March Music Madness
Band breakdown: Springsteen at number 1 seed in CM's SXSW music hype bracket
SXSW — especially the music portion of the 10-day extravaganza that completely overwhelms the city — is at least half about the hype. When trying to determine who’s coming into the festival with the most momentum, there are all sorts of things to consider, but few provide the time-wasting opportunities that come with a full-on NCAA basketball tournament-style bracket.
To celebrate the unique brand of March Madness that invades Austin, Culturemap presents part one of its SXSW Hype Bracket.
We’ve broken down 64 of the showcasing artists into four conferences: Local Austin bands, rising newcomers, artists looking for a comeback after some time out of the spotlight, and established acts. Those artists were then seeded from one to sixteen in their respective conferences.
Click on the bracket below to take a closer look at the brackets, and we’ll break down the first round below.
The Local Conference:
The Black Angels (1)
Golden Bear (16)
Golden Bear’s 2011 album, Alive, was a powerhouse collection of big, hooky songs from Austin’s answer to the Arcade Fire. Still, The Black Angels are one of the city’s brightest talents, and their Thursday showcase at Empire Automotive is the band’s only Austin gig until their headlining slot at their self-curated Austin Psych Fest. They’re the top seed for a reason.
Quiet Company (8)
The Strange Boys (9)
The Strange Boys have been churning out quality garage-rock albums that have garnered them national attention for years now, and they’ve never gotten the credit they’re due. But Quiet Company, after last year’s triumphant We Are All Where We Belong and the subsequent recognition they’ve gained as one of Austin’s most promising young acts, are riding a huge wave of momentum that puts them over the top.
Sleep∞Over (5)
Follow That Bird! (12)
Sleep∞Over had a somewhat understated year in 2011 — at least as understated as a band that nabbed a 7.0 from Pitchfork can have — but that alone will put them over Follow That Bird!, which writes pretty great songs, but play shows around town a lot.
Pure X (4)
Ringo Deathstarr (13)
Some bands seem to have a stronger following outside of Austin than in town, and that’s probably the case with Pure X. Ringo Deathstarr is loud, rock-y, and exciting, but the eyes of the national fans are probably going to be on Pure X, which’ll take this one.
Bright Light Social Hour (6)
Mother Falcon (11)
Bright Light Social Hour had a great 2010, and cleaned up at the Austin Music Awards at last year’s SXSW. Mother Falcon, meanwhile, has been pulling off some surprising feats lately – from backing Fat Tony at Fun Fun Fun Fest, to performing with a hundred strings at last year’s Fusebox, to bringing all of its double-digit members to six SXSW shows. That sort of gumption bodes well for them in 2012.
Gary Clark Jr. (3)
Dikes Of Holland (14)
Coming off a tour with Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and heading into a ridiculous eleven (11!) SXSW performances, Dikes Of Holland deserve more attention than they get. That’s not enough to put them over ACL Festival standout (and the coolest Austinite to sit-in with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon) Gary Clark Jr., but don’t sleep on that band, either.
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (7)
SPEAK (10)
Trail Of Dead’s star has fallen a bit since its 2002 breakout Source Codes And Tags, while SPEAK’s brand of synth-pop has been shining lately. All the momentum is on its side this year.
The Sword (2)
Not In The Face!! (15)
Not In The Face!! is a promising, rising Austin talent, but The Sword is a pretty big deal. Maybe in a few years?
The Rising Conference:
Skrillex (1)
The Black Belles (16)
The Black Belles put out a heck of a novelty single with Jack White and Stephen Colbert last year, and we’re expecting big things from the, er, gothabilly ladies in 2012. Skrillex’s output at the moment, on the other hand, is helping to define the sound of contemporary music. The fact that he’s even playing SXSW — especially at a room the size of The Main — is a huge deal.
Robert Glasper (8)
Danny Brown (9)
Things are going well for Danny Brown right now, but at SXSW this year, he suffers from “up and coming mixtape rapper” glut — between Brown, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire, et al, it’s hard to get too excited about a mid-tier guy like Brown. Glasper, meanwhile, is one of the most exciting figures in contemporary jazz, which never gets enough play at the fest. Glasper takes it.
We Are Augustines (5)
The War On Drugs (12)
There’s a lot of steam behind We Are Augustines at the moment – iTunes, NPR, and Letterman are all on the band’s jock, and their debut, Rise Ye Sunken Ships, was a huge accomplishment. The War On Drugs are coming off a good year, too, but their 2012 isn’t quite as bright as We Are Augustines’.
Kendrick Lamar (4)
Cloud Nothings (13)
When it comes to punky indie rock, Cloud Nothings are only getting better, but the band hasn’t been able to break wide yet – they’re roughly of the same stature as they were last year, when they played SXSW to a lot of hype. Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, is likely to be one of the current glut of mixtape rappers to fulfill the promise he’s shown.
The Heavy (6)
Action Bronson (11)
Action Bronson’s “white guy who raps like Ghostface Killah” routine has legs, but Bath, England’s The Heavy made converts of everybody from the NFL and MLB to Newt Gingrich off of the strength of their single “How Ya Like Me Now?” — and the rest of the band’s catalog is every bit as strong.
Das Racist (3)
Radiation City (11)
Das Racist is on a victory lap after delivering on the hype of its mixtape origins with last year’s Relax. Still, you have to wonder if they've peaked, at least for the time being. Portland’s Radiation City, meanwhile, is coming off of the release of The Hand That Takes You, one of last year’s most underrated gems. They take the round in a huge stunner.
Alabama Shakes (7)
Of Monsters And Men (10)
Iceland’s Of Monsters And Men are coming into SXSW with a ton of hype, and could upset most of the band’s they’d be up against in round one — but not Alabama Shakes, who are poised to have one of the year’s biggest breakouts. Blame it on unlucky seeding.
A$AP Rocky (2)
Youth Lagoon (15)
Youth Lagoon scored an 8.4 from Pitchfork for last year’s The Year Of Hibernation, one of 2011’s masterpieces of bedroom rock. That’s still barely a blip compared to the force that is A$AP Rocky, who’s riding all the momentum in the world as he returns to Austin less than a month after opening for Drake at the Erwin Center.
The Comeback Conference:
Fiona Apple (1)
Cotton Mather (16)
Somehow, every time Fiona Apple disappears from the public eye, it just makes people want her to come back so much more. Carrying the admiration of both ex-90’s alternarockers and the Pitchfork set (her performance at the Pitchfork Showcase at Central Presbyterian Church is sure to be one of SXSW’s hottest tickets), her New York and Chicago shows sold out in seconds flat. Cotton Mather, meanwhile, is a fondly-remembered reunion of local 90’s alternative rock. Don’t sleep on them, but they’re not Fiona Apple-sized adored.
Eve 6 (8)
Van Hunt (9)
The late 90’s were good to pop-punkers Eve 6, whose “Inside Out” was a radio staple in 1997. Van Hunt’s never had that kind of breakout, but his soul-inflected brand of rock is ripe for a turn in the spotlight.
Blackalicious (5)
What Made Milwaukee Famous (12)
What Made Milwaukee Famous was one of Austin’s brightest talents in the mid-00’s, but they seemingly disappeared after 2008’s What Doesn’t Kill Us. That’d make them a longshot to take on late-90’s underground hip-hop standard bearers Blackalicious — except the Sacramento duo hasn’t been relevant in an even longer time, and hip-hop is less forgiving, when it comes to comebacks. The hometown boys take the upset.
Crystal Method (4)
BoDeans (13)
The BoDeans last stab at relevance was when they wrote the theme song for the beloved early-90’s bit of family melodrama, Party Of Five. Crystal Method have been out of the limelight for a long time, too, but at least their music still sounds good if you’re on drugs.
Thomas Dolby (6)
Corrosion Of Conformity (11)
Corrosion Of Conformity were missed during the metal band’s recent hiatus, but we suspect that there’s going to be a lot of “She Blinded Me With Science” nostalgia and talk of Dolby as a pioneer that makes him get a lot more attention than anyone would expect.
Jimmy Cliff (3)
Alice Smith (13)
Jimmy Cliff is a bonafide living legend — let’s get that out of the way, first. But he’s a living legend in reggae, which isn’t a genre that tends to light up the boards at SXSW. Alice Smith’s 2006 debut For Lovers, Dreamers, And Me was one of the defining rock/soul albums of the past decade, and the fact that she’s taking to an Austin stage for the first time in who knows how long gives her the win in another stunning upset.
Free Energy (7)
Nikka Costa (10)
It was only two years ago that Free Energy’s debut, Stuck On Nothing, garnered them “next big thing” status from print mags like Rolling Stone and Spin — but the Internet has given music fans a short memory, and it’s been a while since anyone had a lot to say about the Pennsylvania rockers. That’s still probably enough to put them over Nikka Costa, who came on strong in 2002 with a Mark Ronson-fueled funk debut, but who has been quietly making over her sound since.
Counting Crows (2)
Therapy? (15)
Irish metal band Therapy? celebrated twenty years of rocking recently, but they’ve never broken in the States the way that they did back home. Counting Crows hasen’t released an album since 2008’s Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings, and they’ve never gotten the credit they deserve for frontman Adam Duritz’s songwriting chops, but they’re also one of those bands that can just emerge with a ubiquitous smash hit seemingly anytime they want.
The Established Bracket:
Bruce Springsteen (1)
Dr. John (16)
There aren’t a lot of Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers playing SXSW in any given year, but let’s be real — as important as Dr. John’s contributions to New Orleans-flavored rock music have been, there’s only one Boss, and he’s a heavy favorite for the whole tournament.
T.I. (8)
Say Anything (9)
Give T.I. some credit just for not being incarcerated during SXSW this year. He’s poised for a big 2012, because a star like T.I. is kind of always poised for a big year when he’s got an album coming out, and that’ll be enough to put him over Say Anything, whose audience skews a little too young to catch the largely 21-up SXSW crowd.
Nas (5)
John Mayer (12)
The days when John Mayer could get a more attention for his music than for saying dumb shit in interviews aren’t over, but he’s not what he was in 2003. Nas is the rare emcee who only gets better, though, and Mayer’s “hood pass” isn’t enough to make this a contest.
Gossip (4)
Sharon Van Etten (13)
Beth Ditto and The Gossip are widely beloved, but we wouldn’t want to be up against rising New York folkie Sharon Van Etten in any category right now — lady is on fire after her new album, Tramp, caught every year that she hadn’t already had turned her way after 2010’s epic put her on the map.
Norah Jones (6)
Of Montreal (11)
This one’s mostly a question of momentum: Norah Jones is a household name of impressive stature, but Come Away With Me was a long time ago. Of Montreal has found the groundwork they’ve laid over their lengthy career to be increasingly paying off, meanwhile, as each album they release is bigger than the last. They’re primed for an upset here.
Santigold (3)
Magnetic Fields (14)
The Magnetic Fields playing a show is no longer a major event, and they’ll struggle to get past Santigold, who’s upcoming album is as hotly anticipated as a record can be.
M. Ward (7)
Talib Kweli (10)
As important as Talib Kweli has been to hip-hop over the past decade-plus he’s been putting out records — and as impressive as his 2011 release Gutter Rainbows was — he’s still an artist on the backside of his career. M. Ward reached beer commercial ubiquity after his 2009 powerhouse album Hold Time on the other hand, and is primed for a big 2012.
Jack White (2)
Built To Spill (15)
It takes nothing away from Built To Spill — which got a primo gig headlining Mess With Texas this year — to say that Jack White’s one of the biggest draws at SXSW, period. Expect the line at The Stage On Sixth to be around the friggin’ block that night, while Built To Spill will command some moderate attention.
That brings us to the end of round one — waste some time with us and take a look at the bracket for round two, and offer your picks in the comments, for tomorrow.