ACL Download: Day 3. Flaming Lips eclipse.

I wish I could tell you that I used my last day at ACL productively. That I went to as many shows as I possibly could. That I broke through my four-a-day limit and went to, like, 13.

But for me, Sunday was all about The Flaming Lips.

Maybe The Flaming Lips is a generational thing. I read an interview with Wayne Coyne recently, where he talked about being 12 or 13, and how significant a time that was in his life.

"You know, those things that you do when you're 12 or 13, that really is a strange, powerful moment in your life. There's a lot of people I talk to who, you know, what they're doing when they're 12 and 13 years old is almost who they are now. And so I've always been strangely aware of the power of that time in my life."

I was 12 or 13 when "Vaseline" came out. I remember being in PE, and some girl giggling and nodding with her Walkman. I said, "what are you listening to?"

She smiled, took off the headphones, and handed them to me.

This was the same year that Kurt Cobain killed himself, as had a sweet, trouble-making, roundly beloved boy in our grade.  A few days earlier, that boy had hugged me, picked me up and spun me around off the ground.  I was a complete dork and he was kind of popular, so it felt pretty special.

His was the first funeral I went to.

Anyway, I think all pre-teens and early teenagers fancy themselves dark, but 7th grade really was a dark time for my particular class. We had all the grunge music in the world to indulge it, too, and then this girl handed me "Vaseline," and it sounded so happy and incongruous with the whole general mood.


I eventually forgot all about Flaming Lips, until Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots came out some seven years later.

It was around this time that I began to consider myself a Proper Fan of the Flaming Lips, and not just a casual appreciator of "Vaseline" every time it played on VH1's I Love the 90's or whatever.  I was listening to "Do You Realize??" in Ross's bedroom when I was 22, and he told me about going to the Flaming Lips/Beck show here in Austin.  He said that they used streamers, laser lights, a huge hand, dancing Santas, etc. during their performance.

"Was this a one-time thing?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure they use that stuff every chance they get," Ross said.

I vowed to see the Flaming Lips every chance I got.

*   *   *
I saw Flaming Lips at ACL back in 2008, and witnessed the streamers / the lights / the everything. But this year, I actually arrived early, and got to stand kind of close to the stage.

Are you wondering about that picture on top, that bubble Wayne Coyne is walking around in? For anyone who's been to a Flaming Lips show, that space bubble is old news -- but I still love it.  It's so P.T. Barnum.  And I'm not above gags.

Here's an awesome video of that moment, captured by this person:


Anyway, here is my big theory on Wayne Coyne / Flaming Lips. 

I think that band has lasted so long because Wayne and his fellow bandmates/artists genuinely love people. Wayne Coyne is not one of these disenchanted, angry-at-the-world artists, and never has been.  He has this ability to make a park full of people feel like a silly, intimate group of friends, and regularly says stuff in between songs like, "Isn't this the most beautiful night? Can you believe we get to do this together??"

It just blows my mind that someone that ridiculously famous is, after 15+ years of touring, still so tickled to hang out with everybody. "Well Tolly, that's clearly a shtick," you might be saying.  But I really don't think so. Look at this face. This is the face of a HAPPY MAN.


He looks like a baby, but in that video, Wayne Coyne is roughly 34. Now I want to point something out here.  Have you ever seen Jon Hamm interviewed?  Badass.  How about George Clooney?  Oh, he's a lothario and we all know it, but he gives one hell of an interview. He could be in politics if he weren't in Hollywood.

I think it's better for people when fame comes late.  Not that I would know, but, when you get a lot of media attention in your 20s, and then at some point it drops off (as it eventually does for everyone), I think it's a hard blow to recover from. Your core hasn't fully developed yet, because you've had to tap-dance for the public for so long.

But when you're older, you're a little more whole and resilient.  Fame - and its fade - doesn't make you crazy.

Wayne Coyne is 49 this year, and I am 28. I hope I am as generous a spirit as he is in 20 years. He is an atheist I believe, but if Wayne Coyne had a church, I would be a congregant.

Photo: J. Dennis Thomas.

(In my dreams, I would also totally be one of those stage dancers!)

Their show Sunday night at ACL was far and away my favorite of the festival. They have a new album out - it's called Embryonic - and I'm sure it's great.  But a Flaming Lips show is really about the experience, and that's another reason they are doing so well in an unpredictable music industry. Recorded music is no longer a viable money-maker for bands; these days, it's all about the live show.  Bands have to think much more three-dimensionally now, whether it's laser beams, or crazy inflatable balls, or even just the way a lead singer moves his or her hips.

Because increasingly, we're giving bands our eyes, and not just our ears.

And I think The Flaming Lips will have my eyes for a while.

ACL Download: Day 2. This is probably why I'm not a professional music journalist.

Hello, I am 13 years old. A 13 year-old boy.

While watching The XX yesterday, I took 17 pictures of this naked inflatable blow-up doll.  It was acting as a place-marker for a group of friends, and according to my photos, commanded a little more attention from my camera than the band itself.

Heh.  That one is my favorite.

Anyway.  In the middle of The XX's set, I squeezed my way out of the crowd with my buddy Dan. He needed a beer, and I needed to catch the last few songs of The Temper Trap's set.

Now: A word on The Temper Trap. I'd like to share with you a photo I took at SXSW 2009, right before the band popped. This was pre-Diet Coke commercial, pre-500 Days of Summer soundtrack.

(I'm sorry the photo is so crooked. I went through this phase in 2009 where I thought tilted pictures looked really cool, but now I see they just force you to tilt your head sideways).

Note how close I am to the stage in this picture. I took this with no zoom, inside the diviest of 6th St. dive bars, Dirty Dog. Note also the discernible amount of physical space between each audience member.

At that show, I remember turning to Ross and saying, "I feel like I'm part of something important right now." Because it's true, I was completely blown away by them. Dougy Mandagi, the lead singer, turned around and played the drums at one point along WITH the real drummer, and I thought: "Dear God. Who are these guys?"

THIS was their audience yesterday.

My, how times have changed for The Temper Trap!

I ran into them at the Rock the Vote Nights party last night, and congratulated them on how far they've come in just a year and a half.  Somehow, this devolved into a discussion about haggis. That Scottish dish made out of a sheep's heart and lungs. It was a pretty solid interview.

Speaking of bands who popped at SXSW 2009, Local Natives were also at last night's Rock the Vote party - and put on one of my favorite performances of the whole weekend.

I'm quickly beginning to latch onto these intimate small-venue parties that have risen up around ACL proper. Austin is a little city, mind you, so there's really only a limited number of places you can do stuff like this - and American Legion Hall, in the very second story room where Local Natives played last night, was the exact same room where two friends of got married last summer. Back in July, I stood in a quiet, reverent circle in the room's perimeter, watching Karl and Rendi sway to the beat of their first married couple dance; last night, I jumped up and down in that room with a hundred sweaty bodies to the frenetic drumming of Local Natives.

In all of Austin, this one room, in this one house, is a very sacred spot for me.

Local Natives were so thankful during their set, repeating over and over again how much they loved Austin. We were drunk with flattery.

Outside, Megan saw one of them, and insisted I interview him. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"HEY. DO YOU READ BLOGS." (This was her opener).

"...yes?" he responded politely.

"THIS GIRL HAS A BLOG!" (Now pointing in my general direction).

"Hello," he said.

"Hi. Your set. It was really good!!" (Last two words pronounced in high-pitched squeal).

"Thank you!" he said.

"How does it feel to be a rockstar?" (Pause while I considered a point of clarification)--

"A curly-headed rockstar?"

Quickly realize that qualifier was a mistake.

"Um...I guess it feels pretty great!"

"HEY. WILL YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH US." (Megan again).

From left: Ari from Republic of Austin, Megan, Ryan Hahn from Local Natives, me.

Thank you, Ryan, for not punching us in the face. And being generally lovely.

Last day of ACL is today! Off to go get ready for that. Step One is changing out of pajamas.

ACL Download: Day 1. Began with the heart, ended with the loins.

Whenever I start a post with a title like the one above, I always feel compelled to assure my family and in-laws and husband: Don't worry!  I'm not going to talk about sex.

What I AM going to talk about is drugs.

Just kidding.

So Day 1 of ACL began and ended with two phenomenal female talents, both up-close and personal.  But each of these women I'm about to tell you about - Sahara Smith and Amanda Blank - come from two completely different planets in the musical solar system.

Early in the afternoon yesterday, I got to steal a couple of minutes with lovely Sahara, who we talked about on Austin Eavesdropper a few days ago. I knew she was from Austin, and I also knew she had been playing music since she was a little girl.  But exactly how young was she, when she first strode up to a public microphone?

"I started playing in public when I was 13, at open mike nights and coffee shops," said Sahara. "Nothing too fancy."

At age 15, she won second place on A Prairie Home Companion's Talent from 12-20 Content, and quietly gathered a professional management team thereafter. On a whim, that team sent her demos to Oscar-winning producer T. Bone Burnett last year, and to Saraha's surprise - he wrote back.

"He invited us up to L.A. so we could work together," said Sahara. "We were completely thrilled and a tiny bit shocked."

But anyone who's listened to her debut album, Myth of the Heart, probably isn't. Sahara's voice and poetic songwriting is by turns sultry and ghostly, at times a simmering, lusty whisper, other times a passionate fit. She loves Townes Van Sandt and Leonard Cohen, but her song "Train Man" made me wonder if she fancied Chris Isaak, too - another country-laden crooner.

"You know, it's funny! Someone else heard 'Train Man,' and said that I had clearly been listening to too much Chris Isaak ... but I've only heard one song, Blue Hotel!"

Sahara laughed as she told me, and I have to admit, it was refreshing to discover how sweet-natured she was. Her lyrics give you the impression that she's wise beyond her years (far, far wiser than I was at her age), so I half-expected to speak with one of those young twenty-somethings who grew up too fast "on the road," forced to become an adult before she was ready. But that is not at all the case.

Sahara is a good storyteller, and an avid reader (think Faulkner and Joyce), so she channels those characters into her songs. But I sense the real Sahara is a nice girl from Texas, who genuinely wants to please.  When we discovered our mutual obsession with Mad Men, she even indulged me in some Betty Draper-bashing.

"Oh she's just awful," said Sahara.

"I KNOW," I agreed. "What is the matter with Betty? And the way she treats Sally??"

We decided that Mad Men was basically the best show on television, which made me like her even more.

(PS, in the picture of us above - Sahara on left - once again, I appear to be naked. I know. It's like I can't write a full blog post these days without some reference to nudity, which I swear is not deliberate. I just happen to be a fan of strapless tops.)

Let's skip ahead, then, to another one of my girl music crushes: Amanda Blank.

First of all, if you aren't familiar with Amanda Blank, may I recommend this cute phone interview Chris Apollo over at Republic of Austin did with her yesterday? It gives you an idea of how down-to-earth this woman is, despite the fact that she is a PRETTY BIG FREAKING DEAL in the female MC world.

Now Sahara Smith may sing about the heart, but Amanda Blank sings about sex. Love, too.  But mostly sex.

Amanda played at Scoot Inn last night after a mind-blowing set by God-Des and She, whose act I am still processing. (In a good way). I suspect I'll have some more to say about them in the near future.

Now - when I first heard Amanda Blank last year, I was on a mini-campaign to get her to ACL after Lily Allen bowed out.  AND THEN MY DREAM CAME TRUE, last night.

It's difficult to describe Amanda's set, because I was dancing so hard that I didn't have my "thinking cap" on, so to speak. It flew off somewhere between "Shame On Me" and "Might Like You Better."

Suffice it to say, Amanda knows how to put on a killer show. She grooves, she strips, she raps. I don't even LIKE rap. But coming out of Amanda's mouth, it's sassy and dance-able. And dance I did.

The biggest take-away of Amanda's show, however - and I think most of my fellow audience members can agree - was how fun she was in between songs. She talked to the audience. She loves her gays. She grins like a maniac and laughs at herself.

I was completely star-struck.

Because we Austinites see so many quality performers in this town - during ACL and SXSW, the musical talent begins to run together at some point. At least it does for me.

But kind people? That stands out to me.

It's easy to be a diva.  It's so much harder to be generous.

And that is why Sahara and Amanda are unbelievably successful in the blush of their 20s: Because underneath their obvious talent, they are generous spirits. And that goes a long way in this town.

Off to Day 2 of my ACL adventure!

A post from GARY! Amanda Blank brings her fast, filthy mouth to Austin tonight.

Something strange is happening.

I slowly but surely am edging toward O, The Oprah Magazine territory.

"Why Tolly, you're only 28!" you protest.

"Yes," I nod solemnly. "It's true."

But the fact remains that I truly enjoy 'remembering my spirit,' as Oprah says. And, sometimes, when Oprah or 'O,' as I affectionately call her, knows something for sure, I know that same thing deep in my heart too.

Is anyone else willing to confess that they enjoy - and perhaps purchase - O Magazine from time to time?

It's like my dirty little hip Austinite secret. In a town of cool irony, I enjoy it's earnest, yet upbeat pages. I love to read it in airports especially, and chuckle along to myself in the Books-A-Million. "You said it, Martha Beck!" I'll cry.  "Amen girlfriend!"

Anyway, two weekends ago, my beloved O was nowhere to be found in the Houston airport, so I settled for Elle. And whom did I spy in its pages? Why, indie rapper / hip-hop darling, Amanda Blank.

The magazine was doing a "25 Under 25" feature or something, and trotted out the photogenic usuals - Megan Fox, Lauren Conrad, blah blah - BUT.  They also included a few offbeat visionaries, such as Austin's very own Greta Gerwig. How awesome is that.

Well, I was Googling around trying to find it for you, and stumbled on this video they did of the shoot, interviewing all of the girls.

Amanda appears a few times, but the best part is at moment 9:24, when they ask her where she sees herself at age 50:

"I would like to think at 50s I'm a mom. Have babies. And a man."

And THEN, continues at moment 9:42:

"Please do not have me, like, wearing a g-string on stage, rapping sassy-ass little girl lyrics...'cause that's just not cute.

Love her!

It's so endearing, because if you know any of Amanda Blank's music, you know she dirty. But. As is turns out, she has this sensible, domestic side too.

MAYBE AMANDA BLANK ALSO READS O THE OPRAH MAGAZINE!

Anyway. This is a very long introduction to GARY!'s post about a party tomorrow night, where Amanda Blank shall be, reader. Enjoy!:

If you’ve been in Austin for at least a year then chances are you’ve heard the name Knuckle Rumbler mentioned before; either on our site, the pages of Tribeza, or on one of AE’s fav sites, Republic of Austin.

These guys have come a long way in the almost 2 years they’ve been in existence, from throwing the occasional monthly mash-up party at the Scoot Inn, hosting the KR Lounge during SXSW, to bringing acts like Questlove and Janelle Monae to town. They are now booking bigger names and throwing more parties than they ever have before, which brings me to the reason of this love letter post.

It was around a year ago that co-founder Jill Sorrels mentioned to me that she really wanted to bring Amanda Blank back to Austin. Blank, to my knowledge had only been here twice before; at SXSW in 2009 and then later that year when she opened up for Santigold at Stubbs. Hearing Jill talk about it gave me the impression that this would be her dream gig to book, which is why I'm extremely happy to report that Ms. Blank will be returning to the ATX tomorrow to play an unofficial ACL After Party on Friday night at The Scoot Inn.

Blank first blew up when her song “Might Like You Better” lit the blogosphere on fire, and then later again with a Diplo rework of Santigold’s "I'm a Lady." Probably best known for her fast and often luxuriously filthy mouth, Blank’s music, at least to me, is the equivalent of watching that scene from Pretty Woman with your mom when you were 12, where Julia Roberts starts talking about why she doesn’t kiss johns on the lips.  Basically: What I'm trying to say is that you’ll never see Blank open for Miley Cyrus or Jars of Clay.

Blank's music is a blend of sultry singing and acrobatic rap, laced with the appropriate amount of wit and humor. I dig the hell out of her, and am definitely looking forward to this show.

Details for the party:

KNUCKLE RUMBLER PROUDLY PRESENTS: THE RUMBLER LOUNGE DAY 1

AMANDA BLANK

w/ God-Des And She, Dubb Sicks, and Darko

OCTOBER 8, 2010 AT THE SCOOT INN

$12 ADVANCED TICKETS / $15 DAY OF SHOW

Tickets are available online.

Hard tickets (no fees) are available at all three STRUT locations, End of an Ear on South First, and Downstairs Apparel on South Lamar.

18 AND UP WELCOME (*$3 SURCHARGE AT DOOR FOR UNDER 21*)

You can also check out the full list of other Knuckle Rumbler events here.

--GARY!

My rockstar doctor, and, The Official XX After Party on Saturday.

SO. Before we begin this blog post -- a preamble.

I was at the doctor yesterday, who, as far as doctors go, is unusually hip and cool. Dr. Dickey is one of the "Rock Docs" at ACL every year, which technically means he's on-call to take care of any band members who start to feel whoozy.

Which basically means he's watching shows from the absolute best seats in the house, i.e. those little bleachers ON-STAGE you see at each performance.

So we're talking yesterday about bands, when Dr. Dickey casually mentions he's also the doctor for The XX. "Have you heard of them?" He asks.

"YES," I bellowed. Only flew to San Francisco to see them!

"Well, Jamie got a cold last time he was in town...but hopefully he'll be fine this weekend. We're gonna hang out."

How cool is my doctor?

I guess this means there is a good chance I'll see my rockstar doctor at this party that GARY! is about to tell you about.

Reader, you are familiar with GARY!, yes?  He wrote yesterday explaining he kind of missed telling people what to do blogging. And with that, wrote up a little post.

Here he is then, GARY! with a weekend party preview:

From GARY!:

So leave it to something like ACL to drag me out of whatever it was I was doing that prohibited me from blogging on this wonderful site for so long.  I'd like to tell you that I've been away at Encyclopedia Brown Private Investigator Camp (it's just down the road from Hogwarts), but really I just haven’t been my usual socially lubricated self.  This is probably just the logical progression of me becoming a crotchety old man who yells things like, "And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" *yanks rubber mask from head* but for whatever reason I guess I got caught up in the ACL madness, and decided to try and make a return to form.

So it's common knowledge that ACL comes with its fair share of pre-parties and after-parties, but it's also common knowledge that most of those shows sold out the moment the interwebs mentioned their very existence. Sucks right? Well fear not.  Over the next few days we are going to do our best to keep you in the know on where to go, so let's get down to business shall we?

First up our friends over at Giant Noise dropped us a line to let us know that Dubfrequency and Malverde are teaming up this Saturday to present THE OFFICIAL XX AFTER PARTY.  Basically, we have a pair of DJ sets from Jaime (of XX fame) and his frequent collaborator Fantastic Mr. Fox. Take note that the first 10 folks in line are also going to receive free tickets to the October 28th Ghostland Observatory show in Cedar Park.

So here are the basics:

THE OFFICIAL XX AFTER PARTY

From 10pm - 2am

Where: Malverde

400 West 2nd St

Austin, TX 78701

COVER: $10

Arrive early as space is extremely limited.

For now that's all I got, but keep an eye out for a few more parties to be posted throughout the week

GARY!

UPDATE 10/7/10: We've just been informed there is now a $10 cover for the party.  So.  Bring yer wallet.

ACL EAVESDROPPER GIVEAWAY: Your very own private performance by Matt & Kim and Local Natives.

YOU GUYS.

Would you like to attend a free, private show this weekend to see these people?

matt & kim

local natives

Yes? Well ok then.

We are giving away 5 passes to The Music Lounge and Rock the Vote Nights, both held at the American Legion Hall (2201 Veterans Dr) during ACL.

These are private events (no entry allowed unless you're on the guest list), and offer a delicious, free alcohol-fueled, air-conditioned reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Zilker park.

Perhaps you are wondering who the "special guest" at the Rock the Vote party is? Well I will tell you.

two door cinema club

And, if these are the bands for the night party...something tells me the "special performances" teased on the day party poster will be equally awesome.

HERE'S THE DEAL. To enter, you must:

1. Follow Austin Eavesdropper on Twitter. This is not because we're trying to be assy but because I haven't decided how I'm going to announce the winner yet. It might be on Twitter. It might be on this blog. It might be on a carrier pigeon. But cover your bases and follow AE if you aren't already. My Twitter name is TollyM.

2. Leave a comment on this post.  Preferably saying something awesome. Examples: "I am writing this comment to you underwater because - as it turns out - I have been adopted by octupii." Or: "Remember that time I saved you from that rabid shark?  Umm yeah, I think we all know who gets these tix." --Actual hilarious comment left by Jake Holt, on this giveaway, a few months ago.

3. Be available at noon on Friday or Saturday.  In order to gain entry into the night party - Rock the Vote Nights - winners must show up at NOON, Friday or Saturday (right when the Music Lounge opens each day) to claim their spot on that guestlist. Winners who show up late will not get into the night party happening Saturday.

Winners will be selected by Thursday night, at 8:00pm, at random.  Funny comments may give you a little advantage! Just sayin'!

Oh, and! Each winner will be granted a +1, so you can bring a friend or even a lover.

good luck!

**Thanks to Giant Noise, BEHRINGER, popchips, Alternative Apparel, Revel Stoke Whisky, AriZona Beverages and SESAC for making these parties and this giveaway possible!

CONTEST UPDATE:  Ok first of all, YOU PEOPLE ARE SO FREAKING FUNNY. I want you to know I pretty much laughed myself to sleep each night reading your comments, and if I had more time, would post some of the best individually here.  The one about the stop-motion animation cat was so good that I had to stop, walk away, take a lap around the living room, catch my breath, sit back down, and attempt to continue scrolling.

Anyway.  Now for the news.  The five winners of this giveaway are...(selected by my husband at random while I closed my eyes):

1. Natalie ("natalienicolenelson")
2. Oneincamillion ("cvwoods")
3. Cassiday Proctor ("Cassiday P")
4. Erik ("Philip Eno" --confusing? Oh well)
5. Katherine ("Katherine Loiry")

I will be emailing you five shortly with information.

THANK YOU guys, everyone, for playing!  I love you all so much I want to mail you cards with a baboon kissing a kitten on the front that plays Randy Newman when you open it up.  Or something.

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.