Music & More

All of the SXSW 2008 show pages are finally finished and posted and all links are now live. You can navigate chronologically by starting on the Welcome to Austin page and then clicking forward show by show. Or you can refer to the alphabetical listing below to go directly to any shows of interest. The above photo of Brooke Waggoner and her band is from the 1am Saturday night set at the Hilton Garden Inn, the last set on the last night of the festival. This image is comprised of three separate shots for the panoramic view. Remember to click on all photos to enlarge. The magnitude of the music at SXSW is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Previously, I thought a four day festival like the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival was the ultimate total immersion music event, but SXSW is like FRFF mulitplied by about a hundred. Considering the sheer volume of bands, venues and shows, I'm still in awe of how totally relaxing it was to be in Austin with nothing but music to see, hear, photogr

Listen to Jem - "On Top of the World" Here's another long-anticipated, long-overdue release, the second album from Jem, whose 2004 debut nicely melded the seemingly disparate styles of dance, soul, and singer-songwriter music. Jem's live cover versions of Stevie Wonder songs provided a nice reference point for the catchy originals that she wrote on that first release. Advance word has it that the new album has a wider range of influences, all filtered through Jem's very appealing pop sensibility. Down to Earth is released on September 16th. At Jem's Down to Earth web page you can get a free download of a track from the album and you can also pre-order it on CD with an autographed booklet. Two tracks have been released in advance of the album, "It's Amazing" debuted in the Sex and the City movie and is also included in the film soundtrack album; it has the same sort of key changes that made the songs on her first album so instantly identifiable

Listen to "Look No Further" Dido's long awaited third album is finally approaching release after years of delays and postponements. Dido's new website has gone live and provides both cover art and tracklist for Safe Trip Home , due for release November 3rd in the UK and shortly thereafter worldwide. You can visit Dido's website for a free download of one track, "Look No Further" and watch some video clips about the making of the new record. Here's the tracklist. 1. don't believe in love 2. quiet times 3. never want to say it's love 4. grafton street 5. it comes and it goes 6. look no further 7. us 2 little gods 8. the day before the day 9. let's do the things we normally do 10. burnin love 11. northern skies Dido's website . Dido's myspace .