When I drive down congress late at night and see the magnolia closed. It always confuses me. I can’t help but thinking, “where are people going to eat at 3:30 in the morning?“ people will starve.
Couldn't agree more. When I hear other long timers complain, all I can think is "how did you not see this coming?". And then I look at my now 21 year old son, who absolutely loves everything about the city now he can truly see and experience it as an "adult"! He is now turning me onto places and experiences I might not see or seek out.
Ah yes, the good ol' days when we actually thought it was a law that buildings couldn't obstruct the view of the Capitol. Back when there were actually (naked) hippies at Hippie Hollow :P Back when you could 'make your own sets' by starting at Cactus Cafe, moving over to Hole in the Wall, and then finishing up w/ closing after hours jams at Antones. Throw in the Austin Outhouse somewhere for good measure. Good times. Gone, but never forgotten.
You didn't just hit the target, dead center -- BULLSEYE!! You obliterated it!! When you're right, you're right. This is one of my favorite things you have written, Michael. Thank you.
I blame my Austin guidebook, the first ever Austin guidebook, published by Texas Monthly Press in 1984, at least partially. It sold tens of thousands of copies before I dropped it in 1999. There were at least a dozen competitors by then, including one outright plagarization. And SX.
Good work, MIchael. Hello Richard Zelade. I bailed from Austin a few years ago and moved to an ejido in Nuevo Leon Mexico, just west of the border. Sure, Austin is fun for everyone, as long as you got the do-re-mi. Austin is a great place, like Brooklyn, or LA, or New Orleans or Chicago or any other big expensive American city. A nice place to visit, but I can't afford to life there!
Michael, you've nailed it once again, you fine wordsmith! I'll always love Austin & it'll always be home but the Austin I love best lives mostly in the memories of an old Groover now. Doing the ATX cashout/relocate polka (to western NC) has helped me personally. Now I get some of both, that newbie wide eyed first time puppy love you more eloquently described mixed & mottled with the local laid back chillaxing vibes. Of course it is 2023 and not 1977, but wtf! Just rolling with it everyday. Thanks for keeping up the great work & sharing it with us all!
Yeah, Austin isn’t like it was, but it’s still great. There is nowhere else that has the varied restaurants, of course the great music, and my favorite, the unique people it draws. But we got pushed out by the traffic and the prices. We moved back to my childhood home, Honolulu. (My sister went to high school with you, Michael!) Here they‘ve learned how to contain and direct heavy visitation. I hope that Austin will do that too soon.
so much change they had those T -shirts even way back when Coach Royal was the football coach at UT and so glad the city musically is still top shelf in diversity in a politically tough time in Texas and the US
Spot on. My kid loves the pace and happy for him even as I lament the changes in the attitudes of the new residents. Car horns and stink eyes a plenty. No more stoned stares except from the multitudes of genderless 20 somethings.
So freaking good, Dude. Such a great perspective. Born and raised here and grateful that I got to grow up here in the 70s and 80’s. Keep this killer shit coming. I’m here for it as the newbies say.
I moved here in 1974 and I am sure new comers such as I changed Austin . What I can't help noticing is the new Austin includes many things we wished for back then .
The problem seems to be that those same things are empty and solely visual interpretations and lacking of real value . It sure looks like hipster paradise , but people like Abbott , Paxton and Patrick hold the keys and basically Austins hipness is nothing more than a marketing campaign.
When I drive down congress late at night and see the magnolia closed. It always confuses me. I can’t help but thinking, “where are people going to eat at 3:30 in the morning?“ people will starve.
Couldn't agree more. When I hear other long timers complain, all I can think is "how did you not see this coming?". And then I look at my now 21 year old son, who absolutely loves everything about the city now he can truly see and experience it as an "adult"! He is now turning me onto places and experiences I might not see or seek out.
Ah yes, the good ol' days when we actually thought it was a law that buildings couldn't obstruct the view of the Capitol. Back when there were actually (naked) hippies at Hippie Hollow :P Back when you could 'make your own sets' by starting at Cactus Cafe, moving over to Hole in the Wall, and then finishing up w/ closing after hours jams at Antones. Throw in the Austin Outhouse somewhere for good measure. Good times. Gone, but never forgotten.
You didn't just hit the target, dead center -- BULLSEYE!! You obliterated it!! When you're right, you're right. This is one of my favorite things you have written, Michael. Thank you.
I blame my Austin guidebook, the first ever Austin guidebook, published by Texas Monthly Press in 1984, at least partially. It sold tens of thousands of copies before I dropped it in 1999. There were at least a dozen competitors by then, including one outright plagarization. And SX.
Good work, MIchael. Hello Richard Zelade. I bailed from Austin a few years ago and moved to an ejido in Nuevo Leon Mexico, just west of the border. Sure, Austin is fun for everyone, as long as you got the do-re-mi. Austin is a great place, like Brooklyn, or LA, or New Orleans or Chicago or any other big expensive American city. A nice place to visit, but I can't afford to life there!
Michael, you've nailed it once again, you fine wordsmith! I'll always love Austin & it'll always be home but the Austin I love best lives mostly in the memories of an old Groover now. Doing the ATX cashout/relocate polka (to western NC) has helped me personally. Now I get some of both, that newbie wide eyed first time puppy love you more eloquently described mixed & mottled with the local laid back chillaxing vibes. Of course it is 2023 and not 1977, but wtf! Just rolling with it everyday. Thanks for keeping up the great work & sharing it with us all!
Yeah, Austin isn’t like it was, but it’s still great. There is nowhere else that has the varied restaurants, of course the great music, and my favorite, the unique people it draws. But we got pushed out by the traffic and the prices. We moved back to my childhood home, Honolulu. (My sister went to high school with you, Michael!) Here they‘ve learned how to contain and direct heavy visitation. I hope that Austin will do that too soon.
This is more good shit. Keep it coming!
I'm sad now ...
so much change they had those T -shirts even way back when Coach Royal was the football coach at UT and so glad the city musically is still top shelf in diversity in a politically tough time in Texas and the US
💯 (and these essays are 🔥)
Spot on. My kid loves the pace and happy for him even as I lament the changes in the attitudes of the new residents. Car horns and stink eyes a plenty. No more stoned stares except from the multitudes of genderless 20 somethings.
So freaking good, Dude. Such a great perspective. Born and raised here and grateful that I got to grow up here in the 70s and 80’s. Keep this killer shit coming. I’m here for it as the newbies say.
Austin Exceptionalism.
Lol seriously, let's all pretend that we don't live in a place/state controlled by asshats such as Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton .
Let's pretend our music scene is not totally manipulated by live nation and Penske media .
Let's pretend perfectly trimmed beards and tattoos are somehow symbols of rebellion and not conformity to recent marketing trends .
I am waiting for the backlash, with the hope a new dynamic takes hold here , similar to when punk first emerged in Austin .
Ha.
I moved here in 1974 and I am sure new comers such as I changed Austin . What I can't help noticing is the new Austin includes many things we wished for back then .
The problem seems to be that those same things are empty and solely visual interpretations and lacking of real value . It sure looks like hipster paradise , but people like Abbott , Paxton and Patrick hold the keys and basically Austins hipness is nothing more than a marketing campaign.