IVANA REFLECTS ON SXSW 2014

The critical takeaway from those who are paid for their point of view was that SXSW has become too corporatized and less about "music discovery" than in years prior. Phooey. Yes, the marquee names like Kanye and Lady Gaga are now lured to Austin by the big checks offered by Samsung, Doritos, Apple, etc., but I don’t believe for a moment that any of the 30,000 (a guess) SXSW registrants chose to attend because Jay-Z and Coldplay were going to be there.

After the Internet bubble burst (remember that era of overspending?), the "lifestyle" companies swooped into Austin, viewing SXSW as a viable way to reach their target demo in a few square blocks. As the conference expanded into a Spring Break destination for college kids, there were two options for those of us who had been attending since the late ’80s: Either you attend or you don’t. Personally, I still find SXSW to be the week of the year when I see the most bands, both new and familiar.

In jest, I used the hash tag #SxSWSeniors, since one of the most rewarding aspects of the conference is reconnecting with friends I’ve had for decades. Yes, we’re in our 40s and beyond, but we’re still here. The songwriters’ panel I moderated included many such friends, like Bob Mould, who premiered a new song ,"The War," that was written as "the answer" song to Hüsker Dü’s "Hardly Getting Over It," and Steve Wynn, who performed the Dream Syndicate classic "Tell Me When It’s Over," with Matthew Caws contributing on guitar.

Later that night, I was grateful to attend Steve’s The Baseball Project show at the Continental and Bob’s headline set at the Merge Records showcase, neither of which precluded my chance to see dozens of new artists, most notably NO (who were a revelation—I’m obsessed), Blondfire, Syd Arthur, Ex Hex, Glass Animals, Jungle, Wild Cub, Chet Faker, St. Vincent, The Strypes, Radkey, PAPA, Your Friend and Jeremy Messersmith.