Stay all night, stay a little longer. Dance all night, dance a little longer.
The Cosmic Culture Club is an Austin-based blog that sits at the intersection of Texas music, history, and culture. Explore these pages to uncover the story behind essential Texas albums, surprising and unexpected history, and time-tested cocktail recipes.
Take a seat in the listening lounge
The Listening Lounge is a place for music lovers and record collectors. These are the essential albums in Texas music history, plus a cocktail recipe book. The goal is for your to create an intentional listening environment, mix a cocktail, and put an album on the turntable.
Explore the history
Austin is a primary character in the story of Texas music. This collection dives into the surprising history that makes the capital city unlike any other. Inside, you’ll find vivid biographies, narrative-driven accounts, and long-lost stories that bring Austin’s musical past to life.
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Hi, how are you?
I’m James, the author behind most of the content on this site. I’m a lifelong Texan who moved to Austin in 1999 to study journalism. I started tending bar when I was eighteen and like to claim that I was once the youngest bartender on Sixth Street.
My early years in Austin were spent behind a variety of bars, pumping the keg during Waterloo in-store performances, and sampling the music scene. I evolved with the city, and have spent my later years working in the tech sector, but never stopped frequenting the music clubs.
I grew up with my parents’ Bob Dylan and Kinky Friedman albums spinning alongside my own Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. The Austin City Limits television broadcast made regular appearances on screens in my home starting with the old tube television.
This project is an exploration of the essential albums in Texas music from the Seventies to today. These aren’t album reviews—five stars is a prerequisite for inclusion, so think of it as a hall of fame. I provide a few words to add context, but the intention is for you to put the album on the turntable and let it speak for itself.
Welcome to the club. Hope you learn something interesting and maybe (re)discover a favorite album along the way.
If you are going to get wasted, get wasted elegantly. – Keith Richards
The Listening Lounge pairs classic and innovative cocktail recipes with essential albums from our Texas music collection. Dim the lights and settle in front of the stereo for an immersive listening experience.
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Why you should be listening to music on vinyl
Records have made an improbable comeback and provided a lifeline that saved the record store. It’s a lucky thing, too, because they provide the premium listening experience. The Cosmic Culture Club is essentially about record collecting, and this is why we think you should buy a record player and become a crate-digger.