I keep not finding time to post about my trip with Laura to the SXSW Interactive conference last month, but it was a swell time and I should probably jot down a few memories before a) they become totally instead of just mostly irrelevant, and b) they fall completely out of my head.

Laura has been to SXSWi a few times before, and she was adamant that I should come with her this year to feed the programming consultant side of my brain. We bought our memberships and booked our hotel last summer. We flew to Austin on the morning on March 8, the day before the conference started, which turned out to be a good idea in several ways, the first of which was entirely accidental. We ran into our good friend Scott Smith of Chicago magazine in the departure lounge at Midway that morning. With him were Andrew Huff of Gapers Block and Steve Prokopy of Ain't It Cool News. We were all on the same flight, and we ended up riding the bus from the airport into Austin together and all trekking to Frank for lunch (the only time that weekend we were able to get in, incidentally). We were also able to go to the convention center that afternoon and pick up our badges in fairly short order. The next day, lines at registration were a couple of hours long.

The panels themselves were varied and interesting. I attended discussions of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, smarter algorithms for pinch-and-zoom on touch interfaces, social/local/mobile services, online privacy, and even more abstruse topics. These panels all seem fascinating in retrospect, though I'm afraid that at the time most of them suffered from the problem of not quite living up to the promise of their descriptions in the program guide. Very useful stuff that, at worst, got me excited about doing more iOS programming.

There was time for entertainment, too. We made it out to Skinny's Ballroom to see Scott and Andrew (along with 18 other readers) participate in 20x2, an evening of two-minute readings. (They both crushed it. By which I mean they were good.) I saw a hilarious panel on comedy podcasting featuring Kevin Pollak and Doug Benson and others, and I attended Rainn Wilson's (sadly hit-and-miss) presentation about his spirituality site Soul Pancake. I managed to get into my own top pick of events, which was a live taping of Marc Maron's WTF podcast featuring Jeffrey Tambor. But it was Laura who scored the coup, using her Amex membership to get us a free pair of tickets to a special Jay-Z concert at Austin City Limits Live. ("HOVA! HOVA!")

And then, of course, there were the people we got to hang out with. We had dinner with our old friends Donna and Tad, who left New York for Austin even before Laura and I left for Chicago. I saw Stina Leicht—author of the new And Blues Skies from Pain, and with whom I share an agent—a couple of times. We ran into Rik Catlow, an artist we both used to work with well over a decade ago and whose work hangs on our wall, and Erin Dorr, whom Laura used to work with. And then there was that epic night with Scott and Andrew and Matt Wood and Paul M. Davis that started outside a journalism party and traveled through the Hilton bar on its way The Jackalope and a pedicab and shouted advice from a homeless man before it blacked out in a stupor. The less said about that, probably the better.

In any case, SXSW was a great time, worthwhile from both a personal and a professional standpoint. I hope to go again next year, although I'll be tempted to add a film badge on top of the interactive...

A full set of my photos from SXSW is here.

Before the first month of 2012 is entirely gone, I wanted to run down my list of the 10 most interesting albums of 2011. I didn't think we'd bought all that much new music last year, but I was somewhat startled to look back and see nearly 70 albums from 2011 in our collection. I'm not going out on a limb far enough as to say these are the best of that crop, but they're definitely the ones that were interesting enough to keep me coming back for multiple multiple listens.

I've put the top 10 in a rough order, then followed those with some unordered honorable mentions.

TOP 10 MOST INTERESTING

1. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
The only thing predictable about the dark, engaging songs on this third straight amazing album from Annie Clark and crew is their unpredictability. Clark is a brilliant poet, arranger, and guitarist, and every track is gorgeous, thrilling, and shot through with beautiful noise.  ["Cheerleader"]

2. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Wild Flag is what you hope for in every supergroup—the best of every component band joined seamlessly into something greater. That's exactly what you get from the combination of Mary Timony of Helium, Rebecca Cole of the Minders, and Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney, ten perfect slabs of joyous rock 'n' roll.  ["Romance"]

3. Low - C'mon
I started listening to Low out of curiosity because the husband and wife behind the band are Mormon. I kept listening because they're just that good. This return to their low-key roots is enhanced but not overwhelmed by their recent years of experimentation. Pull up a pillow but don't think about sleeping.  ["Witches"]

4. The Black Keys - El Camino
What can I tell you about the new Black Keys album that you don't already know? Their secret weapon is Danger Mouse, back in the producer's chair, who adds just the right background touches to make these strong straight-ahead stompers something more than just your basic blues blasts.  ["Gold on the Ceiling"]

5. The Feelies - Here Before
No one ever expected the Feelies—a huge influence on bands like R.E.M.—to reunite for an album of new material in 2011, much less that it would be their best in the 31 years since their debut. Strikingly confident and direct for all that it's about questioning their place in the world of today, this one's worth the price of admission for the slinky, sly guitar solos alone.  ["Time Is Right"]

6. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
The kings of moody, layered avant-pop deemphasize their trademark wall-of-vocals sound for an album that on first listen seems more simple and sunny than anything this band that never repeats itself has ever done. But subsequent spins reveals more depth and nuance beneath the sunshine than is immediately apparent.  ["No Future Shock"]

7. Destroyer - Kaputt
Despite my admiration for The New Pornographers, I didn't expect to like this album from Dan Behar's main project nearly as much as I do. It plays like a great lost record from one of the New Romantic bands of the '80s. Think Spandau Ballet but, you know, good.  ["Song for America"]

8. The Roots - Undun
Renowned as the best live band in hip-hop, the Roots don't get the attention on record they deserve. Which is a shame, because this concept album tracing the life of a murdered thug in reverse, like all their records, is a clear, angry, artful distillation of life in a segment of society that remains unseen to many of us.  ["The OtherSide"]

9. Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For?
File this freak-R&B excursion somewhere between Prince at his quirkiest or the N*E*R*D of Fly or Die. I still don't know whether or not I like its off-kilter melodies and fractured lyrics, but I know I can't stop listening to it.  ["Watching You Go Crazy Is Driving Me Insane"]

10. Mastodon - The Hunter
The prog-metal monsters scale their epic tendencies down into pure pop nuggets, showing us every last thing they can do along the way. Okay, it's no Crack the Skye, but it is fierce, fast, virtuosic, surprising, and addictive.  ["Curl of the Burl"]

HONORABLE MENTIONS

And now, twelve albums that didn't quite make the cut but still rewarded repeat listens over the past year.

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
They rap like the last twenty years never happened, and that's why I love them.

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Only Kate Bush could make seven epic tracks about snow this compelling.

Childish Gambino - Camp
Troy from Community is equally fresh, inventive, and stinging when rapping about childhood as when examining the asshole inside all of us. (Is there nothing Donald Glover can't do?)

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome
The soundtrack to an imaginary spaghetti Western that you can almost see playing in your head.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Colin Meloy has obviously stepped away from the renaissance fair and started listening to early R.E.M. again.

Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
Sad, sad stories dripping with grease from the deep-fry pot.

Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
I always look forward to a new offering from these kings of nuanced instrumental rock.

Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
A towering punk-pop opus that beats at their own game.

Parts and Labor - Constant Future
Anthemic pop filtered through a lonely-road car stereo tuned partway to static.

Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
Lyrically this probably couldn't have been produced in the early '60s, but sonically it could. And that's good.

Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
Never one to rest on his laurels, Simon brings a new set of modern textures to bear on his craftsmanlike songs.

Trombone Shorty - For True
New Orleans jazz-funk meets hip-hop in a fun and bracing brew.

SPECIAL COMEDY MENTION

And finally, one album of stand-up comedy without which my 2011 list would be incomplete.

Marc Maron - This Has to Be Funny
The celebrated WTF Podcast has brought him wider acclaim, but this funny, painful document of his stand-up amply shows the well of lacerating self-analysis from which the harsh compassion of his interview style derives.  ["Working Out Their Daddy Issues"]

Five years ago today, Michael Brecker—one of my favorite saxophone players, and a pioneer on the instrument in many ways—passed away of complications from leukemia. He had suffered from the rare blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome, and never found a matching donor for a successful stem cell transplant.

Brecker was one of the most in-demand session players of his time, besides being a consummate jazz innovator in his own right. He was also instrumental in promoting and pioneering the use of the EWI (electronic wind instrument). Back in 2007, I put together a Michael Brecker tribute mix as my contribution to the CD Mix of the Month Club I used to belong to in New York. Called Tenor of the Times, it contained a sampling of some of his best work both as sideman and band leader. On this anniversary of his passing, I thought I'd make a zip file of the mix available. Grab it quick—I won't leave it up for long. Some liner notes are here.

RIP.

Download (88 Mb)

[sung to the tune of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath]

She's my hungry bear
She's the little dog with the golden hair
She'll just sit and stare
Anytime I'm eating and I won't share

Nobody feeds her
She just stands there and pouts
(do do do-do-do do-do-do do-do-do)
She's gonna starve soon
Of this she has no doubts
(do do do-do-do do-do-do do-do-do)

Hey there, hungry bear
Your bowl's full of pheasant and ground-up hare
Ain't no cheese on there
So you walk out with your nose in the air

Support Chicago radio personality James VanOsdol's history of the local '90s rock scene, Chicago Rocked! He's funding the project through Kickstarter.com and only has 13 days to raise another more than $10,000. Please pledge if you can, because I selfishly really, really want to read this book.

Winter is not here yet, but it has definitely RSVP'd this past week. Summer had finally shown up after slumming somewhere down south but only hung out for a couple of weeks before autumn served it its eviction notice. I know that in a few months we'll be longing for temperatures in the 50s, but right now it feels cold as hell out there.

Fortunately, it was hot inside the Chicago Theater last night, once everyone thronging the sidewalks stopped taking pictures of the marquee and squeezed themselves through the doors. As part of their Rent Party '09 tour, Steely Dan is playing complete albums in a few cities. Chicago is fortunate enough to have gotten Aja last night, and gets Gaucho tonight and The Royal Scam on Thursday. I wish I could go every night, but Laura and I could choose only one, so we agreed on Aja.

It was a fantastic show, with an incredible cross-section of great songs. I won't be posting a full review, but I do want to note a couple of things. First, this was the first show we've been to in a long time, with the possible exception of AC/DC, where the majority of the crowd appeared to be older than we. (Definitely not the case at, say, The Dead Weather a few weeks back.) Second, having listened to it countless times over the past 32 years, I can't quite put my finger on why "Deacon Blues" made me all teary last night. Maybe I, I want a name when I lose.

Setlist (Aja tracks in bold):

1. Black Cow
   
2. Aja
   
3. Deacon Blues
   
4. Peg
   
5. Home at Last
   
6. I Got the News
   
7. Josie
   
8. Black Friday
   
9. Time Out of Mind
   
10. Daddy Don't Live in That NYC No More
    
11. Bodhisattva
    
12. Babylon Sisters
    
13. Showbiz Kids
    
14. Hey Nineteen
    
15. Dirty Work
    
16. Do It Again
    
17. Don't Take Me Alive
    
18. My Old School
    
19. Kid Charlemagne

As a fan of the band The Negro Problem, I was delighted to pick up the following throwaway tidbit from a New Yorker blog post by John Colapinto:

{Spike] Lee's next excursion into the question of race in America is his filmed version of "Passing Strange," the remarkable musical by [Negro Problem leader] Stew. I watched Lee shooting this production last June, in the Belasco Theatre in New York. The movie will be released, Lee tells me, in late August, at the IFC Center, in Manhattan.  [full post]

Having missed the run of Passing Strange in New York, I'm glad there are going to be multiple opportunites to see it.

I may have shared this video before, but I was waxing nostalgic about the (now broken-up) Rogers Sisters today and had to rewatch the charming video for their excellent song "Emotion Control," from their album The Invisible Deck:

[video at SingingFool.com]

(Doesn't the guy in the video remind you a little of Jim from The Office?)

Maybe I was feeling nostalgic about working in an office (not that I want to do that again). That's the context from which I once knew Rogers Sisters bassist Miyuki Furtado&151;we worked together in an office for a few months back in 2000 or so. Check out his new band Shock Cinema.

I loved this LCD Soundsystem song even before I saw the video, but now I love it even more.

Listen to my station on Blip.fm!

http://blip.fm/invite/shunn