anathallo at mohawk

There are just so many bands to see during SXSW, you really have to be picky about what you choose. Since this is my first time attending, I'm totally paranoid that I'm going to be stuck out in a line while my favorite band is playing. But most bands play short sets during the day at different bars that are sponsored by various companies. Anathallo only played four songs (they are a bit longer than your average song) but it was well worth it for me to make the hike over to Mohawk.


I was excited to find out that Anathallo is better live than they are emitting from my horrible computer speakers. Their music is at times intricate, others simple. At least five members of the band take part in the harmonies with the lead singer and I'm pretty sure everyone but the drummer played more than one instrument, so you know those kids have talent. As they played with such passion and a couple of the guys danced around the stage I felt like I was watching a religious rite rather than a music concert. As I listened, some parts of the music would be at home in a Dr. Seuss musical while others moved more dramatically. It was a great set. Glad I made it out to listen to a band I have been listening to for awhile.

Here's their myspace if you'd like to give them a listen.
And I got the tip to listen to them from Just Pete at the Bored-Again Christian. He has great taste in tunes.

chic[k]pilot at sxsw

Austin is one of my favorite towns. My grandparents live here, it has so much character, the Texas hill country is beautiful, there is just so much to do. Every year Austin hosts a movie and music festival known as South by Southwest (for those of you who do not keep up with that kind of stuff). Now Austin may be known for its more, shall we say free spirited attitude, so you will think a military chick like me would want to steer clear of all that stuff. But you'd be wrong. I'm totally into new kinds of music of all types. And who doesn't love good live music? We don't get much of that in MS...

Today is the first day of the music festival. I'll be keeping up with the bands I see with photos and maybe some of my own impromptu reviews. I'll also be taking pictures of the strange, weird, and just plain crazy things/people/situations I might find. So if anything, the weekend should be interesting. Hopefully you'll get a few laughs and some new music to try. Until then, I'm off to enjoy some free parties and rockin tunes.

More info here and here if you're curious like a cat.

Just remember the reason your out there rockin' and just how lucky us spoiled Americans really are:

these guys rock

I hope I do not get any "those kids and they're darned hippie music" comments, but I have loved Mute Math for a long time. I saw them in concert a few months ago, and they just have a unique sound and great energy. And how could you not love a band that rocks a keytar? I'm posting about them again because they will be in Austin this Thursday, and I'm going to see them again! YES!

Here's the new video of "Typical." It seems like a boy's dream, making a big mess with paint and silly string, breaking stuff. But all backwards like that had to be tough. I can say though the finished product is amazing. I'm going to go ahead and call it the next OK go internet gem.

The making of the video.... its pretty funny watching them doing everything backwards

Live performance on Kimmel


Their song has even made it to American Idol, with really does use good songs for the most part.

what to do, what to do...

What do you do during a 12 hour drive? Here's my suggestion, and what I actually did listen to today:

Six segments of Hugh Hewitt
Six installments of Indiefeed: Alternative/Modern Rock
The latest Glenn and Helen Podcast
The latest Pajamas Media Blog Week in Review

Also the following albums in their entirity:
Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
Let it die by Feist
Speak for Yourself by Imogen Heap
We Were Here by Joshua Radin
Sam's Town by The Killers
Committ this to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack
Trouble by Ray LaMontagne
Wincing the Night Away by The Shins
Colour the Small One by Sia
Show Your Bones by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Thank goodness for iPods and FM transmitters! And now I'm in Austin and not going to South by Southwest.... pure torture. Next year will be the year, I am promising myself right now. Free music here with the list of all the bands at the festival. The band names alone are enough to make it worth a look-see, you'll get a chuckle out of them.

the fray take on tweets

The band produced a video of their orientation ride with my squadron. Except for the Top Gun music in the background, this is a pretty good video. I'm not one for much mainstream music, and I'm the last person who would celebrity worship, but they are good dudes.

the fray gets tweet rides + concert review

Last Tuesday the stars aligned and the winds blew The Fray and Mute Math to Starkville, MS for our listening pleasure. But before they stepped on stage, the dudes from the Fray were blessed with a T-37 formation sortie. That's right, one of the guys in my squadron went to high school with a couple of them back in the day and the higher ups deemed the top 40 wonders worthy of an orientation ride. So two two-ship formations cast them into the burning blue where they flew three feet from each other cheating death. After returning safely and kissing the ground they walked on, they stuck around the squadron bar to take pictures and sign autographs. While I was not squeeling at the top of my lungs or foaming at the mouth, I did take the opportunity to snap a photo with the frontman, who was looking somewhat worse for the wear.

Thankfully their expereince did not affect their performance later that night. My roommate and I were stuck in the nosebleed section with the hippie college riff raff (for the most part) that made me feel old (at 24?), but it was still a good time. I have to admit though Mute Math stole the show. How could you not love a band that rocks the keytar with a lead singer who jumps around like a kangaroo on crack? The boys from New Orleans have more energy than I have ever seen on stage, and they definatly sacrifce for their art. For example:

Mute Math is now on tour in the UK, but I would highly recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance.

i think that's about right

Your Taste in Music:

Alternative Rock: High Influence Country: High Influence Punk: High Influence 90's Alternative: Medium Influence 90's Pop: Medium Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

snl may not be so bad

The Shins are one of my favorite bands since I first heard them on the Garden State Soundtrack. I managed to keep my eyes open long enough last night to catch them on SNL. I could not find the clip of their SNL appearence on YouTube, so here is their latest video. The new album drops on Jan 23.

And I may not agree with his politics (definatly not with his sister's) or his choice in movie roles, but Jake Gyllenhaal is really hot, and good singer to boot. This was one of the better intros I have seen on SNL in a while.


UPDATE: Stereogum has a less then complimentary opinion about The Shins performance, but liked Jake's effort. Atleast I'm one for two with the experts...

hs memories

For anyone who was ever a band geek... Thanks Sammy!

best music of 2006

As the year winds down, the top 10, 50, 100 lists abound. I love to peruse the top album lists to find good music that I missed in the last 365 days. Here's the top 10 from some lists I've found, hit the links for more. I'll be coming up with my own top 30 before the year is out.

NME Top 50 Albums of the Year via Wizbang Pop!
10 My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade
09 Kasabian - Empire
08 The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
07 The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
06 Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
05 CSS - Cansei De Ser Sexy
04 Hot Chip - The Warning
03 Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
01 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Uncut's Top 50 Albums via stereogum
10) Thom Yorke – "The Eraser"
09) Sufjan Stevens – "The Avalanche"
08) Hot Chip – "The Warning"
07) Midlake - "The Trials of Van Occupanther"
06) Arctic Monkeys – "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"
05) Neil Young – "Living With War"
04) Joanna Newsom - "Ys"
03) Comets On Fire - "Avatar"
02) Scritti Pollitti – "White Bread, Black Beer"
01) Bob Dylan – "Modern Times"

Metacritic's Top 30
10. Los Lobos - "The Town and the City"
9. Destroyer - "Destroyer's Rubies"
8. Subtle - "For Hero: For Fool"
7. Ghostface Killah - "Fishscale"
6. TV on the Radio - "Return to Cookie Mountain"
5. Bob Dylan - "Modern Times"
4. Joanna Newsom - "Ys"
3. Clipse - "Hell Hath No Fury"
2. Tom Waits - "Orphans, Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards"
1. Ali Farka Toure - "Savane"

More to come...