Nu Rave Brain Wave

Best – OFWGKTA @ Vice Late Night Party, Saturday :: I didn’t think I was going to be able to fit in an Odd Future gig which was depressing because it was one of the things I wanted to see the most. Major props to the people who made it possible for me to see this — the line was crazy as fuck, and I don’t even know how I got in, but thank you! I got to catch the tailend of Thee Oh Sees, all of OFF! and then finally got to be front row for Odd Future. Granted I was pretty wasted (thnx, R&R!) but this show was fucking INSANELY AMAZING. They were all jumping around (pretty sure Tyler almost stomped my purse but I couldn’t hold it one second longer) and the energy was as catchy as Meningitis doing all my favorites (highlights include EVERYTHING) and I was just so happy to get to be able to finally see them. Fuck the haters, fuck the hype, these dudes are SO damn good. Wish Earl could’ve been there. SWAG.

Who I Missed & Am Now Weeping About – Mind Spiders :: Due to the 1,000 lb stress weight that sits on my chest/shoulders in the weeks heading up to SXSW, which were only multiplied by helping out with a party, I went really light on the scheduling. Which was mostly a good move, I saw a lot that I wanted to, but the one thing I missed was Denton’s Mind Spiders, who have written and released one of my favorite albums this year. Also, one of the cherished and famed Denton bands Uptown Bums played with them during SXSW. Apparently they were really good during SXSW as well. See?

Worst – The Sandwitches @ Eastbound and Down :: I’m not gonna spend time discussing how much I didn’t like them, but I was pretty disappointed because I was really coming around to some of the songs off their forthcoming album, but I think in the end… I just don’t get it. And the shrieking at the end of the set… did not sit well with me. Shame, because their name is my favorite thing.

Favorite New Discovery – TRMRS :: I wrote about this HERE, but these guys are really, really good and their crowds are nothing like the most boring crowd award below. Their Saturday show, which I will write more about, just before Shannon & The Clams was FUCKING amazeballs and ridiculous, and that’s what I love about them.

Most Boring Crowd – Black Lips @ Vice Party, Club Deville :: I usually look to Black Lips to be a crowd in which I can push and get pushed like the maniac that I love to be for about 3 days during the year. This show did not work out in that vein. Especially because they were after OFF! which people were going pretty mad to. Oh well.

Awesomest Cover – Some Band – A Daniel Johnston song :: I’m perfectly aware that I have absolutely no information about the band that was playing this. It was at the House Party at which I saw School Knights, and they were this rad little hippie duo who wore drug rugs and fucking RIPPED through tons of instrumentals before playing this Daniel Johnston cover, which of course, I don’t know the name of. I think the fact that I know nothing, plus there was like >20 people there… makes this the most fucking underground moment of SXSW, but it was really really rad. I wish you guys could’ve seen it.

Worst Cover :: Some Shitty Band Covering Cee-Lo’s ‘Fuck You’ - On Sunday night we were going to like, Shakespeares Pub or something and as were walking we hear literally the worst cover of ‘Fuck You’ I’ve ever heard. So if you were playing approximately 9pm somewhere on 6th street, and covering this — FUCK YOU!

Worst thing – Burger Saturday Night Shut Down By Cops/Moved :: This was so tragic. Taylor and I trekked up past 50th for this Burger House party on Saturday night with King Tuff, Audacity and Shannon & The Clams. Like, 20 minutes after we got there, however, the cops came and shut everything the fuck down. We waited around for at least 30 minutes to see if it would get moved or go back on. We were super disappointed to hear that but we raced downtown to get to the Vice Late Night Party only to find out later that the show was moved and DID go on.

Best Hotdog – Chupacabra :: I ate a lot of street-dogs this year. Last year it was my biggest mistake not to have one until the Saturday night and I’ve been haunted by the memory of that amazing taste. Before you say so, I know street-dogs exist elsewhere but they just don’t taste the same as when you can look at the Frost Building. Chupacabra had the best (read: most) amount of Ketchup so I choose them. Thank you.

Best Celeb Sighting – Aziz Ansari @ Fat Possum’s I’m An Alcoholic & I Hate You :: A few weeks ago when Aziz Ansari was in London, I tweeted about how I wanted a ticket and he DM’d me and hooked an American sista abroad up with tickets, so I thanked him as he cruised into Fat Possum’s party to catch Mellowhype and Bass Drum of Death.

I love Sonny Smith. Like, really. I like him when he’s fronting Sonny & The Sunsets, I really like him when he’s fronting Sonny & The Sandwitches, and now I can add a third thing he does that I adore. Last year he recorded 100 Records, where he recorded 100 singles for 100 imaginary bands. One of them was Earth Girl Helen Brown. Now, she’ll live on through an EP with collaborator Heidi Alexander from The Sandwitches. Earth Girl Helen Brown’s a Vancouver-born, Georgia-raised singer who’s blind in one eye and now lives in Alaska after a life of extreme drug use and self-inflicted knife wounds and the first EP is going to be released by Forest Family, founded by Gorilla Vs. Bear and, our favorites, Weekly Tape Deck. Story of an Earth Girl, a 10″ EP from the duo, on March 1.

Story of an Earth Girl:

01 I Walked All Night
02 Cry Baby Cry
03 Girl of My Dreams
04 Hit After Hit
05 Operation Self Destruct
06 Story of an Earth Girl

mp3 | Earth Girl Helen Brown - Hit After Hit

Is 2010 the year of me being forced to eat my words? I think so, but I’m happy to do so when I get to listen to stuff like Sonny & The Sandwitches, even if I have to pretend like San Fransisco is an okay place to be. The leader of Sonny and the Sunsets, and San Franciscan, Sonny Smith is releasing a four song 7″ EP with fellow San Franciscans The Sandwitches... So they’re aptly named, Sonny & The Sandwitches. The 7″ will be released by Endless Nest. Pitchfork says that the songs were inspired by a near drowning. Might I just add that this is so good. Like, so good. ‘Throw My Ashes From This Pier’ is ridiculous and I have been repeating it. It’s really melancholy but kind of country-ish and of course, Sonny’s ever soothing voice. This is really rad and I can’t wait for the rest of the EP.

Sonny & the Sandwitches EP:

01 Throw My Ashes From This Pier When I Die
02 Through the Fog & the Haze
03 Cathedral in the Desert
04 Take a Hard Look Down That Long Corridor

mp3 | Sonny & The Sandwitches - Throw My Ashes From This Pier When I Die

Well, not that sorry since you get the excellent combo of Harlem (our new NRBW favorites) and Best Coast! That’s a beautiful thing. Be careful. Check out our awesome chart I made in case you are travelling to SF. It will be very illuminating and helpful.

DOWNLOAD ->Harlem – Friendly Ghost