light”!
Photo: Ivana Kličković
As you may know, recent Studio 1A guests Dead Meadow left your Austin Music Minute host absolutely giddy with performances of “Keep Your Head” and “The Light,” tracks from their 2018 LP, The Nothing They Need – something you do need for your own collection. Of course, it’s exciting to hear a favorite band that’s been together now for over 20 years sounding as badass as ever. And, as guitarist/vocalist Jason Simon explained, the album was recorded and produced all by Dead Meadow, on bassist Steve Kille‘s label, with no one else in the mix.
So, check this out: Dead Meadow recently announced the first-time release of their first album in Indonesia, with special deluxe packaging (today’s AMM featured “Greensky, Greenlake”). The good news: Some of these specially-packaged releases are available on their current U.S. tour. You might find some at Dead Meadow’s show tonight at Barracuda, 611 E, 7th St. Saint Pé and Sailor Poon open the show. Doors at 8 p.m.
This one comes very recommended.
-Photo courtesy of the artist, 21 May 2019.
On this edition of This is Just to Say the poet Chen Chen reads his poem “Poem” from his new book When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about craft, humor, and how he came to poetry.
First it was a Republican Congressman from Michigan. Are there other Republicans on Capitol Hill ready to turn on the President? We’ll explore today on the Texas Standard.
The White House claims Congress is vastly overstating its oversight power. A closer look at the political implications.
Also, some claim recent court decisions have undermined Texas’s once robust transparency laws. Guess who seems to be coming to their rescue? We’ll hear from David McSwain of the Dallas Morning News.
And 50 years after the first moon landing, getting a new generation interested in space.
Taking its name from the first ever world atlas, Austin group Atlas Maior covers a globe of diverse music ranging from Latin America, the Middle East and right here in the United States. The band initially got their start a decade ago, inspired by everyone from Egyptian composers, Lebanese string players, Israeli bassists, North American jazz artists and more. Their manifold musicality has earned them an international tour in Turkey and the Austin City Council proclamation of Atlas Maior Day on March 27th.
Atlas Maior’s latest endeavor is the recently released fifth album, Riptide, and they’ll be joining us in Studio 1A This Thursday before the free release show 10pm this Friday at Stay Gold! Get caught up in the maelstrom of Riptide with one of eleven new tunes from Atlas Maior, “Cumbia Raposa”!
Photo: Alicia Michelle
It makes perfect sense to see Pete Yorn embrace the artistry of the acoustic performance. There’s already a rather natural intimacy within his songwriting that draws one in closer to the story. While the music obviously works well with a band, to hear it acoustically brings an added level of closeness…and revelatory soul-searching, perhaps?
Yorn has a few more dates on his current You & Me solo acoustic tour, and that includes a show tonight at The Parish, 214 E. 6th St. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the music begins at 8 p.m. Quite recommended.
-Photo courtesy of the artist.
Where there’s smoke there’s, a lack of oversight? Calls for greater accountability in the aftermath of fires in the nation’s petrochemical capitol. Plus, a year and a half after the deadly mass shooting at Sutherland Springs a new chapter opens for the church and the community, we’ll take a look. Also, the difficulty of getting closure after the death of a loved one. Why it may be taking longer here in Texas. And at what price Whataburger? 6 billion dollars? The iconic Texas brand explores a possible sale. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
As the daughter of a Hollywood actress and an L.A. film composer, Jess Clinton was exposed to the studio life earlier than most. Clinton’s undying love of creative expression led her to an affection for guitar, voice lessons, an art obsession, and bouts of secret songwriting. When she moved to NYU, Clinton’s fascination for folk, rock, musical narratives, theatrical vocals and Celtic music all collided and she’s set to bear it all on her upcoming album, Real Glass Heart.
This immensely intimate record gives off vibes similar to Lucius or PJ Harvey and while Real Glass Heart isn’t out until July, you can get a clear view of the Brooklyn songwriter’s energy with the LP’s penultimate track, “The Runaway“!
A “Higher Ed” listener who teaches English in Osaka, Japan wrote in requesting a discussion of what the listener characterizes as “the tension between servicing the local community near an institution and appealing to international elements (students, partnerships, etc.).” In this episode of the KUT podcast “Higher Ed,” KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss how campuses view their role in the local community and how that is balanced with farther flung connections.
You might have heard about “town-gown” relations, meaning the way a college or university interacts with the community where it is housed. Maybe this listener is curious about “globe-gown” relations?
Ed says he believes the focus of any higher education institution should, of course, be on the students, and any other relationships evolve from there.
“I believe that institutions of higher learning are designed for one purpose,” says Ed, “which is to inspire individuals to become better versions of themselves. And while the focus is on the students, obviously, I think that should spill out into the community at large.”
Ed believes international relationships do give both parties – both the institution and the country where connections are being made – an opportunity to grow.
“The idea of going out of one’s comfort zone and exploring a world and exploring people,” Ed says,” I think is a powerful way of learning for everybody, including those who are being visited.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about how institutions balance “town-gown” and “globe-gown” relationships. It is also time for a new puzzler. Listen closely; this one contains a subtle arithmetic twist.
This episode was recorded on April 23, 2019.