One week to go and the [un]official SXSW free party list is out. Reading this list will give you a headache, such is the amount of bands, free booze and bbq listed. But that’s good practice if you plan to attend, because that’s how your head will feel all week.

As they travel the road towards SXSW and Austin’s new music extravaganza, some Scottish bands are taking the initiative to book some shows before and after the event. This makes sense in a load of ways. They’re in the USA already, the travel costs have been paid and they might even help earn some cash […]

There is a quote on the cover of my paperback of Duncan McLean’s ‘Bunker Man’ from Cosmopolitan Magazine that claims ‘Duncan McLean is Scotland’s answer to Roddy Doyle’. If a fan of Doyle were to pick up ‘Bunker Man’ on this recommendation they would be in for a shock, particularly if their knowledge of Doyle […]

Each Sunday we present some of the best new photos of Scotland in the gloaming, the magical time before sunrise or after sunset. This week featuring images of the Seamill, Dunnet Head, Sallochy Bay and Aberdeen Beach.

Movies and music can make for uncomfortable bedfellows when that relationship moves beyond soundtrack duties. For every This is Spinal Tap, Hedwig and the Angry Inch or La Bamba (hugely underrated) there’s a Hearts of Fire, a Breaking Glass, a Rock Star and a Fear of a Black Hat. David Mackenzie’s You Instead, which premièred at the Glasgow […]

Billy is still on his travels this week, although he probably found somewhere to watch Rangers get gubbed by Celtic for the second time in as many weeks. To cheer him up here is a ‘classic’ article where Billy looks at some memorable games in Scottish football history that all ended 4-1.

I know I have said this plenty of times before, but I often find that the best way to discover new music is by listening to the recommendations of bands that you like. Mondegreen first came to my attention after we’re only afraid of NYC started raving about them. I actually saw them live for […]

Two weeks to go and more details have surfaced about the Scottish shows at South by Southwest 2011. Sadly it appears that Django Django may have dropped out but I’ve put together a nice little table featuring all the gigs that are currently scheduled.

This weeks listings feature international dates including Belle and Sebastian in Japan and Mogwai in Germany, while Vic has more on the triumphant return of Glasvegas who kick of a European tour in Denmark next weekend. More below: