Fall weather + ACL 2010 = Nirvana.

Ok Austinites. Huddle in close, so nobody else can hear.

How amazing is this weather?

It's like a drug!  Even routine acts that take place outdoors are now very exciting.  Walking up to Pronto Mart yesterday, for example.  Oh, it was more than a bit thrilling.  Is that a slight nip I feel?  I kept asking myself. What is this refreshing breeze, playing along my shoulders? 

We are blessed with a handful of luscious weeks per year here in Austin, when the sky is still blue, but the temperature gets crisp. It makes me nostalgic for my parents' fireplace, it brings out the hot chocolate and apple cider, and it welcomes the return of big, comfy sleepwear.  Do you have a pair of shamelessly dorky pajamas?  I hope you do.

Another reason this Fall weather is so welcome is because ACL is happening next weekend. When I looked up the weather forecast on my phone today, I was greeted with a straight vertical line of perfect yellow suns and 70/80 degree temperatures for this week.

Now, some of you may remember the days when the ACL Powers That Be insisted on having the festival in mid-September. And for those of you that don't remember, you were likely passed out in a corner of Zilker Park from heat exhaustion, your concerned friends dousing you with bottled water and/or lukewarm beer.

HOWEVER. This year will be different. There will be sane temperatures, and according to Weather.com, there will be no rain, either. The highs will only get up to the mid-80s, and the lows will be in the 60s.  How fun / historically significant would it be to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, at ACL?

This year is also different, because it's the first time I've applied for (and, got!) media credentials for ACL.  I counted 15 acts on the ACL website on Saturday that I was excited about, as in, if presented with opportunity to speak to in person, would likely result in A) spontaneous loss of speech, or B) me soiling myself.  I'm going to be a great music journalist.

Anyway, if I could keep my mouth and pants together (that didn't sound right, AT ALL), here are the acts I would most like to interview.

Are you surprised to see a quasi-country singer on this blog?  I know.  I am too. But Austinite Sahara Smith completely fascinates me. Her voice! So sultry and sexy. And she's only 22! Damn girl. Don't hurt nobody.

I don't think I've said, "hey, I really enjoy this country singer" since I was 10 and nursing a crush on George Strait. Ok, 13.


Would you believe I actually DID interview The Temper Trap, randomly, for SXSW 2009?  It was for G4TV, and they hired me to do it.

I came home that night and wrote this breathless blog post about their show, and I like to think it was that singular blog post that launched the band's international fame, 500 Days of Summer soundtrack inclusion, and Diet Coke commercial.  You're welcome, Temper Trap!

Anyway, G4TV never aired the interview, sadly -- they went with my evaluations of these two other, slightly more obscure bands, uttering stunning musical observations such as, "they were good" and "sound, was loud." So.  I think it's time to catch up with Temper Trap again, if they'll have me.




Heh. This one's probably a pipe dream!  But a girl's gotta dream, right?

I've suspected for a long time that Flaming Lips frontman, Wayne Coyne, secretly wants to move to Austin. He debuted his movie Christmas in Mars, after all, at the Alamo Drafthouse, ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 

Because all Wayne Coyne wants for Christmas is Austin.

So, in this fantasy world of mine, where I get to speak with Wayne Coyne, I will ask him: "would you ever consider moving to Austin?" And, I will report his response verbatim.

Because can't you see him pitching a tent inside Toy Joy, with coloring books and Hello Kitty dolls to entertain him, and becoming a Guadalupe fixture?  I certainly can.