Okay, I promise you I’ll never consider pursuing a career as a copywriter with the headline above but I just can’t help myself; some of the premiere products and services in the music tech space are giving back to the community in a generous way this Holiday season and I’ve decided to round up some of the key promotions happening in cyberspace at the moment. ‘Tis better to give than receive, of course, but winning is still a whole lot of fun when prizes of this caliber are up for grabs.
Keep reading to find out how to win an unlimited subscription on Rdio for one year, a trip to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, and a $100 gift card from Threadless.
Wellll, damn. If I wasn’t worshiping at the shrine of Metric already, last night’s show at the Fox Theater easily convinced me: this band is fierce and invincible. Their live set was a tight performance; it seems doubtful that there was more than a moment where they didn’t hold the audience firmly in their grasp. Guitarist James Shaw has mentioned that the band “toured the new songs a lot” and it shows – they move effortlessly through a set, never missing a note, and still look as though they’re having as much fun as the audience. Continue reading “Show Review: Metric, Codeine Velvet Club and Nico Vega at the Fox Oakland, 3/24/10”
his Orchestra gets honorary slot #31 because we like the band so darned much
While the photos on this post are all by David Price, he’s in Vegas this week, so all the text here is simply an …
Editor’s Note: Our photographer, David Price, dealt with inconsistent lighting, security that weren’t all on the same page, a lack of photo pits, and plenty of cameras in his face to take over 10,000 photos at SXSW. And then I went and boiled them all down here to 30 favorites. There’s other photos in individual posts, and we’ll be drawing from other ones as we continue our coverage as well. Inside, you’ll find several shots of the most photogenic guy at SXSW this year, Pink Eyes of Fucked Up, including one with our managing editor Dakin Hardwick. It’s not the most well-lit shot in the world, and it’s not particularly newsworthy, but we like it. And that’s how I picked these 30 photos. Because we like them. Continue reading “Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010”
I have the set-list napkin Eddie Argos is holding here. I've tucked it into a copy of Booster Gold, no joke. (All photos on this post from my iPhone unless noted)
This year at South By Southwest Music, I lost my voice and my glasses, drank tons of free booze, walked for miles, collected paper wristbands, failed at my attempt at seeing a house party show, and saw a whopping 2.6% of all showcasing acts! (Remember, even an inspired effort will get you, at most, 6% of the acts, so when you see a Top 10 list, it’s working off of a small sample.)
In keeping with the tradition I started last year, I will now answer your important questions about SXSW Music 2010.
1. Who did I see playing on the street four different times?
2. Which Canadian band was my big Wednesday afternoon surprise?
3. What band got a $100 tip in their guitar case?
4. Who tested the stage to make sure it was OK to jump up and down on it?
5. Who took way too long to set up, but then made it worthwhile?
6. Of all the bands that “killed it,” which one killed it most often?
7. Who’s gonna make me skip Hot Chip?
8. What band should have said its name more often so I’d know to miss them in the future?
9. Which act seemed to appreciate my personal enjoyment of them more than any other?
10. Who made 50 people at a 1000-person venue feel like a packed house?
11. Which act finally made me lose my voice for good?
12. What was the best totally improvised, organized-on-the-fly event? Continue reading “Gordon Answers Your SXSW 2010 Questions”
One of the main benefits of being a student at a digital arts college — besides the access to thousands of dollars worth of professional audio and video equipment and studios — is the fact that my school has a performance hall. This is normally used for teaching a class on live sound, but thanks to our school’s industry connections, we are fortunate enough to play host to any number of music megastars. Tonight, the stars in question were Toronto indie rockers Metric, who dropped in for a short, acoustic set on their way to tomorrow night’s performance at the Fox Theater. Continue reading “Show Review: Ex’pression Session: Metric @ Ex’pression College for Digital Arts”
She's clearly got the best album cover on our list, but where did her album end up?
by The Spinning Platters Staff
The past month at the Spinning Platters offices (everyone telecommutes) was spent passing albums around to try to determine a staff list of the Top 15 Albums of 2009. We chose 15 because we had 15 voters, so maybe everyone would get one of their pet favorites on the list. There was a nomination step, a finalist selection step, a final voting step, some senior staff picks, and then we had a list. No list is perfect (and we recognize that albums are still coming out this year), but ours is not only pretty darned good, it also manages to represent the wide variety of musical tastes among our team here (i.e. some of us hate some of these albums). Now, read and enjoy The Official List of the Top 15 of 2009. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents the Official List of the Top 15 Albums of 2009”
Matthew Bellamy, Showing Off His Firefly Collection To 20,000 Of His Closest Friends
Radio-sponsored concerts exist for multiple reasons. The first reason is, well, to make money. Since Nielsen-based ratings aren’t the most precise way to go, often times the best way to prove to advertisers your worth is to put on a big show that’s promoted by the station, and use those numbers to bring in big money for the commercials. The other, more dignified reason, is as a thank you for the listeners. It gives them a more hands on experience with the music they’ve grown to love by supporting their local radio station. I’ve been to many of these kinds of shows in my life, and I generally think that they are a pretty good time. Sometimes, though, they can be a bit too erratic to truly enjoy, much like most commercial radio. If there was any problem with this year’s show, it’s that the music was, stylistically, a little too varied for a common night. When the two bands that share the most similar influences are Vampire Weekend and AFI, you know it’s going to be a strange night.
It’s a really big week this week, mostly because this is widely viewed as the last week people can get down and party before focusing their attention (and finances) the the wretched beast known as “Late December Holiday Season.” So, for all of you out there that wish to blow all that money you’ve been saving on a nice new golden chariot for grandma, here are a few really great shows for you to attend:
What we’ve got here is a podcast! Dakin, D.P. and I recorded a podcast at the 10th Floor Studio on New Montgomery last night, and we’re presenting it here to you! I’m working hard to get this going on itunes, but it’s not as simple as all that. We have to apply and be approved. Well, rather than wait for that approval, you can always just listen to the podcast right here and now! Once we have an itunes subscription link, we’ll be sure to send it along.
