Best of SXSW (Part 2)

Well, see the previous post for background - I got through about half of the Thursday night downloads. No promises about getting through everything before burning out. The best track is the last one!


"Alive with Pleasure" - Viva Voce - Cheery enough two-part song (a la Arcade Fire) that reminds me a little of "Funeral For a Friend" (Elton John) as done by some refugees from the Polyphonic Spree.

"I'm so Funn" - Tuxedo Killers - Lives up to its title if you're example of "funn" is ripping apart better No Trend into a sort of Ska damage. Sure, I can buy that.

"Safari 3" - Thunderbirds are Now! - Don't just eat the rich - eat this city, whoa. For those who last dined on Detroit Punk and had indigestion over the Von Bondies, here's some to chew on instead.

"Most People Over 40" - The Sundresses - Isn't it about time somebody replaced that tired Kill All Hippies phrase with Kill All Punks?

"Going Back Home" - The Priests- Ray Manzarek's organ is pulled out of the basement and Jan Savage gets a new, noisier and louder guitar. A male Tex Jones sings.

"Said The Spider to the Fly" - the pAper chAse - An acidic, paranoid cynic with a Billy Corrigan voice falls apart in 4.2 Megabytes. I'm almost surprised the file just doesn't corrupt itself.

"Blue Collar Butterfly" - The Oktober People - At almost six minutes, this slow indie shimmer-pop piece takes some patience but worth a try.

"Terrier" - The Moaners - I hate Quizilla but I can't help but haveta wonder after hearing this song, what kind of dog am I? God, I hope I'm not a terrier? Garage punk with a bite - hilarious because tis so true.

"The Swish" - The Hold Steady - A song that references everything from Nina Simone to Robbie Robertson to the Tuscan Raiders can't be all that bad.

"Try Telling That To My Baby" - The Heavy Blinkers - Freda Payne, The Temptations and Edison Lighthouse could have written this and played it in Phillie's greatest Top 40 radio station, WFIL in 1970.

"Trampoline" - The Grates - New wave lo-fi for hot monkey sex.

"Comm. Jet (Creepykid Remix)" - Single Frame - Modest Mouse with a ton more fuzz and synth that somehow works.

"Free Man Now" - Southern Bitch - You might be surprised I liked this - I had a girlfriend that loved Skynrd and I could even handle them being overplayed but that damn Rossington-Collins band broke my fucking back and I never looked back.

"Same Fears" - Shellshag - Minimalist snot-rock. Sounds like 1/2 a drum set, one guitar and vocals. One of this bunch's standouts if you like that sort of stuff.

"Rings of Symbols" - Pilotdrift - A fusion of Ravi Shankar with acid folk yields a stunning track - if you download one, try this. If I was in Austin on Thursday, I'd be at the Hideout at 11PM. Arcade Fire - Flaming Lips fans, take note - this band will be mentioned in the same breath soon enough.

Some other bands that had good tracks in this bunch were pluto, The Things, The Spades, The Salteens, The National, The Oranges Band, The Ladies and Gentlemen, The Have, The Heatseekers, The Deathray Davies, The Get Hustle, The After Party, Strikeforce Diablo, The Business Machines, ST 37, Stan Ridgway, Seki Solagbade, Run Chico Run, Rachel Loy. I'm gonna give 'em a second chance if there's enough time. But I still have 3 1/2 more nights to go.