Spring Breakers stars Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine and Ashley Benson broke out into song and sang Britney Spears’ ubiquitous hit “Hit Me Baby One More Time” during their SXSW film panel.
The trio (who was missing Vanessa Hudgens) wanted to prove that they weren’t lip syncing in the movie. Funny because they sound just fine to me live.
Skrillex relayed his online bullying miseries to Pitchfork, saying he’s been slapped with a lot of cruel words on Facebook. To his credit, Skrillex just doesn’t care.
“I don’t care if people hate me. I mean, I get it. When you were young, you were like, ‘The Backstreet Boys are gay!’ He said: “And kids are on computers now. I’ll post something on Facebook, and then, within two seconds, there are comments: ‘Fuck you dude… you suck… pussy… bitch… faggot… you ruined dubstep… emo.’ But if you look at their profiles, they’re so young.”
Most people have experienced some form of online bullying, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter or their blog. It’s a good message for Skrillex to push to his fans. Half of these users are protected by the shield of anonymity and are probably just taking out their own frustrations on someone else.
In the same interview, Skrillex said he turned down the chance to collaborate with the Foo Fighters and Deadmau5, which is surprising considering Deadmau5 was seemingly against big name collaborations.
Skrillex will headline this summer’s South West Four Weekender and is fresh off his SXSW performance.
Watch it below:
Jay-Z was 40 mintues late for his concert last night, but I don’t think many people were complaining considering it was FREE. Well, free to an extent. The rapper performed a one hour show at Austin’s SXSW to fans who received tickets by syncing their American Express cards with their Twitter accounts.
The whole performance is available to watch online, though there was some disappointment when he stumbled through a few of his lyrics. Particularly, he struggled with “Empire State of Mind,” which he started over, and “Jigga What, Jigga Who.” That’s surprising considering Jay-Z is known for putting on great performances, although this one was a bit more intimate than he’s used to.
Watch it here:
Part 2 of Something New’s trip to SXSW in Austin, Texas. Featuring Duran Duran, Bright Eyes, Dum Dum Girls, Karkwa, Hollerado, Buck 65 and more.
Part 1 of Something New’s trip to SXSW in Austin, Texas. Featuring Duran Duran, Bright Eyes, Dum Dum Girls, Karkwa, Hollerado, Buck 65 and more.
Britney Spears announced today that Jessie and the Toy Boys will be joining her on her highly anticipated all female tour of North America this summer alongside Nicki Minaj.
“This is the Femme Fatale tour,” announced Spears. “I’m thrilled to have the hot Nicki Minaj join me and Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo will get everyone on the dance floor! Can’t wait to take the Femme Fatales on the road.”
Sounds like it will be a supercharged girl power dance party!
The Toy Boys are fresh off their appearance at this year’s SXSW festival and their first single “Push It” is currently #17 on the Billboard Dance Charts. Jessie Malakouti sat down with andPOP a few weeks ago to discuss the single and her upcoming album, check it out here.
The North American Tour kicks off in Sacramento this June and wraps up here in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre on August 13th. Tickets go on sale starting April 30th at TicketMaster and LiveNation.
FEMME FATALE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
June 16 Sacramento, CA Power Balance Pavilion
June 18 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
June 20 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
June 24 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
June 25 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 28 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
June 29 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
July 1 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
July 4 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
July 6 St. Paul, MN Xcel Center
July 8 Chicago, IL United Center
July 12 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
July 13 Houston, TX Toyota Center
July 15 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena
July 17 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
July 20 Orlando, FL Amway Center
July 22 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
July 26 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
July 28 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
July 30 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
July 31 Washington, DC Verizon Center
August 2 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
August 5 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
August 8 Boston, MA TD Garden
August 11 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
August 13 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Music:
Lil’ B – The hottest ticket of the week. P.Diddy walked out on stage to introduce him wearing a “Cocaine & Caviar” shirt, effectively passing him the hip hop torch, and that was the least surreal part of the show. Lil’ B spent an hour an a half giving more shout-outs than an Oscar acceptance speech and ranting on about anything that crossed his mind. With an insanely devoted fanbase and a bag full of catchphrases the Based God lives on his own planet, but it’s one that’s clearly in the right orbit. SWAG! Everyone is singing the chorus of ‘Wonton Soup’ right now, whether they admit it or not.
Oh Land – To say that Danish singer Oh Land’s star is rising is an understatement. We watched her twice over the week. Each time she completely captivated the crowd with her brand of catchy but edgy Scandinavian dancepop. It doesn’t hurt whatsoever that she’s not that hard on the eyes. An unavoidable name during the festival.
The Naked and Famous – With sure fire hits, stadium ready sound and wonderful diversity there’s no question that they’re an extremely appealing quantity. Going into last week these New Zealand rockers were one of the most hyped artists of the festival. After a whirlwind few days of tents and showcases, they’re legitimate stars. Stellar hooks and dreamy choruses. You can’t help smiling as you jump up and down.
Pepper Rabbit – Mellow and relaxed doesn’t mean ‘not-amazing’. Interesting instrumentation and a polished, mature mood create a lush and sophisticated soundscape that is the perfect music for apartment-dwellars everywhere. The most effective use of a clarinet in a rock show that we’ve ever seen.
Evaline – The sunset strip brand of polished rock is very hard to pull off. These guys make it look simple. Dressed to look the part, the high energy and well choreographed stage show is executed to perfection. It’s rhythmic, pulsating and loud. And it’s topped off by one of the most impressive and dramatic frontmen in music today. The only problem is finding a venue big enough to put them in.
Rocky Business – Their mixtape ”White People Are Drug Dealers Too” came packaged to look like a kilo of cocaine. This led to some interesting times at the airport on the way out. Definitely worthy of mention.
Interactive:
Paul Reubens – In this one-on-one interview, the man who plays Pee-Wee Herman truly opened up and provided an interesting glance into the way that he’s developed and grown the character over the years. An incredibly humble and thankful performer. His comic timing was impeccable throughout the hour long talk. It was definitely surprising just to hear him speak in a ‘normal’ voice for so long, but hearing his take on the cultural relevance of the character and the way in which he’s been treated over the years was the real gem. Perhaps the best interview we’ve ever seen.
Flipboard – An app that takes your Twitter and Facebook feeds and creates what appears to be magazine articles based on the content. A beautiful product which creates customized works on a daily basis.
Square Up – A free app that allows anyone to process a credit card transaction on their iPhone. Incredibly easy to use and is packaged with a free card reader. This allowed every merchant at the show to wirelessly accept credit card transactions. A brilliant use of the technology.
The iPad2 – The rest of the world can’t yet get their hands on these yet, but by opening an iPad only pop-up store on 6th Street Apple created the perfect amount of geek frenzy. This was the ubiquitous accessory to have during SXSWi. It was expected that you had one. The love-fest exhibited by lining up for the daily opening of the store was the most culturally significant moment of the festival.
Daniel Berkal leads the trendspotting team at The Palmerston Group, and will be mailing reports from Austin, Texas exclusively to andPOP throughout SXSW 2011.
The last night of SXSW is always the most full of surprises.
This year was no exception. Unfortunately leaving many with a bad taste in their mouths.
Just after 1am fans who had waited to see the reunion of Death From Above 1979 stormed the fence at the back lot of the Beauty Bar and ripped it down… starting a mini-riot that caused the horse-mounted police to use mace and tazers to control the masses.
At the OMD show at Stubbs, a camera boom fell, injuring four spectators.
The highly hyped VEVO powerhouse ended up being a dud as literally thousands of fans who were promised access received a TXT message saying that they had been denied minutes before showtime. The anger of people who had to hear about special appearances by P. Diddy and Jay Z alongside headliner Kanye West in the old Seaholm power station was heard all over town. It’s one thing to put on a big show with big names, but alienating the giant crowd who came to support it was seen as completely against the vibe of Austin.
There’s nothing less cool than a party that uninvites you and then tries to show you how great it is.
As always, the amazing energy of unknown acts was the highlight of the day. Los Angeles’s Evaline played a stadium sized show on the back patio of the Gingerman that had everyone within five blocks buzzing like mad.
Daniel Berkal leads the trendspotting team at The Palmerston Group, and will be mailing reports from Austin, Texas exclusively to andPOP throughout SXSW 2011.
You can hear it in the way that Simon Le Bon says it.
It’s a string of mumbles that goes on as if by rote. The audience is waiting for the words and he knows it. Suddenly, it comes.
“And I’m HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF”
The crowd goes mad.
People make their own interpretive ‘wolf’ faces. There are high fives. All is well in the world.
It’s become a tradition for classic acts to utilize the media focus of SXSW in order to launch a tour or stage a comeback. REM did it a few years back. Metallica did it. Billy Idol did it. Last night at Stubb’s BBQ was no exception. Even though young hotshot acts preceded them, the completely packed house was there for one reason only, to revisit their youth with Duran Duran. Although the band unadvisedly sprinkled ignorable new tracks amongst their set of well received pop classics, it didn’t matter. They played ‘Hungry’ and the people were thrilled.
The first real day of music showcases is predictably overwhelming.
By noon, the line for the Fader Fort by Fiat stretched for three football fields all the way to the highway. The biggest day party in Austin by far, this well-curated event effectively competes with the official festival by offering a hand-picked lineup of can’t miss acts presented in a makeshift art space alongside free libations. The place is decked out with Italian automotive inspired artwork. Over 40000 people RSVP for admission.
We arrive in time to see Oh Land drive through a captivating, soaring and beautiful set.
Meanwhile, at the Canadian Blast BBQ a who’s who of the Canadian music industry gathered to watch Polaris prize winning Karkwa play the first of their many showcases around town this week.
Music is everywhere. And our day was like an iPod come to life. Highlights for us included Raphael Saadiq and his band of perfect musicianship, and Chicago’s Smith Westerns… whom we only caught one song of, but a band definitely worth catching again.
The gem of the day was New Zealand’s Naked & Famous. They just blew our minds. Incredible energy and awesome stage presence. One of the best bands we’ve ever seen in Austin. The combination of tight rhythm, female vocals, young fire, crunchy guitars and stadium-ready choruses. I can’t imagine it being too long before we hear them everywhere.
Daniel Berkal leads the trendspotting team at The Palmerston Group, and will be mailing reports from Austin, Texas exclusively to andPOP throughout SXSW 2011.
In what’s going to go down as one of the smartest marketing moves of the year, Apple has taken over a Gold’s Gym on Sixth Street in downtown Austin and made it into a temporary pop-up store to meet the demand of all the techies, hipsters and media who are craving an iPad2.
As we waited in line for the store to open… a rumbling noise was heard down the street. Suddenly, like a pack of wolves, the Apple Geniuses ran down the line giving everyone high-fives.
Yes, this was written on the new iPad. And yes, it’s spectacular.
Daniel Berkal leads the trendspotting team at The Palmerston Group, and will be mailing reports from Austin, Texas exclusively to andPOP throughout SXSW 2011.
Fresh off their Grammy-win, the good old Canadian band Arcade Fire have teamed up with Academy Award-nominated director Spike Jonze to create a short film inspired by the album entitled: Scenes from the Suburbs. The first public glimpse at the film was released in a trailer on Monday.
A story of battles. The battle of adolescence, social circles and love – and war, thanks to Jonze. The film stars stars Sienna Blau, Sam Dillon, Zoe Graham, Zeke Jarmon, Paul Pluymen, and Ashlin Williamson living in an ordinary suburb with a lingering militaristic presence, reminiscent of 1984.
The film is set to play this Wednesday at the South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive music and film festival in Austin, Texas. It has already premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and, according to the trailer, is soon coming to DVD. Both Arcade Fire’s front man Win Butler and manager Scott Rodger were executive producers of the film, and Win’s brother and bandmate Will co-wrote the script with Mr. Jonze.
Arcade Fire and Jonze’s history goes back to his use of “Wake Up!” in the trailer for his critically acclaimed 2009 film “Where the Wild Things Are”. Since, Jonze directed the music video for the band’s title track to the Suburbs.
An overzealous Jake Gyllenhaal fan crossed a line at SXSW yesterday when he snapped a picture of the star…in the bathroom!
In what TMZ is calling a “major guy code violation,” the fan snapped a pic of Jake while he was…erm…using the facilities during a screening of his new movie “Source Code.” Jake calmly talked to the fan about the inappropriateness of the incident.
Peaceful conflict resolution! So hot right now!
The picture was eventually deleted, so if you’ve ever wanted to see some “sexy” urinal shots of Jake in action, you’ll have to wait for the next creepy fan to come along. Sorry!
What would happen if you went backin time to tell your 16 year-old self about your sweet band? What would you do if you played SXSW and Bill Murray was at your show? Luke and Mitch from the Born Ruffians comment on these pressing questions, and chat about their latest album, “Say it”.
Judging by The Morning Benders’ Chris Chu, there is a sort of love-hate relationship between SXSW and the bands that participate. I spoke to him about his experience at the legendary Texan music festival, and his perception of his band’s latest release, Big Echo. [ Check out the "Excuses" video at http://YoursTru.ly ]
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Fanfarlo – A fascinating group the UK who’s live show is energetic, eclectic and wonderful all at the same time. Brilliant instrumentation. Soaring hooks that transport the audience right out of the tent. A true collective of musicians who clearly love what they do and who they are. Arguably the next Arcade Fire. Do not miss their live show.
Nneka – A truly unifying artist. Her raw talent and sheer emotion captivated skater kids and old record execs alike. You get the idea that she’s singing about what she knows… which unfortunately is a whole lot of pain. Nonetheless, it takes someone remarkably special to transform that into the beautifully instrumented gems that she belts out onstage. This year will be remembered as the year that Nneka came to town.
You can tell that the festival is in full swing by the overall demeanor of the morning crowd as they gather to begin another day of rock n’ roll excess. Collective hangover and friendly audience are not two terms that usually go together well. Having the first set of the day at SXSW is often one of the most difficult gigs to pull off.
Her name is Nneka. ”Double N, E K A.” as she says from the stage. A truly gifted performer, she single handedly cured the headaches of the masses gathered at the Cedar Street Courtyard on this particular morning. Her songs are about infidelity, poverty and anger. You feel every word she sings. You can’t take your eyes off of her. An absolutely amazing way to start the day.
Welcome to the Live Music Capital of the World. There are over 120 music venues within a block of each other. It can get extremely overwhelming if you don’t have a strategy to conquer the madness. When I first moved to Austin, someone once told me “Walk down Sixth street and follow your ears. When you hear something good… go inside.” It’s a wonderful system to make it all make sense.
At the top notch Billboard showcase Dinosaur Bones capitalized on the amazing location of the stage facing Sixth street and actually drew a sizable crowd into the venue from off of the street. Within ten minutes, the tent was buzzing with a feeding frenzy of music-industry-types. The band has an uncanny way of making an organic transition from hook-filled rock to beautiful ambiance all in the same breath. No one left unimpressed.
Everything changes. That’s why when we got the TXT message at 1pm “Get down to the Red River parking garage across from Stubb’s RIGHT NOW” we just grabbed our iced coffees to go and ran down the street. We’ve wisely learned not to make solid plans.
We arrived at this abandoned parking garage a few minutes later to find a throng of bearded hipsters encircling a makeshift stage. They were everywhere…. even crawling up the chainlink fence surrounding the structure. The immediacy of the moment was perfect. A random happenstance in the heart of Texas. The camera crews were ready to go.
Broken Bells suddenly appear on the stage and break into a set containing The Ghost Inside, The High Road and Vaporize. There’s no question that the buzz on this group is well deserved. They nailed the pop-up show. Expect them all over the radio this summer.
Daniel Berkal leads the trendspotting team at The Palmerston Group, and will be mailing reports from Austin, Texas exclusively to andPOP throughout SXSW 2010.
The people at Zynga have been ruling Facebook with their ridiculously addictive Farmville and Mafia Wars games. Last night, they ruled SXSW by throwing a private party featuring exclusive performances by Atlanta’s The Constellations and indie-kid fave Metric.
By the time that Emily Haines and company took the stage a bit past 930pm, the invite-only crowd seemed to have gone through a centrifuge… separating out the Metric fanatics towards the front while those there mainly for the free Southern Comfort hung around the back. Neither group of patrons were disappointed in the slightest.
Metric were absolutely outstanding. Playing a long set full of both recent songs and fan favorites, the band has finally gelled into a collective force. Emily captivated all in attendance with her intense stage presence and spot-on vocals. It was such a pleasure to watch a group at the top-of-their game show up and give it their all.
We get in at midnight. There’s an unmistakable energy buzzing throughout Austin Bergstrom International airport on the eve of SXSW. The baggage carousels are full of guitar cases. The air smells of leather. All you see are tattoos and tambourines.
Every year dreams are made and lost here at the world’s biggest showcase for new music. Over the next five days there will be more than 1900 musical performances, featuring countless genres and boundless excitement. Every single square inch of the capital of Texas will be filled with artists with a dream, looking for their moment to shine.
It’s a land full of showcases and secret parties. It’s the kind of place where you have to be in the know, to really know what’s going on. Lineups form outside massive events thrown by Perez Hilton and Rachael Ray. Complimentary drinks flow freely at parties thrown by corporate sponsors and the music industry illuminati. Arguably some of which have outshined the official festival itself. At the annual Levis/ Fader Fort event, it’s become commonplace for big name artists to appear by surprise. Last year’s appearance and secret set by Kanye West featured Common, Eryka Badhu and made headlines around the world. The year before had Lou Reed come out onstage beside Moby. Twitter’s buzzing with the possibilities of who will appear this year. Will it be Thom Yorke? Is Lady Gaga hiding out behind the curtain? Is Die Antwoord going to make their North American debut here?
