imaginary field trip III - the drive home

Well, that was a great trip; I'm exausted. I can't believe that one guy in the Love's store, how did he do that with those straws? What was your favorite stop? Those poppy seed kolaches from West, TX are getting a little stale; let's pick up some new ones on the way back to the heartland. Buckle up....

Brakes - Ring a Ding Ding Eamon Hamilton from British Sea Power and Tom White from Electric Soft Parade get together for drinks with a drummer and this is what happens.

Editors - Munich I first heard this on one of pop77's mixes and instantly hunted out the album. The starkness of this music serves as a background for emotionally charged vocals.

KT Tunstall - Black Horse and the Cherry Tree Like I'm gonna imaginarily miss a Mercury prize winner.

Isobel Campbell - Do You Wanna (Come Walk With Me)? The SXSW write up calls Isobell the "Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood of the 21st century." I don't know if I'd go that far; I'm not sure her new album isn't actually a Mark Lanegan release with her on backup vox. At any rate, never pass up an imaginary chance to see a former Bell & Sebastian member.

Asobi Seksu - I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me With a title stolen from the old journals of Smith's era Morrissey. This song passes on some of the most beautiful Japanese lyricism I've heard in a long time.

Ladytron DJs - Destroy everything you touch Just remember, you break it; you buy it.

The Evangelicals - Diving Yo' dem's my boyz; know wat I'm sayin'.

The Guggenheim Grotto - Told You So Touring with the Waterboys. Featured on KCRW. This band is incredible.

Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re - Ebihara Shinji Japanese-girl-trio. Must see.

The Emeralds - SHIMOKITA DREAM They've already been on 3 US tours and are supposed to be a fun show. I really love loud Japanese things; it's the contrast of culture and modernity.

Pink Mountaintops - Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy I've heard Jill talk abou these guys on at least three different occassions in the last two weeks. I can't think of a better reason to make it to this show.

Dressy Bessy - Electrified This is it. After this one we're going home. I like to end things on a fun note. Dressy Bessy fits that bill perfectly.

That was fun. I hope you've had a good time too. I haven't really even scratched the surface of some of the amazing performances that will be happening next month. However, I just wanted to put a few of the highlights out there for those of you who may not click on them yourself. If this trip has made you want even more, go to the SXSW showcase page and check out others yourself. There are a ton who, for my own secret reasons, I didn't include in this trip. Go there...