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Blaffer Art Museum Free Press Summer Fest Giveaway

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:00:39 -0500

Blaffer Art Museum is offering someone the opportunity to attend Free Press Summer Fest with 2 weekend passes to the festival for free simply by liking Blaffer Art Museum on Facebook.

Anyone who likes the page during roughly a two-week period (beginning Monday, May 13th-Friday the 24th) will be entered into a drawing and the winner will be announced on Friday at 5 pm. There are no restrictions on who can participate.

Blaffer Art Museum Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/blaffer

Apply to be a summer DJ for Coog Radio. Applications are due May...

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:10:40 -0500

Apply to be a summer DJ for Coog Radio. Applications are due May 20.

Application:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EJHg-g9QkvohGnNOshHp-xH9Fch9IDq5BTHAuLFLt-o/edit

Come out to the Blaffer Art Museum located in the Fine Arts...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:23:00 -0500

Come out to the Blaffer Art Museum located in the Fine Arts Building for their First Thursdays event where Coog Radio DJs play their favorite tunes and local brews are served to the people.

Be sure and try to make it out tomorrow! If not then there is always next month.

RSVP

Houston ska heroes The Suspects are celebrating their 20th anniversary by putting their first...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:41:53 -0500

Houston ska heroes The Suspects are celebrating their 20th anniversary by putting their first album, Ninety-Nine Paid, up on their Bandcamp site for free. You do have the option of paying them, so feel free to chip in a couple of bucks if you can spare it, because it’s truly a piece of Houston music history.

Download it here.

thebakery-djcupcake: awww we were just babies

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:47:13 -0500

thebakery-djcupcake:

awww we were just babies

Introducing: The Caldwell

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:03:00 -0500

While opening for The Walkmen in Seattle, Father John Misty front-man J. Tillman informed the crowd of their headliner’s arrival. “Just a little bit longer my beautiful babies and then The Walkmen are gonna come up here and crush you with gentlemanliness.” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but think of Houston’s newest rock band - The Caldwell.

While they may be new to your ears, like any gentlemen, The Caldwell are an experienced group of musicians, whose collective pedigree includes Deep Cuts, Adam Bricks, Marry Me, and of course the gone-but-not-forgotten Houston post-rock group B. (seriously, remember how good they were?). Despite coming from different backgrounds, both musical and cultural, the band plays to their similar influences; The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Harry Nillson, and Tom Waits to name a few. But if Josh Alan’s artwork for the group is any indication of the band’s songwriting, it’s that they tackle persona, that is, the fracturedness of someone trying to be the best they can be.

Take “Modern Love” for instance. It’s a song about heartbreak, uncertainty, a cry for help dressed as a refined pop gem with infectious guitar melodies, lush keyboard, and a mannerly rhythm section. But try as he might, singer James Essary can’t keep his composure in the song’s elevated chorus, screaming “I can’t see you and me!” He does so only to shrug his shoulders and finish the line with one last breath - “…ever talking this over…” - as the band plays him out.

The Caldwell aren’t afraid of pulling up their sleeves and play the hell out of a their instruments either. In fact, the band isn’t afraid of much, as evidenced by their new single “So Many Things”. The track swiftly goes from head-bobbing piano diddy to full on powerhouse of guitar and drums. Lyrically, the song serves as a man-them for loneliness while giving fair warning for potential love interests - “I can be your man…but the man that you see isn’t me.” “So Many Things” is a darker, mature, more self-aware look at being care-free, freeing the idea “reckless abandon” of all the noisy implications and abstractions given to by “Y.O.L.O.” TL;DR It’s a smart song by a smart band.

Our city has a lot to look forward to from this band of brothers. Lady Houston, who’s only known the crustiest of punks, the sweatiest of headbangers, and the most screwed-up of hustlers will finally have a few gentlemen in her life with The Caldwell.

- Alex Segura

Can’t get in to SXSW? Couch By Couchwest may be for you. A self-described online music...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:53:12 -0500

Can’t get in to SXSW? Couch By Couchwest may be for you. A self-described online music festival where “the beer prices are cheaper and the only hipster is you”, CXCW presents taped performances from bands in all manner of genres in all manner of places (basements, moving cars, etc).

And the best part? It’s free. No expensive tickets. No $15 parking. And you can stay inside in the air conditioned comfort of your own home (always a plus, especially in Texas). So swing by today and enjoy the last day of this festival, and those in bands might want to start preparing for next year.

CouchByCouchwest.com

We’re giving away a pair of tickets for the Ducktails,...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:05:51 -0600

We’re giving away a pair of tickets for the Ducktails, Wild Moccasins, Yip Deceiver show Tuesday, March 12th at Walter’s. Leave a comment here or here for a chance to win! Winner to be picked by 1:00 PM tomorrow.

Pitchfork pulls through with a superb lineup for their South by...

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:33:00 -0600

Pitchfork pulls through with a superb lineup for their South by Southwest day party. Performers included are Manchester techno recording artist Andy Stott, Waxahatchee, whose excellent LP American Weekend turned heads in 2012, freakout-R&B singer Autre Ne Veut and Rhye who have a smooth, luminous LP coming out later this week.

Free, all ages

Free Press SumerFest 2013 - June 1 & 2 - Eleanor Tinsley...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:54:00 -0600

Free Press SumerFest 2013 - June 1 & 2 - Eleanor Tinsley Park

Moths - s/t EP

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 20:58:15 -0600

Moths are some local boys who make a very unique product. When listening to Moths, one may be reminded of such mathcore originators as Botch or The Dillinger Escape Plan. While their latest self titled release is at least 30 years after the founding of Botch, Moths seem to pick up the mantle pretty well, with it’s frequently time changes and screamed vocals. That being said, don’t think of this as just your standard mathcore fare. Moths mixes in elements of drone and noise, a scene that Houston is world-renowned for. One might even go so far as to describe certain tracks as a small drone-led trip through ambient territory. Ultimately what we get is an aggressive, weird, occasionally relaxing, and ultimately satisfying experience.

Moths is available as a pay what you want download on their Bandcamp site.

Praise to the folks at 35 Denton who have cooked up a stellar lineup for their four...

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:12:00 -0600

Praise to the folks at 35 Denton who have cooked up a stellar lineup for their four day festival this year which takes place in downtown Denton from March 7th to the 10th.

Notable acts this year include the UK Bass crew Night Slugs, Stoner-metal rockers Sleep, Garage-rock San Francisco band The Oh Sees, Vancouver punk band Nü Sensae and plenty of local artists from across the state including Austin’s How I Quit Crack and Houston’s Fat Tony.

4-day passes are $55.

For more information and full lineup and schedule visit their web page 35denton.com.

For musicians, it’s an inevitable reality that at some...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:57:00 -0600

For musicians, it’s an inevitable reality that at some point, you’re going to whore yourself out on social media, and that’s totally understandable. But it’s always great when a band can build a following solely through word of mouth and praise for the music. Such was the case with CR favorite Pure X and their debut Pleasure. I’ll spare you the labeling Pure X’s music typically receives like “dreamy,” “gazey,” and all that other P4K synesthetic-adjective nonsense, but if anything were an indication of the Austin band’s sound at the time, it would be the album cover - a red rose, chains, and leather cuffs (as if the album’s lushness wasn’t sensual enough). But when a group of guys as elusive and opposed to social media (the band just now joined FB) as Pure X makes such an alluring record, only to return to obscurity, it’s easy for anticipation of a follow-up to turn into, “what happened to that band?”

We can safely say the guys aren’t pulling an “m b v”. A year-and-a-half in the making, Crawling Up The Stairs is what comes from a year of turmoil: physical injury, financial struggle, anguish, uncertainty - but ultimately results in a more refined, mature Pure X. While many attribute their name to the trip-inducing quality of Pure X’s former sound, Crawling informs “X” as a variable for change, though the band stays true to their convictions of purity: recording the album onto two-inch tape then mixing it to 1/4-inch, returning to analog synths and effects, but also introducing more organic instrumentation and significantly cleaner recording.

The album’s first single, “Things In My Head”, hits it off with a strummed acoustic, Austin Youngblood’s signature sparse-yet-exact drumming, shrill synth, and features some beautifully haunting falcetto from bassist Jesse Jenkins (this isn’t his first go-around) accented by Nate Grace’s flanged guitar lines. It’s both psychedelic and gothic (think Echo & The Bunnymen), a sound that, unbeknownst to us, was alluded by Austin cohort/CR Comp contributor Sleep ∞ Over. But perhaps what is most peculiar if not terribly exciting is the new cowboy influence this band of texans seems to have embraced. If this catches on, it’ll only be a matter of time before terminology like “cowboy-wave,” “new-cowboy,” “post-cowboy,” and “boot-gaze” enter the blogosphere lexicon.

Crawling Up The Stairs is out May 9th on Acephale. You can pre-order the new album here (first 250 pre-orders are b&w marbled vinyl, next 750 on white vinyl).

Check out the video for Line of Fire, the first video from Junip...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:47:49 -0600

Check out the video for Line of Fire, the first video from Junip (featuring acoustic powerhouse Jose Gonzalez) off their upcoming self-titled album. Even casual fans of Jose should be excited for this release. Junip drops April 23 from Mute Records.

UC Power Update: Back on the air tomorrow!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:19:50 -0600

We are being told, baring any unforeseen circumstances, we will be back to our regular broadcast schedule tomorrow (2/19). Thank you for your patience!

P.O.S. has released a new video for “Weird Friends”...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 12:39:52 -0600

P.O.S. has released a new video for “Weird Friends” from their album We Don’t Even Live Here, and it’s every bit as chaotic (and, well, weird) as you’d expect. The visuals and lyrical content are a nice alternative to the usual stuff you’d find in more mainstream hip hop. We Don’t Even Live Here is out on Rhymesayers Entertainment.

All day festival. Many different genres. All ages. Free...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:39:51 -0600

All day festival. Many different genres. All ages. Free admission. What more do you need?

The Strokes released a new track from their upcoming release...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:04:28 -0600

The Strokes released a new track from their upcoming release Comedown Machine, and it seems to harken back to the days of Is This It and Room on Fire. Check it out now on Soundcloud. Comedown Machine is out March 26th.

The Postal Service - A Tattered Line of String Subpop posted on...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:03:11 -0600

The Postal Service - A Tattered Line of String

Subpop posted on YouTube one of the 15 bonus songs included in the 10th anniversary reissue of The Postal Service’s landmark (and only) album Give Up. Even though it is more of an upbeat departure from the tracks on Give Up, it’s still quality material. The album is out April 9th (preorder through Subpop).

Power Outage Update: UC without power for the next week

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:36:57 -0600

From a press release on the UC website:

University Centers Staff, Contract Partners and UH Offices:

An extensive review of the power situation for the University Center has been completed. The initial determination is that we have significant issues to mitigate. The priorities for the restoration have been identified as follows: 1) Life Safety and Emergency Power; 2) Bookstore Operations; 3) Second Floor Offices and Services.

The initial projection is that the University Center will remain closed through the remainder of this week. The first area/service to re-open will be the Bookstore/UC First Floor (projected to be the beginning of next week), followed by the middle of next week for the offices and services on the Second Floor of the University Center.

We anticipate being able to update all of you with more firm date and time for the UC’s re-opening in phases. Updates will be provided via theDivision of Student Affairsand theUniversity Centers.

This means that Coog Radio is off the air for the next week or so. We really wish this weren’t the case, but sadly it appears that way. Stay tuned to the Coog Radio sites for the latest updates about this situation, and for when we’ll be back up and running again.