SXSW doesn't suck
SXSW 2006 is right around the corner. Mark and I are going to be there. Say hi to us.
Like last year, they've released a gigantic torrent file with full mp3 samples from almost every band playing the festival (actually two torrents this year). That's a combined 942 mp3s of music.
Downloading and listening to all that to find the really good stuff is a pretty serious chore. However, I've undertaken this herculean task. For the last week or so, I pretty much haven't listened to anything else, and I've noted all my favorites for you. That's not to say that the rest of them aren't worth checking out, but these are the ones that I think shouldn't be missed. Grab the whole torrent if you have time (or just want to fill up your hard drive with new music).
I've only made it through the first torrent. I'll post a followup with my favorites from the second, smaller torrent in a few days.
I've managed to narrow it down to 79 bands, which is still a lot, I know, but that's a full order of magnitude less than listening to the entire torrent:
- A Hawk and a Hacksaw -- PortlandTown
- Akimbo -- Rockness Monster
- Ambulette -- Seconds Until Midnight
- Amos Lee -- Colors
- Anberlin -- Paperthin Hymn
- Ane Brun -- My Lover Will Go
- Animal Alpha -- Bundys
- Annuals -- X
- Asobi Seksu -- I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me
- Atmosphere -- Say Hey There
- Band Marino -- Someday We Die
- Barbez -- Fear of Commitment
- Bedroom Walls -- In Anticipation of Your Suicide
- Belong -- october language
- Birdy Nam Nam -- Abbesses
- Bosque Brown -- Still Afraid
- Boyskout -- Back To Bed
- Cardinale -- Untitled
- Carmen Rizzo -- Travel In Time
- Cayto -- Christmas In Russia
- Charlotte Martin -- Veins
- Christopher O'Riley -- Paranoid Android
- Coco Solid -- ABC
- controller.controller -- PF
- Cruiserweight -- Goodbye Daily Sadness
- Dash Rip Rock -- Locked Inside A Liquor Store
- David Bavas and the Down Comforter -- Silence
- Dir En Grey -- The Final
- Dressy Bessy -- Electrified
- Drop Trio -- Wreck of the Zephyr
- Duane Andrews -- Caravan
- El Ten Eleven -- Lorge
- Elliot Brood -- Second Son
- Envelopes -- Sister in Love
- Ephraim Owens Quintet -- Mo Mo Ci
- Flip Grater -- Bedside Table
- Girls In Hawaii -- Flavor
- Green Carnation -- Between The Gentle Small and Standing Tall
- Hologram -- bird
- I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness -- Long Walk
- Ill Ease -- One Hell of a Bender
- Instruments -- When the Stars Shine
- Irving -- White Hot
- Isobel Campbell -- Do You Wanna Come Walk With Me
- Jaymay -- Sea Green See Blue
- Jesca Hoop -- Seed of Wonder
- Julie Doiron -- Snow Falls In November
- Juliette and the Licks -- You're Speaking My Language
- Kissing Tigers -- So Stay In Love
- Ladytron -- Destroy everything you touch
- Laura Viers -- Galaxies
- Lesbians On Ecstasy -- Pleasure Principle
- Love of Diagrams -- No Way Out
- Madagascar -- All That Spring You Could See Halley's Commet
- Magnet -- Hold On
- Magneta Lane -- broken plates
- Magnolia Electric Company -- Dark Don't Hide It
- Minsk -- bloodletting and forgetting
- Mitch Marcus Quintet -- Coffee and Cones
- Monsters Are Waiting -- Don't Go
- Nadja -- Memory Leak
- Nico Vega -- Beast
- Persephone's Bees -- Nice Day
- Pony Up -- Shut Up and Kiss Me
- Ronny Elliot -- Mr. Edison's Electric Chair
- Rumpelstiltskin Grinder -- Stealing ET
- Sarah Hepburn -- HeyOk
- She Wants Revenge -- Tear You Apart
- Sia -- Breathe Me
- The Birthday Massacre -- Video Kid
- The Dresden Dolls -- Girl Anachronism
- The Gathering -- The Spirits Are Afraid
- The Grates -- Sukkafish
- The Owls -- Air
- The Reputation -- Face It
- Tres -- Orlando Caprice
- Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re -- Ebihara Shinji
- Tunng -- Tale From Black
- Yuppie Pricks -- Cherry Red