My SXSW

What is the matter with German rock?

2008-03-17T19:02:00.004-06:00

It's a cliché that happens to hold some water — Germans have trouble rocking convincingly. You've got your Tangerine Dream, your Trio, your Kraftwerk, und so weiter, but little in the way of contemporary, indie (or major) rock. Plenty of dance, electronica, and DJs, but no German version of The Shins. Or Neil Young. Or Dylan. Or The Clash. Und so weiter.

Why should this be? The German music market is (or was) the fourth or fifth in the world or something like that.

To explore this question, I asked Peter Radzhun, the celebrated Radio One host in Berlin. Peter loves and adores rock, and that means North American and British music. He has interviewed absolutely any and every famous performer you can name. His long experience in radio, love of music, and excellent good humor makes him a rather fascinating person to talk to. So I knew Peter would not mind if I posed the question: What's the matter with German rock?

His reply was sobering. First, he said, Nazi extermination of the Jews stamped out a critical portion of the creative and artistic culture in Germany. (I guess that should have been obvious.)

Then, he continued, men like his father were conscripted into the war. They spent years killing people (or worse). After that, they spent years in a Russian prison camp. By the time they got home again, their youth was over, not just in years, but emotionally as well. So there was no youth culture for them to give birth to, much less experience.

So making their way through an art form like rock has been rather difficult. And now I finally get that.

I am weary

2008-03-16T03:53:00.001-06:00

It's almost 5 in the morning. I am weary of the smell of unwashed hair and cigarettes, and I would like a few thousand people to go home now.

Little Jackie

2008-03-15T16:26:00.004-06:00

The act is called Little Jackie, after that old Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam song, but the frontwoman is Imani Coppola. I find her song, "The World Should Revolve Around Me" totally infectious and it just reminded me of maybe 70s era R&B, but not quite, I don't know, I can't totally explain it. But I knew I had to see her, health risks and all.

The BMI show was running late at Club de Ville and a electronica/rock act from Manchester, The Whip, was on when Little Jackie was supposed to be on. I milled around the not-full club and saw a bit of The Whip (the laptop was the main instrument for this act even though there are the usual bass, drums, and guitar. A Mancunian girl standing next to me assured me that they are ready to hit big in the US. Um, maybe not?). I noticed a beautiful, stylish African American woman wearing big, white-framed sunglasses slumped in a chair as though she were napping … she turned out to be "Little Jackie"!

Transformed by her disco nap, she and her wonderful band finally got onstage about 11:55 pm and put on a hell of a show, they really "brought it." She's got two equally beautiful back-up singers, a tight drummer, a guitar player, bass and well, laptop man. They did "World" first, and Little Jackie, I was the bandanna-wearing doofus right up in front of you guys smiling my ass off. A few songs later, she talked about how when you break up with a guy you consider turning lesbian, and then she did this hilarious song about, well, considering turning lesbian. The crowd loved it and so did I.

Imani said she had an acoustic show the next night at, um, a not SXSW venue, which I didn't attend because I was at X. I do believe that at least a portion of the world could revolve around Little Jackie, and they should be rock stars!

Am I Missing Out?

2008-03-15T16:17:00.002-06:00

I'm in our hotel room and I can still hear the day party across the street booming. The band, I don't know what it is, but they sound good and as usual I'm afraid I'm missing something. That's always the fear: I'm missing something good. Going on 20 years now.

Daisy Rock Rocks!

2008-03-15T00:47:00.003-06:00

I have been lucky enough to meet the fabulous Tish Ciravolo, president of the Daisy Rock Guitar Company. She came by our Girls Rock Camp Austin BMI showcase Wednesday night just to meet us! Then I saw her again tonight at the X showcase at SXSW Live. I wish every woman, no matter what business she's in, could meet Tish and catch some of her energy and confidence. She wants to make music more accessible for girls and women, and her company's cool guitars are smaller and easier for girls to use. Now even I want to play guitar and I have no patience whatsoever for practice, etc., and I don't even know what music I want to play.

Overheard

2008-03-14T00:56:00.002-06:00

"Around the office, saying you hate Alejandro Escovedo is like saying you hate Jesus."

SXSW Film . . . Rocks (?)

2008-03-12T10:07:00.002-06:00

I have had only two experiences with the film festival this year because of my reduced abilities. The first was on Saturday when I headed to the Dobie to introduce a film I championed, The Ostrich Testimonies.

I was on Day 3 of chemo and typical of the SXSW season and furor, I had not eaten. Nor had I taken my anti-emetic. By the time I got there I felt like I had the worst hangover in history and couldn't figure out why. Duh. I could barely speak. I felt so stupid. I didn't get a chance to catch up with the filmmakers at all during the rest of the week to find out how they did.

Yesterday I was in much better shape and went to introduce another film I love, Dancing Alfonso. The filmmaker, Barak Heymann, was able to be in attendance because the Israeli consulate in Houston arranged for his travel from Tel Aviv. What a sweetheart. He seemed so genuinely pleased to be here, I enjoyed him immensely. And I got teary (again) at the end of his film.

The "rockin" part of this was, I also met the filmmaker of the short film that preceded the feature, Will Hartmann. His film is The Art of Karaoke, and it went so well with the feature. He works on his films, works at an LA ad agency, and is generally trying to be productive and creative in his chosen form. Like many other filmmakers, he shows his work during Slamdance and Sundance, but he feels that most festivalgoers never see his, or anyone else's work.

"All anyone does is go to parties," he told me. "And the filmmakers aren't invited to those parties. You can't get in unless you're a celebrity or in an entourage." So, the actual artists head back to their rented condos and wonder what the hell they are doing there in the first place.

Will said he felt like our event was a place to really get connected with others and that filmmakers' work was actually seen by people. I have heard this many times from (mostly) grateful filmmakers and it makes me insanely proud of our event. Does SXSW Film rock? Until we find a better term, I'm gonna say yes.

My Picks for Saturday Night

2008-03-11T14:31:00.002-06:00

4:30 Lyrics Born — Auditorium Shores

5:00 The Ting Tings — Convention Center

7:00 Sons and Daughters — Convention Center

8:00 Tiny Masters of Today — Cedar Street Courtyard

8:00 Ume — BD Riley's

8:00 Mau Mau Chaplains — Flamingo Cantina

9:00 KOOPA — Wave

9:00 The Ettes — Wave Rooftop

9:00 The Lemonheads — Convention Center

10:00 Georgie James — Dirty Dog Bar

12:00 White Shoes and the Couples Company — Habana Annex

My Picks for Friday Night

2008-03-11T14:16:00.002-06:00

2:00 Georgie James — Day Stage in the convention center

4:00 Dizzee Rascal — Convention Center

8:00 Tristan Perich — Central Prez

8:00 Eagle Seagull — Thirsty Nickel

9:00 The Builders and the Butchers — Club de Ville

9:00 KaiserCartel — Creekside EMC at Hilton Garden Inn

9:00 The Little Ones — Cedar Door. La la la la la la la la.

9:00 The Dodos — Emo's Jr

10:00 The Choir Practice — Club 115. Part of the Mint showcase

10:00 X — Convention Center. Best place to see them, my goodness.

10:30 Apes — Flamingo Cantina

11:30 Yael Naim — Driskill. "New Soul" is her song

12:00 Kitty, Daisy & Lewis — Ninety Proof Lounge

12:00 My Brightest Diamond — Central Prez

12:00 Sia — Stubb's. Although, how many people are going to use "Breathe Me" for their background music, anyway??

1:00 Destroyer — Parish. Merge showcase. One of my favorites, I've written about him before

1:00 N.E.R.D. — Yes, it happens to me, too. Two shows I'm dying to see are at the same time

My Picks for Thursday Night

2008-03-11T14:03:00.002-06:00

2:00 Noisettes — Convention Center

8:00 Spoon — Auditorium Shores. Hey, I like Spoon and that Britt Daniel is a rock star, people need to take lessons from that guy

8:00 Phosphorescent — Mohawk Patio

8:00 Cliff Eberhardt — Driskill

9:40 Iglu & Hartly — Cedar Door

10:00 Sissy Wish — Wave

10:00 The Tontons — Tap Room at Six. From Houston and even I, Houston-hater, am not holding that against them.

10:50 Kaki King — 18th Floor of Hilton Garden Inn. She is gonna be mobbed wherever she plays

11:00 Pink Nasty — Habana Annex. I am so liking this chick

11:15 Little Jackie — Club de Ville. This is my MUST show. She reminds me of the R&B I listened to on the radio as a kid

12:00 How's Your News? — Bourbon Rocks Patio. All members have some sort of disability, I hear their show is fantastic.

12:10 Sian Alice Group — Room 710

1:00 Buttercup — Lamberts Patio

1:00 Big Red Rooster — Bourbon Rocks Patio

1:00 Bedroom Walls — Wave

My Picks for Wednesday Night

2008-03-11T13:51:00.002-06:00

7:00 Earlimart — Convention Center, great place to see music

8:30 Choklate — Molotov Lounge. Lady R&B, I love her MP3

10:00 Delorean — Maggie Mae's. Might be hard to get near this, but I think they're going to be great

10:05 Lady Lux — Molotov. Another great lady R&B act, really would love to see this

11:00 Kaki King — Club de Ville. I'm very interested in her, big buzz on this lady, but she does have another show she's doing

11:00 Division Day — Buffalo Billiards. Missed them last year, gonna try this year

The films I like/know for SXSW 2008

2008-03-09T14:58:00.002-06:00

I have seen none of the narrative features in our lineup because I screened only documentaries this year.

Dreams With Sharp Teeth — about Harlan Ellison, hear it's good

Living With the Tudors — takes place in an Elizabethan re-enactment village

Second Skin — about people who become lost in online gaming

Frontrunners — about the race for head smartypants at Stuyvesant High School

Full Battle Rattle — did you know the US has a "practice" Iraqi village in the Mojave?

'Bama Girl — a black co-ed runs for homecoming queen at the University of Alabama

Flying On One Engine — an impoverished, disabled doctor performs cleft palate surgeries on children in India

The Ostrich Testimonies — arrogant hot air balloonists ended the livelihood of an very interesting and original man, D.C. Cogburn

Intimidad — a story about the redemptive power of love. It is SO good.

Tulia, Texas — the undercover drug agent is not what he seemed in this rural Texas town

Dancing Alfonso — a totally touching story about a man in the golden years of life. It is SO good.

Down in Depths on the 90th Floor

2008-03-09T14:53:00.002-06:00

Gold star by your name if you get the reference.

Hey! I like Spoon!

2007-11-02T20:27:00.000-06:00

So we are here in the Bayou City, where I came of age and left as soon as I came to my senses. Houston. My planned jaunt here to attend the humongous quilt show this weekend became a family outing, when my spouse suggested we go to the New Pornographers and Spoon show at a venue here called Warehouse Live. We probably would not have seen the NPs any other way, as they are playing Fun Fun Fun in Austin and we're not going to that.

Warehouse turned out to be a decent venue. It's big and it's clean — they seemed to specialize in sweeping away punk rock grunge. There are actually people going around the club all night sweeping up trash, like it was Disney World!

Okay, so the NPs are, like, our favorite band. That is, both of us can agree on how much we love them. In fact, they are the only band we ever go out of town just to see. So we could not figure out what we were missing from their set. They were louder onstage than the PA, so there was that "cottony" quality to the sound. We wanted more lighting design. We wanted Neko Case to engage the audience more. Her voice is lovely, now she needs more onstage "hotcha." Dunno.

Nothing could have prepared me, though, for the surprise of seeing Dan Bejar performing with the band again. Dan fans know he mostly does not tour with the NPs. In 2005, he went out with them to support Twin Cinema for part of the tour and his nerves really showed onstage. I am one of those people who just love him, and love him too much, probably. People like me were about to piss themselves in anticipation of watching him do "Ballad of the Comeback Kid" or "Jackie, Dressed In Cobras" live with the band, but he was clearly miserable and pretty much not caring to cater to his rabid fans. He held a beer in one hand and the mic in the other onstage. Dan was hating life on that tour. I'm not projecting, this is easy to back up.

I got to catch up with him a bit last night, and he is a much happier guy this time around. For one thing, he said, if he sits at home while his friends from home go out and tour, he doesn't get paid. With the pressure off of having to do a Destroyer set before the NPs, Dan is a lot more cheerful and relaxed, offstage and on. He gave me the heads-up: Spoon was going to cover "It's Gonna Take An Airplane" and bring him onstage to do it during Spoon's encore. Dan called it "an old Destroyer song." It's from, like, 2004, on Your Blues. I guess in rock-n-roll years that's old, and it's old to Dan, I suppose.

Okay, so, Spoon. I am pretty sure I have never seen them before, in spite of the fact they were a local fixture for many years. I was pretty sure I didn't think much of their music. "I Turn My Camera On" has been a distraction on You Tube for our kid, but c'mon. Where are the guts? I thought.

Spoon is clearly a great band, and don't lack visceral content. I like them! The level of professionalism and, frankly, star quality they displayed is phenomenal. Even when they walked past Dan and me backstage to get set for their show, it was like, Yes, we are rock stars and we are in character. They (and their sound engineer) easily overcame the club's limitations in terms of sound, and their LD should get an award. Most of all, they know how to give the audience what the audience came for — a rock show with a lead guy who knows how to be a rock star and has really great songs. They mentioned that this was the biggest crowd they'd ever had in Houston (they did not mention that Houston has no venues to speak of, that makes it really hard for a band to get any kind of following).

It was obvious that much of the Houston audience for Spoon didn't really quite get it, what a big deal it was for Britt Daniel to sing, "It's gonna take an airplane/To get me off the ground/I don't blame anyone who isn't sticking around" and have Dan "El Oso" Bejar onstage with him singing the second part. Britt asked for someone to put the performance up on You Tube so he could watch it the next day, but so far I find nothing on that.

Spoon — a great, hard-working band who also admire the songs of Daniel Bejar. How can you go wrong with that? Hey, I like Spoon (not that they need me to).

Acts I saw

2007-04-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

My trawling of the music this year is characterized much more by what I missed, rather than by what I saw. But here's a rundown.

Wednesday, March 14

The 1900s

From my comments earlier: I liked their psychedelic sound a lot. I thought their talented "side" man was smokin' on the keyboards and guitar. He and the lead female singer were the secret weapons in this band. Another SXSW spouse in the crowd commented to me afterward that there was too much rotation of personnel onstage, people switching instruments between songs. And their violin player proved to be somewhat superfluous, as she inexplicably disappeared from the stage halfway through the set.

Finally Punk
Oh, how I wanted them to be good, a local, girl three-piece.

Thursday, March 15

Ozomatli

I'd never seen this LA-based act before. They are insanely talented. There is percussion, brass, wind, and traditional Mexican stringed instruments, besides the usual drums, bass, and guitar. They play hip-hop, Latin, and ska. Every man in the group has mastery of several instruments, and they all sing their asses off and move beautifully onstage. The punch they pack came as a real shock, and they really know how to make the most of a show.

Their showmanship was enhanced by the fact that we were watching them in the SXSW Live studio, and the performance was being broadcast live on Direct TV. Maybe you saw the Direct TV booth in the middle of 6th St., with Direct TV's on-air talent doing interviews. I can't say enough about the Direct TV people. They were like a micro-universe within SXSW. They had their sets, vans, trailers, everything, all inside the convention center. A world separate from every other eddy of activity going on in Austin, Texas that week.

We ducked inside master control after Ozomatli to peek at what they were doing. Everyone working in there was clearly stoked about it. They wrapped a street interview segment, threw to network for commercials, and whipped off headsets and shouted, "Yeah everybody! One hour of live broadcast down! Six more hours to go!! Wooooo!!" They had reason to celebrate. At the end of three days, they produced over 20 hours of programming in HD. That's more than most music shows do in months. And they made doing TV look so fun.

Sondre Lerche

Brought his band this time. This likeable Norwegian songwriter has such high energy onstage. In the interest of time, he said, he would not be bantering as much between songs as he usually does, but he was careful to thank his label from the stage. Something happened at this venue that has never happened to me in 20-plus years of clubgoing: a very tall guy insisted I stand in front of him or else I would not be able to see the stage!

The Awkward Stage

Small crowd for the Mint Records showcase, and this artist chose some down-tempo numbers

Northern State

I have devoted a post to them already, but I can't help myself. I had more fun at their showcase than any other this year. I love their hip-hop names: Hesta Prynn, Spero, and Sprout. I wish I had a hip-hop name.

Hesta Prynn is the cut-up onstage, and she drinks vodka and soda. (My drink!) When Sprout asked for more vocals in the monitor, Hesta Prynn followed up with, "Can I get more cocktail in my system?" (Before I could open my wallet, a curvy lady had already sped to the bar and fetched the libation.) They had a band, fronted by (I think, somebody correct me if I'm wrong) Chuck Brody (of Shitake Monkey).

"You a gangsta an' uh gennleman!" Hesta Prynn gestured and barked to him in appreciation. Then she let us in on the joke: A 13-year-old girl from Cincinnati, who changed her MySpace profile every day, had posted those very words on Chuck's MySpace page.

Hesta Prynn also announced that Northern State's choreography was done by Darrin Henson, of the "Bye Bye Bye" song and the "Darrin's Dance Grooves" video. "What, you don't like it?" she responded in mock surprise to the crowd's giggles.

Sprout has the leadership role in the act. I loved her movement and her lyric delivery. Spero is Sprout's friend from 10th grade on Long Island and has a coy and ladyish stage persona.

Oh, there is so much to love about this act. It would be easy to think of them as this sort of novelty thing — white chicks rapping — but I soon lost that idea because it was too much fun to watch them. Did rap just have to be made by people who look like me, think like me, so it would be liked by me? Possibly. I offer no other defenses.

http://www.northernstate.net

Ghostland Observatory

I had never seen this local act, a duo, and I was quite shocked how excellent they are. They make this screaming wave of rock-infused electronic sound that whips the crowd into this almost trance state. I freely admit I have seen precious few local acts perform live in recent years, and Ghostland Observatory should serve as a sharp reminder to others like me that not all great Austin music is associated with table implements. (Ba-dum.)

UGK

Oh, of course it was ridiculous for a white woman to be at a UGK show, but I was emboldened by my Northern State experience earlier in the evening. I'll just say I liked them and leave it at that.

Friday, March 16

The Buzzcocks

Did three songs in the TV studio, not for a live broadcast though. Watching them at 1 in the afternoon was funny.

The Oohlahs

There was a modest crowd in the TV studio for this LA-based pop act, fronted by the winsome Olivia Stone. Before they went live, she giggled, "This is the most expensive microphone I've ever sung into! I could hear a fart in here!"

Peter, Bjorn, and John

I have posted about them, too, already. How will you ever get that whistle song out of your head? Huh???

The one thing I will say is, I clearly remember a time when European bands — Scandanavian bands — could not get arrested at SXSW. I'm pleased that audiences' snobbery has lifted and pop music is resonating with everyone, even when it's from countries where they eat adventurous meat products. I tried to remember this when I nearly got knocked over by some fired-up, backpack-wearing doofus, who apparently was on his way to see the greatest rock band ever, PB&J.

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club

I liked their flouting of punctuation rules.

Rachel Fuller

This was also at the TV studio. They went off air while she sang a song called, "It's a Motherfucker." Her "old man," Pete Townshend did a few songs with her, and Martha Wainwright did one song with them as well. I hadn't really heard her before but I realized that she is who Neko Case wants to be when Neko Case grows up.

Saturday, March 17

Ponderosa Stomp

I ended up working at the Ponderosa Stomp day party, where I saw some pretty great music, including Ray Sharpe, Herb Remington, "Lil Buck," Tammy Lynn, Willie Tee, Flaming Arrows Mardi Gras Indians, and Barbara Lynn. I had some difficulty explaining what a Mardi Gras Indian is to our European friend and SXSW associate, Mirko Whitfield. (He eats this up with a fork, though, and I can still remember the first time he saw a Zydeco act.) So much of this music is what I remember hearing on AM radio when I was in elementary school, and it was great to hear it again.

Field Music

There was absolutely no chance of getting near this UK act, as the Beauty Bar patio was at capacity, so I hung out in the alley and tried to find a clean spot, which the piling garbage and a fetid Waller Creek made very difficult.

Palomar

I've been a big fan of this NY-based act for several years now, but their third release got caught in label collapse hell in 2005. Their new record's on Misra.

I heard a man in the audience say, "I have waited three years to see this band!" I wish the band had heard that, too, so maybe they would have quit tuning, and frowning at the sound person, and fretting, and more-vocals-in-the-monitoring. They sounded great out in the house. It would have been better if they'd just been, you know, happier. It wasn't their first SXSW showcase, and I hope not the last, either.

Girl Talk

Also no chance of getting near enough to this DJ hip-hop act to appreciate it, as Ye Olde Cave Club (aka Elysium) was jammmed.

I Wish I Had Not Missed:

Division Day
Rosie Thomas
Buttercup
Daylights For The Birds
Elemeno P
The Hedrons
The Trucks
The Little Ones
Duncan Sheik
Hoodoo Gurus
The Electric Soft Parade
The Apples in Stereo
Dengue Fever
Jets Overhead
The Moog
Mother Mother
Grand Buffet (who are like the hip-hop version of Tenacious D, only Grand Buffet is funny)

Peter, Bjorn, and John

2007-03-17T08:42:00.000-06:00

PB & J, right?

It's emergency food. Seems to appeal to childen. Good when you are really hungry and there's nothing else in the house.

Northern State

2007-03-16T15:28:00.000-06:00

I had heard this trio on our SXSW player and liked the idea of a white girl hip-hop act and placed them on my list of picks. But honestly, it was a total accident that I saw them last night at the Tap Room (our published schedule had The Trucks listed at 11 pm, and I was there around 11:30). They grew up together on LongEYElund. They are in their 20s. They had never played South by, mentioned it was a 13-hour drive here, and one of them has allergies that kicked in right away upon her arrival.

And I loved, loved them!!! I could not stop grinning.

They were funny, enchanting, entertaining. They made jokes about America's Top Model and Destiny's Child, and the bye-bye-bye video.

My photos are not good. Camera in the phone.

They were very uncomfortable shoes

2007-03-16T10:57:00.000-06:00

I saw these last night in the storm drain, at the corner of 4th and Guadalupe

SXSW Live studio! It is the real thing!!!

2007-03-14T17:01:00.000-06:00

I just got back from our SXSW Live studio inside the Austin Convention Center, and I am just blown away. It is the real thing, people! Two real stages with professional, first-rate sound production and lighting; mobile television production vans parked inside the convention center. TV production people running around everywhere. A Harley suspended from the ceiling (that was the project of our producer and friend Conor MacInally, who produces CD USA every week for Direct TV.)

I really hope people decide to see a favorite act in the studio, or take a chance on a unfamiliar one. It is a clean, safe venue with superior production values. If you are thirsty, there is a bar. TWO bars. Please check our band schedule and make it a point to attend. You will be floored by this experience.

another band for tonight

2007-03-14T12:07:00.000-06:00

My pal K. has another pick for tonight: The 1900s, a lovely psychedelic band from Chicago!

Their showcase is at 11:30, at Habana Calle 6. I liked what I heard on myspace.

If I have more updates I will add them to the pages I have already created rather than do it piecemeal.

Get your own ride

2007-03-13T18:19:00.000-06:00

I am often asked what my role is in SXSW. It's kind of a trick question. I screen film festival submissions, but I don't have a job during the event, usually. Some things I used to do — introduce films, for example — are capably handled by other people now. No, I make up my job as I go along. If I am meeting a registrant, it's my job to learn more about him or her and make the person feel welcome. It's my job to listen to a staff member tell me a funny story, a complaint, or a suggestion about doing something another way. And I am not above doing any scut work. It's a little like being the Ensign Pulver of SXSW. Laundry and morale. I'm exaggerating quite a bit, though.

As the boss himself observed this week, it is very important for SXSW spouses and lovers to "get their own ride." I have made many mistakes over 19 years in this area, and as much as it pains me to know that loved ones of SXSW staffers are suffering from feelings of confusion, neglect, and helplessness, there is not much to be done for them. They have to figure it out for themselves and get their own ride.

I also feel deeply for those whose friends and family think SXSW would be a great time to visit, and try to catch up with their son/daughter/brother/sister/friend, you know, when they are not working. For dinner. In a restaurant. And why not? Everyone seems to be having so much fun. These precious people, too, have to get their own ride.

Sex in the movies, and everywhere

2007-03-13T11:07:00.000-06:00

"Sex Scenes Stay Hard" (good heavens) was the name of a film panel yesterday, and since John Cameron Mitchell was a panelist, I went. I'm not sure what his film Shortbus is about exactly but it features lots of scenes of sex acts, I am told. He offered to the audience that during the course of filming he engaged in a certain mouth-to-someplace-else-not-the-mouth sex act with a woman for the first time in his life, and had good memories of it (I am paraphrasing here). This wasn't greeted with quite the response you might expect, such as laughter, but I guess Mitchell really wasn't making a joke, now that I think about it.

Any filmmaker in the audience hoping for a never-fail method of handling a sex scene would not have left the panel with a plan, but I thought the conversation among the filmmakers was still productive. Here's what they agreed on:

It's important to understand what the context of the scene is in the story.
It's important to understand what you're trying to show the audience about the characters when they are having sex.

Not knowing these things will mess you up.

Sometimes it's better to shoot the sex scenes first, and get them out of the way. Other times, it seems better to save them toward the end of the shoot when actors feel more comfortable.

I couldn't help thinking about the mostly private nature of sex in real life. So I thought it was interesting that everyone in the panel sort of accepted it as a given that sex scenes in films are fine if the story "requires" it somehow, and should not be resisted even though they are very, very ticklish to accomplish. Do you look like a wuss as a filmmaker if you decide to forgo a sex scene? Maybe.

There was also some discussion about porn, which seems pretty obvious given the context. Here we are in "an area." I don't regard porn as simply one thing in a list of a person's interests: gardening, hiking, learning Spanish, porn. Nope, doesn't work. Just as I am not interested in seeing people I know actually have sex, I am SO not interested in knowing that they watch porn.

The conversation eventually came around to violence, and how it's more acceptable to the MPAA than sex, and link between sex and violence in slasher films (the virginal character is usually the survivor). I know it's got to be more fun for crew to figure out how to fake blood and mutilation than it is to fake sex (oh, and sometimes that sex is not fake). But the conversation never did go as far as discussing movie violence that involves sex acts, which I very much wanted to hear people's thoughts about, as there have been some recent films and television that use this. The one, two punch of this seems to me to be a very deliberate decision and calls for some justification.

I was fortunate enough to be able to continue this conversation with some filmmakers I met at the Chronicle party last night, Seth Gordon and Ed Cunningham (their documentary is The King of Kong). Seth missed the panel, but I was able to fill him in on the highlights. The conversation led to "favorite sex scenes in the movies." I told him some of my immediate favorites:

The Tin Drum (it's a long shot, the lovers are framed from fairly far away through a hotel window)

The French Lieutenant's Woman (Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep)

The Woman Next Door (French film)

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention Unfaithful (director Adrian Lyne; for many reasons this is more titillating to women than men, it's obvious that it's supposed to be for women. I kind of resent this but I'm not sure why).

Probably all these films share something in common — attraction between people who are already committed to someone else — but as someone in the panel pointed out, if it were just normal relations, it's not dramatic and not very interesting in a film.

The online world

2007-03-12T17:46:00.000-06:00

Sunday I was able to attend part of a panel on e-mail, and why it's such a problem. The authors of a new book, Send, outline "eight deadly sins" of email, including emails that are vague, insulting, illegal, cowardly, RE:re:re: re, saracastic, too casual, or inappropriate.

http://www.thinkbeforeyousend.com

Report your own email blunders, or horrid emails you have received!

David Shipley and Will Schwalbe, authors of the book, said that it's been demonstrated that the portion of your brain that would normally filter, monitor, or control your impulses gets shut off when you are doing email. (I can only assume this happens when you blog, too; well, no, in fact I'm sure it does.) And, sometimes, people make honest mistakes.

Supposedly, email will go "out" someday soon. Much has been written about the value (and lack thereof) of our current communications, and I'm not going to get into it here. I only know I have asked (in emails, unfortunately) many times for messages from my daughter's school to be limited ONLY to items that I must take action on, and not announcements about who wants to thank whom for the most recent popcorn sale or any other non-essential piece of news.

Up to this point

2007-03-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

I have packed my SXSW with less activity than last year so far. We did not attend the Film Hall of Fame on Friday, as we have in the past, so that cut down on the frenzy right away.

On Friday we went to the film opening party, which was held at the former Fox and Hound. That building is slated for demolition, so what can go in there? condos and "mixed use" development. I am already weary of the new, glitzy Austin.

The actor Paul Rudd was in line in front of us to get into the party (he is in two films we're showing). He seems so normal and non-actory it hurts. He stayed at the party and talked to people, appeared at the film panel he agreed to do, did Studio SX yesterday. My esteem for him is huge!

Roland bumped into Morgan Spurlock in the lobby of the Hilton and had a chance to tell him how important 30 Days is. If you haven't seen it on FX, 30 Days is a reality show (sort of) based on the model Spurlock established in Supersize Me: What could you try for 30 days just to see what it's really like? My favorite shows have been: When Spurlock and his wife, Alex, tried to live on minimum wage for a month, when a callow, homophobic youth from suburban Michigan lived in the Castro district with a gay roommate, and when a man who lost his job to a company in India lived in Bangalore with a family and worked in a call center.

Spurlock is currently featuring a full beard and long hair, because he is working on a hunt for Osama bin Laden? (there is probably a lot more to this story). He has been another accessible, great guy for us. I have not seen the film he produced, What Would Jesus Buy? but I want to. It's all about Christmas commercialism.

We had the biggest interactive opening party ever at the Fox and Hound, which ran concurrently with the "Grindhouse" party across the street at Brush Square Park (not one of our parties, though). It was weird to see the reverse images of the Italian B-movies (didn't they used to be called B-movies?). I admit to a certain love of the grotesque, which these films revel in, and there's nothing like that Eastman color of the 1970s (thanks to my brother for pointing this out). But as a fan of "things that are old" myself, I have some complicated feelings about how much homage is more than enough. I don't think Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino will overdo; they'll keep exploring their curiosities and passions in film, which are more vast and numerous than than most people's. It's their less-schooled fans (who have yet to emerge) that I'm thinking about.

Think of it this way: You love mid-century modern decor, right? So, be choosy. Pick one or two iconic furnishings, don't fill a room with them. It just doesn't feel very genuine, otherwise. It just looks like you're latching onto a trend that you barely understand or honestly appreciate. I think even Tarantino has expressed this before,when audiences for his QT fests have treated the films as something "ironic" or comical.

My music fest picks for Sat., Mar. 17

2007-03-07T22:08:00.000-06:00

St. Patrick's Day, plus SXSW, plus Saturday, equals watch yourself. Last year got hairy, with me screaming at some dumbass in the elevator of the Hilton. But at least he shut up, after I told the bitch to! Then, there was a passed-out guy in the hall right in front of the door to my room. Security was all up in that, yeah. See, I'm agitated already … maybe I should stay in and watch JAG instead

12:00PM Irina Bjorklund & Peter Fox (SESAC Day Stage Cafe Austin Convention Center) Another chance to see this European act

1:15PM The Jellydots (SXSW Dew Music Festival at Town Lake) The final act of the family music showcase

2:00PM Dengue Fever (SESAC Day Stage Cafe Austin Convention Center) Also a chance to see this act again

2:15PM Kraak & Smaak (SXSW Live Austin Convention Center) Good place to see this act again

7:00PM Jandek (Central Presbyterian Church) I don't know what you know or don't know about this act from Houston. He has self-released almost 50 albums of the most difficult music, but it's undeniably interesting. Until about 18 months ago, he had never performed live (that anyone knows of) or showed himself to his public. http://tisue.net/jandek/ A couple years back, we showed a documentary on him, Jandek on Corwood (rent it from Waterloo sometime). When I was a teenager in Houston, one of the things to do was listen to the Dr. Demento show on the radio, and he played Jandek records. I had almost forgotten about Jandek until the documentary. I saw him in only his second stage performance here at the Scottish Rite Theater — it was a sold out show. I'm not positive what to expect, except a lot of hipsters trying to get into this show.

8:00PM Jets Overhead (Molotov Lounge) Two girls and three guys from Victoria BC, I like their big wash-of-sound

8:00PM Pink Nasty (Elysium) 24-year-old Sara Beck, and she moved here from Kansas

8:00PM Buzzcocks (Emo's Main Room) If you didn't see them at SXSW Live, get in the fray here

8:00PM Patton Oswalt (Friends) If I see this comedy showcase, I will make sure to use the ladies' first, because Patton Oswalt makes me laugh so hard I almost piss myself

8:00PM Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (SXSW Live Austin Convention Center) A clean, safe venue to see this buzz band from England

8:30PM Inward Eye (Momo's) I have a weakness for sibling acts, and these are three young brothers from Winnipeg whose song "Disaster" has me bobbing my head furiously every time I hear it

9:00PM Field Music (Beauty Bar Patio) English trio whose mp 3 I liked

10:00PM Upground (Spiro's) Latin-infused music, should be a lively crowd at this venue

10:00PM Golem (Habana Calle 6 Annex) Guys and girls both in this klezmer-influenced act, sounds very interesting

11:00PM Palomar (Habana Calle 6 Patio) This is the only band that I HAVE TO SEE. Three girls, a guy, and excellent songs! Glad to have them back. Also, this is one of my favorite venues

11:00PM The Moog (Lambert's) Hungarian rock band. Wonder if we've had a Hungarian rock band before?

11:00PM Grupo Fantasma (Emo's Annex) I think this act is really good and now Prince knows it, too

11:30PM Mother Mother (Momo's) A brother, a sister, another girl, and two guys from Vancouver. Like the pop sound

12:45AM The Tragically Hip (Antone's) I think it was in 1995 that the "Rolling Stones of Canada" played Liberty Lunch. It was something that would have been unfathomable in Canada because they are so popular there. Every Canadian SXSW visitor seemed to be there (including a Kid in the Hall) and could not believe the treat of their playing in a small venue. I wonder what their reception will be like now. Let me know if you hear them play a song

1:00AM Melissa Ferrick (Creekside EMC at Hilton Garden Inn) I liked what I heard

1:00AM Girl Talk (Elysium) This hip-hop act is smokin'. I can't think of anywhere I would rather not be, though, than on Red River on the last night of SXSW at 1 am, on St. Patrick's Day

1:00AM Nicole Atkins & the Sea (Copa) I liked what I heard and Copa is a really nice venue