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AMMUNITION: ARM YOURSELF:

25 TIPS FOR SXSW (PART 3 OF 5)

Posted By:
Siria

As most of you know the SXSW Music + Film + Interactive Festivals and Conferences are fast approaching. This week, I’m providing you with 5 different daily tips in various areas (lodging, driving, getting around Austin, etc.) that will hopefully help you maximize your trip based on my own personal experiences.

My focus will mainly be on the Music and Media Conferences (March 17-21), but many of my tips and advice will be general enough that you can apply them towards any part of SXSW.

For Monday’s 5 Tips on Lodging click here
For Tuesday’s 5 Tips on Driving to Austin click here

Todays 5 Tips are about Getting Around Austin:

Based on my experiences in Austin, I still think taking cabs is the best way to go (unless you have a personal driver). Taking cabs and not driving around let you avoid the headaches of having to find parking (not to mention having to remember where you parked) and avoiding the possible fender benders that sometimes happen. Here are some tips for getting around:

1. Share Cabs – This is easiest to do when heading to the 6th St. vicinity from your hotel. You will soon learn that most people waiting for a cab have the same destination as you do. If you don’t have a large group of people with you already, you should consider asking some of the other people in the hotel lobby or that are waiting outside if they are heading to 6th St. and might want to share a cab. It’ll save all of you some money and also you might make some new friends or learn of new interesting parties to go to (we definitely did).

2. Get Digits – A good practice to get into is to get the number of the Cab drivers and Ricksha guys if they offer or even if they don’t and you trust them. It’s kind of amazing how much you can learn about a cab driver or rickshaw driver (cyclist?) in a 10 – 15 min. ride. I’m not talking about making a romantic connection, but they might come in handy. Many of these drivers/cyclists work all day and night taking on this job of cab driver only during the weeks of SXSW trying to make as much money as possible in this time frame. You never know, but you may get stuck at a party way out in the middle of nowhere and they could possibly bail you out and get you back to your hotel saving you hours of waiting around for a cab to be sent or one to drive by. As always trust your judgement on whom you ask for this info from.
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Mar 10, 2010| Categories:Arm Yourself, Uncategorized|Leave A Comment »

GIMME GIMME SCHLOCK TREATMENT:

DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: ROBOTANISTS – ‘SHAPES AND VARIATIONS’

Posted By:
Deltron3030

It’s a well known fact that I’m a cover song whore. I might be the only person in LA that has all of the Johnny Cash American Recordings, all of the Me First and The Gimme CDs, and this week insisted on purchasing Scratch My Back, the new Peter Gabriel CD. Yes it is true that I haven’t listened to a Peter Gabriel CD since Lloyd Dobler lifted a moderately sized boombox with cartoonish supersonic range to win back the love of Diane Court, but if he’s putting out an album’s worth of covers then I’m putty in his hands. Digging into the tracks I have to say it is a bit lacking. That’s not to say that the choices are uninspired because that couldn’t be further from the case. Gabriel chose some amazing songs from such favorites as Bon Iver (”Flume”), The Arcade Fire (”My Body is a Cage”), and The Magnetic Fields (”The Book of Love”). It’s the approach that was taken that bothers me. In stripping away the drums and the guitars, Gabriel turned these songs into self serving flat whisperfests with nothing behind them. There’s no heart. No soul. What Gabriel must not have understood is that the science of a good cover is to take the opportunity to honor the source material while completely re-inventing it, making it your own in a way that people will recognize its source but, if done properly, they’ll appreciate it more than the original. It is a tough feat, but a goal that one should aspire to. This approach has worked in the past as a launching pad for people like Gary Jules (”Mad World”), Jeff Buckley (”Hallelujah”), and Cat Power (”I Found a Reason”). By leaving the heart of these tracks in place and giving them a makeover these artists forever took ownership of the songs. Trent Reznor himself will tell you that “Hurt” now belongs to Johnny Cash forever. I doubt Thom Yorke will be saying that about Peter Gabriel’s spin on “Street Spirit”.

Clearly I’m bitter for wasting the money.

Worry not my loyal readers. My sad feelings quickly subsided when I was sent an advance copy of LA’s own Robotanists’ forthcoming EP Shapes and Variations. Where Peter Gabriel failed, the Robotanists succeed. Like I said earlier it is very rare when a cover song surpasses the original. Amazingly enough on their upcoming EP the Robotanists manage to pull off this trick seven times. Seven times they reinvent a popular song. Seven times they take ownership of the covered material. I hate to give someone overflowing credit, but not only do they take ownership but they do it with songs that are part of the popular zeitgeist. It’s as if they shouted out “Hey Gabriel, it’s one thing to cover Bon Iver’s “Flume” but try covering Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind.” It takes balls to do that..and balls are what the Roboantists have. Balls and beautiful lead vocals. Judging from the songs selected (”Empire State,” “Are You Really Going Out With Him,” “Dance Dance Dance,” “Heaven”) one would think that the band was challenged to make the most overplayed songs listen-able again. They rose to the challenge and then some. (more…)

Mar 08, 2010| Categories:Deltron 3030 Recommended Albums, Uncategorized|Leave A Comment »