Another SxSW Blog

it's time to review sxsw and report on music, as well as the self inflating conversations overheard amongst overpaid publishers and pony tailed wannabes. But before i can even get that far, and list out the bands who blew me away, thanking the good friends i saw and the new ones i made, there's a bit of a personal tale to tell. After ten days of 8am - 3+ am conferencing, socializing, business-doing over beats and hopping skipping jumping across the only city in texas I ever hope to visit once a year, I literally....collapsed. I was so close to getting home. Really, i was. In fact, the big beautiful probably-gay-metrosexual- black man in sunglasses (at the crack of dawn), wearing his united airline wings and flexed arms, had just handed me my boarding pass. When next i knew, i was on the pavement. at curbside. I was the curbside check in, and i was checked out. Passed out.

from what i'm told, there was loose banter from me, begging the ems crew to wheel me to the gate, to get me home. And they say i kept trying to get up and walk, collapsing each time. I guess my legs just couldn't go. I also remember my fingers tingling, and of course i banged my left knee when i fell (that's for another blog.) The story goes that my eyes rolled back, i collapsed on the ground and once i "came to" (and i saw a sea of strangers looking at me from above) i tried to crawl away. it was instinct. to get the eff away and to keep moving. I guess i'm glad that's my instinct. hell of way to find it out, though.

ever had a bag of fluids pumping into your veins somewhere in bush's flat ass state? i found myself dehydrated, recovering from a fainting spell and very very confused in texas the day after sxsw reached it's conclusion.

I had a life changing experience, and after spending an extra night (after that whole conference!) in texas (somewhere outside of austin) because my body decided it was time to stop - i learned a few things. I learned i have wonderful friends. I learned that it's scary to be alone but i can still get by. and i learned that even when i'm glad to walk away relatively unscathed from any situation, i'm missing some key elements in my life. I spend most days going between my apartment, the gym, and my office. I've only actually toured San Francisco twice since i moved here. All i do is work, and i don't do it well enough by my own standards. Work becomes more important than food, drink, relationships - it's my life and it's the life i've chosen. but maybe, just maybe it's time for a vacation.

I flew to denver today first, then to SF. The flight from denver was absolutely horrid. the screaming child behind me was propped up in a car seat by his mother, who had rigged it just enough so my seat could not recline. there was a snowstorm in denver, so we were delayed, and had one of the bumpiest ascents i've ever experienced. and when i thought we were going down, i scared even myself. I unhooked my seatbelt. never hooked it back, not even before landing. I mean, i had just collapsed the night before in the middle of texas. I was feeling a little invincible, kind of angry about that damn child car seat, and a little bit special. when some might wonder why they ought to tempt fate, i wondered why not.

and then, when i realized that my unlatched seatbelt was doing nothing other than....being unlatched...there was a conference on which to reflect.

I learned more at sxsw than could ever be relayed in a blog. and yes, when i woke up in the hospital my 3rd thought was "fuck i hope nobody got a picture of that and flickr'd it" - but ultimately the information i walked away with is almost too large. which is really the point, isn't it? With all these ideas, we are only limited by the platforms and products by which we convey them. And the space is multi tiered. Best interactive panel? "online places in offline spaces" - there wasn't even room to sit on the floor.

And i learned more about the number of people out there who want to harvest ideas off of others. they are everywhere. the harvesters. there are doers, there are the assholes, the assholes with money, there are the assholes with money who pretend they're from the ghetto, and then there is the music business. I take pride in sticking with the good guys, who rely on the culmination of ideas. And it was good to engage in higher learning with cohorts for whom i have great love and respect.

by the end of the week, the omni cleaning staff was sticking notes under our doors, begging us to let them clean the room. and yes, someone (not one of us) pulled a fire alarm at the omni. bright and early at 11am. which was good, because we forgot to set our alarm.

Put it this way, if you missed sxsw this year - you missed one of the most unique South By Southwests to date. There is a grand disconnect in the conference - it was odd to see so many leave after interactive who should have been sitting on music panels, and vice versa. the convergence is here, and this is the first time i've observed it as so blatantly obvious.

what a sight it was, with bloggers in the street, sitting on sidewalks, logging rock star sightings. It was a highly interactive SxSW music festival, just a few days too late for the interactive gang to be there. Next year should prove even more productive, as the two conferences have finally unified.

The theme this year (during music) was the female. Yes, it's true. it started with Sleater-Kinney who closed the film festival, and went on - there were female drummers with power arms and voluptuous swings all over. Some say it's the year of the rat, i offer this, the year of the hot female musician.

some highlights off the top of my head:
- the black angels
- deadboy & the elephantmen
- the slip
- sleater-kinney
- flaming lips
- flaming lips w/ peaches
- beastie boys
- gris gris
- oranger
- the new pornographers
- starlight mints
- film school
- eagles of death metal
- eagles of death metal w/ josh homme
- dr. dog
- National Eye
- Phosphorescent
- the brunettes
- silversun pickups
- tina dico


and the overhyped award goes to:
- wolfmother (ok so they are good, but not *that* good - yet...please please, interscope, stop making those zep refs...)

Best Press Conference:
- Verizon

worst/ annoying British accent when you aren't from england award goes to:
- secret machines

best japanese riot grrl award goes to:
- gito gito hustler

Most deceiving item in the sxsw (music) swag bag:
- NAIL distribution condom
(aren't condoms designed to stop distro?)

and the best stream of consciousness sxsw blog entry award goes to:
let's just say it's me.