VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s — I Am So Old

Don’t judge me, but I flipped over from watching the game (go Bears!) to make sure I hadn’t missed the finale of I Love NY 2. (Again, no judgments.) Instead, I found VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.

Wow, I am old.

The first thing I see is Montell Jordan’s This is How We Do It. Okay, B and I saw him in concert in San Antonio when he opened for co-headliners Mary J. Blige and Boyz II Men, so I accept this was the 90s.

Next up, Austin’s own Fastball with “The Way.”

Is it really possible this came out in 1998?

It seems so much more recent than that, perhaps because I used to drive past one of their houses every morning on my way to work so they were still on my mind this decade.

More likely, it is because they are still the nightmare story Austin musicians tell each other to warn about quitting the day job too soon.

Listen:

Fastball, “The Way.”

Buy:

Fastball, All the Pain Money Can Buy

 

Re/Discoveries — Awesome Cool Dudes

I would like to think that if my brother started a band, he would name it “Awesome Cool Dudes” and release a completely stupid, and yet, entertaining, track called “Clap Clap.” Then he and his sidekick/”little brother” would torment women by making them dance to it in dive bars all over the LES.

Alas, the band and song already exist, so you can make the fantasy a reality by adding this to your repertoire :
Awesome Cool Dudes, Clap Clap.

Check out Awesome Cool Dudes at their website , where you can download plenty of free music.

 

Austin Buzz – Voxtrot’s New Album

The Austin Chronicle has an excellent article about the making of Voxtrot and their first LP, set for release next week.

Before reading the article, I was curious about the album and knew I’d buy it. Now, I am excited.

That’s the power of music features.

Listen: Voxtrot, Kid Gloves.

Buy: Voxtrot, Voxtrot.

 

Austin Buzz – Matt the Electrician, Golden Bear, Peel

jefitoblog has an eclectic “Friday mixtape” that includes Matt the Electrician, along with Genesis, Kool Moe Dee, Tom Petty, etc.
(Fun Fact: I attended a charity dinner in 2003 just because he was the opening act, after I had heard him live on KUT’s Eklektikos.)

Austinist links to am post about Austin band Golden Bear. I find myself painfully unaware of Golden Bear, though they have been getting great reviews. Sometimes, my stunning ignorance surprises even me.

Austin Sound reviews Peel’s new album in the context of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. It’s an excellent review:

It’s in this regard—the club-sandwich vocals, the busy-but-not-too-busy musicianship, the playfulness of the atypical sound effects and distortions—that they are most reminiscent of CYHSY. It takes seamless studio work for both Peel and Clap to make it all happen, for this is ludicrously difficult music to put together. If the puzzle pieces do not click perfectly together then things fall apart quickly. On Peel, the joints never show.

 

Austin Buzz – Sounds Under Radio

I mentioned Sounds Under Radio in one of my myriad SX posts. Now that the tracklist for the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack is out, the buzz about them is deafening.

Riiiiiight. It’s Austin.

My theory is that you can either be famous in Austin or famous from Austin.

Sounds Under Radio is taking the famous from Austin path, as they record their project for major release.

 

SX – FactoryPeople Open Letter "We Love You Austin and SXSW, But You’re Freaking Us Out"

During SX, there were a lot of private parties shut for capacity, permit, or relatively random (and seemingly fascistic) reasons.

The parties are an essential, though non-official, part of the SXSW experience. Frankly, they are the only things many of us do during the week.

The owners of boutique Factory People wrote an eloquent open letter about their party and the future of private parties that was posted on Austinist yesterday.

It would be nice, for once, if the City of Austin have some collective sense about a big event. I would hate to see SX become scrubbed of all of the unofficial gatherings. A week of just conference panels and showcases would be absolutely sucktastic.

 

Random SX Thoughts

I am now home, drunk, after my only real foray into SX territory.

Yes, it’s like 7:30 here, but I have been drinking for a few hours. I don’t drink much anymore, but S kept bringing them and who I am I to say no?

I went to the CDF showcase, which was excellent. I caught a few minutes of Sounds Under Radio, a major buzz band . . . about to be signed to WB and featured on the SpiderMan 3 soundtrack (replacing WolfMother, if I am not mistaken). As usual, I have heard no local buzz about them. All the buzz is national.

I spent quality time with our band’s producer. He’s a tremendous talent and he really supports what they’re doing.

The band was awesome, as always. They were all recovering slowly from the flu, so I could tell they were not thrilled with their performances. Musically, they were just as good, if not better, than always. Vocally, they were holding back a bit. Despite the fact they failed to play my favorite song, it was a great set. The audience on the lower level sang along. The audience on the upper level (the industry folks) seemed really into it.

A collected me at 7th and Congress. I thought I walk would do me good. What it did was give me a chance to see all the band dudes in skinny jeans. A note for all the men out there: you look awful in skinny jeans, especially spandex skinny jeans. Look like a man, for goodness sake.

The one piece of advice I gave everyone today is “enjoy each moment.” Don’t rush through thinking that the next level is where it’s at. Right here, right now, this moment is special. Enjoy the good things, and the bad things. Enjoy each stage of this journey for the journey. Focusing too much on the destination will drive you insane.

 

"Peace, Togetherness, and Revolution" – Public Enemy at SXSW

Tonight, I went with B to see Public Enemy at Auditorium Shores, an amphitheater on the shore of Town Lake, which is known as the Colorado River elsewhere.

It’s a beautiful location with downtown as the backdrop:

There were tens of thousands of people there. I am terrible at estimating crowd size, but it was a remarkable number of people. We were nowhere near the stage and there were 2 or 3 hundred feet worth of people behind us.

The show was decent. Chuck D, Flava Flav, Professor Griff were all there, and they had a live band. The sound was not great. We were over past the speakers, but it just wasn’t very loud.

The set didn’t last more than 90 minutes. They jumped around a bit, mostly old stuff, a couple of new songs. Everything hung together well. There was a little too much Flava Flav for my taste. It was his birthday, so there were at least three separate mentions of it. There was some great political stuff.

Overall, it wasn’t great. It wasn’t the group though. It was the audience. The audience sucked. Hard. We have a problem of bad audiences here in town. People go to shows and stand in front of the band and talk. It’s incredibly rude and infuriating.

There were plenty of people talking throughout the entire show. Not, “I love this song!” and then shutting up, but “I loved Flavor of Love!” “My camera’s not working” “Where are we going when this is done.” The whining! I was absolutely appalled.

I wanted to punch them very hard. I moved as far away as I could, but it was dark and packed and there was only so far I could wander from B to get away from the talking.

How people can be so rude is just beyond me. It’s disrespectful to the audience and it’s disrespectful to everyone around them who are trying to enjoy the show.

 

Texas Film Hall of Fame – Only in Texas

Tonight, I spent a very long 5 plus hours at a very strange banquet: The 2007 Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards.

The evening honored former Governor Ann Richards, who was a giant in politics in Texas, and a giant for the women of Texas. It is hard to overestimate her impact on the lives of people here. She had hosted four of these awards ceremonies, so her old friend Liz Smith hosted and the evening was sprinkled with rembrances by Lily Tomlin, Anna Deveare Smith (who I love), and others.

The night’s first inductee was Richard Linklater, who joked about all the times he and Robert Rodriguez are mistaken for each other.

Thanks to the Statesman that tradition continues:

Bill Paxton was inducted next. He was very humble and charming. He spoke about the difference between being nominated by your peers in the industry and being honored by your home state.

Next, Betty Buckley who is most known for her amazing work on Broadway, was inducted. She was introduced by a still stunning Phyllis George who we saw before the dinner and looked as good close up as she did on the gigantic screens. Buckley spoke about the great tradition of Texas women, a theme echoed through the night.

Lance Armstrong appeared to induct the Dixie Chicks for some “soundtrack award.” Armstrong told of one of the first “get well” cards he received after he was diagnosed with cancer: Ann Richards wrote: Lance, What a rotten deal.”

The Dixie Chicks, well two of them, anyway, were there and were very moving in their acceptance.

The last inductee was Elizabeth Avellan, the producer of Desperado, Spy Kids, Sin CIty, Grindhouse, etc. (along with her now-estranged husband Robert Rodriguez). Her induction by the group she and Rodriguez had cofounded could have been all kinds of awkward. She handled everything very gracefully, thanking first God, then her parents, then her “partner of 18 years and the father of my 6 children.”

She said that “filmaking is a combination of going to summer camp and going to war.” That’s one of the best descriptions I’ve heard.

It was a long evening (5 hours!). I bumped into some old friends, and M and I were the guests of some wonderful people, so we enjoyed ourselves.

 

AustinSound.net Compilation

Austin Sound put together a compilation of 20 Austin bands.

It’s a fairly comprehensive indie compilation that still managed to miss all of my local favorites including Driver F and The Black and White Years.

Definitely check it out.