Daily picks for ACL weekend!

Here are a few more quotes from Thompson's ACL interview: “It’s different but it’s not difficult to go from writing a murder ballad like ‘Sidney Wells’ to another song like ‘Stumble On.’ It’s a nice thing to write a very personal song and then say, ‘I’ll write a story off the top of my head.’"

Chronicle classifieds exec Bobby Leath is going through his entire record collection and blogging about it. Check his latest listens here.

It's barely October and the Oscar prognostica-crap has already begun. Can't we just be civilized and not treat cinema like a sporting event? Yeah, that’s right, I said cinema.

With no City Council meeting today, it's not surprising some members might take a quick trip. But all the way down to Oita, Japan? That's where Laura Morrison is heading today, leading a delegation to Austin's sister city.

You don't generally think of the Young Adult racks at your local library when  Barry Gifford is the author in question, but Sad Stories of the Death of Kings, has indeed been chosen to, ah, shake up the kids a little.

Battle stages: The three "C"s of C3!

The weather is fine, and the fall home tour season is underway. If you missed the AIA Tour last weekend, you still have a chance to get off the couch this Saturday for The Heritage Society of Austin's latest neighborhood frolic.

Early last year, 4AD released the two-disc, 31-track compilation Dark Was the Night to benefit the Red Hot Organization’s efforts to raise HIV and AIDS awareness. The compilation is more than one of the best albums released in 2009, however.