Two years ago marked the debut of Baltimore's dreamy pop duo Beach House with their self-titled release. It was good stuff. We find ourselves in March of 2008 (already?) and Beach House has served up another album for our reviewing pleasure. Devotion, released last week, features some of the same that Beach House's self-titled album had: the flawless and foolproof voice of Victoria Legrand, the melodies on strings and keys played by Alex Scally and......

It was weird. Sunday rolled around, and there wasn't a Texans game to watch. So we just chilled and ignored the TV for a change; what else were we going to do? Watch the Cowboys' game? What are we, Jessica Simpson? Between the Astros trades, the Texans resurgence, and the Mitchell Report, there was a lot to blog about this week. Everyone grab your number 2 pencil for the review: - The Miguel Tejada trade......

The revamping of the Astros roster is starting to look more and more like an episode of Extreme Makeover. Today, the Astros announced that they've reached an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles for former MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada in exchange for (deep breath): Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate, and Lou Costanzo. Patton, Sarfate, and Albers are all young pitchers with some major league experience; Patton was the Astros' most experienced and highest-rated......

Somewhere, in the sea of hype surrounding Reggie Bush and Vince Young, Mario Williams has emerged as the strongest impact-player in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Sure, Vince had a Pro Bowl appearance his first year, Reggie has the endorsements, and Joseph Addai and Laurence Moroney are key components of already-strong teams, but Super Mario has delivered on the promise that made Charley Casserly risk his job to pick him first overall.......

In the wake of last week's firing of Tim Purpura, the Astros have a hole to fill in the General Manager's office. Team President Tal Smith (pictured, on left) is running the show for the time being, but a long-term replacement is required. Yesterday, owner Drayton McLane, Smith, and former vp Bob McClaren interviewed three candidates, and more interviews will take place before the end of the week. Let's take a look at the candidates......

"Creative Crowdsourcing Through Mobile Technolgy" We couldn't have said it better ourselves, and you'll have to see this to believe the awesomeness of it. This has been on our radar for quite some time and we are so excited it's finally here. The Houston Center for Photography and Aurora Picture Show band together this summer to present the 3rd annual summer SPIN Party and Exhibition Txt Me L8r on August 24 from 8-11pm. On July......

Houston rapper Lil' Flip is in some trouble, the Chronicle reports: Lil' Flip (whose real name is Wesley Eric Weston Jr.) turned himself in to police on a charge of credit card abuse this weekend, and he's due in court today. Weston, known as the "freestyle king" for his ability to improvise, is accused of buying a $671 Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore from Houston on June 8 with an American Express card held by......

This is your last chance to see Jana Hunter perform before she moves to Baltimore, MD. Along with KABLE and Hearts of Animals at DiverseWorks this should be an amazing performance and at $7/ticket - you cannot go wrong (it is an all ages performance). The music begins at 9:00 p.m. and DiverseWorks Art Space is located at 1117 East Freeway (I-10 folks), between San Jacinto and Main. Jana is promoting her latest release "There's......

Tomorrow night at The World Famous Orange Show, for the low, low price of $10 - you can hear four brands of new folk music. QuadroFolkia will be headlined by Jana Hunter - backed by a full band! Now, we know we told you there was a burgling incident - however, we have been assured that the show will go on! If there is a merchandise table, you really should pick up her new CD......

Roger freakin' Clemens, y'all. Don't even get us started. But even if you want to call him a traitor, you gotta admit the man can pitch, and so can the guys up for the award named after him, the Clemens Award, which is presented annually to the top pitcher in college baseball. Three Rice students are on the official watch-list for the award this year. ESPN Top-100 prospect Joe Savery (with a record of 6-1......

Good morning, Houston. We initially kicked off the day with a story about warnings of tainted fish in Clear Lake, but it turns out it's not the Clear Lake around here — it's one in Panola County, East Texas. Two Clear Lakes? Who knew? (We would have, had we checked online. Oops.) So you'll be happy to know that there aren't any seafood warnings out for our area, but that doesn't mean we're not......

Cross your fingers, folks. This year might be the end of the Chronicle's 106-year-long Pulitzer losing streak. That's right -- the Houston Chronicle is the only newspaper among the country's ten largest to have never won a Pulitzer Prize. However, according to an unofficial leaked list of this year's finalists, Nick Anderson, editorial cartoonist, might end the dry spell. Anderson is already a Pulitzer winner, you see. He's only been with the Chronicle since last......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! Austinist starts us off right by filling the famous person quota by interviewing Lewis Black, covers the social cause with a non-profit car sharing company, and gives us more wacky local facts than we can handle with Austin by......

As the curtain falls tonight on the 2006 Essence Music Festival, marking the end of the event's first year away from New Orleans, organizers expect other cities to start trying to make sure it never goes back. The three-day festival is a potential windfall for convention and tourism bureaus: It draws thousands of visitors and their wallets, and it could help position a city as a minority tourist destination. At least that's what Houston hopes.......

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. Ah, Houstonist. They're biking to work, that is, if they can figure out how to get there. That's right, Mapquest says "Houston had the......

In case you haven’t noticed, we are hanging by a thread around here. Valentine’s Day has already snuck up on us, we still haven’t recovered from our holiday spending (two words: holiday party), and rent is late (again). How will we ever survive? Two more words: Super Bowl. With over $450 million to be bet online on the biggest single sports event of the year, what harm is a small, friendly wager? By no......

• Most of us weren't surprised that the No. 2 Texas Longhorns beat the Colorado Buffaloes in the Big 12 Championship game at Reliant Stadium on Saturday. What was a surprise was the score: 70-3. The decisive victory gives the 'Horns their first Big 12 title since 1996 and gives them a chance to earn their first undisputed national championship since 1969. But at this point, the 'Horns might want to think less about flashing......