Friday Top 5: ACL Departure Soundtrack

I have a feeling that like most of you out there, the headliners for ACL aren’t the real reason for going to the festival. At first glance, this year may be a bit weak, but even early walk-ins will find excellent acts like Cults, Telekinesis, The Head and the Heart, The Antlers, An Horse, and so on. The middle of the lineup is great with Cut Copy, Kurt Vile, Smith Westerns, The Moondoggies, TV on the Radio, The Walkmen, Broken Social Scene, Empire of the Sun – I could go on. The headliners are left with the task of clearing the venue, the triggers for the long walk back to the car, the soundtrack for a mosey. Here are my Top 5 (anticipated) songs from this year’s Headliners to make me head out.

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Friday Top 5: Dehydration Blues

It’s no secret to native Texans, but to all you recent immigrants to the Lone Star State may have noticed lately, it’s F-ING RELENTLESSLY HOT OUTSIDE! With Temperatures hovering above 100 and no relief in sight, it’s hard to stay pleasant. Heat waves and droughts like this one are so damned oppressive, and may make you just feel flat-out angry and depressed at the world, your fellow man, and especially those teasing bastard clouds, hanging there just laughing at us and our collective misery. F those assholes, seriously its thundering as I write this with no rain to show for it, WTF?!. As unfortunate as it is, the summertime blues are a universal feeling as we all pine for the blissful 80 degree temperatures and rain of October. With the unyielding Texas sun beating down on us like its red headed step-child, it felt only right to create a FT5 for the Dehydration Blues. Crank the A/C, grab an Arnold Palmer, and try not to move an inch. Don’t worry; our sole day or two of autumn is right around the corner.

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FT5: Music Fashion Accessories

We here at ATH hope that all of you had fun over the past 3 months soaking up the Vitamin D, getting wasted, and subsequently wreaking havoc across our city, but now it’s time to get back into the dreaded educational mentality. One of the truly great things about going to school is the first day. You’ll be meeting new people and making a good first impression is all it takes sometimes to get an excellent shot at a get-together with that certain someone you’re sure to see that day. Well, if music has taught me anything, musicians usually know how to dress to impress. I’m sorry to say it, but summer is over. Get some style for the new school year after the jump.

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FT5: Music DVDs

We’ve been running ATH for awhile now, and honestly, getting ideas going for my scheduled Top 5 this week has been a little tougher than usual.  I guess that’s just another reason to be excited for the future since we’ve brought on some new talented writers recently who can stir up the pot and help me break through my creative block.  So as I started brainstorming for this week’s list, I was shocked to see that we’ve never created a list of Music DVDs.  Sure it’s a massive topic, but I’m narrowing it down with things that hit home with me and may not necessarily be “the best” by traditional standards.  For inclusion in this swanky list, I’ll stick with DVDs I actually own or borrowed for an extended period of time.  I’m also a stickler for sound quality and personal touches, so you’ll be seeing those in each spot.  Creativity and forward thinking in presentation also can’t hurt.  Follow the jump for full list.
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