Tag: smoosh

Dakin’s SXSW Journal: 47 Instant SXSW Gig Reviews

 

It ain't no party unless the cops show up!

Another SXSW has passed, and this year, I intended on doing a daily diary, but the internet kind of sucked in our hotel, and I also really wanted to sleep, so instead you get this: a big, huge list of everything awesome at SXSW, including some amazing day parties thrown by our friends at Terrorbird, Force Field PR, Ticketfly, SPIN, NPR, and MOG (thanks!), leaving me pretty tired and delirious. For those of you that don’t want to read, I’ll sum it up: Best bands that I’ve never heard of before were Attic Ted, The Death Set, and DOM. The Kills did not kill, but TV On The Radio, Death From Above 1979, and The Dead Milkmen all played great comeback sets. Now, sit back, relax, have a Shiner Bock and read on:

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Spinning Platters Picks Six (x2): Indie and Pop Acts to Watch at SXSW

The first new band to see on my list: Kitten.

I needed a picks six x’s 2 to settle the warring factions in my South By Southwest Brain this year, new vs old.  Who do I concentrate on?  The tried and true or the exciting and fresh?  This year, more than any other for me, is bringing out the artists that I grew up with; the ones that have helped shape my musical taste.  The fangirl in me is excited to follow these people around for five days to continue my personal worship.  The music journalist in me is excited to see some new acts that will hopefully blow my mind.  Whichever side ends up winning I am sure to have a wonderful time. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six (x2): Indie and Pop Acts to Watch at SXSW”

Album Review: God Help the Girl

God Help the Girl - A new musical?
God Help the Girl - A new musical?

God Help the Girl is supposed to be the soundtrack for a musical that has yet to be scripted and filmed.  It is the brainchild of Stuart Murdoch from Belle & Sebastian.  Murdoch said the project was born from material he couldn’t use for for Belle & Sebastian because the songs should be sung by three female characters.   The outcome?  A Belle & Sebastian record with female vocals and a light sprinkling of musical theater.

I first discovered God Help the Girl because of a message from a friend.  “Stuart Murdoch is having an open call for singers!  You should try out.”  Upon further investigation I discovered it was true; if you logged into imeem.com you could download instrumental versions of two songs: a Belle & Sebastian favourite “Funny Little Frog” and a new song called “The Psychiatrist is In.”  The instructions were to choose one and post it up on an imeem message board.  I promptly downloaded the songs and started calling around to find someone to help me record them.  In the end my friend Cynthia and I, with the help of her husband Russell, spent a fun weekend recording and submitting the songs.  Then the obsession really began.  I listened to everyone’s entry and made lists of favourites.  Weeks later three finalists for each song were chosen to submit a second song (Cynthia and I did not make the cut; we were robbed!) and when the winners were announced I at least took solace in the fact that one of the winners,Brittany Stallings, had been my favourite singer.

I was excited to hear the final product after so much time and obsession, but I was bound to be overly critical of the singing.

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