March 8, 2005

The First Post Post

First post!

It's 2:46am and I'm done creating this site. For now. For later there will be actual content.




March 13, 2005

No Need for Cool

I've wanted to attend SXSW for years -- it's where all the cool people go. I've wanted to observe how cool people look, act, and think. The plan has been to take notes of them in their natural habitat and to study them back in my lab.

I find myself gravitating toward wanting to educate and influence people through the web. Build online communities. Make shit happen. That's really why I'm in Austin.

I don't need to be cool.

When I bought the SXSW tickets, I knew I would be leaving America for Europe less than two weeks after the festival ended, but I accepted the potential intensity of those few weeks for the peace of mind that would come with knowing I made the most of an opportunity.

I'm on the roof of the Austin Convention Center. It's cool and dark inside and warm and bright outside. I accept the glare from the sun for the warmth that comes with it.

I don't need to be cool.




March 15, 2005

Welcome to My Phallus

Hello stranger, and welcome to my phallus.

I see you brought your phallus with you too. Good. We can juxtapose ideas and walk back to our hostel rooms justified in our security or lack of it.

In the meantime, bring your phallus to the public shower and lather up. Sure you can wear your boxers, but what have you got to hide?




March 17, 2005

The Last Public Execution

SXSW Music offers five Demo Listening sessions where attendees can submit their demos for three industry bigwigs to rip apart in front of an attentive audience of aspiring artists.

Attendees drop CD's in a box at the entrance to the Listening room. CD's are later selected from the box at random, a minute of one track is played, and then the panelists have a short dialogue with the artists and audience about what was wrong with the song. Sometimes they even acknowledge what was right.

The best song played at each session goes off to a final round of listening by a "Jukebox Jury" on Friday. The winner of the Jury gets a week of free promotion on the iTunes website.

I burned a draft of one of my best drum & bass songs onto CD last night and dropped it into the box before walking into the Demo Listening session today. It was the first CD selected at random from the box.

The panelists asked me what I had in mind, told me to put my best track forward, and said to know my audience. It's their job to tear me a new asshole, and it's mine to retaliate with better music.




March 27, 2005

An Optimist's Dream

My room is emptier but still full -- an optimist's dream. The bed, table, and cat tree are all out, but the clothes, papers, and computer peripherals remain scattered across the floor.

You'd be missing the point of taking a trip if you were stressed preparing for it. But you'd be supernatural if you could control all your emotions that come with preparing for it.

The landlord comes Tuesday at noon to estimate the amount of damage my cats did to the apartment. That leaves me with 37 hours to fill my bloodstream with caffeine and to organize the remnants of an optimist's dream.