Also appearing . . .
So many bands, so little space. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention a band like Wayne (waynemusic.com), whose TVT debut Music on Plastic is long-chord rock with a Southern slant, as if the Jayhawks flew to Wayne’s base of Birmingham, Alabama.

Meanwhile, from the shores of Newburyport, Massachusetts, comes Tiger Saw (envy13.com). The “bedroom songs, waltzes, and whispers” of Blessed Are the Trials We Will Find (Kimchee) align the band with the slocore of Low, but there’s often more movement here, and more melody.

If you prefer your ’core cowpunk-style, then hop on Speedbuggy USA (speedbuggyusa.com). These L.A. guys may be mellow on their new EP, Round Up (Headhunter), but at SXSW they answered the question: What if onetime tourmates Joe Ely and the Clash actually mated?

. . . And omigod, I almost forgot Oh My God (ohmygodmusic.com), a Chicago trio whose exclamatory The Action Album! — with songs like “The Weather!” and “The Beauty of Servitude!” — answers the question: What if Emerson, Lake & Palmer woke up and thought they were Devo?!

The world according to Courtney . . . and Miles
The most quote-worthy speakers at SXSW weren’t legends like the Band’s Robbie Robertson or critic Dave Marsh but, rather, two live wires from opposite sides of the music-industry wars: rocker Courtney Love and manager Miles Copeland. Sure, their talk is more industry than music — but let ’em talk!

Courtney: “I stayed out a little late last night, drinkin’ a little tequila. I can’t help it, I’m still a rock star, I’m not a lawyer quite yet. . . . The music industry is utterly failing, and in three years it will have failed. . . . Creative executives are worthless at record companies today. We gotta make fast hits to keep the shareholders happy. . . . The old guys are sitting on the back porch of the plantation, too lazy to change their business. Well, I’m not gonna be the house nigger anymore. . . . Eddie Vedder was right about Ticketmaster — and none of us helped him. Of course, I was in no condition to do so, what with a needle in my arm. . . . Give me five of your favorite artists in each decade, and I’ll show you four destitute artists. . . . I’m not gonna be writing songs about the shittiness of the music
business. I gotta move forward and save rock. I’ll put those little Strokes in their place.”

Miles: “My objection to the Don Henley thing is he’s saying [the Recording Artists’ Coalition] is doing this for all those unsigned acts. But if the laws are changed, the big acts will walk from their contracts, and the new acts will get screwed. It’s like sitting on the Titanic arguing about the price of a first-class cabin when we’ve just spotted the iceberg. Hel-lo. The CD burner, the Internet, the idea that the public should get music for free: How do you compete with free? . . . If a kid downloads music and it inspires him to buy a CD, great. But in three years, when downloads are perfect quality and there aren’t any stores, then what? You have to walk it through. The RIAA freaks out when I use the Hitler analogy, but there were people in 1938 saying, ‘Gee, the trains are running pretty good. Hitler ain’t that bad.’ Guys, read the goddamn Mein Kampf. So what if the trains are running. Look where they’re gonna be running to!”