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8 Austin chefs shaping the city's dining scene, plus more popular stories

You loved the lead up to our virtual Tastemaker Awards.

Nixta Taqueria/Facebook

Editor's note: It's that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. 6 things to know in Austin food right now: Italian restaurant says arrivederci to South Congress. South Congress staple Botticelli's took to social media on Friday, June 17, to confirm the family-run operation would shut down permanently by the weekend’s end.

2.Meet the 8 top Austin chefs shaping the city's dining scene right now. An eye for detail, a sense of humor, a drive to succeed even in the face of the most daunting times, these are the qualities of a great chef. The list of nominees for this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Best Chef is much like Austin itself — eclectic and affable while balancing on the cutting edge of the country’s most pioneering dining.

3. The 5 best restaurants in Austin offer hope during an uncertain time. Back in January, when CultureMap editors and our panel of judges voted on the five best restaurants in Austin, we were looking for talented teams of culinary innovators, for restaurants crafting experiences while elevating dining for the the entire city. And, of course, we were looking for really delicious food.

4. 8 best face masks to keep you cool during Austin's sweaty summer. With summer temperatures on the rise, wearing a face covering can be sweaty business. Yet, we know it's the right thing to do. From moisture-wicking fabric to built-in UV protection, these eight top-rated masks, gaiters, and other face coverings should be in every local summer mask wardrobe.

5.Texas celebrity chef debuts new Tex-Mex 'ghost kitchen' in Austin. Always on trend, Texas celebrity chef Tim Love has launched a new "ghost restaurant" concept dedicated to Mexican food. Called Burritos, Fajitas and 'Ritas, it'll be in step with the hot ghost kitchen trend right now in which restaurants are doing takeout and delivery only, with no dining rooms.

hot-headlines

Back To Vices

Daniel Johnston album re-release shares the Austin icon's unheard tracks

Photo by Lisa Harris

Daniel Johnston around the time of the initial album's release.

Austinites have their fair number of musical exports, but none they're as protective over as Daniel Johnston. This beacon of authenticity enthralled listeners with his emotional straightforwardness, including supporters like Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth, and Built To Spill, among many others.

Now, a posthumous 2-LP vinyl re-release expands Johnston's 1991 album Artistic Vice with outtakes, rehearsals, and even previously unreleased songs. It comes out October 18, including the song "All Good Children Got To Die," which just premiered October 18 via Spin.

Fans who still feel raw about Johnston's 2019 death — and there are a lot of them if the popularity of Austin's memorial Hi, How Are You Day is any indication — will be hit with heightened feelings by this living eulogy. The track, remastered by Johnston's friend Kramer, is as lo-fi as ever, in Johnston's usual style, but with an upbeat blues guitar providing a base. The lyrics start with the cleverly delightful metaphor, "Been gettin' fat on my humble pie/Pretty soon, I'll up and die," and continue on in simple coupled rhymes consoling the listener.

The cheery and nostalgic visualizer by Fly Eye Media features photos of Johnston, drawings of Casper the Ghost (famously, one of the few dead children anyone wants to think about), some of Johnston's own drawings, and close-ups of the Artistic Vice album cover. Another image depicts the cool geodesic dome where the album was recorded.

These visuals are a preview of similar things to come in the collector's edition vinyl — which will be peach and light blue — including a lyric booklet with rare photos and words from Johnston's bandmates in Eye Band. The entire second album will be made up of the archival material mentioned above. This isn't a cobbled-together afterthought, but a collection of works that were intended to make it onto the album in some form or another, and never did.

This album was significant in Johnston's career because it was the first time he fronted a band. But it was about a dozen albums into his career (depending on how you count some releases), and it came several years after Hi, How Are You, still the artist's best-known collection, which he used to hand out around Austin.

The re-released Artistic Vice is put forth by Eternal Yip Eye Records and Thirty Tigers. Johnston's brother, Dick Johnston, leads a team of workers and volunteers, according to a press release, to continue the artist's legacy.

Artistic Vice re-release set.Courtesy of Eternal Yip Eye Records and Thirty Tigers

The tracklists for the two vinyls are as shown below. Pre-orders ($32.98) are available at hihowareyou.com or through other local and online stores stores here.

LP1 Tracklist:
1. My Life Is Starting Over
2. Honey I Sure Miss You
3. I Feel So High
4. A Ghostly Story
5. Tell Me Now
6. Easy Listening
7. I Know Casper
8. The Startling Facts
9. Hoping
10. It's Got to Be Good
11. Happy Soul
12. The Dream Is Over
13. Love of My Life
14. I Killed the Monster
15. Laurie
16. Fate Will Get Done

LP2 Tracklist:
1. All Good Children Got To Die
2. Christian Martyrs
3. Easy Listening
4. I Know Casper
5. Penny Penny
6. You Said You Didn't Really Love Me
7. Piano interlude
8. Happy Soul
9. Got To Be Good
10. It's Over
11. Love of My Life
12. Something Fantastic Rolling Over My Soul
13. Boogie
14. I'll Be Going Home Someday
15. Dead Dogs Eyeball (Variation)
16. Ego Trip

daniel johnston music