Rachael Ray @ SXSW (again)

People may love to hate Rachael Ray, the inventor of such fun phrases as "E.V.O.O." (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fools), but as we saw last year, the girl puts on a good party.

The folks over at Donewaiting.com just announced the details for her 2009 party Saturday, March 21st @ Maggie May's. If it's anything like last year, the food and drinks will be amazing.

It features heavy-hitters The Hold Steady and The New York Dolls, with other great bands like my personal favorite, Ra Ra Riot. Check out last years "The Rhumb Line" if you haven't already. Also playing are Pitchfork darlings The Airborne Toxic Event, The Thermals, Bob Schneider and Rachael's husbands band The Cringe.

More details can be found on her website.

SXSW Fever Has Struck.

SXSW 2009 is less than a month away and I am an RSVPing fool. This year it is easier than ever to do SXSW on the cheap. Here are a few sites to help you have a fun, cheap and well-organized experience. I bought a wristband again this year because even though free booze is fun, ultimately it's all about the music for me.

One of my favorite sites over the past couple of years has been donewaiting.com. They have always had the most thorough SXSW coverage, especially during the days and months leading up to the festival.

SCHED*SXSW is a great tool to upload and share your personal sxsw schedule. It has a easy-to-use features that allow you to customize your schedule to your specifications. The end result can be uploaded to iCal, your mobile phone, sent to friends and even embedded into a web page. I plan to put mine up soon. They also have a great SXSW blog with tons of info.

Showlist.austin is another great resource for unofficial parties and shows. I use this web site year round to find local shows to attend.

do512.com is a great resource for everything sxsw. Whether it be free parties, unofficial showcases or SXSW official events, do512 has it all. You can listen to bands, find info on RSVP only parties and build your own schedule. Check out their SXSW Band List here.

There are a ton of other resources out there to be had like SXSWbaby, Austin Soundcheck, Austinist, SXSW '09 Insider's Guide, and of course, the official SXSW site.

See you at SXSW!

Radiohead perform "15 Step" with USC Marching Band

Radiohead killed at the Grammy's tonight with the USC marching band backing them up.
You called them band nerds in high school, but now who's jealous?
Thom Yorke, dressed in black with some pimpin' high tops (maybe not as pimpin as Lil' Wayne's) belted out the excellent "15 Step" from their Grammy-nominated album "In Rainbows."
Definitely my highlight of tonight's awards. Which, might I say, have been pretty entertaining so far. Coldplay, a very-pregnant M.I.A., Paul freakin' McCartney, Jay Z, Adele with Sugarland, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Lil Wayne, T.I. and Justin Timberlake have all performed.

I think Radiohead should have won the album of the year.