Probably the Best Music in the World (Matt's SXSW Report)

There was a time when I thought I knew what was up in the music world. Then there was today, when Matt emailed his SXSW trip report and I had to face the fact that nothing I know is up.  Matt is a connoisseur of obscure music.  His taste is impeccable. And I will spend the next several months running down his recommendations. 

I haven't seen Matt in months but hope to give him a big hug when he's next in Seattle working on the Marconi Project (and no, I can't tell you what that involves as it would violate many many legal agreements).

And so, without further ado, Matt's peak experiences from SXSW 2005:

I got back from Austin last night, walking into my apartment just after 2:30
am, and immediately collapsed for a few hours of shut-eye before heading to
the office this morning. South by Southwest was a great time yet again, with
too many bands to see and never enough time.

Here's a recap of my favorite shows, in no particular order (well, except
for the first 2, which both blew me away, especially Stars). Enjoy the
music.

Matt

1) I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
http://www.chosendarkness.com/

I saw this band 3x in Austin, and saw them 2x last year. I think they're
going to blow up sometime soon; they're great live and have a very steady,
danceable feel live. Think Interpol meets Franz Ferdinand (hate to make the
comparison but you get the idea). You can get the song "When You Go Out" for
free from the band's web site. Click on "catalog" from the menu on the top;
click on "music" at the bottom of the screen.

2) Stars
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/stars/

Canadian popsters at the top of their game. You can hear the song "Ageless
Beauty," the first single off their highly-recommended new album Set
Yourself on Fire, by visiting the band's site. Click on "Album" to watch the
video. The new album has been on near-constant rotation on my stereo since
early March. It's not available in Rhapsody yet, until we get a deal going
with their label, Arts & Crafts, which put out the excellent Broken Social
Scene album You Forgot It In People last year. Stars are playing in San
Francisco Saturday and in Seattle soon afterwards.

3) Enon
http://www.tgrec.com/bands/album.php?id=15

Great live band, making arty discopunk music. Caught a daytime show by the
band on Saturday, and was really glad I did. The band's "new" album Lost
Marbles and Exploding Evidence was released on Touch & Go in February; it
compiles b-sides and other rarities along with a DVD of videos and other
stuff. You can check out 3 songs from Enon (one from each of their last 3
albums) by visiting the link above; click on "featured clips" on the upper
right side of the screen.

4) Pony Up!
http://www.dimmak.com/ponyup/
http://www.dimmak.com/mp3s/index.php

4 girls rocking out in an indie vein. You can get a free MP3 of the Pony Up!
song "Shut Up and Kiss Me" by checking out the second link; the page
includes links to a lot of other free MP3s (including some Bloc Party songs
that you should really download. No, really. Go download them now before
they go away).

5) Rainer Maria
http://www.rainermaria.com/

I've been a fan of this NYC trio for a long time, and caught an amazing live
set in Austin at a tiny, off-the-beaten path venue called the Pecan St. Ale
House. They just finished recording a new album that's coming out this
spring on Polyvinyl Records. We have all of the band's previous releases
(EPs, albums etc.) in Rhapsody. Rainer Maria is playing this Wednesday at
Café Du Nord in San Francisco, one of just two West coast dates on their
tour schedule. Recommended if you don't have tickets to the Bloc Party show
the same night at Bottom of the Hill.

6) Bloc Party
http://www.dimmak.com/mp3s/index.php

The hype machine is already in full swing for this UK band, whose album The
Silent Alarm comes out tomorrow in the U.S. Highly recommended listening and
one of my favorite live experiences in Austin; I caught them 2x at Stubb's.
Their first EP is already in Rhapsody; check out the song "Banquet." You can
also get some free Bloc Party MP3s by visiting the link above.

7) The Album Leaf
http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/multimedia.php?key=format&value=mp3

I caught this band at Emo's in Austin, and it was one of the more mellow
concert experiences I've had in a while. The band's highly recommended album
of indie ambient music, In A Safe Place, was released last year on Sub Pop
and is available in Rhapsody. You can also download a free Album Leaf song
from the Sub Pop site, which also offers free MP3s from artists like The
Shins, The Postal Service, The Thermals, Iron & Wine, and more.

8) Sleater Kinney

I'd never seen Sleater Kinney live before, and the set I caught in Austin
completely blew me away. The trio is fresh from recording their seventh
album, The Woods, which was produced by noted Flaming Lips producer Dave
Fridmann and comes out on Sub Pop Records in late May. Their new songs are
much poppier/hooky than their previous work, and live they sounded great.

9) AMPOP
http://www.ampop.co.uk/

AMPOP is a trio of dreamy rockers from Rejkavik, Iceland. Highly recommended
if you're a fan of Radiohead, Muse, or Sigur Ros. The band was recently
picked up by indie label Minty Fresh, which is putting the band's album out
in the U.S. this spring. You can check out a bunch of free MP3s of the band
on their site -- just click on "Music" from the navigation bar.

10) Say Hi to Your Mom
http://www.sayhitoyourmom.com/

This NYC-based indiepop band has been a personal favorite since a friend
introduced me to them last summer, and their last album, Numbers and
Mumbles, has been playing over and over on my stereo for the past two
months. They put on a great live show, with great guitar work by the
singer/songwriter. Both of the band's albums are available through Rhapsody,
and available as well as free MP3 downloads on the band's web site (see link
above).

11) Meeting Places
http://www.themeetingplaces.com/sound/

The Meeting Places are an LA-based shoegaze/dream pop band. They played an
early Saturday show in Austin; it was really good. You can download free
MP3s from the band's web site (see link above); I'd recommend "Freeze Our
Stares" or "Now I Know You Could Never Be The One."

12) Paik
http://www.beyonderrecords.com/home.htm

This Detriot shoegazing trio has a few albums out on indie label
Clairerecords. I caught them playing in a really small venue in Austin, and
their live sound was on the money. They were also the only band I saw in
Austin to employ a smoke machine and a light show. You get the idea. You can
listen to songs from the band's new double-album, Satin Black, by visiting
their label's web site (see link above).

13) The Thermals
http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/multimedia.php?key=format&value=mp3

Jon Pruett from the Rhapsody editorial team turned me onto this band a
couple of years ago. At the time, I listened to their album but it didn't
set me on fire. I caught the last 25 minutes of their show in Austin, and
they were really great live. They have 2 albums and an EP available in
Rhapsody; several songs from those albums are available as free downloads on
the Sub Pop site (see link above).

14) The Wrens
http://www.wrens.com/wrens/mp3s.html

I had the pleasure of seeing The Wrens play a daytime show last year at the
NoisePop Festival in San Francisco, and they were amazing. In Austin, I
again had the pleasure of catching a daytime show, this time at a party
sponsored by (gasp) a competitor: Napster. And again, the Wrens were
amazing. Sometimes bands playing sponsored parties phone in their
performances, but not in this case. They completely rocked the upstairs
stage at a venue called MoMo's, playing most of the songs off of their 2003
album, The Meadowlands (available now in Rhapsody; free MP3s from the band's
site -- see above) and capping it off with two songs they haven't played in
years -- including the highly-recommended and long out-of-print "She Sells
Kisses." All told, there were less than 100 people at the show, and I can
sum it up with one word: wow. Go see these guys. Now.

Comments

[Cathie]

Wow, he DOES have great taste in music. I recognize about 5 of those bands and am a fan. That first band listed that was described as an Interpol/Franz mix got me very excited. I'm going to go buy their album.