New Music Tuesday 3/11

Del The Funky Homosapien - The Eleventh Hour - Rap - FYI All tracks contain explicit lyrics - The rapper on many Gorillaz tracks (Clint Eastwood, Rock the House, etc.) comes with some smooth skills and non-typical beats.  His fifth album in five years sounds good not his best but good.

Fat Joe - Elephant in the Room - Rap- NYC rapper bringin some beats with guests, Lil Wayne, Jackie Rubio and more.  I wonder if he drives the FJ Cruiser by Toyota? 

Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge - Indie Rock (light)- With over half the songs on her latest album being varied instrumentals and the other rock/pop vocals she created a cool sounding record.   

Meshuggah - obZen - Technical Metal - Sixteenth album from the metal rockers of Sweden. 

Van Morrison - Keep It Simple - Adult Pop/Rock- Music legend from Belfast releases his first new studio record since 05.  No horns or strings on this one. As the title states he’s keeping it simple.  He runs the gambit of sounds (jazz, folk, blues, country, soul and gospel) on this one.  He is playing SXSW, Wednesday 3/12, La Zona Rosa at 7pm.  Get there early!

Presidents of the United States of America - These Art the Good Times People - Punk/Pop/Comedic - On their 6th studio album the PUSA are still full of pop hooks and witty lyrics. They are playing SXSW Thursday 3/13 at The Cedar Door 11:40.

Pride Tiger - The Lucky Ones - Rock- From Vancouver B.C. This guitar driven rock music sounds like a raw Lenny Kravitz or Thin Lizzy (in a good way).  The Lucky Ones sounds like a great album but would be even better live. They are playing SXSW Saturday 3/15, Esters Follies at 10pm.

Snoop Dog - Ego Trippin - West Coast Rap- On his 9th studio release Snoop Dogg busts loose with 21 tracks.  The most I can say is that it sounds like a Snoop album.  Smooth rhymes and good beats.  He even goes a little country on My Medicine.  If you like snoop you’ll like this new one.  Ego Trippin is produced by Pharrell, Ted Riley, and others.

And one I missed last week…

Carl Craig - Sessions - DJ/Electronica - This is a collection that Craig hand-picked out of his vast array of remixes and unreleased music.  This is a 2 disc set or 19 songs if you are downloading.       

SXSW FREE SHOWS

Okay so I have people coming up to me all the time asking, “What is up with the free shows at SXSW? Do I need a wristband?”  Oh My Rockness has compiled a great list (is it comprehensive? maybe) of the various free shows. These are mainly day shows.  http://sxsw.ohmyrockness.com/Showlist.cfm?freeShows=true  Also their site has lists of other shows and recommendations.  Since I do not have a wristband I will be using their list to find some great shows.  Saturday there is a free show called Mess With Texas Party at Waterloo Park that will be going all day. Checkout their lineup here http://messwithtexasparty.com/  More posts coming soon.  

Well, that was my first rodeo.

I had my first experience at a rodeo this weekend at the Travis Expo. Center.  Yes, I saw a monkey riding a border collie. Yes, I ate some good food in the BBQ cook-off area.  Yes, I saw drunk women wearing clothes that were 4 sizes to small for them.  Yes, I saw basketball hoops with bent rims with teen boys trying win a stuffed animal for their girls. Yes, I saw lots of kids and family having a good time on the rides in the carnival.  The actual Rodeo was fun too.  Bull riding, bronco, barrel racing, team calf roping, and a few more.  Then high school kids came out to tackle a calf and then pull them across a line.  I guess it’s harder than it looks because some of them were having some problems.  Also there were 5 year olds holding on to sheep as they sprinted around the arena.  That was funny, I don’t care who you are.  Jack Ingram filled in for the strained vocals of Miranda Lambert.  Many people left expecting to hear her.  The crowds were big and fun was had by most everyone I saw.