Listening to SXSW 2008 – Lady Ms Ian’s Virtual Trip to Austin
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Track:These Are All Illusions
This is becoming kind of a regular thing for me – NOT going to SXSW, that is. I’ve kind of gotten used to watching (and listening) to it from the other end of the telescope. Not that I wouldn’t love to slingshot myself down Texas way and spend my days and nights bouncing from show to show; dunking myself in beer and bar-b-que; talking myself hoarse with other music geeks while we gradually increase our bunions as we decrease our hearing. Heck yeah! That would be the life. But until a giant wad of money mysteriously shows up on my doorstep, along with airfare, hotel reservations, festival pass and a 12 pack of gel insoles, I will have to get my music fix [cue Bette Midler] From a Distance…..Thanks to the good folks who put together the "SXSW website,":http://2008.sxsw.com/music/showcases/date/2008-03-12.html we all have a chance to at least listen to a large chunk of the bands who will be performing at the showcases down there in Austin. I’m taking it upon myself to listen to ALL the bands/artists who have songs on the site (and that’s not everyone who’s performing). One of my self-imposed rules is that I can’t read any of the bios about the bands/artists before listening. I want to judge them on their music alone. Not any hype or gimmickry. Just the sound. And with so much to listen to, I’m only going to be able to listen to each song maybe twice. So, if something is going to stand out, it’s going to have to catch my ear pretty quickly. I know this seems kind of unfair but, just like the folks who are actually attending the festival, I’ve got a limited time window. I know, I know. The purpose of attending SXSW in the flesh is being able to experience and judge these folks on how their music sounds live and their effectiveness as live performers. I guess my virtual attendance is somewhat the mirror twin to this. I’m experiencing and judging them on their recorded music. But isn’t that what we all end up with in the end? We may see a band once or twice a year, but we live with their recordings the rest of the time. So far I’ve gotten through about 56 bands/artists. That’s only a third who’s playing on the first day of the festival! Yikes. I’ll be posting throughout the next couple of weeks on what I find – the good, the bad and ugly. Catching my ear (so far):"Wolfkin":www.wolfkin.dkClunking my ear (so far):"Ninjasonik":www.ninjasonik.comWhat do these two both have in common? Pants.Cheers and yee-haw!
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