Dakin Hardwick’s SXSW Journal Day 3

What the devil is happening here? I have no idea...

Tired. So very tired. It’s raining today. That sucks. I’m tired… Want to know why I’m so tired? Read on…

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Film Review: The Runaways

Photo courtesy of Apparition Films

“This isn’t about women’s lib,” crows Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) in The Runaways, the feature-length debut from renowned music video director Floria Sigismondi. “This is about women’s libidos.” See what he did there? But this quote gets to the paradoxical high-wire act at the heart of this film: lib or libido? Empowerment or exploitation? A film that opens with a close-up of Dakota Fanning’s first drops of menstrual blood hitting the L.A. pavement could go either way.

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Dakin Hardwick’s SXSW Journal Day 2

Or The Whale.

Day two. Very tired. Big day yesterday. Giddy day. My vocabulary isn’t wide enough to express my joy. Seriously, it starts with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and gets better as the day went on.

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RIP Alex Chilton: His Importance To My Life

Well, as you know, we are currently in the thick of all things SXSW related. It was a bit shocking to find out that the lead singer of one of the acts that I was excited to see had passed away on the first day of the festival. Alex Chilton, of Big Star was a highly influential musician that has played a very big role in my musical growth through the years. Continue reading “RIP Alex Chilton: His Importance To My Life”

Spinning Platters Podcast – SXSW Wednesday Review

He killed it.

The Spinning Platters crew was way too tired to do a podcast on Wednesday night/Thursday morning but we did one anyway because we’re troopers. This one gets a little snippy as we disagree about the pronunciation of a few things, and we argue over the use of the phrase “killed it.” You can subscribe by clicking the button to the left or you can listen below.

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Dakin Hardwick’s SXSW Journal Day 1

Basia Bulat at noon. Things started getting fuzzy after that, like the picture taken with an iPhone.

I’m sitting in a hotel room as my colleagues are getting ready for the day. As for yesterday, well, I saw a lot of great music, and a few bits of really boring music. I won’t talk about the boring stuff much, because I don’t remember it. Here was a few words about the great things I enjoyed yesterday, not including the wonderful BBQ chicken from the amazingly polite people at the Canadian Blast BBQ. (Seriously need to give respect to those folks: not only do they book a great bill and are insanely polite, just like the stereotype)

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/17/10-3/23/10

I could have chosen a really gorgeous picture of Janelle Monáe (of which there are thousands), but I haven't been able to get on the guest list for her sold-out shows at Café Du Nord this week, so I picked this one instead.

This week is a bit of a limbo for Bay Area concerts, since pretty much everyone is at SXSW. But there are still a few awesome shows, and things kick into high gear toward the end of the week. And from there, they just keep getting cooler the closer we get to our annual Coachella cash-in. Huzzah!

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Spinning Platters Podcast – SXSW Tuesday Review

Yes, we've already been to Waffle House. Didn't take long.

The Spinning Platters editorial board has landed in Austin, so of course we recorded a podcast. Join Gordon, Dakin, Marie, Caroline and our producer D.P. for nightly updates from the greatest music nerd event in existence, the South By Southwest Music Conference. You can subscribe by clicking the giant subscribe button, or listen below. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast — SXSW Tuesday Review”

Film Review — The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

Following the release of their 2007 album, Icky Thump, Jack and Meg White prepared for two simultaneous landmarks in their storied career: their tenth anniversary as a band, and their first extensive promotional tour of Canada’s many provinces and territories. They invited acclaimed music video director Emmett Malloy to accompany them on this excursion, capturing every moment along the way. The ensuing hybrid of aww-shucks Canadian culture shocks and feverish self-aggrandizement comprises The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights.

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