I stayed in a trailer on the Colorado River during my trip to Austin for SXSW this year. For the first few days it was just me and a large family of turtles. The turtles would sunbake on the bank of the river and then when I came out each morning to the back porch they would all dive in to the river at once. I figure there were about twenty of them. I managed to do yoga each day first thing, which, as you may or may not know, really helps the day go much more smoothly than it otherwise might have.

A few days before leaving Nashville I'd had some strange physical incongruence. It felt like all the adrenalin had left my body. A friend assured me that the chest pain I was feeling was not a heart attack (!) and I immediately went on to a diet of bananas only for two days. That, with some natural enzymes from the health food store and I was back on track within a couple of days.  I now attribute this strange reaction to stress - stress of running my own record label - coming up with funding and just the simple tasks of organization and co-ordination - plus the outward stress that we are all feeling. It seems like even the planet is suffering this stress - what with the volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, freakish snow storms, power outages.... Is the world telling us humans to slow down, stop being so greedy, stop using up all the resources....

Now that the corporation has officially been declared a 'person' by the supreme court, how can we keep this 'person' in check? I think the term 'monster' would have been better suited. Are the big corporations  the man-made monsters we've been dreading all these years, our Frankenstein's Monster....

How to deal? I think the best start is to take control of our own eco footprint - eat less meat (you'd be amazed at how many resources it takes to breed cattle for all the meat eaters on the planet), use less plastic, grow more vegetables, eat less in general, car pool, be more conscious of love and less of jealousy, hatred and fear.

This is a start, I'm going to try it.

 annemccue.com

Highlights of what's been running through the speakers here at OUTLANDOS HQ the last month or so:

1. Luke Doucet and the White Falcon, Blood's Too Rich



I think I'm in love. Seriously. Massive man/guitar crush. He is wicked. Don't let the fact that he's Sarah McLachlan's guitarist spook you.

2. Broken Records, Until the Earth Begins to Part



Edinburg seven-piece (apparently, Edinburg is having an uberchic moment), old U2 meets one fierce violin.

3. The Silver Seas, Château Revenge



Yes, still on this one :-). Just can't seem to stop. [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

The thing about music is, whether you like it or not, it envelopes your brain. It is at times mathematical, poetical, political, historical and, you get the idea. A lot of –ticals at play here. I hate to lean so heavily on a cliché but how many times have you heard the words “soundtrack of my life?” Probably enough that you just cringed reading them, right? Understandably so. Platitudes aside, the fact is that most people can identify certain songs, albums, and artists with particular periods in their lives. Put on a record and sense memory kicks in. Suddenly you’re back in your first apartment, trying to figure out where to hang your weathered, signed-by-Fred-and-Toody Dead Moon poster, listening to “Old Shoes and Picture Postcards.” Or something like that. Point is, for better or worse, some songs are just ingrained in our memories, inseparable from our experiences. They are (go ahead and cringe again) the soundtrack of our lives.

That’s what this column is about. The songs that made lasting impressions, and the people they made the impressions on.  For as long as Blurt will allow me to, I’ll be interviewing fellow songwriters, journalists, novelists, actors, comedians, friends, and enemies about the songs that burrowed into their memories – about what the songs might mean, and what the songs mean to them. They will be interviews, in the most technical sense of the term, but, if I do my job right, they won’t be the kind of interview you’re used to.

The folks kind enough to lend their time and song choices to the interviews, you’ll have heard of (Jason Isbell, Matthew Ryan, Peter Case and Bill Janovitz, to name a few), but me you may not have. To that end, I’ll keep it simple. I write songs and make records. Maybe you’ve heard ‘em, maybe not. For the purposes of this column, that’s really neither here nor there. My job, as it applies to Blurt, is simply to allow some of my favorite artists and writers a platform to discuss some of their favorite songs. Where it goes from there, is up to them. Or, more accurately, up to the songs.

Hopefully I’ll see you around.

Kasey Anderson
Portland, Oregon
April 5, 2010

Yes, Dave Holmes was on MTV. Yes, you're remembering correctly. He "lost" the Wanna Be A VJ contest to Jesse Camp in 1998, but was subsequently hired by MTV anyway because somebody had the good sense to realize that, while Jesse's batshit persona was charmingly annoying, Dave Holmes actually knew a good deal about music. Holmes probably could have worked for MTV in some fashion forever (God knows many have tried), but moved on to a variety of gigs, including but not limited to appearances on Reno 911, Best Week Ever, and FX's DVD on TV. While, for better or worse, Camp has been written off as a disposable product of the ‘90's, Holmes has remained a relevant, intelligent, and charming Pop Culture commentator and humorist, finding a new generation of fans via Twitter (link:  http://twitter.com/daveholmes) and Tumblr (link:  http://myyearofeverything.tumblr.com). Along with his numerous televised activities, Holmes is currently working on a book, the process of which is chronicled at his Tumblr blog.

The process of narrowing down one song to discuss with Holmes was arduous as there is an enormous amount of crossover between our respective record collections, but the song that kept coming up was "Stuck Between Stations," from the Hold Steady's Boys & Girls in America record. Seeing as how a new Hold Steady record is on its way, that seemed like an appropriate enough choice.

Kasey Anderson:  Was this song a "JFK moment" for you? Do you remember the first time you heard it, did it make an immediate impact, etc., or was it a song that gradually worked its way into your life until it had burrowed in and made an impact?

Dave Holmes:  Boys & Girls In America was one of the first albums I downloaded right at the stroke of 9pm Pacific time the night before its release. I was a big fan of Separation Sunday, I had seen them live a couple of times, and I was teenagery in my anticipation for the new one. And I think I listened to "Stuck Between Stations" 15 times before I moved forward. In fact, according to my iTunes, it is the most-played song in my library. I probably listen to it most while running; when I was training for the NYC Marathon, I put it on my "training playlist," timed for the exact moment at 13 miles when I become delirious.

KA:  I love and hate that "downloaded at the stroke of 9pm Pacific time" has replaced "picked up at the stroke of midnight at [insert record store]." What is it that the tune would do for you at the 13 mile mark? Restore sanity or make delirium more tolerable? It's such a frantic song, lyrically and musically, that it could really go either way, but "soothing" is certainly not the first word that springs to mind when I think about the Hold Steady.

DH:  Thirteen miles is when my energy really starts to flag, and a song like "Stuck Between Stations" just picks me back up. Plus the endorphins make it easier to imagine myself performing the song in a packed and rowdy 3-to-5,000-seat theater. (Anything larger diminishes the intimacy I like in my imaginary concerts.)

KA: Who is your backing band?

DH:  California Dreams, obviously. No. It's an ever-changing assortment of old friends who used to want to be in a band but are now bankers. There's something really exciting about this wave of bands made up of regular working guys in their 30s (The Hold Steady, Wormburner, Action Toolbelt). I imagine this is what black teenagers felt like when Grandmaster Flash et al came out.

KA:  I guess the first and most obvious question about the song itself is, do you think that Sal Paradise was right? Do boys and girls in America have such a sad time together?

DH: Boys and girls in America do indeed have such a sad time together, and boys and boys and girls and girls don't fare much better. (If I ever do a one-man show, I'll call it "Boys & Boys In America," so let's all hope I never do a one-man show.) The active ingredient in the sadness is revealed a couple of seconds later, in one of the most succinct and devastating lines ever: "Crushing one another with colossal expectations." Now THERE'S a line I could have stood to hear in my early 20s.

KA: Ditto. And I could probably stand to hear the line occasionally now, though I've crossed the threshold into my 30's. So, is this a cautionary tale to you, or is Finn saying, "this is something we all go through because it's something we all HAVE to go through?" Say you had heard the line in your early 20's, would it still have hit home and, if so, would it have been advantageous to avoid some of that sadness and disappointment?

DH: I think I went into relationships expecting these poor gentlemen to just make everything right for me. I think if I'd heard this line at age 23, I might have realized I needed to do a certain degree of that work myself. Actually, no- I still would have been an idiot. But the lesson got learned nonetheless.

KA:  The thing I like about Finn's writing in this song in particular is that there's a sort of fatalism to it without being especially pessimistic. There's a push and a pull. "There was that night we thought John Berryman could fly / but he didn't, so he died." In one couplet he sort of sums up the grand delusions of youth and art and contrasts them with the reality of life and death. If I were in my early 20's and heard that song, it would have sent me spiraling into a month-long depression. But hearing it at 26 or 27, it just sort of hung there and reminded me of a time when I thought John Berryman could fly - when hero worship and ambition were boundless. Do you think Finn is too fatalistic or is he just being a realist?

DH: There's a definite undercurrent of disappointment running through this song, a sense that the things you want in your youth (fame, love, booze) can't sustain you forever. For me, the key line is "He was drunk and exhausted and he was critically acclaimed and respected." It's not BUT, it's AND, which suggests that acclaim and respect are injuries. That line blows my mind.

KA: That, to me, is what makes a great line great. The difference between "and" and "but." Do you agree with Finn's assessment of acclaim and respect, at least in that context? Are they, to some degree, albatrosses that lead to a compounding, albeit different, set of colossal expectations?

DH: Acclaim and respect can make a man think he's getting called up to the majors, where everything is going to be easier and better and shinier, but everyone everywhere is confused and frightened.

Plus, recognition can insulate a person from actual human connection. Once you're published- or put on TV or played through stereo speakers or whatever- suddenly there's a character out there with your name who looks and sounds like you, but isn't exactly you. Sometimes you get confused as to which one you're supposed to be, sometimes people are attracted to the public, published you who doesn't really exist. Relationships get crowded and confusing and become critical injuries for poets and sensitive types like John Berryman. (Some just become their fake selves, and you can see examples of this kind of soul death on reality TV literally all day long.)

KA:  This is something Springsteen has addressed a couple of times, mentioning that THE Bruce Springsteen wouldn't allow Bruce Springsteen to visit strip clubs, which, evidently, is something Bruce Springsteen liked to do on occasion. Because of that rift between public and private personae, when private Bruce Springsteen acted out in defiance of THE Bruce Springsteen, private Bruce tended to go overboard in his misbehavior. Or so the story goes. The thing is, at some point, Craig Finn became THE Craig Finn, right? I'm curious as to how he reconciles those colossal expectations he is now saddled with. Have you ever had instance where you caught private Dave Holmes behaving in a way THE Dave Holmes wouldn't approve of, or vice versa?

DH:  A good friend of mine met Craig Finn recently, and went into insta-gush mode, as would I. As the story goes, Craig waved it off graciously and asked my friend about HIS band, and they had a nice, long conversation. So it seems like Craig's got his head on straight, which is what happens when you get recognized a bit later in life. Of course, this tracks perfectly with the THE Craig Finn in my mind. It's a hall of mirrors.

My career didn't pick up until I was pushing 30 either, so I haven't really had to wonder who the real me is. Sometimes if I'm working on a live shoot for a long time, I find it hard to switch off the quip machine, but that's just a mild annoyance for my boyfriend.

KA: From a purely musical standpoint, the song is very cinematic and sweeping - I suppose this is why the default comparison is the E Street Band. For me, that makes as big an impact as Finn's lyrics. From note one, this song is huge. If it had just been Craig Finn reciting lines over somebody fingerpicking an acoustic guitar, would the impact have been the same for you?

DH:  Yeah, I'm not interested in hearing a stripped-down version of this song. The driving-ness of the song is a perfect counterpoint to the weariness of the lyrics. To me, it says, "No, things don't work out the way you want them to, but you can still go on joyfully." Life is long and weird and sometimes really sad, but we're all in it together. That's kind of what Hold Steady shows are all about, and that's why I see them every chance I get.â�¨â�¨I am fucking crazy about the Hold Steady.â�¨â�¨So here's the disappointment that this song reminds me of: In 1989, I graduated high school and had myself narrowed down to two colleges: Boston College, which I had gotten into, and Holy Cross, which wait-listed me. Because they didn't like me as much, I decided I HAD to go to HC. (This pattern would repeat throughout the next 21 years.) I got into Holy Cross in August, and spent the next four (and a half) years adrift in a sea of boozy self-hatred in a college full of sportsy lawyery New Englanders. Had I gone to Boston College- had I just known myself a tiny bit better- Craig Finn would have been in my class. How we would have GOTTEN each other back then! The late-night conversations about music! Regrets, I've had a few.

Kasey Anderson is a songwriter, singer, dog owner and bacon enthusiast from Portland, Oregon. His three albums, Dead Roses (2004), The Reckoning (2007), and Nowhere Nights (2010) have earned plenty of praise from critics (No Depression, USA Today, The Onion) but, unfortunately, have not as yet yielded the Swedish Fish endorsement Anderson so badly desires. If you’d like to have Kasey Anderson sing, play harmonica and strum a guitar at you, you’ll find him on tour all spring and summer (dates and info available at www.kaseyanderson.com), or if you’d simply like to read on as Anderson discusses various songs with other artists, writers, friends and cohorts, you’re in the right place.

Official Site: www.kaseyanderson.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/kaseyanderson
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaseyandersonmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/kaseyanderson

Here we go with another edition of LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, our guest-post series where we invite musicians we shamelessly adore to take over and write whatever they like. 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. This week’s LETTERS FROM THE ROAD guest author is a new friend, the kind that reeks of contagious inspiration, the multitalented Rob Giles. Take it away Rob...

I don’t think of my life as a career. I do stuff. I respond to stuff. That’s not a career --- that’s a life!
--- Steve Jobs

Dear Steve,

I am so excited about the iPad. I am probably going to even shell out the money to get one before we go on our summer tour. You had me at the Netflix app. I have been reading reviews voraciously, as if a lost Beatles album was just unearthed. Words like "interactive," "immersive," "intimate" can’t help but intrigue me. “Will it be the new model for media?!” “I’m not even sure what its used for, but I want to use it for everything!” And apparently iBooks is to Wii what Kindle is to the Atari 2600.

I didn’t read anything about it, but I am guessing there is also an iTunes app? You know, for music?…

It got me wondering, Mr. Jobs, do you remember listening to records? Did you spend any Saturday mornings or Friday nights studying the liner notes of your favorite albums again and again? The artwork!? The glorious mysteries and journeys that album art could catapult you through? (I learned Spanish one summer in Mexico by trying to describe Metallica and Iron Maiden albums to my “Mexican brother” Saul.) Did you ever get images seared into your mind by reading and rereading the pages of recording info and who played what? I can still see clearly that Nikki Sixx, in his musical genius, played not only the bass, but the 8-string bass, the 12-string bass, AND the bass pedals on “Shout At The Devil”!! I am still wondering if the legendary Russ Kunkel looks like what I think he looks like.

Imagine what stuff I could claim to have played on the new Rescues album (out this summer on Universal Republic --- Free Single of the Week please, Steve?) [...]



A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Out ‘n' about in the City of Angels with Blurt's roving shutterbug (2/28 - 3-31 ).

By Scott Dudelson

(above) Jeff Foskett (of Brian Wilson Band, Beach Boys) - Live @ Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp (www.rockcamp.com) - 2/28

(below) Ross & Brian of The Broken West - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 3/2

Old California - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 3/2

Laura Veirs - Live @ Spaceland (www.clubspaceland.com) - 3/9

Limbeck - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 3/11

Magazine Gap - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 3/30

***

Scott Dudelson is a music journalist and concert photographer based in Los Angeles.  Scott is also the Chief Operating Officer of Prodege, LLC, the company behind www.swagbucks.com.

Announcing the latest installment in our "Play For Today" series of video game reviews. This time out we take on Final Fantasy XIII, MLB 10: The Show and Endless Ocean 2: Blue World. Watch out for those screen shots and trailers.

By Aaron Burgess

Game of the Minute: Final Fantasy XIII

Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Developer / Publisher: Square Enix

ESRB Rating: T

What's your Fantasy? Since its modest 1987 debut in Japan, the Final Fantasy series has grown into the biggest role-playing game on the planet. So, when news broke that Final Fantasy XIII would detour from the franchise's core element-the nonlinear, open-ended RPG-fans (including this one) understandably cocked an eyebrow. The good news is that, while Final Fantasy XIII strips down the gameplay to a linear, battle-driven style, the storytelling, sound and visual design that've been Final Fantasy hallmarks remain as captivating as ever. The bad news is-well, if you stopped at the word "detour," you already know.

Final Fantasy XIII opens in a universe divided into two equally dazzling, if diametrically opposed, worlds: the cloud city Cocoon, where harmony reigns supreme (at least on the surface), and the larger terrestrial region Pulse, where-well, let's just say it's not the sort of place you'd want to spend a lot of time. Unfortunately, due to some twisted machinations among Cocoon's leadership, that's just where the game ultimately takes you-although you don't arrive in Pulse on your own. Part of a six-character Cocoon-ite party that's been wrongly stigmatized as enemies of the people, you must fight your way through both worlds to prove your valor.

While it assigns a lead role to the stealthy, pink-haired Lightning, Final Fantasy XIII gradually puts you in control of all six characters, each of whom develops roles and capabilities as the story progresses. (And, truth be told, it takes several hours of play for the real action to start.) You enter battles in control of one character at a time, but your party members' roles prove invaluable to your success in moving through the game. You can assign your party up to six different combinations of three roles each (a.k.a. Paradigms) before entering battle, and because no two enemies' capabilities are the same, you need to shift Paradigms to get the advantage. It's a nice addition of strategy into an otherwise straightforward, turn-based battle system, and it'll have you thinking twice before approaching a new foe.

The scaled-back gameplay gives the impression that Final Fantasy XIII is a quick play-and for those used to the freedom of an open-ended, nonlinear world complete with challenging mini-games, it may well be, relatively speaking. After a lengthy warm-up period during which the story takes shape, you'll spend a good weekend mastering the battle and skill systems, as well as getting to know the heroes and villains. Luckily, Final Fantasy XIII's characters and story offer enough complexity that it's easy to get lost in their world, even with the borders the game's developers have put around it.

Rating: 8/10

MLB 10: The Show

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer / Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

ESRB Rating: E

The greatest player of them all. Sports gamers can be real sticklers for detail, and as its long-running MLB: The Show franchise proves, Sony continues to stay hyper-focused on the challenge this presents for game developers to step things up. This year's installment is loaded with details (did that fan just clamor for a foul ball?) and camera work so true to life, casual viewers could easily be fooled into thinking they're watching a real MLB matchup.

Graphic realism, of course, isn't the only advancement MLB 10: The Show brings to the game. Gameplay and AI are remarkably nuanced, with neither being reinvented so much as they've been dialed closer to the real thing. If you're playing a season, Franchise mode lets you equip, handicap and even pay players according to their real-life counterparts in the big leagues. Want to call the game as the catcher? You can do it in the new Catcher mode. And of course there's the Road to the Show mode, back again in version 4.0 with a set of interactive training games that help you sharpen your player's fielding and pitching skills as you move him from the minors to the Show.

Sony has long touted MLB: The Show as "the most realistic baseball game ever," and there's no disputing that claim with this year's model. But MLB 10: The Show is also the most playable baseball game ever-and when you pair that with the game's realism, well, you've got another homerun.

Rating: 9/10

Endless Ocean 2: Blue World

Platform: Wii

Developer: Arika / Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB Rating: E10+

I can hear the ocean's roar... Sometimes you just want a break from the typical challenge-based game-a need the first Endless Ocean was happy to fill. Unfortunately for those who crave more a little more zip with their zone-outs, the free-roaming title felt a bit too relaxed for its own good. Enter Endless Ocean 2: Blue World, which couples the stress-reducing experience of its predecessor with simple diversions and point-accumulating challenges.

After a brief setup to customize your character, you literally dive into Endless Ocean 2, swimming through tranquil, wide-open environments to find the source of a siren's call. Of course, you can also skip this story altogether, choosing instead to explore the sea floor while learning about and helping the ocean fauna. You'll find sunken treasures along the way, too, which you can sell to pay for trinkets, and if you have a broadband connection and a Wii Speak microphone, you can invite friends to dive with you. (Assuming, of course, they also have the same setup.)

Simple as it may be, Endless Ocean 2: Blue World offers significant replay value-even if the graphics are limited to the Wii's 480p-tops capability to eclipse reality. But for those times when you just need to get away from it all, it's a heck of a lot more affordable than taking a real dive.

Rating: 7/10

File Under "Extras"

Turtle Beach Ear Force PX21 Universal Gaming Headset

Compatible With: PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, PC

Turtle Beach's latest gaming headset won't replace your 5.1 surround system, but if you'd like to give the rest of the house some peace while you're gaming into the wee hours, the Ear Force PX21 is up to the task. The cushioned earpieces help to muffle external noise, while the stereo-expander feature and variable bass boost let you hear every footstep, reloading or pulled grenade pin in lifelike detail.

Independent volume controls let you balance in-game audio with the sounds of your online chat, and the microphone features a flexible boom that keeps ambient noise from leaking into your commands and curses. Plus, thanks to a 16-foot cable, you can get up to take a drink without accidentally waking up your roommates. Retail price is a hair under $80-gear up at Amazon.

Our game guru, Aaron Burgess, lives digitally but dreams in analog down in Round Rock, Texas. Contact him at first2letters@gmail.com / AIM: First2Letters.

By Carl Hanni

SXSW CD Swag Sampler!

SXSW is a bounty of unasked-for (and sometimes unwanted) CDs, cassettes, download cards and more, pressed into our hands at shows, in the convention center and on the street by sometimes anxious, occasionally sweaty strangers. Some of them are treasure troves. Here's the scoop on a few of the best ones I received. 

Boom Pam: somebody handed me this at the Balkan Beat Box show, which is fully appropriate. From Tel Aviv, Boom Pam mash up twangy surf guitars, Middle Eastern/Mediterranean and Balkan beats, plenty of forward motion and a rocking tuba on "Malibu" and four other tracks on a delightful five song EP. www.boompam.org,  www.myspace.com/boompam.

Guadalupe Plata: I got this from a gent at the booth promoting new music from Spain in the  trade show in the convention center. Guadalupe Plata are a 3 piece playing big, heavy blues ala Black Keys, R.L. Burnside and John Lee Hooker, played w/drastic fire and amazing chops, especially on the slide guitar. In addition to these masters their MySpace mentions Hound Dog Taylor, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Skip James, Son House and Elmore James. Who knew the Spanish had the dirty blues gene? Amazing stuff.  www.myspace.com/guadalupeplata.

The China Invasion Tour 2010, Featuring Bands from Maybe Mars. From a showcase of new Chinese bands. This 16 song sampler features nine contemporary Chinese "rock" acts, several who record on the Maybe Mars label and many who come out of the D-22 Club scene in Beijing. I'd previously heard the electrified Carsick Cars and the terrific 3 piece Snapline, who played an eye-opening set on guitar, vocals and keyboard. P.K.14 were a SXSW buzz band this year, according to some sources. White seen to be drawing their energy from Philip Glass, while Xiao He from an avant garde re-casting of traditional Chinese folk music. Av Okubo, Gar, 24 Hours and Ourself Beside Me also represent. The energy from these bands is all experimental, fresh and genre-bending. The kids are alright in China, apparently. www.maybemars.com. 

I got to see the Berkeley-based Real Vocal String Quartet perform a beautifully played, lovely set, despite a feedback-jittery PA and a rolling tide of deep booty bass from the club next door. The four women add vocals to their violin, viola and cello line-up, presenting a modern chamber mash-up of music from around the world. I got the self-titled 14 song CD from cellist Jessica Ivy, who I also saw at terrific sets by Golden Arm Trio and Fishtank Ensemble. Their set was a welcome respite from the drunken hoo-raw outside the club, and proof that you can see just about anything you want at SXSW, if you bother to look for it. www.rvsq.com.

I also got a LED Artists sampler CD from a charming woman at the Balkan Beat Box show. A collection of artists that they represent? distribute? promote?, the sampler features 19 tracks by 15 international acts, including Kimi Djabate (Guinea-Bissau), Nguyen Le (Paris via Vietnam), Liu Fang (China), Boris Malkovsky (Israel), Ljova and the Kontraband (NYC via Russia)  and Mercedes Peon (Spain). This is the real world music--less on electronic beat/world groove, more on modern updates on traditional music that doesn't necessarily have one eye cocked towards the dance floor at all times. www.LEDartists.net.

Light In The Attic Records sampler. I spent some time--and some $--hanging out at the booth the Seattle-based Light In The Attic Records had at the SXSW record show. LITA are one of the the top-shelf re-isssue labels in the country, who also distribute other fabulous, European based re-issue labels like Vampisoul, Timmion Trikont. These are the folks that did such a great job re-issuing all four of funk goddess Betty Davis four releases, as well as key records by legendary folkie Karen Dalton, garage punk ground-breakers The Monks and more. Their catalogue is stuffed full of amazing soul, funk, reggae, R&B, Latin, psychedelic, rock and folk releases. The sampler CD has tracks by Davis, Dalton, Monks + Rodriguez, the Black Angels, Earth, Roots and Water, The Free Design and more. www.lightintheattic.net.

Funk Aid for Africa and Haiti, mixed and compiled by DJ Obah. Ok, I paid for this one (for a good cause) at a showcase put together by Wax Poetics magazine and Dubspot Records. This was one of best showcases I saw at SXSW, with sets by Ocote Soul Sounds, Chico Mann, Brownout, Jovi Rockwell and more, with killer DJ sets between acts. The sampler CD features a continuous groove mix by Ocote, Ticklah, Happy Mayfield, The Pimps of Joytime, El Pueblo and many more. www.dubspot.com, www.nextaid.org. 

Stone River Boys, Love On The Dial. Perhaps this isn't totally fair--I ride to and from SXSW w/SRB's manager and I know and have worked with one of them (Dave Gonzalez) off and on for years--but it WAS given to me at SXSW, and it/they are so darn good that it really shouldn't go unmentioned. Fronted by Texas country soul singer/songwriter legend Mike Barfield and featuring the awesome guitar, vocal and songwriting talents of Dave Gonzalez (Hacienda Brothers, The Paladins), the Stone River Boys pick up more or less where the Hacienda Brothers left off, producing an untouchable fusion of modern Texas soul and hard, precise honky tonk music. I saw the Boys wind a mid-afternoon crowd up into a spinning top with just four songs. The record is a monster. www.stoneriverboys.com.

***

You can leave comments below or e-mail them to me directly at modmedia@theriver.com .

Carl Hanni is a music writer, music publicist, disc jockey, book hound and vinyl archivist living in Tucson, AZ. He hosts a monthly concert and film series at The Screening Room in downtown Tucson, and spins records wherever and whenever he can. He believes that in a better (all analog) world all records would be released on vinyl, but takes good music from wherever he finds it--even on CD. He currently writes for Blurt, Tucson Weekly, Goldmine, Examiner.com and (occasionally) Signal To Noise.

Some curious/humorous observations; conclusions, all you...

SxSW Interactive

• Strictly on time


• Panel/keynote speakers wear wireless/clip-on mics (most often)


• Panel/keynote production appears flawless (ex: nametags/hash tags clearly visible, high-quality sound, SxSW staff on-hand and in control)


• Open-door policy (attendees enter and leave panels/keynotes as they please)


• Multitasking assumed and celebrated (ex: tweeting, hash tag strains broadcast simultaneously on stage screens, taking photos/videos, watching videos/accessing links speaker mentions as he/she continues talking)


• Panels/keynotes packed to capacity, one-in/one-out entry queues outside most doors, attendees (literally) battling for panel/keynote front row seats


• Panel/keynote attendee questions usually benefit everyone in the room


• Panel/keynote speakers revered as "rockstars" as attendees vehemently Twitter speeches as "gospels" and rush the stage post events


• Collective, impromptu crowd reactions are frequent (from applause to walkouts)


• Attendees share uber-alpha networking gene, introducing themselves to each other at nearly every possible opportunity, whether seated or in queue... most even managing a pitch


• Attendees have business cards


• Attendees display exuberance in helping each other, openly sharing newly observed/learned tips/ideas


• Panel/keynote speaker metaphors run rampant, assuming attendees will connect dots rapidly (which they do)


• Conversely, attendees express frustration/impatience when panels/keynotes move "slow"


• Overall celebration/mutual admiration between panel/keynote speakers and attendees, each easily vacillating between roles as "students" and "leaders"


• Overarching business-casual fashion, geeky yet hip


• Parties attended mostly by men in khakis [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Blurt blogger and shutterbug Scott Dudelson is roaming the highways and clubways of Austin this week and he's got the photos to prove it. Check out his report from Wednesday, March 17, Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, as well as his regular photo blog.

By Scott Dudelson

Saturday, March 20

(above) She & Him @ Rachael Ray Party

(below) Rachael Ray herself!

Andrew WK @ Rachael Ray Party

Chapin Sisters @ Rachael Ray Party

Dr. Dog @ Rachael Ray Party

Tom Morello/Street Sweeper Social Club @ Rachael Ray Party

Boots Riley/Street Sweeper Social Club @ Rachael Ray Party

Priestess @ Harley Davidson Party

The New Harley @ Harley Davidson Party

Big Light @ Galaxy Back Yard Tent

The Like @ Stubbs

Exene Cervenka @ Bloodshot Showcase

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Scott Dudelson is a music journalist and concert photographer based in Los Angeles.  Scott is also the Chief Operating Officer of Prodege, LLC, the company behind www.swagbucks.com.