Daylight savings, am I right? I slept a little longer than I originally planned because of the time change, but no worries, as Sunday was initially planned to be my laid-back day anyway. I feel like I should see at least one screener this year with this fancy platinum badge, so my sis and I are checking out Hunky Dory today. From the description it sounds like it could either be a terrible movie or an enjoyable one. My sister picked it, so if it sucks, I’m blaming it on her. Tonight I’ll be doing some party jumping. Mashable’s party is at Buffalo Billards, The CNET Party is happening as well at Maggie Mae’s with the Delta Spirit performing. Also going on: the Crowdtap VIP Party, FLUENT Party Rock, the Latitudes Party, and the Tom Hanks Electric Party. Probably going to take it easy for the most part, because once music starts, that won’t be the case at all.
So yesterday was a mixture of busts and high points. Started the day off with the Tech Career Expo, which was a giant letdown. Seriously, how many people actually find a good job at one of those things? And apparently if you’re not a programmer or coder, you’re out of luck. It just shocked me almost none of these companies had any kind of internship program, or marketing. Got a lot of business cards, handed out very few. A waste of two hours in retrospect.
Fortunately my spirits were lifted when I saw one of my favorite bands ever, Third Eye Blind, in one of the best venues ever, ACL Live at the Moody Theatre. What a blast. I was up front being a fanboy the whole time. It was insanely awesome, and a definite personal highlight for me for the Interactive portion, which thus far has been underwhelming. They ran the gamut through all of their albums, which, yes, all those albums are good, not just the first one. And yes, I know it’s 2012.
After that I snatched a bite to eat (love you, Which Wich!) and headed over to a private function on Brazos. Saw many good friends, made some new ones, ran into some surprise ones, and weaseled my way into the VIP area with the help of a partner in crime. All in all, even though it started out disappointing, Saturday was a grand ol’ time. Maybe too grand, which is why Sunday will be more relaxing. Here’s to booze and live music!
Another late morning, another late start, another rainy, cold day in Austin. Â Another day of taking it easy, for the most part. Â Last night didn’t get too wild, but the weather certainly changed my plans for many things. Â Didn’t see the Girl Walk screener, but I did soak in two panels, including a semi-informative one about public radio and its influence on media as a whole. Â After that I had my share of free drinks at the Do512 Interactive Party at the Belmont, which was fun and mega crowded. Â Once the word was out Ghostland Observatory was playing a totally free, totally non-credential show at ACL Live, my posse and I scurried four blocks south and got right in. Â And Ghostland, and their phenomenal light show, killed, as per usual. Â So no karaoke, no screener, but still a grand old time.
Today the plan is to mosey on over to the Austin Music Hall, where thankfully I won’t be hearing any music. Â Instead, I’ll be taking in the Tech Career Expo, checking out some awesome tech companies and maybe even handing out a few business cards. Â I gave out three yesterday! Can you believe it?! Me neither!
After that it’s back to the Convention Center for a solo panel from Frank Abagnale. Â Yes, THAT Frank Abagnale, the one the movie Catch Me If You Can is about. Â Pretty certain Leonardo DiCaprio won’t be making an appearance, but Frank is likely going to talk about his past, and, as is the case with most panels, plugging a current project or startup or book or something.
I guess I could network some more, but the junior high girl inside me is screaming that I must go catch Third Eye Blind at ACL Live. Â Which is probably where I’ll be. Â I’m currently listening to them on Spotify in anticipation, so….yeah. You can count on it. And after that, I’m going to a private function you’re not invited to. Sorry. Rolling with VIP over here.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
160. Jimmy Eat World – Authority Song
The band’s breakthrough was in the form of a pretty spectacular power pop album, and while their new sounds reveal the group to have eased into generic territory, this self-titled disc (originally called Bleed American, but changed due to the post-9/11 attack on media and music) was a welcome escape from the over-saturation of bland hip-hop and post nu-metal radio dreck. “Authority Song” is a forgotten album track that has more hooks than the uplifting, cheesy lead single “The Middle.”
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
230. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
Plinking pianos, soaring background vocals, and an accessible approach to the band’s quiet tendencies brought Grizzly Bear their breakthrough track in 2009. While Veckatimest still had the trademark off-kilter minor keys and dark lyrics, “Two Weeks” came out of the oven ready for Gossip Girls. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
Yesterday’s post got me all riled up, and since I love lists, I figured I’d go ahead and start yet another analysis I should have posted months ago – this one won’t take as long. Today is the first post in a ten-part series looking at my personal favorite tracks of last year.
100. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
I wasn’t a huge fan of It’s Blitz – definitely my least favorite from this group. I saw them at Monolith 2009, and, to say the least, they were disappointing. Turns out I’m not as big a fan of Karen O and her “animated” stage antics as I thought. Pretention is something I can’t get past, no matter how rocking the music behind her is….but since they were playing mostly ballads from their latest effort, that wasn’t the case. All this being said, this track is pretty damn catchy. Karen’s try at Blondie was hit or miss for me, but the highlight of Blitz is three and a half minutes of complete dancing hysteria.
