An Austin musician is giving back to fans and charities with a unique program. On February 9-11 you can pay what you want for Shakey Graves' entire discography, 10 albums of one-man-band folk jams and electric blues hits, for a good cause.
The online release is part of the sixth annual Shakey Graves Day. Once a year local singer-songwriter Alejandro Rose-Garcia adopts a pay-what-you-want model for 72 hours — but this time, instead of pocketing the proceeds, he will donate half to causes concerning science, human rights, and general empathy.
"Every day it seems we awaken to news that some new hole has been slashed in the foundations of everything we've held true concerning science, human rights, and general empathy," he writes.
"I realized that throwing a party and putting some tunes on the internet didn't seem to match up with my desperate yearning I feel to help in some way. So I decided that, from now on, I'm going to donate half the proceeds of the album sales to one or more good causes. These can be charities, think tanks, frozen natives, music programs, homeless shelters, basically anything nice you can think of."
The musician will take suggestions for deserving organizations through his official Facebook page and via email; a list of recipients will be revealed after the three-day period.
The main attraction of Shakey Graves Day is a concert which will take over The Mohawk on February 9 with Rayland Baxter, David Ramirez, Los Coast, and the Snacktown All-Stars. A ticket lottery is current open on the singer's website, but a handful will be available at the door.
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
When The Devil Wears Prada came out 20 years ago, it was a sensation for essentially two reasons: The showcase of the glamour of the fashion industry, and the performance of Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly. Streep’s withering glares, disdain shown toward Priestly’s subordinates, and delivery of several instantly iconic lines rightfully earned her an Oscar nomination.
Two decades later, the gang has come back together for The Devil Wears Prada 2, trying to recapture some of that magic. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), freshly fired from her job at the fictional New York Mirror, is brought back into the fold at Runway magazine to be their features editor. Miranda is still in charge and as standoffish as ever, but Nigel (Stanley Tucci) welcomes her back with open arms.
Like everything else, Runway has had to change with the times, going mostly digital and having to kowtow to advertisers to keep the money flowing. That includes sucking up to Miranda’s former assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt), who’s now the head of the New York branch of Christian Dior. However, even Andy's incisive writing and Miranda’s keen eye for the next fashion trend may not be enough to keep the magazine afloat.
The filmmaking team of director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna have also returned, and they have done a good job of keeping the tone of the original film without relying too much on nostalgia. Most of the main characters have aged/changed in reasonable and appropriate ways, and it’s initially fun to see them all interacting again. The fashion side of things keeps the film feeling high-class, even if most regular people can’t afford most of what’s on display.
The filmmakers have lots of ideas on how to update the characters for the modern world, but the follow-through on those ideas is not as great. Because there is no longer the same power dynamic between Andy and Miranda, Frankel and McKenna go in search of other conflicts, none of which work as well. The two-hour film ends up feeling like a bunch of individual scenes that are tenuously held together by the barest thread of a story.
Strangest of all, though, is the film’s treatment of Miranda. She remains somewhat imperious, but her influence has diminished in multiple ways. In trying to make her change with the times, including bowing to politically correct terminology, the film has neutered what made her such a great character. There is rarely a point where she feels in charge, and the story choices made because of that weaken the film overall.
In 2006, Hathaway was just barely out of her Princess Diaries phase, and she has gone on to become a major, Oscar-winning star with no fewer than five different films coming out in 2026. She remains the heart and soul of this film, and she elevates every scene she’s in. Streep is hamstrung by the changes in her character, but she still brings her unique presence to the role. Tucci remains a delight and has great chemistry with Hathaway, but Blunt is underserved by a role that keeps her apart from the others for large stretches and tethered to an annoying character played by Justin Theroux.
As with many sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is enjoyable just because it allows fans to spend time with some favorite characters again. Even though the filmmakers don’t utilize those characters in ways that are as memorable as the first time around, the film is still a fun time at the theater that gives moviegoers a glimpse at a world many can only dream to be in.
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The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens in theaters on May 1.
