Cold War Kids on MTV!
Cold War Kids at the Paste party, Maggie Mae’s — SXSW 2007. Photo by Jeff Fasano Like most 30somethings trying to maintain their heights of 20something physical prowess (or at least remain healthy) I’m a bit of a workout junkie. Almost every morning, at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m., you’ll find me at my local YMCA huffing and puffing on a treadmill. The bonus (or penalty, if you prefer) of this arrangement is that this is one of the few hours where both MTV and Vh1 actually play videos. So lately, in an effort to remain current with pop... read more
From Reykjavik With Love (And Dagger-Cold Drizzle)
It’s easy to romanticize this island. This Iceland. My wife Summer and I caught a ride from Ísafjördur—the largest village in the West Fjords—down to Reykjavik today because all the flights were canceled due to stiff winds and lashing snow. Counting my first trip to Iceland back in September of 2005, I have now flown into the Ísafjördur airport twice and have yet to fly out (maybe next time, if the weather decides to be charming). Even though Iceland is reputed to have the best pilots in the world, the landing strip runs rights along the base of the fjord’s... read more
And Colin Meloy says, “La Di Dah…”
Colin Meloy, photo by Jackie Butler / http://www.jackiebutlerphotography.com Our web warrior just pointed out to me that this entry has been sitting here with only a photo and caption for the better part of two days. Gulp. Time to add some words, eh? (And yes, I meant to save a draft, not publish.) So I went to see the Decemberists at Atlanta’s Tabernacle on Friday night. More to the point, I got a babysitter, and took my WIFE to see the Decemberists Friday night. That constitutes a Real Night Out for this married thirtysomething. Trusting me on the evening’s... read more
Spring Mix Salad
Above: Atlanta’s Silver Lakes; photo by Jody Fausett With the weather here in beautiful Decatur (and my home base of East Atlanta) warming up, with warm breezes, plus pollen choking the air (until a wonderful, blessed thunderstorm arrives to wash all that junk down) the thoughts of a music geek turn to, well, a soundtrack. So here’s my soundtrack. I take the following albums from my iTunes library, chuck ‘em onto my iPod, create a playlist (which I’ve dubbed “Spring Mix Salad") and just shuffle play. Here are about the most Spring-welcoming things I own: Silver Lakes The Great Pretenders... read more
David Lynch loves product placement
All right, so maybe I’m fooling with you. Either way, this one has been making its way around the office, and more than a few laughs have been had. It only gets better on multiple viewings, so end your work day on a high note. Enjoy: David Lynch analyzes product placement ... read more
Modern Skirts Play For Skateboarders in a Cement Pond
Though Decatur, GA, and big sister city, Atlanta, can’t compare to Manhattan, we have some pretty special concert venues within “The 404”—The EARL, Eddie’s Attic, Smith’s Olde Bar, CW Midtown Complex, The Drunken Unicorn, and Variety Playhouse (conveniently in walking distance from my apartment), just to name a few. Yet when it comes to planning events here in Atlanta, I seem to strike out about 50% of the time with finding a venue to use. Atlanta city ordinances make outdoor events difficult, too. That might explain why I recently had a dream concerning this predicament. Commence Dream Sequence… Paste was... read more
Robyn Hitchcock’s Purple Sunglasses
Robyn Hitchcock performing with the Venus 3; photo by Carina Jirsch OK, I promise I will finish blogging SXSW very soon (after all, I have all the YouTube videos from Days 3 and 4 uploaded and posted) but first, a quick one about meeting a hero of my youth. In the spring of 1989, I had one of my best jobs ever (at least before arriving at Paste), making deliveries for a florist in suburban Columbia, S.C. The job was great because I was on my own, in a car (not in a warehouse with a watchful boss) and people... read more
Albert Hammond Jr. For Sale?
Marketing gal that I am, my job is to both protect and promote the Paste brand. But even after the 9 to 5, I love studying marketing… I find it all fascinating, especially with our ever-changing business and cultural landscapes. My most recent rock dream proves what a marketing geek I really am. And I’m not ashammed to admit it. The dream—inspired by the Albert Hammond Jr. show at the Blender Bar for SXSW—goes like this… I’m in a warehouse space, where lots of folding chairs are set-up. It feels like a Town Hall meeting. There is a podium and... read more
SXSW - Too much?
(Above, Julian Lowin, Paste ad sales director (L), and Josh Jackson, Paste editor-in-chief, tape up a poster to the door of Maggie Mae’s prior to our party on Friday.) One of the most notable aspects of SXSW, which has only gotten worse over my past three years of attendance, is the sheer overwhelming quality of not only the offiicial program, but all the marketing and unofficial events that assault the senses of the attendees. (Though sometimes piling on is a good thing—check out this family bluegrass band I just stumbled into on Wednesday night): Bluegrass band And of course, the... read more
SXSW Marathon Finish
Two years ago, I set a personal record for number of acts to catch in a day at SXSW. I’d seen 19 bands when I got shut out of Shonen Knife at 1:50 a.m. The band didn’t stop playing for 15 minutes, and my friends were all inside listening to Japan’s female answer to The Ramones, and I was trying to coerce a 5’6”, 350-pound tattooed bouncer that the bar wasn’t closing for another 10 minutes. But I wasn’t done, and by 2:30, I had stumbled upon a talented singer/songwriter we’d just covered in the magazine busking to a... read more
The Dream That Started It All: Josh Ritter Catastrophe at SXSW
Just returned from Austin, where the annual South By Southwest conferences and music festival are held. Hard to believe that a year has passed since I was last in Austin. Last year was my first SXSW experience and I was lucky to catch some great shows, including the 2006 Paste SXSW Party where Josh Ritter, Alejandro Escovedo, Manchester Orchestra, Over the Rhine, Jamie Cullum, Modern Skirts and Midlake graced us with wonderful performances. Reminiscing about this on the plane ride back to Atlanta made me recall the first indie-inspired dream I ever had. It’s too good not to document, so... read more
SXSW Day 2: Can ya dig it?
After being embarrassed into it by Jason Killingsworth, Paste’s music editor (whose out-of-office messages deserve coffee-table book treatment), I’m hereby retiring my tired colloquialism for SXSW: “Music Industry Spring Break” Instead, I’ll be using one sure to be just as tired very soon, but as a pastor’s kid it resonates with me—“Church Camp For Music Geeks.” And for the third year straight, “camp” continued on a high note. (Though the day was darkened by the news that Rodrigo Sanchez, of up-and-coming ATO duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, had been held up at the Mexican border by U.S. Homeland Security, since his... read more
PB&JxSxSW
I love Peter Bjorn and John. Jason, Jared and I caught them at the Rhapsody tent on Saturday--I already loved the record, but I was blown away all over again by the energy of the live show. Everyone knows that PB&J is Drew Barrymore’s favorite band, and I was hesitant for a while to hop on the movie-star-endorsed-buzz-band train, but the truth is, girl knows her music. Yesterday was Paste Fun Day, with our party in the afternoon and our official showcase at night. Dension Witmer + Rosie Thomas, Badly Drawn Boy and Eisley played lovely sets. There was a... read more
Just another Wednesday at SXSW
There’s always a tension at SXSW between the people who want to hear the quiet artist and the people who want to chatter near the stage where the quiet artist is playing. This tension came to such a head a few years ago when Rosie Thomas and Iron & Wine played Tambeleo that I thought punches were going to be thrown. But I calmed down. (Just kidding. I wasn’t the one about to come to blows, but I wasn’t going to defend the noisy people either). On Wednesday, the first day of SXSW Music 2007, that tension surfaced by the... read more
And…we’re off!
How’s this for an auspicious start? Newly badged, I walk toward the convention center on the hunt for Pete Townshend‘s keynote address, when I see a familiar-looking person exit the convention center, walk to a bicycle and begin unchaining it. Naturally, it’s David Byrne, who proceeds to don a helmet and pedal past me on the sidewalk. Somewhat awestruck, I can’t muster up the will to strike up a conversation. (At that particular moment, it may have been something like this: “Remember when you were in the Talking Heads?!? Man, that was awesome.") As you can see, though, I did... read more
My SXSW Initiation, Vol. 1
Having only recently taken up the editorial reigns at PasteMagazine.com, I had never made the much-talked-about trip to SXSW. For my first year, I was honestly not too excited until we got on the plane and flew to Houston. There was just too much to do. But after piling out of the plane and into the state where everything is supposedly bigger, then climbing into our rental van (dubbed “Little Miss SXSW” by Paste contributor Tim Basham), it all started to sink in. And once we checked into our hotel (where a woman’s introductory words to me were, “Are you... read more
First!
In the less civilized regions of the blogosphere, the exclamation “first” would be followed by a epithet, rhyming with “riches.” But we don’t do that here. So yes, tomorrow begins SXSW in Austin, Tex., an event so overwhelming that there’s a schedule making website, broken down by hour and venue, plus a listing of unofficial day events so thick, you could wrap a binding around it and sell it. My Converses have yet to hit the pavement of E. 6th St., and already I’m overwhelmed. So I’m battling back with a personal schedule that tells me where I have to... read more
Paste Presents: A Cold War Kid?
As you might have read here on PasteMagazine.com, we are hosting a secret show in NYC on 2/22/07 as part of our ongoing “Paste Presents” concert series. The first of these shows at the Knitting Factory featured surprise performances from Beck, HEM, Hymns, and ?uestlove (who served as house DJ). Jay Sweet and I have been planning the upcoming show and were interested to read a thread about the show over at BrooklynVegan.com (recently named “Blog of the Year” at the PLUG Awards). Within the thread, BrooklynVegan and its readers were trying to guess the show’s line-up. I read... read more
Blogging from New York City
(Sorry for the crappy camera phone photo. I was trying to be inconspicuous. It really is a spectacular view.) There are times when nothing’s as good as going to a hole-in-the-wall club and hearing a band play raw, ruckus rock ‘n’ roll through crappy speakers as you stand squished in a mob of sweaty, dancing fans. Last night wasn’t one of those times. Watching Calexico play at the Lincoln Center with a dozen or more crack musicians on stage, the venue’s 40’ x 50’ window looking out over Columbus Circle, Central Park, and a column of car lights reflecting off... read more
Paste Rock’n’Reel 2007: Snow Patrol, Flaming Lips, and a Pumpkin Patch
One of my roles at Paste is to oversee operations and planning for the Rock’n’Reel Festival each fall… not a bad gig. However, I have what Paste co-founder, Nick Purdy, calls the GSD (Get Stuff Done) gene, and that means a lot of logistical details stay in the back of my mind, even in my sleep. The other night I had a dream about the 2007 festival. It goes like this: Editor-in-Chief, Josh Jackson, walked into the office and was happier than normal. “I got us a media sponsor for the festival!” he said. “Josh, we’re a magazine,” I reminded... read more
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