SXSWSXSWSXSW! South by Southwest, or South by, or SX always takes over my life. Every March, on some mid-month Wednesday to Saturday time block I board public transport and head downtown like some kind of music zombie. This year was no different. Here's what tickled my tickler.
Darwin Deez from NYC:
Do you like Pavement? Ben Folds? The Incredible Moses Leroy? You'll like this band. I did. Here's a piece-
Bodega Girls from Boston:
Do you like to dance? Do you like to jam some LCD Soundsystem or Prince when you're feeling funky? Maybe some Black Keys? Here's a piece of one of the best live shows I saw (no live element in the video...just music)-
Okay. That's all I've got for now. I saw dozens of bands, but I want to move on to more important matters. Why my grandma is awesome sauce:
If you know me really, really well you know I adore my Grandma Weiner. She and my Grandpa moved to STL when I was little and my dad was sick. She proved to be an inspirational figure for me very early on. She's one of those adults that treated me with respect from day one. She's also the hippest lady over 70 that you'll ever meet. She regularly watches The Daily Show and MSNBC. She will proudly talk about her socialist father. Her hero is Margaret Sanger. When I was a pre-teen and playing Duke Nukem and Heretic on my computer so was she. Before her hands started shaking too bad she used to be president of the local "older residents" computer club in her neighborhood (over 50 members!). She made a dvd for me of photos when I graduated college set to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." She never went to college but has done more to independently further her education than anyone I have ever known. She is funny and friendly and brilliant. When I'm feeling any of these traits I feel certain that they are stemming from her influence. So a few days ago I emailed her this sentiment. Let her know that I'm happy, that I have more good people in my life right now than I could have ever hoped for, and that I think much of my success has come from her mentoring. This is her response:
That is probably the loveliest thing ANYONE has ever said to me. I'm going to save it close to me (possibly in my bra) forever.
You were so easy to converse with even as a toddler. I can't wait to see you. I wish you lived in my pocket!Seriously, right? Awesome. Sauce.
