March 25, 2011

SXSW 2011 & Opinions on The Strokes

Jim and Greg made it back from their annual trip to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX. They'll share their new discoveries for the year to come.

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Music News

Blues piano player Pinetop Perkins passed away this week at age 97. He was one of the last links to the Mississippi Delta blues era. As Greg relays, Perkins made his mark as a sideman for people like Muddy Waters. It wasn't until he was 75 that he released an album under his own name. He even holds the record for oldest Grammy winner. Pinetop Perkins was going strong right up until his death, so to honor him, Jim and Greg play the song that gave him his name, "Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie," recorded at Sun Studios in 1953.

SXSW 2011

Music fans and industry insiders have been gathering at the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, TX for twenty-five years. While it has gotten too big for its britches in recent years, SXSW remains the place to hear new artists and issues facing the business. Jim and Greg didn't have high hopes for this year's keynote speaker Bob Geldof. What has the Boomtown Rats done for us lately? Well, not much. But he provided one of the most insightful keynotes our hosts have ever heard. Geldof, who brought the world Live Aid, encouraged American musicians to wake up. He explained that rock ‘n’ roll needs to be against something – whether that's in reality or in spirit. Another noteworthy panel featured independent concert promoters from around the country, as well as Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard. The Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger was approved last year, and this panel attempted to find out how that has affected the concert industry. There were no concrete answers; ticket prices have skyrocketed but it's too early to attribute this to consolidation.

It's panels by day and music by night. Jim and Greg always return from SXSW with a truckload of new music. Here are their respective discoveries of artists to watch in 2011.

Jim

Le Butcherettes
Bewitched Hands
Esben and the Witch
Dominique Young Unique

Greg

Glasser
PS I Love You
tUne-YarDs
Wild Flag

Angles The Strokes

The Strokes hit it big in 2001 by asking the question "Is This It?" And it seems that it was (couldn't resist). They released two underwhelming subsequent records and then went their separate ways. Now the group is more of a democracy, but the missteps Jim and Greg heard on Julian Casablancas' solo album Phrazes For the Young are evident on The Strokes' new album Angles. Jim calls it glossy and overproduced, and wonders where Fabrizio Moretti's terrific drumming is. But worse, the band sounds "artistically bankrupt." He says Trash It. Greg is not so disappointed. Ultimately Angles is a failed record, but it tries new things and is more interesting for it. He is optimistic about the future and says Burn It.

Featured Songs

Pinetop Perkins, "Down In Mississippi," Last Of The Great Mississippi Bluesmen, The Blue Shoe Project, 2008
Pinetop Perkins, "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie," Portrait Of A Delta Bluesman, Vanguard, 1993
Le Butcherettes, "Dress Off," Sin Sin Sin, Rodriguez Lopez, 2011
Glasser, "Apply," Ring, True Panther Sounds, 2010
Screeching Weasel, "My Right," Boogadaboogadaboogada!, Lookout, 1988
The Bewitched Hands, "Happy With You," Birds & Drums, Sony Music, 2010
P.S. I Love You, "Facelove," Meet Me At The Muster Station, Paper Bag Records, 2010
Esben And The Witch, "Marching Song," Violet Cries, Matador, 2011
tUnE-yArDs, "Bizness," W H O K I L L, 4AD, 2011
Tyler The Creator, "Pigs Fly," Bastard, Odd Future, 2010
Dominque Young Unique, "Music Time," self-released, N/A, 2011
Wild Flag, "Glass Tambourine," Future Crimes/Glass Tambourine single, Merge, 2011
The Strokes, "Under Cover Of Darkness," Angles, MCA, 2011
The Strokes, "Taken For A Fool," Angles, MCA, 2011
Doctor P, "Watch Out," n/a, Circus Records, 2011
The Nerves, "Hanging On The Telephone," One Way Ticket, Alive, 2008
Artists United Against Apartheid, "Sun City," Sun City, Manhattan, 1985

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