SXSW 2012 Bullets (3/21/12): Best of the Best and the Worst

South By Southwest is over, but the assessments continue to roll in.  One popular format we keep coming across are the inevitable "best of" and "worst of" lists.  So here's a rundown of some of the best best-of and worst-of lists, and the best bests and best worsts on those lists.  Not to be confused with Best Wurst, Austin's favorite cure for a drunken hunger, and itself a SXSW fixture.

Pitchfork:  The Best (and Worst) of SXSW 2012 - From Fiona Apple to Jack White to the latest in gross-out fast-food technology

• Best Best: "Best 'Living in the moment' = Jack White and Skrillex found common ground this SXSW by making their anti-cellphone-concert-video views clear during simultaneous gigs on Friday night. White's Third Man showcase prohibited all photography and video, while Skrillex said to the crowd, 'Put your fucking cameras down for a minute!' Even if we like watching live YouTubes every now and then, the stance is admirable. --RD"
• Best Worst: "Worst 'Increasingly slow, complex band setups' = Whenever I wander away from metal, punk, or hardcore shows at festivals, I'm amazed at how long it takes bands to set up. I'm guessing this is because, these days, artists are often big enough for festivals before they've ever actually gone on a real tour and learned how to speed this shit up and/or trim the fat. --BS"

Austin360:  All the best of the SXSW Music festival - Old favorites remind why they still rock; new acts blow away crowds

• Best Best: "Nancy Flores: GZA featuring Grupo Fantasma and Brownout. Who was the genius who thought of this perfect combination? Grupo's horn section brought GZA's beats to life, creating a funky new hybrid act. GZA even told the enthusiastic crowd at the Haven, 'The chemistry is lovely.' Saturday's performance was a testament to what happens when artists take risks. It was a prime way to bid farewell to SXSW. Some magic was created with this collaboration, and GZA promised future shows together"

Washington Post: SXSW: 5 rock ‘n’ roll moments

• Best Best: "4. A fan noshing on a hamburger throws hunks of his lunch into a ceiling fan overhead. The spinning blades bat pieces of bread and beef across the room."

Vulture:  The Thirteen Best, Weirdest, and Most Memorable Moments From SXSW

• Best Best: "9. Best conversation I’ll overhear all year: 'Is he looking at me because he thinks I’m weird, or because he thinks I’m cute?' 'Sweetie, you are barely even one of those things.'

Indiewire:  Indiewire's 12 Favorite Moments from SXSW 2012

• Best Best: "Standing in line for coffee at the convention center. Place my order, give him my debit card. Sign the slip. The Jo's Coffee cashier looks at the receipt, then at me, and says: 'Wow. You have a seriously awesome signature. It really looks like you're having a good time.' This has nothing to do w/ how I write but the fact that despite the endless hordes at the convention center, a guy ringing up coffees for minimum wage can still be that positive and generous. That is definitive SXSW/Austin and one of the reasons that people usually leave here happier than when they arrived -- something you can't always say about Sundance, Toronto or Cannes. [Dana Harris]"

SF Weekly's All Shook Down Blog:  The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

• Best Worst:  "Worst Spontaneous tattoo at the S.O. Terik / Filter showcase.  On Friday, Samantha Urbani from Brooklyn indie band Friends did something to a fan he might forever regret. At the S.O.Terik-Filter showcase, beneath a blazing sun, she tattooed him using a safety pin and a lighter. The ink -- a crude-looking planet with a ring around it on his right bicep -- was modeled after one Urbani has herself on her left middle finger. When pressed, Urbani declined to identify it as a specific planet, despite its similarities to Saturn. 'It's just a planet,' she said. 'My own private planet!' She seems annoyed, perhaps because she'd been asked this question many times before. As for her smitten devotee, he can look forward to a lifetime of explaining that he got a shitty tattoo from a member of a early-teens buzz band that he briefly liked with a song called 'Friend Crush.' - Ben Westhoff / LA Weekly"

Indiewire:  The Critics Break Down SXSW 2012

• Best Worst: "'The worst movie I saw was 'Nature Calls.' The worst *thing* I saw was 6th Street.' -- Eric D. Snider, Film.com"

Dallas Observer's DC9 at Night Blog:  A.Dd+'s Top Eight Moments of SXSW

• Best Best: "​Dallas own' A.Dd+ had quite the spin during SXSW 2012, playing roughly half a dozen showcases and day parties before getting right back on tour with Black Milk on Saturday. ... So we thought we'd ask what some of their highlights were. Here is the duo and DJ Sober's top moments from the fest. 1. Seeing Chance from Burning Hotels in the middle of the street screaming 'A.Dd+ Muthafuckaaaa' to passing cars, while almost getting ran over by one, Leslie Chow-style."

Calgary Herald:  Best and worst at Austin South by Southwest fest

• Best Best: "Best vice-presidential intellectual beating: Al Gore on Sean Parker.  The two were having a discussion, but it's clear who was the intellectual and who is wearing cool glasses. Not that I hate Parker, because, when it comes to under-standing the kids, he's got it down. But during the discussion, it was Gore's house."
• Best Worst: "Worst takedown: Billy Corgan vs. Kids These Days.  Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was all set to make a couple of solid points on the state of the music industry, but a well-meaning discussion soon became a chance for Corgan to rail against the death of alternative music and how kids these days just don't care about music like they used to."