Is 'guitar driven music' disappearing from Austin's SXSW event?

[Timmo]

I haven't been able to go to Austin's SXSW in a few years but I was told this year hit a NEW LOW.

RAP/CRAP has slowly creeped into one of the 'best events' for rock/blues music there ever was.
Kayne West ( amoung other 'rapper/crappers ) played 2 or 3 shows and he was quoted as saying ....
"Thank you for letting me ROCK THE HOUSE tonight". :barf
HUH?
Rap is now considered "rocking the house"..........:huh

Guitar driven music disappearing from SXSW...........:jo
Yikes !
I hope to hear more about this year's shows.
Can Anyone who actually made it this year tell me that 'everything is gonna be alright'?
:munch

[Timmo]

Guess there are too many 'old farts' on here to care about SXSW.
:roll

It is a 'young person game' down there for sure so maybe having Kayne West 'rappin' ' down there is where it's at nowadays.

O well....... PlAY ON :band

[awitness29]

I saw lots and played a little bit of very guitar driven music while in Austin last week. I don't think it's going anywhere soon.

[jtm622]

What is Austin's SXSW event???

So Kanye West thinks that he can actually "ROCK the house", huh???
IMO, all he can do is make "the house" smell like the inside of a tennis shoe...

[SnidelyWhiplash]

What is Austin's SXSW event???

So Kanye West thinks that he can actually "ROCK the house", huh???
IMO, all he can do is make "the house" smell like the inside of a tennis shoe...

Amen! :agree

[Cheebatone]

Heavens to Betsy... :facepalm

"Rock the house" is Hip-Hop expression so old that The Sugarhill Gang thought it was a little passé in 1976. Honestly fellas, not liking Rap is one thing, taking issue with the words someone uses to thank their audience at the end of the show is entirely another.

[jtm622]

Heavens to Betsy... :facepalm

"Rock the house" is Hip-Hop expression so old that The Sugarhill Gang thought it was a little passé in 1976. Honestly fellas, not liking Rap is one thing, taking issue with the words someone uses to thank their audience at the end of the show is entirely another.

I'm not taking issue with the words that West uses... I'm just doubtful as to whether he is actually capable of pulling off "ROCKING" anybody's house (at least in the "Bill Haley and His Comets" 1955 sense of "ROCK THIS HOUSE" - which, of course, pre-dates the "hip-hop" expression that The Sugarfoot Gang thought was a little passe 20 years after the fact...) :)

[tedm]

well, there's no shortage of "driven' music"

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=54225788

http://www.neilyoung.com/forkintheroad/forkintheroadvideo.html

[Jujo]

Here we go again...with the rap haters. Why give a damn I say? Let people do whatever they want. Everybody sucks anyways, what's the difference?

Hey at least rappers have the good sense not to pick up a guitar to wank on, which more than I can say for a lot of supposed "guitar players."

BTW, I hate Yngwie and Buddy Guy. Just wanted to get minz in too. LOL!!!

[Pale Rider]

I bet anyone who hates "Rap"-which should be called hip hop-also hates all the youth centered music that made SXSW such a big deal-
how many of you guys are into Grizzly Bear, The Wrens and Boris?

[johnzias]

I wonder if they defend SRV on Hip-Hop boards, lol! Good music is everywhere. From Hip-Hop to the Mts. of Afghanistan. I never bought into "validity" as defined by the industry's version of what is au courant.
You feel what you feel, whether it's generational, cultural, or personal.

[matte]

I haven't been able to go to Austin's SXSW in a few years but I was told this year hit a NEW LOW.

RAP/CRAP has slowly creeped into one of the 'best events' for rock/blues music there ever was.
Kayne West ( amoung other 'rapper/crappers ) played 2 or 3 shows and he was quoted as saying ....
"Thank you for letting me ROCK THE HOUSE tonight". :barf
HUH?
Rap is now considered "rocking the house"..........:huh

Guitar driven music disappearing from SXSW...........:jo
Yikes !
I hope to hear more about this year's shows.
Can Anyone who actually made it this year tell me that 'everything is gonna be alright'?
:munchyour generation's idea of guitar driven music has gotten a much needed facelift. i'll take hip hop, liquid d&b, etc. over the same old same old.

btw, new country should be right up your dead end one way street. i believe that there's a mandatory 10 year delay on any innovation there.

[jtm622]

Here we go again...with the rap haters. Why give a damn I say? Let people do whatever they want. Everybody sucks anyways, what's the difference?

Hey at least rappers have the good sense not to pick up a guitar to wank on, which more than I can say for a lot of supposed "guitar players."

BTW, I hate Yngwie and Buddy Guy. Just wanted to get minz in too. LOL!!!

Speaking only for myself, I don't HATE rap... Hell, I don't HATE anybody... I just don't care for Kanye West. :)

[Mike Fleming]

It looks like there were something like 1,800 musical acts playing at this years SXSW, and the schedule shows tons of rock, alt country and singer-songwriters, as well as blues, metal, electronica, pop, hip-hop, etc. With that much going on in one week, it's probably safe to say a person only had to check out rap acts if they really wanted to.

[Solomon]

your generation's idea of guitar driven music has gotten a much needed facelift. i'll take hip hop, liquid d&b, etc. over the same old same old.

btw, new country should be right up your dead end one way street. i believe that there's a mandatory 10 year delay on any innovation there.

:BEER

I am going to go listen to the Who's "My Generation" in honor (ironically) of this OP.

[Pale Rider]

:BEER

I am going to go listen to the Who's "My Generation" in honor (ironically) of this OP.
Do it on 8 track too.

[TwoTubMan]

The main instrument in Austin for about a decade has been the stand-up bass. The place is lousy with them.

[theHoss]

Didn't Metallica show up this year?

[matte]

There was no 8 track when My Generation came out in '66.


http://www.chalkhillmedia.org/images/Webster%20Wire%20Recorder.jpg

[duckbunny]

your generation's idea of guitar driven music has gotten a much needed facelift. i'll take hip hop, liquid d&b, etc. over the same old same old.

btw, new country should be right up your dead end one way street. i believe that there's a mandatory 10 year delay on any innovation there.


:agree

Post of the day.


-db

[Baloney]

The problem isnt rap or whatever music you think sux. Its the fact that one can make music with a computer now. ANyone with an ability to use a simple midi program like Reason can make music. There arent any long hours of practicing scales or peri diddles. Its plus and play these days. Path of least resistance. You cant stop it you just have to find a way to appreciate it or ignore it.

BTW I saw "guitar based crap there too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Juliette Lewis for example. OMG she sounded like Louie Anderson being beaten with a dying walrus..

[soli528]

...Hey at least rappers have the good sense not to pick up a guitar to wank on, which more than I can say for a lot of supposed "guitar players."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJrGn-U0650

:facepalm


(don't get me wrong- I dig lil' wayne- "Tha Carter III" is a great album).

[matte]

Its the fact that one can make music with a computer now. ANyone with an ability to use a simple midi program like Reason can make music. There arent any long hours of practicing scales or peri diddles. Its plus and play these days. Path of least resistance. You cant stop it you just have to find a way to appreciate it or ignore it.

i love computer generated music for all of the reasons you mentioned in your post. it becomes a process of organizing sound that is not mired in idiomatics. this from a guy who continues to shed daily in order to keep up with the demands of my writing. in fact, my entire album was written on keyboards. we (tony levin, trey gunn, marco minnemann and myself) learned written/fully developed parts.

[2manygtrs]

But he is really good at marketing. I worked for John Legend for a while (known him since he was John Stephens). And Kanye put out Johns major label debut. I personally do ot like him or his music. I met him a couple times. Hes a great hype man though, in the tradition of Puffy and all those other fools. There is definitely good hiphop, but its just like any other musical form, you have to go LOOKING for it. Especially these days you're only gonna get the most homogenized crap in the mainstream. I work at a 1800 capacity venue and some of the crap that comes through is unbelievable. From Hiphop to Hippie to Screamo etc... Some shows I have enjoyed lately are Hall and Oates and Michael Franti. Everything else has been varying degrees of garbage. However, I am still glad to see these kids picking up guitars and trying to make music. I am hopeful that some of these that get major deals and support will put there time to good use and actually develop as musicians and surprise the crap out of us all by putting out something good down the road.
Has anyone actually heard Kanyes new album? I have and its basically him doing a bad imitation of an album that BT made about 10 years ago. That stupid pitch shifted vocoder all over the place. At least BT used it musically, Kanye used it cause he cant buy a pitch. Well, actually with his money he probably could. Anyway... SXSW is a promo tool and I bet Kanye bought his way on there. Just like certain artists that spend $1000-$5000 a day purchasing singles on Itunes to keep their name n the top ten downloaded singles category. If their tour is grossing $100K a day its a small price to pay to have all the kids seeing how cool they are because they sell so many records right? Its promotion and you have to spend money to make money right? Especially if you have little to no musical talent.
OK, my 2 cents.

[voojo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJrGn-U0650

:facepalm


(don't get me wrong- I dig lil' wayne- "Tha Carter III" is a great album).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiAkTouelQA

:facepalm:jo:facepalm

[fetishfrog]

your generation's idea of guitar driven music has gotten a much needed facelift. i'll take hip hop, liquid d&b, etc. over the same old same old.

btw, new country should be right up your dead end one way street. i believe that there's a mandatory 10 year delay on any innovation there.

Excellent post. Thank you.

[LavaMan]

I have been watching some the footage on channel 101 Direct TV and I must it's been dissapointing....bad vocals, bad tone on the guitars just awful....

Makes me wonder about the future of guitar-drivenrock...

[guitarmook]

I played guitar w, Th, F, and S during SXSW -

And saw a LOT more guitars and guitar players onstage than I saw rappers.

just my view from the ground.

[bluejack]

I caught lots of guitar driven music the past week @SXSW, albeit all at non official showcases.
Phil Brown Jimi's Project
Bill Kirchen
Los Fabulocos w/ Kid Ramos
Sarah Borges w/ Lyle Brewer
Nick Curran and the Lowlifes

It's there if you do your homework and seek it out.
Cheers,
J

[CharAznable]

your generation's idea of guitar driven music has gotten a much needed facelift. i'll take hip hop, liquid d&b, etc. over the same old same old.

btw, new country should be right up your dead end one way street. i believe that there's a mandatory 10 year delay on any innovation there.

matte, I am a fan of your music and your comments

[jammybastard]

I love it when the boomers get off their hemorrhoid doughnuts and rally in anger against the scourge that is "rap"/"hip-hop" or that "guitar music is dying!!!"
Gimme a freakin' break!

Tons of "guitar music" at SXSW every year. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it's not happening.

As for the whole anti-rap/hip hop malarky...
Funny how this same line of bs has been said many times before!.
Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?

Hey Boomers! Remember when your parents said the same thing about Hendrix, The Beatles, and all the music you loved as a kid.
How rock music was dangerous, would lead you to hell, wasn't "art", and wasn't real "music"?

Now you are doing the same thing!
Congrats! You've become your parents!

What you need to realize is that your definition of what "rocks" only applies to
YOU and not everyone else.

Fact: Hip Hop is modern blues music.
Rapprs talk about the same things Robert Johnson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Big Mama Thorton sang about the only difference is:
the updated language and the use of different technology to make the music.

Don't believe me?
Think about it...
Johnson sang about drinking, women, the devil, money, death, fate, etc...
Same thing rappers rap about.

"My enemies have betrayed me, have overtaken poor Bob at last"
- Robert Johnson "Stone's in My Passway."

"I don't know what, they want from me
It's like the more money we come across
The more problems we see"
-Biggie Smalls "Mo Money Mo Problems"

Same damn thing. The only difference is the music, but they both deliver the same message with equal power.

The problem you have is that one guy played a guitar which you can relate to, while the other guy scratched records on a turntable which you can't relate to.
That's your hangup...no-one else's.

Just because you can't relate to it doesn't mean it doesn't "ROCK".
Your parents didn't understand or relate to Bill Haley, Little Richard, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, etc...but we all know that the music definitely rocked because of the effect it had on us.

Final thought:

"Rock" is not one thing, sound, person, genre, instrument.
It's an ever evolving musical state, just like the people who play it and the people who listen to it.

Just because your relationship to it hasn't changed doesn't mean the rest of the world has stood still as well.

[fazendeiro]

matte, I am a fan of your music and your comments
A quick commercial break to suck up and then back to the action!

[pir8matt]

I think the bigger issue is whether or not SXSW is actually about unsigned or new bands anymore. It seems like it was at one time.

Now its just a place for unknowns to play to 5-10 people at the bars on the outskirts of town while big name groups eat up all the buzz.

[matte]

matte, I am a fan of your music and your commentsthank you. :BEER

[Jahn]

BTW I saw "guitar based crap there too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Juliette Lewis for example. OMG she sounded like Louie Anderson being beaten with a dying walrus..


Hold on, you didn't think Juliette Lewis Rocked The House? I'm Shocked!

http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/assets_c/2009/03/80869710-thumb-410x581.jpg

[JazzHessian]

God, I love it when the borderline-illiterate boomers here start ranting incoherently about rap. Pure hilarity.

[fazendeiro]

God, I love it when the borderline-illiterate boomers here start ranting incoherently about rap. Pure hilarity.
Not to be a smart guy, but you don't need a hyphen between those words. Kinda embarrassing when you're calling someone else's literacy into question.

[pickaguitar]

lmao
Watch those hyphens!

[geetarboy]

What's with all the venom towards boomers? Hell, I'm not a boomer (gen x) and I don't listen to rap. Sure, I've got a couple of Beastie Boys CDs and an old De La Soul CD around somewhere, but I'm just not into it. Go ahead and debate the musical value of hip hop all you want, but raging at boomers just makes you sound like you're 14 and your dad won't give you the car keys.

[indravayu]

God, I love it when the borderline-illiterate boomers here start ranting incoherently about rap. Pure hilarity.

I'm no boomer and I hate rap....precisely because I _am_ literate! With all but a few exceptions, rap is made for and by moronic, woman-hating racists. Sorry, but that doesn't float my boat!

[jtm622]

Just because you can't relate to it doesn't mean it doesn't "ROCK".
Your parents didn't understand or relate to Bill Haley, Little Richard, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, etc...but we all know that the music definitely rocked because of the effect it had on us.

Final thought:

"Rock" is not one thing, sound, person, genre, instrument.
It's an ever evolving musical state, just like the people who play it and the people who listen to it.

Just because your relationship to it hasn't changed doesn't mean the rest of the world has stood still as well.

"Rock" is a dynamic type of music, and yes it has evolved a' plenty from the days of Bill Haley and Carl Perkins...
(Just as "Country" music has evolved from the days of Vernon Dalhart...
and just as "Classical" music has evolved from the days of Bach and Handel...)

The simple fact is that ALL popular musical genres are subject to the whims of fashion.

And Yes - "Jazz" has evolved, too; and IMO, the musical foundations of mainstream Hip-hop are obviously rooted more in the "Scat" singing styles found in '40's - '50's era Jazz and Be-Bop than with whatever music one might construe as mainstream "ROCK 'n ROLL" music from any era...

I suppose that one could blend Hip-hop and Rock music together if they wanted to - and end up with a sort of "poor man's" fusion music... H-m-m-m...
No! Wait... The Beastie Boys already tried that... :)

[funkycam]

I played SXSW in 07 & 08.
What I heard everywhere was sloshy indie rock. Super gained up blah rhythm guitar, open high hats getting hammered, screaming vox. I mean everywhere.
The only guitar player I heard in 07 who really did something was wes jeans who frikkin killed in the SRV style in a little bar.
In 08 i was part of the first all-soul showcase, but it was kind of a blip in the sloshy indie rock.
Reports of rap "taking over" SXSW make me raise my eyebrow a little

['70 RS]

The problem isnt rap or whatever music you think sux. Its the fact that one can make music with a computer now. ANyone with an ability to use a simple midi program like Reason can make music. There arent any long hours of practicing scales or peri diddles. Its plus and play these days. Path of least resistance. You cant stop it you just have to find a way to appreciate it or ignore it.


Sounds similar to Segovia's feelings of the electric guitar and players who use picks.

[PatrickMer10s]

I played guitar w, Th, F, and S during SXSW -

And saw a LOT more guitars and guitar players onstage than I saw rappers.

just my view from the ground.
ditto.

[smokey]

Didn't Metallica show up this year?

Yep, they sure did and so did Devo. And both were among the hardest shows to get into. And a gigantic crowd turned out to see the Arc Angels at Auditorium Shores and I was one of them. I didn't see a hip hop act the whole weekend. But then again I didn't go looking for them. It's just not my thing. Oh, and Explosions in the Sky drew a hell of a crowd too.

[clemduolian]

Happily, I only played one SXSW gig this year (last year's five was too much!). From a performer's standpoint, SXSW is a cattle call, too many bands crushed into too little time BUT with an amazing energy if you're lucky enough to be in the right room at the right time (which changes constantly and isn't predictable).

SXSW has changed a lot over the last 6 years that I've attended and performed, and not necessarily for the better (much like the record business in general....hmmm?). But it has become more soncially diverse and that is a GOOD thing. It has also become much less about new bands/artists getting discovered (although there is still some great new stuff that arrives without a pre-established buzz) and way more about BIG companies marketing products (one example, Metallica played because of the Guitar Hero game release featuring their music) and established artists taking advantage of the assembled music media and bloggers to catch more buzz OR re-establish buzz (e.g. Jane's Addiction or...get ready for it...the Oak Ridge Boys!). Needless to say, that's a bad thing. FWIW, the DirectTV "fake club" shows are generally lame, although Ben Harper's new band (Relentless Seven) definitely brought it.

The level of stupidity and hate about rap or hip-hop in this thread is appalling for a "discussion website for musicians." If you don't think rap and hip-hop involves musicians, you need to think again. Just like ANY other genre, there is good rap and good hip-hop AND much more that isn't good. Like with many genres of music, it often takes some exploration to find the good. But if you think of yourself as a musician, ya'll need to check yourselves out when it comes to trash talking about individuals or worse yet, grotesque, inaccurate generalizations about groups of people and types of music.

In my world, there are only two types of music, good and other. I try to avoid "other" in every genre, but it is omnipresent. SXSW is full of "other" in many genres. That's all right, because there is always some good music to be heard and good people to meet.

For better or worse, it still is a guitar driven festival. Fear not, guitar fans, Austin is still your kind of town. Just check your hate at the door.

[GovernorSilver]

God, I love it when the borderline-illiterate boomers here start ranting incoherently about rap. Pure hilarity.

Actually, I've encountered young people who hate rap too.

Those who went to SXSW - care to expound a bit on why you went there, what were the expected benefits (besides plain ol' sex and drugs ;)), what were the actual benefits, etc.... ???

[jtm622]

But if you think of yourself as a musician, ya'll need to check yourselves out when it comes to trash talking about individuals or worse yet, grotesque, inaccurate generalizations about groups of people and types of music.

In my world, there are only two types of music, good and other. I try to avoid "other" in every genre, but it is omnipresent.

H-m-m-m... Don't you think that "Good and other" are two pretty "generalized" types of music categories?? :)

P.S. - I'm ambivalent toward Rap music generally, but based SOLELY upon the selection of music which I personally enjoy listening to now - Kanye West would be placed in my "other" category...

[seiko]

I suppose that one could blend Hip-hop and Rock music together if they wanted to - and end up with a sort of "poor man's" fusion music... H-m-m-m...
No! Wait... The Beastie Boys already tried that... :)

DC Basehead was pretty ahead of the curve on that. I'd argue that a lot of what people call trip-hop is finding a good middle ground between guitar and beat sonics, so Tricky, Portishead etc etc.

[rickc007]

I saw Mike Zito, Walter Trout and the Arc Angels

Plenty of tone, notes a way cool git fiddles

Really great time