SXSW 2011 News

If I’m not going to post anything about SXSW, I’d just as well abandon this blog.  Buuuut, I’m not quite ready to do that.  So I’ll be posting links to a plethora of info and insights stemming from this year’s SXSW gathering; including news from Film, Interactive and Music.  Aren’t you excited? 

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AdAge  :::  Live From SXSW, the Death of the Social Check-in

Which social check-in companies are in Austin and what they are doing to catch attendees’ affection.

ScreenCrave  :::  Conan O’Brien Documentary Strikes Unique Distribution Deal At SXSW

We are bound to hear more about Conan’s doc covering his comedy tour while between shows and networks last year.  Don’t you love sweet revenge?

Paste Magazine  :::  Paste’s 100 Bands At SXSW

Meh.  Was hoping for a preview to bands, but this will be updated throughout the fest.  Should be good coverage, tho.

Spin/HP collaboration :::  Every Passion Has A Road  (series)

Showcase of upcoming bands attending the music fest.

The Guardian  :::  The Internet is Over

Not quite, but there are some serious querries to consider the future of computing in this article.

PC Mag  :::  Google Circles Social Network? Don’t Hold Your Breath

Most sources are saying Google has backed off for now.

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And if you like to follow numbers and trends you must check out The Guardian’s SXSW Band Tracker – real-time trending of bands playing and who’s literally the talk of the town!

February 3rd – the day the music died

Lately I’ve been getting excited about some rock and roll books and biographies.  A friend reminded me that today is the anniversary of Buddy Holly’s tragic plane crash.  So, of course, I search Google news to see what’s being written about the event this week.  And what do I come across but an article featuring a new Buddy Holly book.  The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed a book by Illinois author, Gary W. Moore, Hey Buddy: In Pursuit of Buddy Holly, My New Buddy John and My Lost Decade of Music.

And just as the author hadn’t been interested in Holly before last year, I wasn’t exactly interested in reading a Holly-related book.  That is, until I read the backstory.  The author explains taking his mother-in-law to a Buddy Holly impersonator show in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and how the story actually came to him.  It’s makes for a great read even if you decide the book isn’t for you [click here].  I think I’ll add this to my growing list (below).  If you have read any recent rock stories, feel free to recommend them.  And put on some Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper or Holly music today if you have time!

Rock ‘n’ roll book list:

• Soul Mining – Daniel Lanois
• Route 19 Revisited – The Clash
• A Very Irregular Head – Syd Barrett
• Life – Keith Richards
• A Riot Of Our Own – The Clash
• The Hacienda – Peter Hook
• Just Kids – Patti Smith

Overlooked Albums 2010

Now’s the time to be prepping those year-end album lists.  Or at the very least, reviewing the dozens posted all over the place.  Tis the season.  But as I began to look over other lists and my own favorites I felt compelled to share a few that probably won’t be as widely listed:

First up is Blonde Redhead’s Penny Sparkle.  It may not be 23 but it’s still a solid effort.  In case you missed this one and like Blonde Redhead, you owe it to yourself to listen to it…or give it a second try.  Honestly I would say it’s a better followup than many indie artists of late.  Maybe it’s just too understated to get much buzz from the music press and bloggers.

This is simply the best indie debut I’ve heard this year.  Seabellies consists of 6 Aussies who I hope have a bright future.  Wayne Connolly (Youth Group, The Vines) produced the album, By Limbo Lake, and it’s masterful.  Great tracks that do not get tiresome or hard to track through.  You’ll enjoy this from the opening notes.

If you’re into Hot Chip you probably know about Silver Columns, but they aren’t a big name yet.  Yes and Dance is a fun album to put on while you’re working or just want to chill.  It’s not earth-shattering; just a solid corker for those who enjoy happy, upbeat electronic sounds.

Here’s my surprise of the year.  The record company must have decided to release “Run With The Boys” as the first single because it’s about the only thing that could go hand-in-hand with The Libertines’ catalogue.  This is Carl 2.0 and he’s out to make some noise.  It’s a great experiment.  Not a perfect album, but really shows growth.  Want proof?  “Death Fires Burn At Night”  – our Carl is growing up!

Discover Jo Stance

 You know what happens at the end of the calendar year for geeky music fans – we try to finalize our year end list of best/fav albums.  While I was on a bit of a scavenger hunt last night, I happened across the name of Jo Stance and thought it worthy of a mention.  This one is for those of us who appreciate early soul sounds.  This is really done right. 

So much so that I wanted to learn more about the artist.  Quickly turning to an internet search I found that one of my favorite blogs, Fire Escape Talking featured this in July.  One of the things I hate about not keeping up with my blogroll weekely!  At any rate, I read up more and plan to find the entire album.

Adam Ant Stands and Delivers

Who knew Adam Ant was back to playing gigs?  Last I heard he’d been in some disputes here and there.  When I noticed a live review from The Telegraph I was pleasantly surprised today.  It’s a pretty good review.  I did a bit of digging and found out that just this spring Adam played some shows but once again had been sidelined.  He was under psychiatric care for a period in May.  He addressed his fans through his website at that time:

Ant fans – please send me postcards at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Fulham Road. Please dont come down here as it may upset the staff who have been really pleasant. I am having a well earn rest at Her Majesty’s pleasure and am painting and continuing being an art student. I have a great view and am considering gigs later in the year.

x

And he has delivered with this latest gig.  Good job, Adam.  Hope we hear more from you.  Footage from a Spring 2010 show can be found here.

Creative lads: Over The Wall

I ran across some info on this band last night and HAD to share the videos they’ve made.  They are just of the guys in the band talking, but they are too funny.  I’m not quite sure where their references to Phil Collins/Genesis come from, but as some of my friends also have inside jokes about them it made it even better.  Enjoy!

And find out just who won’t be attending their album launch-thingy:

For more on the band and their music, go to:  http://weareoverthewall.com

Initial Listens -Nov 4

This weekend I tracked through a few albums to see if I want to purchase or not.  My world turned upside down.  Most of the albums were not quite what I expected.

Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

Love, love, love “World Sick” so I was totally looking forward to listening to the full album.  I’m not sold on first listen.  Perhaps the fact that WS is track 1 has biased me subconsciously.  There are individual songs I like.  “Texico Bitches” and “Sentimental X’s” especially.  There are also tracks I just want to skip through.

Another Listen?  Absolutely.  But I imagine I’ll only purchase a couple songs.

Brandon Flowers – Flamingo

 OK, this is going to sound weird but try to stay with me.  That single, “Crossfire” sounds like a David Gray track.  And that was all I could think of throughout the album – well, that and the standard Brandon Flowers vocals. David Gray has an enjoyable voice, but I get bored with his music.  I always thought he should do something along these lines.  Well, I guess Brandon beat him to it.

Another Listen?  Nah, once was enough.  I’m bored with The Killers, too.

Manic Street Preachers -  Postcards From A Young Man

Speaking of sound-alikes….wow.  Seriously, did they swap lead singers for Robbie Williams?  I mean this whole album is Robbie’s.  I loved their last album, but this one all I can think of is Robbie finally made a good album.  I am so confused!! 

Another Listen?  Yes, but it feels like cheating.

Carl Barat – s/t

 This is the biggest surprise of the year for me.  I thought it would be similar to all the other non-Libertine projects he’s produced.  I’m happy I didn’t ignore this – it’s a little gem.  First couple of songs are warm-ups.  Carl usually brings a bit of French flair and there is a bit of that…and then comes “She’s Something” which really stands out.  “So Long My Lover” is another good track which is a bit Libertine-esque, but also has a retro feel (especially the intro). 

The track that blew my socks off is “Death Fires Burn At Night” and I hope it will blow a lot of other people away.  This is the type of track that albums like “Screamadelica” are made from.  Had Carl written the entire album around this song he’d be getting all the hype Pete’s had over the past 5 years – but for the right reasons.  I really, really hope this is a side we see more from him.

Another Listen?  Oh, yeah.  It’s on constant rotation.  BUY THIS

Mystery Jets – Serotonin

 My friend, Ben, brought this to my attention.  So happy he did.  What a fun album all the way through.

 Another Listen?  No question, I bought it straight away.

What do you think & what are you listening to this week?

Listening Tour – Stop 1, KCSB

       First stop on the College Radio tour is in lovely Santa Barbara, Ca.  I have to say the first thing that impressed me with KCSB didn’t have a thing to do with the music.  Their navigation throughout the website is first classs.  Sorry to say this isn’t the way with the majority of online radio stations.  I’ll start you out with a link to their schedule where you’ll find all the info you’ll need.

       You will find a box displaying the current show in progress, link to their realtime audio and social media links in the top right corner.  The schedule itself has a great feature where you can click and sort shows by genre – very nice when you’re looking for something specific.  I must mention how slick their audio window is with a cool looking cassette.  It displays show, host, album, song and artist info.  How sweet is that? 

Now to the programming.  Will it keep me interested or have me surfing to the next station?  The programming is free form which is often standard for college radio.  Sometimes I find this bad and other times it is well-executed.  The programs I’ve been listening to over the past week have all been very cohesive.  The music blended together well and kept my interest.  In fact some shows I didn’t think I would care for actually were very good.  I listened to most of an afternoon Latin show last week and the program called Meow Mixes also had a great set. I got to hear new deadmau5 tracks and a mariachi version of a Cure song.  Doubt I would have heard those anywhere outside of college radio.

In the case of KCSB I would highly recommend you take the time to look at past playlists for shows.  They are a great indicator of what to expect.  A few shows didn’t have playlists, but most of the ones I wanted to check out did.  There is a show for nearly every musical taste.  They also feature local acts weekly.  Another great find was an interview they’ve posted from last week with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – it’s available in full right now. 

I plan to keep the station bookmarked so I can check them out when time allows.  What I liked the best was the blend of music without feeling mismatched.  If you give it a listen, let me know what you think of it. 

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NEXT STOP: KZSC, Santa Cruz

It’s a detour as I was going a bit further north, but the Huffington Post recently named this station one of the ’9 Best College Radio Stations’ so felt like I would add it.

Rocktober nears an end

…and I haven’t even acknowledged it.  Shame on me.  I can’t let the opportunity pass to post some rock and roll videos.  Also you may note there is a new tab on my blog called “Listening Tour” where I’ll be posting comments and reviews on college radio stations around the US.  I think it’s going to be fun and would love to get some interaction about the stations I’ll be listening to or suggestions of which ones I shouldn’t overlook.  I’m starting the tour in my favorite city, Santa Barbara.  1st post coming soon!

Now let’s get rocking:

Speaking of Ozzy, did you hear he’s going to be a health columnist for Rolling Stone?  Do people still read that mag?

Charlatans Update

I see where Charlies drummer, Jon Brookes, will be treated for a brain tumor.  I missed the news that he had to be resuscitated shortly after kicking off their Philly show last week.  Poor guy.  What a shocker!

According to NME he’ll be undergoing treatment while the lads wrap up the short US tour.  I feel for Brookes, his family and the band.  I give the band a hard time, but it’s only because I love most of the music sooo much and want everything to be aces all the time.  I know in real life that isn’t always possible.  Jon’s my fav and I wish him the best of luck in beating this! 

At the same time I’m waiting to hear how my own Dad’s tests will come out today.  Send him some vibes if you can – it’s appreciated!  It hasn’t been the best year in our household either. 

In more uplifting news I see where Tim is working on a new solo album and it sounds intriguing.  He’s working with folks from The Horrors and Klaxons among others.  I hope it’s as fun as his first album!