Category: Friday Top 5

Friday Top 5: Unusual Collaborations

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Artists don’t always make the best decisions. Perhaps they just get bored. Reinventing themselves after every album must get tiresome. I guess that’s why some musicians choose to collaborate with people from other genres. Leaps of faith, even if they are doomed to failure, are more interesting than repeating the same old song and dance. Finding out the hard way that something is a bad idea is more exciting than going through the motions of what has been done before. Oftentimes though, it’s best to stick with what you know. Otherwise you end up with the kind of collaborative catastrophes listed here. Let’s take a look shall we? See the Top 5 Unusual Collaborations below:

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Friday Top 5: SXSW Hangovers

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You don’t really think I’m going to list my top 5 hangovers during SXSW, do you? That would be a task that would take years of scouring my brain and the memories of many who have been involved. I know I can be an idiot sometimes, but give me a little credit. I’m talking about what seems to be the lingering taste of that stale, warm, bitterness, that some people in this town, and many outside have lingering on their cranial palate after last week. The wise and beautiful Nathan Lankford already laid it out here on this site recently, and as this week has passed in the wake of SXSW, some of those points rang incredibly true, and others have reared their ugly heads to add to the growing Medusa.

Now, lets get one thing straight before we get too far into this. I love SXSW! I love the official SXSW and I can’t say that I completely hate the non-official part of SXSW. I’ve worn the badge, the wristband, and done the RSVP till my fingers hurt, but something needs to change.

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Friday Top 5: SXSW Is No Fun

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A few years ago, we had a huge debate about which Austin festival was the best, Austin City Limits or SXSW.  In the interim, other great festivals have gained status in our world, such as the incredible Fun Fun Fun Fest, and although SXSW was our favorite then, I’m just not so sure.  Looking back, I should have seen this coming; I should have known that the hey-day of SXSW was slowly in decline. Now, I’m not saying that I’m ungrateful that so many incredible bands flock to Austin once a year, but rather I’m pointing out a few things that, to me, demonstrate just how far things have spun out of control in recent years.  Take note that this is just one man’s opinion, and not necessarily the opinion of Austin Town Hall.  And, in all likelihood, you’ll probably still see me out about town in my Killin Time Til Dave hat, I just won’t be too happy about it!

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Friday Top 5: Unexpected Appearances at SXSW

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It’s March in Austin, TX. It’s the time of year when a particular festival takes over the music capitol of the world, known as South By South West. Since this time last year, we’ve been recovering from the week long flow of free booze, sunburnt skin, worn out shoe soles (and feet for that matter), loss of hearing and lack of sleep; and we’re ready to do it all over again.

The waves of RSVPs are flooding our inboxes and lighting up our Facebook notifications, and before we know it our arms will once again be plastered with multi-colored wristbands. I have only been attending SXSW the past few years, but during that time my friends and I have witnessed many surprises take place and rumors come true. So, here are a few of my favorite.

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Friday Top 5: Make Up Songs

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Despite what we see in jewelry commercials this time of year, life and love isn’t all hallmark moments and wonderful memories. Sometimes we make mistakes, big mistakes. Mistakes so big that simply buying your loved one aforementioned jewelry can’t help. When that happens, being true to your heart and honestly apologizing is always best. With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, poor (dumb) souls can take comfort in the fact that you are not alone; after all you’re only human. If your heartfelt apology is not enough to smooth these rough waters you are sailing, consider a mix tape. After all, God created mix tapes for this exact reason; to tell someone through song, what you are feeling inside. If you find yourself in this position, here are a few tracks to hopefully ease the pain and invoke the love back into your Valentine just in time for a romantic day. Commence sappiness in 3…2….1…

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Friday Top 5: Music Technologies

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1998. The sweet sounds of Savage Garden on the radio. The warm assurance of knowing the stock market will continue to go up forever. A time of wonder. Those memories seem so faint now. After the Y2K epidemic caused our government to collapse and the America’s secret zombie program was inadvertently unleashed, the situation- I think we can admit now- got a little hairy.

For a while there the walking dead feasted on the brains of the living and wrought havoc on everything in their path. But hey, at least American Idol was good. I loved zombie Paula Abdul! Now that I think about it, that may have just been regular Paula Abdul. Those times were great, but I’m glad our benevolent overlord Stephen Colbert was able to defeat the zombie menace and piece together the somewhat functional government we have today. It’s possible I’m not remembering the past correctly. Savage Garden could never have actually been popular. Right?

Luckily, when I’m feel nostalgic for the turn of the century I can just hop in my 1998 automobile. The interior seems modern enough, but if you look just above the CD player you’ll see something mind blowing. It’s what the ancients referred to as a “tape player.” You see, back before music was just a series of 0’s and 1’s being read by a computer, there were these little tapes that held reels, and on those reels there was music. Crazy right? Crazier still, I continue to use this wacky contraption. Only now, I plug my phone (which is really a pocket camera/mp3 player/super computer, WTF!) into a device which goes directly in the tape deck. Then, I hear the music. Glorious music. The faint hiss of the tape deck and music.

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Friday Top 5: Reasons You Should Listen to Some Tunes from the Past

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I could, honestly spend hours honoring this personal request, and at some point just might do that fucking thing. F*CK new music! Sure we get the occasional handjob every now and then, but really? Do we see a respectable Disciple on the horizon? Not really.

Anyone who thought that Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs really deserved an album of the year nomination for 2010, should check out now. Booooorrrrrring. We live in a time where music/art takes place in a nanosecond. Things move fast now, and as you move forward in life, only faster. Controlling the content is completely up to you.

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FT5: My Most Divisive Bands

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It’s interesting being a huge music fan. You come across bands that you absolutely adore, and you rush to make mixes for your friends who ultimately decide that they hate the one song you were most excited for them to fall in love with when you made it.  I started thumbing through my catalog and the Internet, diligently searching for the bands in my collection that I love, but I feel people hate; I also looked at bands on the net I know people love, but I hate.  Here’s my list of the Top 5.

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FT5: Bands To Watch In 2011

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With all that’s going on in the music world, it can often times be tough to keep up with the enormity of new bands that seem to pop up on a daily basis.  Lucky for you, we try to stay hot on the scene as much as possible to keep you in the know.  So since we’ve officially put the lid on 2010, we thought we’d share with you 5 bands to keep your eye on in 2011.  All these bands will soon be playing huge stages and selling out shows across america so I’d recommend getting into them now before their music pops up in a McDonalds commercial.  Follow the jump for more.

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