The music fest officially starts today, but I won’t be in Austin til Thursday and I’m getting antsy. So many bands, so little time to see them all! I’ve narrowed down the list but still have lots of conflicting events on my calendar. I’ve also been warned that, as a non badge-holder, I shouldn’t get my heart set on getting into a particular venue. Guess we’ll just have to see how this schedule I’ve made for myself pans out.
I do find it interesting that out of the kajillion artists on tap, many the ones I hope to see are from my home turf, the Bay Area. What does this say about me? Not sure. But I suppose, to paraphrase Dorothy, that if I ever go looking for new music, I shouldn’t look any further than my own backyard. The bright side to having SF bands on my SXSW list is that even if I don’t catch any of them in Austin, I’ve got a pretty good shot at catching them back in the Bay. Here are just a few:
Do a Google search for “Sandwitches” and the new song by those punk-ass LA rappers Odd Future will undoubtedly come up. But I’m talking about THE Sandwitches. This all-girl, jangly folk-pop trio is probably the musical opposite of OFWGKTA. They’ve got a new album called “Mrs. Jones’ Cookies” coming out at the end of the month and I really like what I’ve heard so far. The Sandwitches are not an official SXSW band, but they are playing a few unofficial events around town.
The Fresh & Onlys
Fun facts: One of the founding members of the Fresh & Onlys still keeps his day job at Amoeba Records and two of the members of the Sandwitches were formerly back-up singers for the Fresh & Onlys. So, you know, everything’s connected … man. I’m loving this new track from their forthcoming EP “Secret Walls.” It’s due out in April. Jeez, they just put out a full-length record last October. Slow down, guys. I can’t keep up.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re already on their fourth record (“Fading Parade”), they’re signed to Sub Pop and they’ve been touring with Beach House. So the Papercuts are already popping off and I’m late to the party. But better late than never, I always say.
Give it up for a man from Da Town! Oakland’s Seth Bogart, aka Hunx, will be representing at SXSW once again with his Punx (or is it Punkettes?). If you were in a gay motorcycle club in the 50’s, this is the kind of music you’d hear. I really can’t overstate the gayness. And I’m not too young to be in love with the title track to his forthcoming album, “Too Young To Be In Love.” I don’t think anybody is.
Who is this crooning 50’s radio star they call Dirty Beaches? His real name is Alex Zhang Hungtai and although he makes music that sounds hauntingly antiquated, he is very much a contemporary singer-songwriter from Vancouver. He’s also one of many, many artists I will attempt to see when I make my first trip to SXSW next week.
Hungtai said in a recent interview with Pitchfork that his forthcoming LP, Badlands, was mainly inspired by three David Lynch movies: Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, and Lost Highway. Having listened to it myself, I’d say that sounds about right.
Even though there are some achingly pretty tracks on Badlands, overall the music itself is not so mind-blowing. I think I mostly enjoy the record because it is so evocative of a bygone, more romantic rock & roll era. How exactly does he pull that off? And how does this translate to a live performance? Hopefully I’ll find out next week. But this video of Dirty Beaches performing live with Dum Dum Girls ought to prepare me for it:
Critically acclaimed electronic duo The Chemical Brothers have teamed up with film director Joe Wright to score Wright’s boldly original adventure thriller Hanna, which stars Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, and Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. The soundtrack will be released exclusively through iTunes on March 15th, in advance of the film’s April 8th nationwide theatrical release through Focus Features.
The soundtrack will be available on Back Lot Music, Universal Studios’ in-house soundtrack record label. The Brothers are at opening night of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival on April 15th. The Hanna soundtrack is their first release since Further, which was released in 2010.
Two shits that I have been writing a lot about have collided. Tyler, the Creator’s French remix gets the Chillwave treatment courtesy of Toro Y Moi. Seems perfectly fitting It’s just one more thing that makes you say “Kids Today”. That , and this.
Yes Tyler you after listening to this I believe you CAN fuck a unicorn.
If not, let the Alabama Shakes remind you. They’re selling out shows across the country and their debut album isn’t even out for another couple months. I managed to see these blues-infused soul grabbers play a jam packed show at the Indy in San Francisco last night. Best overpriced scalped ticket I ever bought! Don’t [...]
Continuing work on my best of heard in 2011, next up is M83 “Midnight City”. My complete spotify playlist can be heard here. Separating the fact that this song is used in a Victoria’s Secret commercial. it’s still pretty great. It was produced by Justin Meldal Johnson who also produced my favorite Big Sir remix [...]
Oh, hey there, East Coast! Looks like you had a bit of an earthquake, huh? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna razz you about it. You’re ill-equipped for the tremors. A big quake would be way more catastrophic there than it would be here. You’re right to be a little jumpy about it. Well, I’m no [...]
Beastie Ad Rock remixes Gangsta with generous amounts of SP12 It will appear on a 12″ single release September 12 in the UK and September 27 in the U.S. via 4AD Did You Share That?
From the first beat of “Rolling in the Deep,” the first track on Adele’s new album, “21”, it is clear that even at such a young age (all of 22 now), singer/songwriter Adele continues to be a force stronger than she may know. As “21” dips into the style of the country South with a [...]
I like a young American band that makes vintage-sounding reverbalicious melodies. Specifically if those bands are Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls or Dum Dum Girls. Call me a nationalist but I just happen to prefer their take on fuzz pop to that of their Danish predecessors, the Raveonettes. Which is not to say I dislike the [...]
So Sayeth Pam – SFxSW
The music fest officially starts today, but I won’t be in Austin til Thursday and I’m getting antsy. So many bands, so little time to see them all! I’ve narrowed down the list but still have lots of conflicting events on my calendar. I’ve also been warned that, as a non badge-holder, I shouldn’t get my heart set on getting into a particular venue. Guess we’ll just have to see how this schedule I’ve made for myself pans out.
I do find it interesting that out of the kajillion artists on tap, many the ones I hope to see are from my home turf, the Bay Area. What does this say about me? Not sure. But I suppose, to paraphrase Dorothy, that if I ever go looking for new music, I shouldn’t look any further than my own backyard. The bright side to having SF bands on my SXSW list is that even if I don’t catch any of them in Austin, I’ve got a pretty good shot at catching them back in the Bay. Here are just a few:
The Sandwitches
Do a Google search for “Sandwitches” and the new song by those punk-ass LA rappers Odd Future will undoubtedly come up. But I’m talking about THE Sandwitches. This all-girl, jangly folk-pop trio is probably the musical opposite of OFWGKTA. They’ve got a new album called “Mrs. Jones’ Cookies” coming out at the end of the month and I really like what I’ve heard so far. The Sandwitches are not an official SXSW band, but they are playing a few unofficial events around town.
The Fresh & Onlys
Fun facts: One of the founding members of the Fresh & Onlys still keeps his day job at Amoeba Records and two of the members of the Sandwitches were formerly back-up singers for the Fresh & Onlys. So, you know, everything’s connected … man. I’m loving this new track from their forthcoming EP “Secret Walls.” It’s due out in April. Jeez, they just put out a full-length record last October. Slow down, guys. I can’t keep up.
Track: “Do You Believe In Destiny?”
The Fresh & Onlys – Do You Believe In Destiny by forcefieldpr
The Papercuts
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re already on their fourth record (“Fading Parade”), they’re signed to Sub Pop and they’ve been touring with Beach House. So the Papercuts are already popping off and I’m late to the party. But better late than never, I always say.
Hunx and His Punx
Give it up for a man from Da Town! Oakland’s Seth Bogart, aka Hunx, will be representing at SXSW once again with his Punx (or is it Punkettes?). If you were in a gay motorcycle club in the 50’s, this is the kind of music you’d hear. I really can’t overstate the gayness. And I’m not too young to be in love with the title track to his forthcoming album, “Too Young To Be In Love.” I don’t think anybody is.
- Pam Torno
Read More Comments 0