Atlanta Film Festival 2009: Red Carpet Video Interviews with Josh Brolin, Chris Moore, Karin Hayes and More
Paste worked the red carpet on opening night of the Atlanta Film Festival, talking to Josh Brolin, Chris Moore and more. Watch the interviews in the embedded videos below:... read more
Coachella 2009, Sunday: My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, Vivian Girls, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more
Come along with Paste as we look back on some of the more notable sets from Day Three of Coachella 2009...... read more
Coachella 2009, Saturday: The Killers, M.I.A., Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, Bob Mould, Jenny Lewis and more
Come along with Paste as we look back on some of the more notable sets from Day Two of Coachella 2009...... read more
Coachella 2009, Friday: Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, M. Ward, Morrissey, The Hold Steady and more
Come along with Paste as we look back on some of the more notable sets from Day One of Coachella 2009...... read more
The Top Five Movies to See at the Atlanta Film Festival 2009
A film festival is an unpredictable affair. Most of the time, you don’t really get a sense of what’s buzzy until you’re on the ground talking to fellow festivalgoers. Or, often, some of your favorite films end up being ones you just stumbled into. Maybe you have a gap between two preferred choices and a film just happens to fit the slot, so you go see it on a whim. Or maybe you can’t get into the film you wanted to see, but another one is showing in the next theater over. The serendipitous nature is part of what makes... read more
SXSW Film 2009: Documentaries
The casual, celebratory South by Southwest festival has come to a close. My colleague Tim Basham and I have been posting reactions to films throughout the fest, and to help wrap this burrito I'm going to recap the films I saw, starting with the documentaries and moving to narrative features in the next post. Favorites at the top. 45365: This lovely, well-organized slice of small town life is as strong an aural montage as it is a visual one. Walking silently among the residents of Sidney, Ohio, population 20,211, filmmaker Bill Ross offers us recordings of church congregations singing, radio... read more
SXSW 2009: More Film Reviews
Hal Holbrook & Barry Corbin in That Evening SunAs usual, the number of films seen during SXSW were in direct competition with the sum of hours slept, the quantity of BBQ consumed, the volume of alcoholic beverages imbibed, the length of lines endured and the number of parties partaken (Rachael Ray's was cool). And the music! I lost count of all the bands I saw, but I did enjoy: Bruce Robison at the Gibson Guitar party, the Meat Puppets at the Nat Geo taping, The Manichean at the Justice Records party, Theresa Andersson at the Boundless rooftop party and, of... read more
Unofficial SXSW 2009: The Hipsters are Coming
Austin is a massive, wonderful and gorgeous place. And SXSW is equally as diverse and awesome, unofficially and officially. And this is not a hipster bashing rant. But if the only stain Austin has is the big stain of Texas that surrounds it, then the one bad thing about SXSW is hipsters. Not the polite, nerdy ones, who flood the rapidly gentrifying minority establishments with cash for Lonestar and Shiner Bock so they can survive. But the assholes that don’t give a damn about who the hell is even playing, bring their own damn beer, throw it all over the... read more
SXSW 2009: Reuniting old favorites - Arc Angels, Jayhawks
Little Steven Van Zandt (left) with Arc Angels Chris Layton, Doyle Bramhall II & Charlie SextonArc Angels reunite at Antones--recording new album, touring with Clapton this SpringOne of Austin's most revered hometown bands, The Arc Angels, did a short set at Little Steven Van Zandt's "Magical Mystery Mondo Matinee" at Antone's on Friday. Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen's guitarist and Tony's first lieutenant in HBO's The Sopranos, produced the Arc Angels' self-titled and only album in 1992. The band will open for Eric Clapton during his UK tour this Spring. Before going on stage drummer Chris Layton and guitarist/vocalist Doyle Bramhall... read more
Unofficial SXSW 2009: Lost in Texas
Growing weary of the East side of the city and the hipster shantytown that has begun to develop an invisible belt around Mrs. Bea’s and Todd P happenings, I made it a point that I was going to get super random on day three and blindly attack one of the many warehouse or house parties and get more of a breath of Austin local. The way of music, I pretty much struck out, with every band I saw coming from out of town. But the caliber of Austin-bred youth that aided in my temporary hitchhiking tactic to get to said... read more
SXSW 2009: Micachu & the Shapes Compose a Song for Austin
Micachu & the Shapes' avant pop-sicle compositions were already the toast of SXSW 2009 before spry frontwoman Mica Levi's miniature guitars had even crossed the Texas state line. However, Levi, keyboardist Raisa Khan and drummer Marc Pell seemed far too fascinated and exhausted by their festival experience to let the buzz go to their heads. During our chat at Austin's Driskill Hotel, the precocious singer even showed me a short video capturing the historic hotel's wild west motifs while she whistled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly's theme, and sheepishly asked about the shows I'd seen: "Do you find... read more
SXSW 2009: Nobunny makes me feel funny
I don't know who Nobunny is. I don't know if anyone knows who Nobunny is. When he performs, a sweaty, dirty, matted rabbit mask covers his face, and apparently he has a tendency to kind of just disappear after his sets. Aside from the mask, he doesn't wear much else. Today at the Scoot Inn, kind of a haul if you're used to just milling around Sixth Street, he played with a loud jumpy band on a small stage in the corner, starting off the set wearing a pair of opaque black panty hose (no shirt) and eventually stripping down... read more
SXSW 2009: Thee Oh Sees Thrill Austin
John Dwyer is part stand-up comedian, full-time musician (Coachwhips, OCS, several other bands, including last night's Thee Oh Sees) and quintessential entertainer. Guitar strapped high on his chest, gray-brown hair flopping about, eyes maddeningly wide, mic often buried deep in his mouth, Dwyer led the former Paste Band of the Week through a thrilling and frantic set at Emo's Jr. Like an ADHD kid missing his meds, Dwyer seemed unable to stop exuding sweat and words while trading off within an arsenal of supremely badass guitars. Do not miss Thee Oh Sees if they come to your town.... read more
Unofficial SXSW 2009: Where’s That Confounded Bridge?
Of all the unofficial and free gatherings, the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge show is the most infamous. Back when the internet wasn’t all the rage, people would usually either a.) show up every night of SXSW at 1 a.m. and cross their fingers or b.) hear an announcement through the grapevine. This year, despite Todd P and his listings newspaper, despite every fancy electronic level of communication, no one seemed to know a damn thing. Maybe it was a marketing strategy to build hype. Maybe procrastination. Whatever the case, it took some effort to get this grammatical misfit of a text... read more
SXSW 2009: Earthless Rattles, Psychs Up Austin
Earthless gave me a chance to try out my ear plugs, which isn't something I usually get to do at 1:30 in the afternoon. Combining LedZep riffage and an epic, almost post-rock vibe (though less meandering and boring than those words often indicate), the San Diego instrumental-psych-rock trio would've fit in nicely at Atlanta's recent Scion Rock Fest, even if many wouldn't exactly consider them metal.... read more
SXSW 2009: Blue Giant burns, burns, burns
"So, who are you going to go see tonight?" are probably the nine words most frequently exchanged between friends and strangers and new acquaintances at SXSW. Usually my answer is either vague or fraught with pained indescision, but last night I had a plan, one involving Micachu at Emo's Annex and, later, Blue Giant at Club DeVille. Somehow, though, for all the new and unknown bands playing, Blue Giant was the one that people most puzzled over when I mentioned it-- which was both a relief and a surprise.... read more
SXSW 2009: Those Darlins are Ladies in Red
Those Darlins' Kelley, Jessi and Nikki Darlin are sisters, but by different mothers. Not only can the sassy country gals harmonize like the Carter Family and anticipate each others' thoughts, but they're completely at home scooping up sweet potatoes, spinach and deep-fried okra from the same plate. During a meal at Stubb's Bar-B-Q, they controlled the urge to scarf down a hapless barbecued chicken on the table -- flying in the face of the drunken, poultry crazed image they cultivate with "The Whole Damn Thing." For the Darlins, who reside in Murfreesboro, Tenn., image also comes from carefully planned costuming,... read more
SXSW 2009: The Heartless Bastards, Micachu and more rock SXSW lady-style
Even though dude-y bands are apparently on the rise at SXSW 2009, I've managed not to see a single one of them yet. In fact, the majority of the acts I've been able to take in since arriving in Austin Wednesday have involved totally badass women. Too many for my BBQ'd out brain to write about them all, actually, so here are some of my very favorites.... read more
SXSW 2009: Janelle Monae - Too Good to be Human?
Janelle Monae is making some of the most inventive, refreshingly original music I've heard in a long time. The EP she released last year, Metropolis: The Chase Suite, is stellar, and I don't just mean it was like a star in its brilliance—it also sounded like it might be a strange transmission pulsing from some alien/robot-inhabited alternate dimension via some distant neutron star. Last night just after sunset, I caught Monae—who was looking dapper in a white suit, her trademark pompadour bobbing above her shapely skull—outside at Stubb's Bar-B-Q. Her performance was every bit as interesting as the sounds she's been... read more
SXSW 2009: No badge? Still Awesome.
Sure, if you want to see all the buzz bands at SXSW, you're gonna need a conference badge. But if you simply want to see some good music, all you need is 21 years under your belt and a valid photo ID.For the economically challenged music lover (and there are so many these days), your best bet is to simply start walking up and down Red River, 5th or 6th St., and see if you hear anything that grabs your attention. Though you need a badge or wristband for many bars, there are plenty that'll gladly let you come in... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Kim Taylor - Days Like this
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
David Bazan - Hard To Be
