Friday marked a full week that I had been in Austin, and thus I was a little strung out from lack of sleep and too much rock. (If that’s possible.) I tried to take it easy, and saw only 8 bands all day. Full disclosure: the first band on my list I have no idea what their name… Read More
The second day of SXSW music was my busiest by far. That day alone I saw 17 bands. Here are some standouts from Thursday’s insanity.
This mix includes: Fanfarlo, Neon Indian, Local Natives, Nicole Atkins, jj, Lonely Forest, Drive-By Truckers, and Delta Spirit.
I can account for 51 bands I saw while in Austin for SXSW. I am sure I will get around to posting a definitive favorites mix with full commentary and personal videos, but until then, I wanted to give you guys a small taste of what I saw. Inspired by my friend Trammell, I’ve made a mix… Read More
Okay kids. SXSW 2010 Music is just two weeks away. I thought you might need some help figuring out who you should be excited to go see live. Or, if you are sadly unable to go, you should at the very least know who I am super excited about seeing. Last year I fell just short of… Read More
This past summer I wrote about the top commercial songs. I liked that I could use advertisements to find new bands. And while I am still discovering artists this way, I’ve found recent commercials to be using bands I already know and love. This post is an amalgamation of both. You can stream most of the tracks… Read More
Not just anyone can be a convincing and successful pitchman. (Look no further than Luke Wilson’s AT&T commercials for proof.) The best pitchmen fall under three main categories: the average joe, the celebrity endorser, and the professional. Here are the decade’s top ten:
10. Bob – Bob’s Furniture
“My Bob’s,” “The Bob-O-Pedic,” and “I… Read More
So we here at popten got together and assembled a gigantic list of our favorite albums of the past decade. Then we voted on each others choices. It is amazing how wide a variety of listening styles your trusty pop culture gurus have. I’ve assembled the top vote-getters into a trusty A to Z list. Albums are in… Read More
I will be the first to admit, my love of Christmas is somewhat irrational. I was raised to be a good Jew, but I can’t get enough of lights, stocking, and carols. Heck, I even send out a holiday card with me and my dog in matching sweaters. Part of this obsession with all-things-Christmas is amassing an… Read More
Summer Jams have a way of defying everything you hold sacred about your music tastes. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, your entire aesthetic jumps right out the window, in favor of a radio-friendly, beachy, head-bopping soundtrack. You know you have succumbed to the allure of the most infectious Summer Jams when they can be heard multiple… Read More
I recently stumbled across a Flickr photoset entitled “I Like Your Face” and spent over an hour of my life looking at all 274 items. Mostly, I think I just enjoyed getting lost in the simplicity of presentation of such bold and beautiful statements. I tend to associate everything in my life with music in… Read More
Tomorrow marks 100 days since the BP oil spill in the gulf. I know they “successfully” capped it, but as long as that sucker is still leaking, I’m saying there is still an oil spill. But this disaster got me thinking a lot about the good old days of folk – when popular music regularly included anthems… Read More
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are quite familiar with the body (of work) of Isaiah Mustafa. Mustafa is a former wide-receiver in the NFL, and currently has a talent contract with NBC. He might be better known to you as The Old Spice Guy (heretofore known in this post as OSG). But just in… Read More