February 2008 Archives

Drenched in Blog: SXSW Bitchin' Band Alert: Ghosthustler

At 12:49pm Feb 28, 2008

A lot has been made this past year about the new wave of French techno; namely, groups like Justice and the renaissance of scene forefathers Daft Punk. Hell, this blog all but looked like it was written by a member of Justice’s street team at one point in December. It seemed no one on this side of the Atlantic was doing anything as catchy and arena-ready, save guys like LCD Soundsystem or MSTRKRFT.

But Jesus Almighty, we just got hip to Ghosthustler. And they are from frickin' Denton. Yes, that Denton. Texas. Our minds are blown.

Ghosthustler easily wins my award this year for best SXSW band name, mainly because the thought of a paranormal pimp makes my heart smile. But not only that, these guys sound like a decadent hybrid of mid-period New Order with just a splash of Britain's nu-ravers the Klaxons.

Tags: Music

Holy F--k! AutoVaughn Are Playing Rachael Ray's SXSW Party!

By Sean Maloney At 12:31pm Feb 28, 2008

That's right, local alt-rockers AutoVaughn and nominees for the "greatest band name ever," Holy Fuck, are playing the indie-licious SXSW throwdown hosted by Rachael Ray! Whose spoon did they have to lick to get that gig?!? As an ex-line cook, day-time talk enthusiast and red-blooded American male, I have to say that I am damn, damn jealous. There are so many bad food/sex puns running around in my head that I can barely see straight.

On a somewhat related note, do you think she'll bring meatloaf patties with bacon gravy and peas to the green room? That would be so much cooler than cheap pizza and cheez-in-a-can. Mmmm, bacon gravy....

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Tags: bacon, hot, love, music

Rolling Stone goes inside the studio for The Black Keys' new album

At 04:24pm Feb 26, 2008

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone – it’s got Jack Johnson’s sandy mug on the cover – writer Peter Relic takes us inside the Painesville studios where Akron blues-rockers The Black Keys ground out their new record, Attack and Release, with producer Danger Mouse. The album, Relic reports, was born out of an idea Danger Mouse had to team the Black Keys with the late Ike Turner:

In early 2007, Danger Mouse began work on a comeback album by rock & roll pioneer Ike Turner. Danger enticed the Keys (”One of my favorite bands,” he says) to write some songs for the project. The Keys turned in demos for Turner to learn, but when sessions bogged down, the project was temporarily shelved. The band eventually decided to make the tunes the heart of its fifth album, and Danger Mouse was the natural choice as producer. “Even when we gave the songs to Ike, they felt like Black Keys songs,” Auerbach says.

The album comes out April 1. The Keys start touring next month, including a stop at a South by Southwest party thrown by Scene and its sister papers. – Joe P. Tone

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Tags: Music

Drenched in Blog: The Judy's Moo Back

At 12:34pm Feb 25, 2008

Pearland's The Judy's have been announced as performers at this year's Austin Music Awards on March 12. Let's all hope they haven't ruled out any secret shows during SXSW. Back in December, their catalog once again became available after years of being out of print. All the new reissues come bundled with bonus tracks and rarities. Check it out here.

This reunion follows a 2005 one-off show at C.A. Nelson Auditorium on the campus of my old elementary school. As I was thinking about that show, I realized that that stage was also the site of my heartbreaking loss at the 1993 spelling bee. The word was "adjacent.”

Tags: Music

Drenched in Blog: Weird SXSW Alert: Care Bears on Fire

At 12:48pm Feb 21, 2008

For every breakout band that hits Austin this year, there will be hundreds that trudge back to Omaha and get their jobs back at the video store. Something tells me if this band doesn't hit it big, they may just try out for the 8th grade volleyball team and record a noise record.

This is Care Bears on Fire, a Thurston Moore-lauded trio of 14-year-old New York City girls. They sound kind of like a slowed-down version of the Ramones, with a pubescent Kathleen Hanna on vocals. It's gritty. It's hip. It's not Hannah Montana. One of the girls even sports a Public Image Limited shirt. When I was this age, these girls could have pummeled my heart like a steel-toe boot to the face.