SXSW 2011 brought more than 2,000 acts through Austin in March. Here are 100 of my favorite artists from this year’s festival and a link to download a sampler containing a song from each of them.
South by SouthBest 2011 Mixtape: Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3
If your iTunes library is still hungry for more, you can download the full sampler of SXSW 2011 bands containing 1,154 tracks here. Or, if you’re looking for something involving less of a commitment of hard drive space, you can listen to SXSW’s official internet radio station on Shoutcast here.
1. Active Child
2. Anamanaguchi
Astronautalis at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010
3. Astronautlis: Astronautalis is a handsome gentleman with a raspy baritone that can flip from charming chirp to a frightening Tom Waits growl in a second. With an uncanny ability to spontaneously string words together that puts most rappers and writers to shame (his freestyle constructed from audience suggestions will leave you utterly slack-jawed) and a monstrous crowd-capturing charisma, Astronautalis is a giant on the stage. (I also may or may not have a musical man crush on. Don’t judge; dude has skills.) I was sad to miss him at SXSW as he’s currently touring with a full band, but you shouldn’t: He’ll undoubtedly be back soon. The man is always on the road and always put his heart and soul into the performance.
4. Baths
5. Beat Connection
6. The Black Angels
7. Blackbird Blackbird
9. Body Language
10. BRAIDS
While the world was literally falling apart for some, I awoke on the first Saturday of South by Southwest 2011 with nothing to do but nurse a mild hangover and contemplate a staggering list of free beer, barbecue and music options for the days ahead. Bathed in warm Texas sunlight, I stretched out in bed and skimmed over Twitter looking for the latest party RSVPs. What I found was a poignant reminder of my insanely great fortune from Carl Newman of the New Pornographers: “These are the days that put everything in perspective. Most of us are, by far, the luckiest people on earth.”
Funny how quickly that perspective can be discarded. A few hours later, I’d be complaining about standing in line for free alcohol at a free show.
producer Steve Albini in an interview with GQ
Like most moviegoers, I enjoy the trailers before a film, but there’s one thing during those pre-feature moments that makes my heart sink in my chest: when I turn to my date and see her smiling head nod in approval after a preview for an upcoming romantic comedy. Because of her, I see my fair share of romcoms. That’s how I found myself watching Life As We Know It. Lucky me.
The title implies that Life As We Know It has something to say about life, and maybe it does. Maybe the artistic statement Life is trying to make is that life isn’t funny—in fact, it’s often painful—and though you know how it’s going to end and you know you won’t like it, by the time you get to those final minutes, you’re just glad it’s over.
Or, some writer thought to himself, “Baby vomit? LOLZ.”
Self-gratification, Joan from Mad Men and an unlikeable odd couple after the jump.
(Source: themoviepress.com)
Are these corporate eateries totally missing the point of why food trucks are popular?
It’s not like people prefer to eat lunch in the blazing sun on the side of a busy downtown street at an old delivery truck of a restaurant that only takes cash—it’s that these venues offer the chance for experimentation and creativity that would be too much of a gamble for most brick-and-mortar restaurant.
This was one of the crazy-ass street performers at the Edmonton Fringe Festival (I know the video blows, but he’s juggling machetes). I was a little skeptical about this whole fringe fest thing not knowing what to expect, but I was blown away. Someone needs to get one of these started in Austin.
Ghostland Observatory at the House of Blues Las Vegas (08.19.10)
So we saw an Austin band in Vegas last night. It was probably the smallest crowd I’ll ever get a chance to see Ghostland Observatory in—we were just a couple rows back front and center and the crowd was pretty sparse. We were given some tickets by a guy who received a pair with his hotel room in Mandalay Bay, where the Vegas House of Blues is located. He said “electric punk” didn’t sound like his thing. His loss: Ghostland’s trio of laser light machines provided more eye-sexing visual stimuli than all of The Strip combined.
