Allison Hagendorf gets to the bottom of the SXSW music scene with GWAR.
They say that everything is bigger in Texas. It's the biggest state of the contiguous U.S., and home of the biggest breasts, thanks to Houston housewife Sheyla Hershey, who boasts 38KKK-sized implants. But what's even bigger than boobs in the Lone Star State? Music. That's right, Texas is home to the world's biggest music festival — South by Southwest (SXSW). It's an annual global music conference that showcases hundreds of musical acts across 80 stages in downtown Austin. Every coffee shop, restaurant, and store converts into a music venue. This year's acts included big names like Snoop, R.E.M., Stone Temple Pilots, Hole, and Muse. The rest of the bands are either buzz groups you need to know about, or hopefuls that wished you needed to know about them.
Now before I give you my "Sound Advice" on the Ultimate SXSW Soundtrack, let me summarize my SXSW 2010: I hosted the Entertainment Weekly/Steve Madden Music Party, saw bands and spotted random celebs like Bill Murray, hung with GWAR, rode Harleys, and ate so much BBQ, TexMex, and Amy's Ice Cream I had to be rolled Violet Beauregarde-style back to New York. So I'm hoping now that maybe bigger is better. But a couple of things I know for sure; I definitely messed with Texas (check out my SXSW photos), and I discovered some amazing music.
The Ultimate SXSW Soundtrack. ENJOY!
NEON TREES – "Animal"
THE CONSTELLATIONS (feat. Cee-Lo) – "Love Is a Murder"
DELOREAN – "As Time Breaks Off"
VV BROWN – "Shark In The Water"
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS – "Quiet Little Voices"
VIOLENT SOHO – "Jesus Stole My Girlfriend"
THE MIDDLE EAST – "Blood"
NEON INDIAN – "Sleep Paralysist"
J-RODDY WALSTON AND THE BUSINESS – "Brave Man's Death"
THE STATIC JACKS – "My Parents Lied"
TEMPER TRAP – "Sweet Disposition"
TELEGRAPH CANYON – "Safe on the Outside"
JONATHAN TYLER AND THE NORTHERN LIGHTS – "Pardon Me"
Got a burning music-related question, or just want to ask for some guidance on how to sound smarter? Then e-mail Allison at askallimusicadvice@gmail.com.
Allison Hagendorf is a media personality, music consultant, and branded-content producer. She is the newest host on Fuse, where you can catch her each week interviewing today's most buzz-worthy celebrities and artists, and chatting about mega-hits from today's biggest music stars. You can find Allison on Twitter and join her Facebook fan page.