Thanks Austin - 2013: Relax! You're in Austin!

Keeping up an annual tradition on FBtA, this post is about thanking Austin, as in six years it has become a rather beloved hometown for not only the two of us bloggers but our Texan-born twins as well.   Last year we thanked Austin for being reliably blue in a red state.  This year, after watching a short video from NYTimes.com that my stepmother sent me that highlights Austin's laid back style, I would like to give thanks to Austin for being warm, comforting, relatively accepting and cool all at the same time.  Hard to think of many cities of over half a million people that qualify as "mellow" and "laid back," but Austin is certainly both of those things.

Got Sunchokes? An Unusually Good November Haul at the Austin Farmers Market

Clockwise from far left:  Bok choy, watermelon radishes, mixed salad greens, whole garlic, persimmons, sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes), Dai Due roasting hen, heirloom tomatoes, Richardson Farms chicken sausage, pears, sweet peppers, poblano peppers

Texas Flood: Austin Gets Soaked, and No Statue is Spared

Credit: Reagan Hackleman (https://twitter.com/@rhackleman)

We got some serious rain a few days ago.  It was not a joke at all, as a lot of damage was done.  Nonetheless, one small bit of amusement that the storm begat was this photo that freelance photographer Reagan Hackleman took of the iconic Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at Auditorium Shores up to its waist (and last few frets) in water.  I wonder if Mr. Willie did any better?

HOW TO HELP:  Please consider helping victims of the flood.  If you are interested, there is plenty of useful information on the Statesman: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/how-to-help/nbdrt/.  Or contact the Austin Disaster Relief Network, American Red Cross, or Salvation Army.

Forget ACL. Yäktoberfest 2013 is Coming Soon!

Fall is a magical time here in Austin.  After your typical brutally hot Austin summer, the weather finally starts to cool down, eventually hitting that sweet spot in the 70s and 80s.  UT comes back to school, which stokes the seeming millions of local college football fans.  And of course, if you're a music fan (and who in Austin isn't really?), you can't forget the ACL Festival, which usually kicks off an active concert season that runs through November.

But the fall event that I'm sure most of Austin is waiting for is, without a doubt, Yäktoberfest!  What's that?  Yäktoberfest is an annual charity fundraiser that several local home brewers hold, where home-brewed beer is shared, fun is had and money is raised for good causes. This will be our fourth Yäktoberfest, and we're hoping to outdo last year.  I've been working on three different beers, although I haven't decided which ones my team, the Connecticut Drankees, will be offering up this year.

Working on a batch of porter for Yäktoberfest 2013

If you want more info, please visit the official Yäktoberfest website at www.Yaktoberfest.org.

What became of those figs?

Those farmer's market figs from last week are thumbprint cookies this week.

INGREDIENTS

24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup jam (any type)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, and beat until completely combined. With mixer on low, add flour, and mix just until incorporated.

STEP 2

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on baking sheets, at least 3 inches apart.

STEP 3

Moisten thumb with water, and gently press the center of each ball, making an indentation about 1/2 inch wide and inch deep. In microwave or on stove, heat jam until liquefied; spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. If storing, place in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

recipe c/o marthastewart.com

Summer at the Farmers Market Means Figs

Really, fruit in general takes center stage come August at Austin's farmers markets. In addition to these lovely figs that will soon be jam, we have recently gotten peaches, pears, pomegranates and great melons of all varieties.

Want SXSW to Go Away? You're Not Alone?

I read this funny interview with Zachary Cole Smith of DIIV on Pitchfork.  He sounds off about all sorts of things, including some comments he made during a performance at South by Southwest this year that were critical of the festival.  Did he back off?  Not quite:

Pitchfork: Can you talk about your experience at SXSW this year? The general backlash to your statements seemed to find hypocrisy in criticizing something you willfully participated in.

ZCS: People were like, "This artist is anti-corporate, he looks like Kurt Cobain, he has long hair. OK, I get it: This is the zeitgeist anti-corporate punk rock." Fucking whatever. That wasn't my intention at all. Our fucking government is owned by corporations, and other companies get money from the government. If you live in Germany, you get money from the government if you're an artist. So since our government is corporations, it makes sense that we should be taking money from corporations to pay for our art.

If I play Coachella, it's sponsored by a company-- that's corporate, too. But we're playing it because we're getting paid and we want to be a part of the festival. At SXSW, there's all this corporate money changing hands, but none of it goes to the artists. It's fucking bullshit. But I didn't want it to be like, "DIIV-- the band that hates SXSW," because that's not my main tenet as an artist. Some people were like, "DIIV is not having fun at SXSW." I was having a blast. All my friends were there. But I lost $8,000. We were participants in it, but kind of blindly. Our booking agent was just like, "These are the shows you're playing in Austin. Here. You're going." So then we bought the flights and went. 

At the time, I thought of it as part of a game. I'd been twice before, and it was never that bad. I've always been going as a band that was trying to break; I went with Beach Fossils and we played 40 shows because we wanted people to see us. And then it got to this year, and, in some ways, we were one of the larger bands playing. We weren't desperate for attention. We were a commodity used by corporations to make their brand look fashionable, but then they used us to keep kids out of venues. We'd play in a 150 capacity room for 20 minutes with no sound check, and all the kids are outside, because they're like, "Sorry, you're not cool enough to go in the fucking Red Bull Vans Fort over here." I participated in it partially because I didn't really think it through before I went, and also because, you know, everybody goes. But when we got there, I realized what a fucked up thing it is. It seems to get worse every year.

Pitchfork: What's your advice for a band who's just getting started and wants to use SXSW as a way of getting their name out there?

ZCS: If I had my way, SXSW wouldn't happen in 2014. I don't think it deserves to exist.

You know he's not the only one complaining.  I mean, it's pretty clear that SXSW Music is more about the industry than the art form.  I'm sure Prince got paid plenty for his little gig at La Zona Rosa last year, but do you think Star & Micey or Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three or Allah-Las made big bucks?  No.  They probably came down to Austin on a tiny budget, stayed in some crappy overpriced pad, had to schlep around to too many shows, most of which were too short, at bad times and/or before audiences that are more interested in simply "getting in" that in your music.  If you're a badge-wearer, you end up paying a month's salary but still end up shut out of the most enticing event.  And forget about it if you're just there for the free stuff -- good luck meeting your expectations as you compete against tens of thousands of your closest friends for a chance to cram into the shitty back corner of a dingy club to see a bunch of bands that you've never heard of for good reason.

Of course I'm being a big cynical.  After all, it's not like I haven't written about fun times I've enjoyed at SouthBy for nary a dollar.  I've gotten to see the Zombies, M. Ward, Spoon, Seun Kuti and many more for free.  But Mr. Smith does have a point. So what do you think, should SXSW just go away altogether?

Last Week's Cucumbers = This Week's Pickles

Not much else to do when it's 105 degrees outside than to find a few good indoor diversions. I sometimes wind up in the kitchen, like today when I turned what ended up being giant cornichons into some spicy pickles.

If you're interested, the recipe is here in this old post.

Spicy pickles with large cornichons from the Austin Farmer's Market downtown

One Day's Haul at the Austin Saturday Downtown Farmers Market

Let's see, we have (clockwise from top) pickling cukes, peaches, ground turkey, sausage, garlic chives, Mediterranean cuke, potatoes, feta, carrots and blackberries.  Not too shabby!

Smokin' Crown: Austin's Franklin Barbecue Takes Top Spot in Texas Monthly's 2013 Top 50 Barbecue Joints List

In Texas, barbecue is a big food staple.  Texas is a big state.  So when it comes to BBQ joints, there are almost too many options throughout the state.  Just within Austin's city limits, I've hit more than a dozen spots.  Throughout the whole state?  Not sure, but a reasonable source says there are at least 658 different 'cue purveyors within the borders of Texas.  That's how many places the staff at Texas Monthly Magazine claims to have visited in compiling 2013's list of Top 50 Barbecue Joints.

Hot guts and brisket from our trip to Kreuz Market in Lockhart in 2008

The top spot?  Franklin Barbecue, right here in Austin.  Given the buzz Franklin's received over the last few years, and the love it gets from Texas Monthly BBQ editor Daniel Vaughn, that wasn't too much of surprise.

Does the list match my experience? I've eaten at Franklin once and was very impressed, and would rate it up there with the very top spots.  My favorite spot in the state, Louie Mueller in Taylor, was also in the top four.  Of the entire top 50, I've chowed at ten of them, and with one or two exceptions they all served excellent barbecue -- and those other one or two weren't bad either, just not "excellent."  In other words, the list passes my smell (taste?) test.

What greets you at the front of the line at Cooper's in Llano

Below is the full list. The other two joints that made the top four were Pecan Lodge in Dallas and 2008 champ Snow's BBQ in Lexington.  Places with an asterisk were also on the 2008 list.

Brisket with a nice crust from a visit to Opie's in Spicewood last year

Alamo

• The Original Willie's Bar-B-Que

 

Amarillo

• Tyler's Barbecue

 

Austin

• Franklin Barbecue (#1)
• John Mueller Meat Co.
• La Barbecue
• Lamberts Downtown Barbecue*
• Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew [Here's a short post about Stiles Switch's "famous" location]

 

Belton

• Miller's Smokehouse

 

Bryan 

• Fargo's Pit BBQ

 

Cypress

• Brooks' Place

 

Dallas

• Lockhart Smokehouse
• Pecan Lodge

 

Eagle Lake

• Austin's BBQ and Catering*

 

Fannin

• McMillan's Bar-B-Q*

 

Fort Worth

• Cousin's Bar-B-Q*
• Longoria's BBQ

 

Fredericksburg

• Cranky Frank's Barbecue Company

 

Galveston

• Leon's World's Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que

 

Garland

• Meshack's Bar-B-Que

 

Giddings

• City Meat Market*

 

Grapevine

• Bartley's Bar-B-Q

 

Henderson 

• Bob's Bar-B-Que

 

Houston

• Gatlin's BBQ & Catering
• Virgie's Bar-B-Que*

 

Jasper

• Billy's Old Fashion BBQ

 

Jefferson 

• Joseph's Riverport Barbecue

 

Kerrville

• Buzzie's Bar-B-Q*

 

Lexington

• Snow's BBQ*

 

Livingston

• Hitch-N-Post BBQ

 

Llano

• Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que* [Read about a trip out to Cooper's in 2009 here]

 

Lockhart

• Black's Barbecue [Yeah, we did Black's (and Smitty's) back in 2008]
• Kreuz Market* [Read about a trip to Kreuz in one of our first posts about barbecue from back in 2008]

 

Luling

• City Market*

 

Marlin

• Whup's Boomerang Bar-B-Que*

 

McKinney

• Hutchins BBQ

 

Mexia

• Kirby's Barbecue

 

Peadenville

• Hashknife on the Chisolm*

 

Pearsall

• Cowpoke's*

 

Pecos

• Pody's BBQ

 

Rockport

• Hatfield's BBQ & Blackjacks Beer Garden

 

San Antonio

• The Granary 'Cue and Brew
• Two Bros. BBQ Market

 

San Marcos

• Hays Co. Bar-B-Que and Catering

 

Smithville 

• Zimmerhanzel's BBQ

 

Spicewood

• Opie's Barbecue*  [Read about our 2012 wildflower tour and trip to Opie's here]

 

Spring

• Corkscrew BBQ

 

Sweetwater

• Big Boy's Bar-B-Que

 

Taylor

• Louie Mueller Barbecue*

 

Tyler

• Stanley's Famous Pit Barbecue*

 

Victoria

• Mumphord's Place BBQ

My SXSW 2013: Almost a Bust, But Saved by Zombies

I don't think many people who've "done" SXSW Music would argue with the idea that it is a little bit too much of a good thing.  There's always a lot of high expectations.  Tons of shows sound great:  Cool lineup, free entry, even free beer and a taco or brownie or something.  Still, as good as you might expect or just hope the overall experience will be, you have to put up with a lot on the flip side:  Long lines, thick crowds, short sets, smelly sweaty guys with beards.

Still, just about every year, there's a cool moment or two or three that convince us to give SXSW a try the next year, like the Mess With Texas Party, luckily happening upon Seun Kuti's band, catching Eleanor Friedberger with about 50 people behind an Urban Outfitters, or just enjoying the free official shows at Auditorium Shores, where we got to see some great music over the years.  So this year, even though we had twins not long ago, and our lives have been turned upside-down, inside-out and round-and-round, I hoped (with the help of grandma and grandpa here from out of town) to get to some part of SouthBy.  Just one little event.  Anything.

As the week went on and my energy waned though, it started to seem less and less likely that we'd catch even one show.  But on Saturday, the final day of the festival, we got saved by Zombies.  Not the kind that eat brains, but the kind that sing groovy rock songs like "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season."  I heard that the Zombies -- with original core members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent -- were kicking off the free show that day at the parking lot outside Waterloo Records.  The weather was perfect, and the twins were in a good mood and enjoying their time with grandma.  So grandpa and I sneaked out and zoomed down to the show.

We got there just in time too.  The band was just kicking off "Time of the Season" as we were approaching.  For guys who first starting playing together 50 years ago (literally), they sounded and looked energized.  And I got to see Argent tear up his organ solo.  Think the keyboard player from Vampire Weekend could play like this?

So yeah, maybe I didn't make it to Prince or Depeche Mode or any number of other bands I'd love to go see.  But I got to see one thing, and it was pretty cool.  That's good enough for me.

SXSW 2013: What do Ellen Page, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson and Tony Danza have in common? SXSW 2013 Film "Red Carpet" Events

Think SXSW Film hasn't caught up with the glitz of its SouthBy Music sibling?  As further proof that SXSW may well be on its way to being another one of the "big" film festivals a la Sundance, The Austin American Statesman's Charles Ealy reports that at this year's fest, a "record number of red carpets" are planned: "Celebrities will be out in full force in Austin this month, as a record number of 33 red-carpets events will be held at various venues around town when the South by Southwest Film Festival kicks off March 8."  So what gives?  "With the temporary closing of the Alamo South, the festival is moving some of its red-carpet events to the Topfer Theatre at the new Zach. But that’s not the reason for the leap in this year’s celebrity quotient. 'I’d say it’s much more about the films that happen to be in the program this year, and the talent who are planning to attend with them,' says Rebecca Feferman, head of media relations and a SXSW programmer. 'But we are thrilled to have the Topfer as a new venue, which will have 420 seats and more physical space to accommodate some larger red carpets than we’ve been able to have in the past (outside of the events at the Paramount).'"

The Statesman's article has a good rundown of some of the highlights and a full list of events, which we've reposted below.  And if you aren't already excited about Tony Danza ...

Credit: http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/2008/09/30/tony-danza-coul/ 

Friday, March 8

7 p.m.: “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” at the Paramount. Attending: Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde, director Don Scardino and writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

9:30 p.m.: “Scenic Route” at the Topfer Theatre at the Zach. Attending: Josh Duhamel, Dan Fogler and directors Kevin & Michael Goetz.

9:45 p.m.: “Evil Dead” at the Paramount. Attending: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore, director Fede Alvarez. Tentative: Producer Sam Raimi.

Saturday, March 9

1 p.m.: “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Vimeo Theater. Attending: Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, director Joss Whedon.

4:30 p.m.: “Prince Avalanche” at the Paramount. Attending: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch and writer/director David Gordon Green.

4:30 p.m.. “Gus” at the Topfer. Attending: Michelle Monaghan and writer/director Jessie McCormack.

7 p.m.: “Some Girl(s)” at the Topfer. Adam Brody, Jennifer Morrison, Mia Maestro, Kathleen Christy, writer Neil LaBute, director Daisy von Scherler Mayer. Tentative: Emily Watson.

7:15 p.m.: “Drinking Buddies” at the Paramount. Attending: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston and writer/director Joe Swanberg.

9:30 p.m.: “I Give It a Year” at the Topfer. Attending: Rose Byrne, Simon Baker and writer/director Dan Mazer.

9:30 p.m.: “Kilimanjaro” at Stateside. Attending: Brian Geraghty, Abigail Spencer, Chris Marquette, Alexia Rasmussen and writer/director Walter Strafford.

9:45 p.m.: “Before Midnight” at the Paramount. Attending: Writer/director Richard Linklater.

Sunday, March 10

Noon: “Mud” at the Paramount. Attending: Matthew McConaughey, producer Sarah Green and director Jeff Nichols.

3:30 p.m.: “When Angels Sing” at the Paramount. Attending: Willie Nelson, Harry Connick Jr., Kris Kirstofferson, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Chandler Canterbury, Eloise DeJoria and Turk Pipkin.

4 p.m.: “The Wait” at Stateside. Attending: Chloë Sevigny, Jena Malone, director M. Blash.

4:15 p.m.: “Burning Love” at the Topfer. Attending: June Diane Raphael, Rob Huebel, Natasha Leggero, Kumail Nanjiani and actor/director Ken Marino.

6:15 p.m.: “Downloaded” at the Paramount. Attending: Sean Parker, Shawn Fanning and director Alex Winter.

7:45 p.m.: “Linsanity” at the Vimeo. Attending: Jeremy Lin and director Evan Jackson Leong.

9 p.m.: “Hours” at the Topfer. Attending: Paul Walker, Génesis Rodríguez, writer/director Eric Heisserer.

9:30 p.m.: “Spring Breakers” at the Paramount. Attending: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, writer/director Harmony Korine.

11:45 p.m.: “You’re Next” at the Topfer. Attending: Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, writer/actor Simon Barrett, director Adam Wingard.

Monday, March 11

6:45 p.m.: “Go For Sisters” at Stateside. Attending: Edward James Olmos, Yolanda Ross, director John Sayles.

9:30 p.m.: “Don Jon’s Addiction” at the Paramount. Attending: Tony Danza, actor/writer/director Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

9:30 p.m.: “The Spectacular Now” at the Topfer. Attending: Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, director James Ponsoldt.

11:59 p.m.: “The Lords of Salem” at the Topfer. Attending: Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeffrey Daniel Phillips, writer/director Rob Zombie.

Tuesday, March 12

11:45 p.m.: “Kiss of the Damned” at the Topfer. Attending: Milo Ventimiglia, Josephine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida, writer/director Xan Cassavetes.

Wednesday, March 13

4:15 p.m.: “Maladies” at Stateside. Attending: Catherine Keener, Fallon Goodson, writer/director Carter.

4:30 p.m.: “Artifact” at the Paramount. Attending: Shannon Leto, director Jared Leto.

7:15 p.m.: “Sound City” at the Paramount. Attending: Director David Grohl.

Thursday, March 14

2 p.m.: “In Your Dreams” at the Paramount. Attending: Stevie Nicks, co-director Dave Stewart.

4:30 p.m.: “Reincarnated” at the Paramount. Attending: Snoop Lion (aka Snoop Dogg), director Andy Capper.

Friday, March 15

2:45 p.m.: “Broadway Idiot” and “¡Cuatro!” at the Paramount. Attending: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool of Green Day; John Gallagher Jr., producer Tom Hulce and directors Doug Hamilton and Tim Wheeler.

Saturday, March 165 p.m.: “At Any Price” at the Paramount. Attending: Dennis Quaid, director Ramin Bahrani.

8 p.m.: “The East” at the Paramount. Attending: Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgård, Brit Marling, co-writer Zal Batmanglij.

Venues: Topfer Theatre, 1510 Toomey Ave.; Paramount, 713 Congress Ave.; Stateside Theatre, 719 Congress Ave.; Vimeo Theater at the Austin Convention Center, EH2, Second and Trinity streets.

SXSW 2013 Bullets (2/9/13): "Buzz" Bands

Hard to believe it's already February.  That means we're only about a month away from South by Southwest 2013.  At SXSW Music, over a thousand bands will be showcasing.  With that sort of roster, there's no realistic way to perform thorough sonic due diligence on your own.  So which bands are generating buzz?  Well, according to our very scientific Google search on the words "SXSW" "2013" and "Buzz," here are a few contenders:

• Noise11's Paul Cashmere is liking The Rubens:  "Following their signing to Warner Brothers in the USA, The Rubens are set to be the Australian buzz band of 2013 at SXSW in Texas next month. Last month, Mushroom Music, the group’s publisher in Australia, announced that The Rubens had signed a record deal with Warner Brothers Records for a worldwide release (excluding Australia and New Zealand) of their self-titled debut album. The album will be released in the United States in June following a showcase by The Rubens at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas next month."

• What's with Australia?  Glide Magazine's staff posted a short list of five acts to check out at SXSW, including Australia's Atlas Genius: "This band ... has already caused quite a bit of buzz over the last year, initially from the release of their single 'Trojans' on Neon Gold, but more recently in the wake of a strong first US tour and excellent EP, Through The Glass, which was released earlier this year. They’re in the process of finishing their debut album, which will come out in early 2013 via Warner Bros Records. Be sure to check out the way they mix electronic elements with their acoustic-pop flourishes."  The other four artists?  That would be Alt-J, Suun, Haim and Sarah Jaffe.  Footnote:  According to this post on Big Pond Music, 40 Aussie acts have been confirmed for SXSW 2013.

• Staying with the international theme, Andrew Carew of About.com names 10 international acts to watch at SXSW 2013, including Chile's The Holydrug Couple and related act Föllakzoid: "Chilean duo The Holydrug Couple are -- fittingly -- a couple of dudes from Santiago playing mellow, daydreamy, blissed-out psychedelia. Yet, it's not all wafty atmosphere and stoned ambience: there's a love of songcraft at play that keeps things from drifting too far off into the ether. Instead, the chilled vibes and good grooves will appeal to fans of everything from Brightblack Morning Light to Tame Impala. The Holydrug Couple's Ives Sepúlveda also plays in Föllakzoid, another crew of Santiago bros, whose take on psychedelia is far more stretched out and instrumental, touching on the most cosmic reaches of kosmische. Both bands are signed to Sacred Bones in the US, and will be making their first-ever pilgrimages to the Northern Hemisphere for SXSW."  Carew also gives nods to Cate Le Bon, The Deer Tracks (yet another "Deer" band), Fakuta, Fear of Man, Girls Names, Sea Pinks, Holy Balm and Kirin J. Callinan.

• Another About.com post by Carew gives us "a bunch of budding bands due to stir up some brand new buzz. And also Vampire Weekend."  His write-up of Phèdre made me giggle a bit: "Semi-mysterious Canadian combo Phèdre were one of the most memorable new bands of 2012, coming out of nowhere with myth-making mystery and an awesome debut LP. Though they billed themselves as 'lovers from Monaco, raised in a cave of gold,' they were the recording project of electro bro Doldrums and two members of indie-pop combo Hooded Fang; their fuzzy, synth-pop songs sounding like jukebox standards through a malfunctioning video-game, with three bizarre, contrasting voices singing out over the top. Though conceived as a one-off, Phèdre is now inching towards fully-fledged rockband status; with a host of live-shows planned, and a second LP in the works." Carew also calls out Bleached, Diana, Empress Of, Merchandise, Pacific Air, Waxahatchee, Wax Idols and White Lung.

• If you're feeling a bit overloaded on the indie rock front, Michael A. of Mischief provides a good alternative with Top 10 Must-See Hip-Hop Artists at SXSW 2013.  The list is loaded with hot names.  Among the more obscure and interesting choices is Iggy Azalea: "This is the only artist on the list who has never performed at a sx event. Seems like she’s been all over the Internet as of late and her new album The New Classic, is one of the most anticipated for 2013. On twitter before last years sxsw Iggy and I exchanged DM’s after reading that she would be at a karmaloop event. Unfortunately she had problems with her work visa and was unable to come. Lets hope this year will be different." The other nine: Childish Gambino, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Big Krit, Kendrick Lamar, Theophilus London, Wiz Khalifa, OFWGKTA, A$AP Rocky, and Kanye & G.O.O.D. Music.

• 5?  10?  Bah!  The Blue Indian's Sean Pritchard wouldn't settle for less than 25 Bands to Watch at SWSX 2013: "Compiled by staff writer Everett Verner and contributing writer David Dorer, this list will give you a glimpse of the party we plan on having. See you soon, Texas."  The post includes a video for each of the 25 acts: Allah-Las, Ben Sollee, Capital Cities, Cherub, DRGN KING, FUCK ART, LET'S DANCE!, He's My Brother, She's My Sister, The Hood Internet, Indians, Ivan & Alyosha, Jackie Chain, The Last Royals, Metz (a band I've been hearing a good amount about lately), Mitzi, Nobody Beats the Drum, Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three, Royal Canoe, Star & Micey, Swear and Shake, Tall Ships, The Warlocks, Wild Cub, Zion I, and Austin's T-Bird & the Breaks and The Rocketboys.  I watched every clip, and at first glance I'm intrigued the most by Allah-Las, He's My Brother ..., and the old-timey sounds of Pokey LaFarge.  The simply-shot Star & Micey video is cool too.

• I really like reading recommendations from more obscure blogs and sources.  Here's one from Sinclair here in Austin, who gives us her SXSW 2013 Must See Bands (Part 1) on her blog, We Are (Standing) On the Edge.  In addition to Local Natives and Thee Oh Sees, two bands we discovered as opening acts for other artists we saw in concert, she likes Stagnant Pools, Dusted and Houses: "Well, these Chicago fans seem kind of nonplussed in this video, but Houses' deliberate, mellow, electronic jams are catchy as hell and demand at least some mild head bobbing and non-aggressive hip swaying. I plan to see them immediately after getting ravaged by some doom metal."  Sounds like a plan!  Part 2 is allegedly coming soon.

• Stairwell Baby divides its band recommendations into parts one and two.  Each recommendation comes with a short list of "RIYL" artists ("Recommended If You Like"), plus a "pseudo-genre."  Like this for ZZ Ward: "We wouldn’t be surprised if ZZ Ward has some commercial success in 2013. We love her voice and her blend of music genres. Now is your chance to listen to her and tell your friends about her.  RIYL: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Adele, Allen Stone.  Pseudo Genre: Countrified Neo Soul."

• Sxpicks.com lists 30 acts to catch at SXSW 2013, videos only, plus a link to a Spotify playlist. Credit to Matthew Averkamp.  Several repeats from above, if that means anything.