thanks in no small part to the aforementioned ms. perry, this summer didn’t quite reach its jam quotient. i missed estelle, expected more from usher and wished that the teddybears would come back and make a dancestastic duet with kanye. with that said, there was still a TON of musical goodness going on, with lots of the usual players doing their part to provide the necessary soundtrack for summer hijinks. my personal favorite is “bang bang bang,” which never fails to transform me into a flailing blur of head shakes, elbow jerks and french phrases.

and yes, there IS some justin bieber in this mix. ACCEPT THE BIEBS.

check out the playlist below, then grab it here! may it enliven yr remaining summer adventures and ward off the encroachment of old man winter, aka the biggest party pooper of ALL TIME.

and since i live in texas, the end of winter means that spring is almost over too! bye spring! you were ethereal and lovely as usual! i’ll miss being warm yet not sweaty! thanks for the bluebonnets!

of course, with the advent of summer, my itunes will be moving on from a balance of 50% party, 50% pretty to full on 100% party. therefore, it’s time to present my seasonal music time capsule for spring 2010. PLEASE TO ENJOY.

may this mix feel like a sweet, invigorating spring breeze! in fact, you might want to keep it around for the summer in case you need a break, sort of like the musical version of one of those plastic hand-held fans that spray water. THOSE THINGS ARE AWESOME.

*at least until the middle of november! i will accept nothing earlier!

LOTS OF TASTY BUSINESS AND FRIENDSHIP!

after years of running from place to place so i could see ten bands every night, my priorities suddenly shifted away from the music and way more about the food. obvs most of this has to do with my intrinsic obsession with all things delicious, but a part of it stemmed from my new festival motto: “anything that’s not inconvenient!” (pardon the double negative, it just sounds better that way, you know?). others might call this: “getting old.”

so be warned that this post will contain about 80% fewer bands than last year and about 50% more tasty business. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

henri, erica and i basically established those percentages on tuesday night, when we decided to celebrate our newly acquired fader fort wristbands with a cheap-o happy hour at mccormick & schmick’s! is it just me or are there too many c’s in that name? anyway, we got spinach artichoke dip (sorry, it was gone before i could get flossie out of my purse), fried calamari:

p.s. that calamari is actually a huge scam cos hiding underneath that first layer is just a big pile of cole slaw. WHAT?! that is like, the worst kind of surprise.

and, the pièce de résistance, MINI CORN DOGS!!!!! with chipotle dipping sauce!

i’ll continue, but don’t worry, you will see corn dogs again v. soon.

since that was just happy hour, of course we still had to have dinner. so we walked over to frank, where i decided to take it easy on my tummy and skip the hot dogs. i just got the chili cheese fries instead!

you may be asking yrself, “seriously? no music yet?” but hold yr horses, son! the music festival didn’t even begin until…

WEDNESDAY

i met up with henri and erica downtown and had my heart set on checking out the iamsound showcase, mainly cos i’ve been dying to see jj. but as soon as we got to malverde, i realized there was a big line and, more importantly, THAT I HADN’T EATEN DINNER YET!!

the choice was clear.

yeah, yeah, if we’d gotten in line, we could’ve gotten into the show, but then we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this DELICIOUS QUESO WITH CHORIZO AND FRIED PORK RINDS ON TOP!

y’all, i mean, just look at that cheese. LOOK AT IT (and look away from my face, cos this is a horrible picture, but i’m posting it anyway. such is my devotion to cheesy goodness).

after dinner, we decided to do our other favorite sxsw activity. no, not actually see a band. GO TO MUGSHOTS!

we meet up with the fabulous erin for a drink and a chat. FYA REPRESENT!

you’ll note that i’m wearing my green vest for st. pattie’s day! fortunately for erin, she was holding a green bottle, which i know the irish would totally count.

after sending erin off to the british embassy so she could actually see some bands (what is *that* about?), we decided to walk over to the ritz and check out the u.s. premiere of “suck,” a rock ‘n’ roll vampire movie. and if that description isn’t enough to sell you, here’s the trailer:

i know, right? what’s not to love? ok, well, besides moby playing a believable hardcore singer. although knowing he’s a vegetarian, i did enjoy the scene where people throw raw meat at him. sure, the premise of the movie is silly, but we had a great time watching it! this isn’t the kind of film you’d want to watch on yr own, not cos it’s scary (although that main vampire dude totes gave me the heebie jeebies), but because it’s WAY more amusing with a crowd. plus alice cooper! i can’t look at him and not hear “In fact , it’s pronounced ‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land’” in my head. bonus!

THURSDAY

it will come as no shock to you that my day began in this fashion:

henri and i chillaxed on the chupacabra patio and watched the parade of hipster fashion march by (more on that later). john met up with us for a beer, then we walked towards the east side until we reached the fader fort!

it may not look like much on the outside, but the fader fort is legendary for its free beer and most excellent line-up. i’d actually never ventured inside until this year, and i’m so glad i did, cos i ran into my favorite rock star of all time! i’m talking, of course, about erik!

honestly, i can’t imagine south by without erik, since we’ve been enjoying it together for so long. that’s some friendship legacy, y’all.

i do realize, however, that sxsw isn’t just about pantsers and tasty business, so here, finally, is some music for you!

first, we caught the local natives, a band i’ve been dying to see. and yes, they most definitely rocked! listen while you look at the picture and you can feel like you were there! p.s. beer helps the effect.

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/10-Cubism-Dream.mp3|titles=10 Cubism Dream]

speaking of beer, ta-da!

i’d like to take a moment to thank henri and john for going up to the bar for me and therefore making my two beer tower possible. this bud’s for you, guys!

after the local natives, we headed outside of the tent and ran into basically everyone we know in austin.

the always delightful josh d!

selina! tommy (in the background)! chris (and trish)! erica! sporting a totally sweet soco wristband! swag it up, lady!

i mean, just one look at all of these faces and you can see why i loved going wristbandless. i’d SO pick these guys over a struggling indie band any day.

next up were the morning benders, another band i was really excited to see live. and they were super great!! i wanted to insert my fave song of theirs, “excuses,” here but it’s too big. so just go here and listen to it! you will not be sorry, no sirree.

now that we’d seen a whopping two bands, it was time for a change of pace. and i mean that in the most whirly, dizzying way possible. that’s right, folks, at this year’s sxsw, there were CARNIVAL RIDES!!!! OMG!!!!!

now, see, there’s a line i can get behind (heyooo!). you’ll see more pics later, but jelly nyc totally aced it this year with their carnival-themed day shows. and we got there in time to catch the last ride of the day! which, as you may know, is the most magical feeling in the world. relive it with me now! and if you need to hold my hand, it’s ok.

seriously, best way to watch the sunset EVER.

the jelly nyc party rented out the mexican american cultural center, a space i’d never visited but loved immediately. i mean, look how pretty! like a rainbow!

in fact, the only sight sweeter than that was the dish of mac & cheese i was later served at parkside. allow josh d. to model some for you:

after our late dinner, i went to BED! cos it was not inconvenient!

FRIDAY

in the early afternoon, i had lunch at whole foods with one of my rice superstars, jen hitt! jen has pretty much my fave name ever (it’s fun to exclaim! try it!), and she’s awesome enough to deserve it!

it was wonderful to catch up and hear about jen’s continued fabulousness. yay pantship!

following lunch, i met up with henri so we could walk back over to fader fort. i snapped this picture as we headed east, because nothing says south by more than hipsters walking down sixth street IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. unfortunately, they do not sparkle.

when we reached the fort, i encountered cherie currie! with a chain saw! carving a jean jacket! i mean, of course!

she was in town to promote “the runaways” (which i saw last night and really enjoyed, btw), but in my opinion, all she was really promoting were her AMAZING LINDA HAMILTON LEVEL GUNS!!!!! cherie, i look forward to dressing up as you for halloween, although i’ll be taking the dakota fanning route cos a) i look like her b) there’s no way i could ever achieve anything close to yr arm muscles.

now that we’re back at fader, let’s take a moment to address this year’s sxsw fashion.

SXSW 2010 FASHION REPORT!

well, dear readers, you will be displeased to learn that Major Fug is still dominating the runway. we’re talking mullets, stonewashed denim, skinny jeans, fanny packs and cheap 80s sunglasses, modeled all together quite masterfully by this person:

all i can think about when i look at that picture is, “don’t sit on yr keys!”

to elaborate on Major Fug’s stranglehold on sxsw fashion, i give you exhibit b, the Guy Who Looks Like a Child Molester On Purpose:

as usual, this year’s festival had its share of women inexplicably able to wear the highest heels ever while standing for hours:

lest you think it was all just the same old haute couture, i have two new exciting fads for you!

first, the Yacht Rockers!

these guys were EVERYWHERE this year! as henri put it, “there are so many brokeass people here trying to look rich!” i’ve never seen such a plethora of dudes pretending to be james spader from “pretty in pink” (you guys know he didn’t get the girl, right? just checking).

but by far the WORST new trend i observed was THE DREADED ONE PIECE SHORT/TANK TOP COMBO!!!!!!!

AM I ON CRAZY PILLS?! WHAT IS THIS? i wanted to tear into that sucker like mugatu on a cappuccino high. WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS GARMENT SERVE? other than to force you to complete disrobe when you use the bathroom, which at south by means a port-a-potty, which means YOU HAVE TO BE ALMOST NAKED INSIDE A PORT-A-POTTY? gah my skin burns with germ apparitions just thinking about it!

if i was a fug girl, i would create a clever conversation between these two involving a tank pantaloon one-piece and orange skin. but i’m not, so let’s simply cleanse our eyeballs with my favorite piece of fashion from the whole festival. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you:

THE PANTS SHIRT!!!!!!!

does anyone else hear angels singing while tearing up tank/short one-pieces?

speaking of heavenly music, next up is the very best, which is not just a clever name! they put on the funnest show i experienced this year, complete with two kickass dancers and TONS of energy. listen below to get an idea of why they’re just so infectiously awesome!

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/01-Kamphopo.mp3|titles=01 Kamphopo]

the guy in the hoodie was the cutest hype man in the world. he kept yelling, “AUSTIN MAKE SOME NOISE!!!” and then trish and henri would do this:

y’all, even the professionally apathetic, too cool for school hipsters were *dancing*. that should tell you what an absolute blast this show was.

now that we were filled with boisterous energy and smiling our faces off, we did the only thing we could do under the circumstances: MORE CARNIVAL RIDES! so we headed back to jelly nyc…

and got some of this action!

no, i’m not talking about the gravitron (although henri did ride it, twice! i prefer to maximize my chances of keeping food IN my stomach). i’m talking about FUNNEL CAKE Y’ALL!!!!!

about five minutes later, that plate was empty and i was covered with powdered sugar. oh yeah and HAPPINESS.

henri’s carnival food of choice? a big ole corndog!

i just realized there were no clowns at this carnival, and i want to take a second and thank jelly nyc for mercifully sparing us all.

anyway, back to the rides! hi chris and trish!

bon voyage, erica and henri!

i think i made the same awesome face erica’s making, except it wasn’t on a ride. it was when i got my funnel cake.

next up, the swings! no one was on them, and we felt kinda bad for the carnie guy, so we all got on. as you can see by our faces, it was a good decision! yay happy sxsw pants!

this picture of caitlin and james totally reminds me of the end of “grease.”

too bad their swing didn’t fly up up up into the sky! although on a carnival ride, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

and in case you want to ride this INSANELY CRAY CRAY ride from the comfort of yr desk chair, here you go!

after riding ourselves silly, we caught a bit of the glass candy set (not bad, but not that exciting).

[audio:http://poshdeluxe.com/wp-content/upload/2010/03/ROLLING-DOWN-THE-HILLS.mp3|titles=ROLLING DOWN THE HILLS]

the funny thing is that the band preceding glass candy was sleigh bells, and before they went on, i was like, “yay!! sleigh bells! i’ve been dying to see them!” and then this hyper girl in a mesh tank top got on stage and started yelling into the mike and i was like, “wait! where’s the dude from the shins?” ha ha, um, that would be BROKEN bells, sarah. not sleigh bells. but seriously, aren’t there enough words to go around for band names?! i don’t see anyone using PANTS in their name, and that word is MUCH better than bells!

anyway! erica, henri and i headed to dinner (no pictures, sorry!) and then i… guess what… WENT TO BED!!! cos i had no wristband to stop me!

SATURDAY

on the final day of sxsw, henri and i STAYED INSIDE. ALL DAY. you know why? because it was freezing! and you know how posh d. feels about her pants getting cold!!! it’s a sin, you guys. seriously.

and, like my motto says, i’m old! er, i mean, it was not inconvenient to stay inside. right.

we did finally venture out around 10:30 to console trish, chris, jeni and erica, who had all stood in the clustercuss known as the perez hilton party line and froze their pants off and still didn’t get in. and y’all know that’s not what fxtb is about!! fxtb is about being warm and having easy access to tasty beverages and friends! and what’s the best place for that? the highball, of course!

although there was plenty of perez bashing (waiter: “what can i get you?” chris: “perez hilton’s head on a plate?”), it was soon conquered by all of the pantsing and love in the air. awww!

just look at this sweetness brought to you by jeni and mick!

and you know it’s a good time when the finger photo bandit makes an appearance (nice one, trish!).

we concluded the festival with a ceremonial burning of the wristbands!

ok, actually, we didn’t really burn them, cos that would’ve smelled super bad, but the symbolism, people! the symbolism!

and that, pants world, was my sxsw (fxtb) of 2010! sure, it was different, but honestly, i had a blast, and if this is what getting old is like, BRING IT ON (preferably with queso on top).

usually, my fall/winter mix is rather melancholy, cos, duh, that’s just how falling leaves and dark skies at 5 PM make you feel! this year’s edition definitely includes that general mood, but then those sad songs sort of get kicked in the pants by lady gaga and lil wayne. hello, let’s not forget that fall and winter include NEW YEAR’S EVE and there’s no room for any melancholy pants at my dance party! plus i need to move around a lot to stay warm (julian casablancas is practically like a snuggie to me now).

now, before you go hating on any of these songs, keep in mind that i strive to preserve an accurate account of my music experience. in other words, yes, i realize that “tik tok” has been overplayed to the point where i’d almost rather hear a black eyed peas song instead (I KNOW, THAT’S CRAZY), but i DID listen to it a lot in december, so i can’t omit it just cos it kind of annoys me now.

plus, if you don’t like any of the songs, you can delete them! this mix is now yrs to keep, play, dance with and/or heavily edit. so, i hope you enjoy it, and i especially hope that it makes the remainder of winter (PLEASE LET IT END SOON) a little less cold and a lot more pantstastic!

LINKS

jon sent me and meredith this AMAZING ROBOT UNICORN GAME OMGGGG. just wait til you see what happens when you die (hint: IT’S AMAZING).

one minute of “just 3 boyz” has me convinced that “funny or die presents” is gonna be awesome. and also, weird.

if you’re not following the choose yr own adventure series on FYA, you are totally missing out on LIFE CHANGING EXCITEMENT and EARTH SHATTERING DECISIONS. and speaking of earth shattering, check out the peeta vs. gale debate that is currently keeping me up at night because i always thought i was team peeta and now maybe i’m leaning towards team gale and OMG WHAT DO THIS MEAN?

crass commercialism aside, i love everything about the christmas season. the baked goods! the sparkles! the love in the air! the prezzies! the moments of quiet reflection! repeated viewings of “love actually”! the tasty hot beverages! the warm hugs!

but one of my most favorite favorite things is, of course, christmas music. oh man, by 8 AM on december 1st you better believe i was having a little desk dance party with my favorite holiday jams!

ok, so i realize that it can be kind of annoying to hear the same canned crap in every store during the month of december, and it’s easy to get irritated by the second time (actually, yeah, the first five seconds) you hear alvin and the chipmunks “singing” about what presents they want from santa even though alvin is obviously not getting anything cos he’s a hooligan. but you guys, holiday music is like wine. franzia will always give you a bad hangover, but fine yet moderately priced (thanks steve at HEB!) wine is DELICIOUS and makes you feel all warm and happy and classy inside. which is exactly how good christmas music should make you feel!

with the hope of spreading joy and good cheer, i’d like to share with you the v. best of my holiday music collection from the depths of my itunes cellar. we’re talking vintage! we’re talking rare finds! we’re talking PREMIUM PANTS.

so, put on yr favorite sweater, find a comfy chair and have a glass of poshdeluxmas cheer. let’s toast to a magical, sparkly, wonder-filled holiday season; may you all dance like the charlie brown kids and and feel it in yr fingers and toes just like billy mack.

and in the words of julian casablancas, I WISH IT WAS CHRISTMAS TODAAAAAY!

IT’S OFFICIALLY FALL IN TEXAS! get out yr sweaters, y’all, and act like you’re going to wear them for longer than a week! yeehaw!!

my friend leslie, who recently moved here from georgia, asked if the leaves change color in austin. yes, leslie, they do! they turn brown and fugly! and then they drop off trees and make the ground look nasty! yay!

the fact that we rarely get real autumn weather just makes texans overcompensate in other ways, like wearing scarves even though it’s only 75 degrees and pretending like apple cider isn’t available year-round. OBVS i’m totally on board with this illusion, esp. cos it gives me an excuse to eat fall-themed baked goods (well HELLO pumpkin scones!) and indulge in any and all cozy behavior, like wrapping myself in a blanket and reading some good YA. I LOVE BEING COZY PANTS!!!!

the other key to convincing yrself that it’s really “fall” is a good soundtrack. i don’t know about you guys, but i like my autumn music to be thoughtful and beautiful and a mix of quiet and soaring. i’ll definitely throw in a few raucous numbers here and there, but overall i need music for contemplating things… you know, like how pumpkin bread got so delicious.

over the years, i’ve compiled quite a few fall mixes, and i always find myself drifting back to them once october begins. i listen to a lot of nada surf, joseph arthur and death cab, but in order to avoid drowning in nostalgia, i’m always on the lookout for new music. ok is it possible to write that without sounding cheesy?

anyway, i wanted to share with you a few of my new fall favorites, and i’m hoping that you guys have got a few new albums up yr sleeves as well.

first up, the big pink! i just got “a brief history of love,” and i’ve been listening to the entire album on repeat over the past two weeks. the music is a pretty amazing balance of softness and power, sweetness and darkness. it’s definitely the kind of record that makes the biggest impact via the overall sound rather than picking and choosing songs– although there are definitely a few that have gotten stuck in my head, like this one:

plus, the band is in good company on 4AD records, which features other Autumn Greats like camera obscura, blond redhead and the mountain goats.

next up is my old favorite, zoot woman. ok so i kind of take back the whole “quiet” thing i said earlier about fall music, cos zoot woman isn’t really quiet, it’s more uh… synthy. but their music’s got a great industrial kind of darkness, and it reminds me of late nights on chilly city streets. their latest album, “things are what they used to be,” is, in my opinion, on par with the awesomeness of “living in a magazine” (which featured one of my favorite songs of all time and, not coincidentally, track #10 on my fall 05 mix, “jessie.”) i can tell you right now that i’m DEFINITELY putting “more than ever” on my fall 2009 mix, but since there’s no video for it (yet), check out “we won’t break” from the same album.

and since i just listed two bands that aren’t necessarily “gentle” and i don’t want you to think i was making up all of that stuff about wanting reflective music for the fall (i DO ponder things! deeply!), i have to mention the band other lives. i’ve had their self-titled album for a while now, but it’s PERFECT for starting out the window at rainy weather, writing angsty poetry in yr journal or, you know, eating spiced muffins and drinking lattes. actually any music is good for enjoying baked goods but anyway just listen to this song– it’s so pretty!!!

don’t you just wanna slip on a comfy sweater and sit in a rocking chair while being all melancholy?

i’m also pretty excited about julian casablancas’ upcoming album, “11th dimension,” cos his songs are just SO DANG CATCHY. plus this album is supposed to be kind of “classical” which seems more fall-ish to me.

ok, so that’s what i’ve got so far. now it’s yr turn! autumnize me!

HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN OUTSIDE? cos SWEATY PANTS! that’s what’s outside!!!!!

not that i’m complaining, cos while the rest of the world has to pack away their swimsuits and their sweet summer nights of good times, i am still chillaxing to the MAX by the pool and going out at night WITHOUT A SWEATER, which is the height of luxury as far as i’m concerned.

even though this rumor is obvs a huge fat lie, it did serve to remind me that i really needed to get my pants together and create my summer 2009 mix! holla! after throwing down the gauntlet back in june, i’ve spent the summer collecting my favorite songs then playing them during any and all summer events and shrieking, “YOU GUYS I LOVE THIS SONG! LISTEN TO THIS PART!! ISN’T IT AWESOME?!!” [not to give away my methods BUT FYI this is my covert process of making my mix the Official Soundtrack Of the Summer, cos then when, say, "battlefield" comes on, henri will go, "GAH remember that summer where you made me listen to this awful song over and over again until i couldn't get 'GET YA ARMOR' out of my head?!!" and i'll be all, "i know, right?!! doesn't this song make it feel like that summer is still happening right now?!!" and then i will feel really proud of myself]

anyway!

it was actually really hard to get this mix down to cd-length, so i want to take a moment now to say RIP to passion pit, the dirty projectors, N.A.S.A. and john vanderslice. don’t worry, music, you’ll still live forever on my computer! until it crashes!

with that said, i think this is a pretty good representation of my summer (and yrs, if you hung out at all with me anywhere near an ipod dock), which means the songs range from dance party starters to raging rockers to “hey that’s pretty!” i don’t expect pants world to like everything, but, as with all my mixes, i hope you find at least one song or band that you really enjoy. cos then yay!

here’s the track list:

now go get this jam so you can listen to it, esp. cos IT’S STILL SUMMER! sshh! don’t tell canada!

p.s. let me know if the link doesn’t work and i’ll get you a copy.

p.p.s. the first song is not, uh, for the faint of heart. so… just keep that in mind. um yeah.

LINKS

matt s. sent me this DOUBLE TRUE article on the 12 most annoying types of facebookers. read it and then squirm uncomfortably while you wonder if you’re one of them.

check out jezebel’s collection of diary pages cos they are AWESOME. yeah, ok, so they totally copied dear diary pants but these pages are so great, i’ll forgive them.

cookie monster ate an emmy!!!!!

omg! soleil moon frye dressed up like punky brewster! and guess what! she’s not that cute anymore! oh well.

today’s post is about a v. v. v. vital topic. cos everyone knows that the most deciding factor of whether or not you’ll have an awesome summer is, of course, HAVING AN AWESOME SUMMER SONG.

you cannot, i repeat, cannot have a great summer without the proper soundtrack. first of all, cos there’s nothing better than the moment The Song of the Summer comes on at a bar/club/dance party and you jump up and down while squealing, “OMGGG! IT’S THE SONG OF THE SUMMER! I LOVE YOU GUYS!” second of all, cos you need a song that can store up all of yr summer memories, so that when you hear it, perhaps in the dead of winter, or maybe even a year or two later, you’ll smile and think, “ahhh… this song takes me back to that fantastic tubing trip/night at mugshots/night at warren’s/round of kings/random dance party in the parking lot/time that henri tried to rap battle strangers on the street*.”

therefore, you can see why the Song of the Summer must be selected v. v. carefully. you can’t just trust what you hear at the club or what yr music blog tells you. you have to FEEL the song. you have to know, from the v. first time that you hear the rousing chorus, that this song is going to take care of you all. summer. long. this song BELIEVES in you. this song INSPIRES you to greater and greater levels of awesomeness. when it comes to fun, this song doesn’t take “no” for an answer!!!!

so yeah, that’s a lot of pressure to put on a song. which is why i usually rely on vulture’s song of the summer chart to guide me through the peaks and valleys of popular music. thanks to vulture, last summer i discovered estelle and “american boy,” which quickly became my Song of the Summer 2008.

this year, though, the pickings have been preeeeetty slim. i’m kind of worried, actually. esp. cos i’ve already started having SO MUCH FUN but without a song to capture it all!

so, i thought i would give you guys my contenders and see if you had any suggestions. please keep in mind that summer songs MUST be fun to listen to. i don’t want to be hearing any mopey business while i’m sitting by the pool, sipping on root beer vodka. i mean, save the whining for the winter where it belongs, ok?

my first contender is more for the “indie” song of the summer and less for the Ultimate Champion. it’s a fantastic song, actually, but you can’t really dance to it, and that’s key. still, i love listening to it, and it’s definitely going on my summer 2009 mix. also, um the video is all up on the heebie jeebies, so try not to let that affect yr opinion of the song.

grizzly bear, “two weeks”

next is a song that, again, you can’t really dance to, but it’s DEFINITELY up there on the Car Singing Charts. also? it’s by mandy moore, my future best friend, and if you think that influences my opinion then you are BIG DUH.

i can’t embed the video, cos the record label is dumb, but go here to watch and listen (the video is majorly cute!!!! just like mandy!!!).

ok, so this next song is by the weekend warriors, who i like to call “the van halen of 2009.” if you don’t like van halen, you will NOT like these guys. also, i am sad for you. anyway. this is the kind of band that was BORN to make music played at waterparks. and also cheesy bars. in fact, this song is really stupid and terrible. but also? awesome. and that’s exactly what a Song of Summer is all about.

on the electronic/dance side of things, i have to throw in royksopp & robyn’s “the girl and the robot.” it’s cool, it’s dance-y and the video is way way way fantastic. the only problem is that it’s not really sing-along-y, which will ultimately prevent it from achieving official Song of Summer status.

ok, now i’ll get to the two front runners (so far) in the Poshdeluxe Song of Summer Challenge. I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE DIZZY WITH ANTICIPATION!!!!! YR SUMMERS ARE ABOUT TO BE CHANGED FOREVER!

first, the sounds with “no one sleeps when i’m awake.” i have the feeling that this will not be everyone else’s pick, esp. cos it’s not dancey really. but what it lacks in booty shaking, it makes up with fist pumping. GAH this song makes me PUMP MY FIST SO HARD. plus i’m a sucker for the whole “girl rock singer” thing. so yeah, this isn’t a song for the club BUT it’s a good memory collector, in my opinion.

and, finally, a song that was introduced to me JUST YESTERDAY by the lovely julia, who shares my whole summer-is-to-inner-teen-as-moon-is-to-werewolf complex. now, when i tell you who sings this song, you will most definitely roll yr eyes. you’ll think, “wow, that YA addiction has finally sent sarah OVER THE EDGE.” and, my pantsers, you would be right. cos this song is by jordin sparks, and that is RIDICULOUS.

ridiculous and TOTALLY GREAT. esp. cos not only is the song sung by a member of the miley cyrus brat pack, but it’s also a TOTAL rip-off of “love is a battlefied.” and i realize that some of you are going to be v. v. angered by what you see as an act of blasphemy against pat benatar, The Goddess of the Teen Runaway. but do me two favors before you listen to the jordin sparks version.

first, think about the lyrics of “love is a battlefield.” once you do, you will realize that “WE ARE YOUNG!” is just as silly as “GET YR ARMOR,” which is a line from the jordin version (trust me, you WILL be chanting it, over and over). second, realize that the kids of today need their own version of “love is a battlefield.” every generation must discover the universal truth that love hurts and, from there, make it their own! which, in todays terms, means a rousing, repetitive, kelly clarkson-esque power pop extravaganza.

uhh… i think i just described THE PERFECT INGREDIENTS FOR THE SONG OF THE SUMMER. now listen and see if you think i’m right or if my inner teen really HAS taken over and is now holding me hostage for a ransom of wet ‘n’ wild nail polish and sour cream & onion pringles.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!! i really think i may have found the Song of the Summer, 2009. it’s fun, it’s dumb, and it is in no way respectable.

but, hey, the summer isn’t over yet, which means the competition is still open. if you have any suggestions, leave ‘em in the comments!

*this actually happened during my birthday weekend, but i have no doubt that it will happen again this summer.

LINKS

j sent me this delightful little interview with emma, a nine-year-old who made a movie about vampires. my second favorite part is about garlic potato chips. my first favorite part is this quote: “i typed the script in red to make it scary.”

you guys. check out the new dance moves of the summer. we have a LOT of work to do before we step up 2 the streets!!!!

john krakinski interviewed maya rudolph and DANG IT I WANNA BE FRIENDS WITH THEM SO BAD!!!!

one of my fave YA authors, john green, made a “fat sandwich” and ate it. gross! but, you know you want to watch it.

and maybe the tension between those two halves is why the last night of sxsw is almost always the best.

by 6 PM on saturday, i had a pretty good feeling that this year, out of all of my previous southbys, was going to end with the loudest bang… even though it began in a crowd of perez hilton fans.

ok, so i read perez hilton. sometimes. but i wouldn’t say i’m a fan of the gossip gangster himself. a lot of people in this line, though? REAL FANS. they love what he loves (zacquisha). they hate what he hates (lily allen). one guy next to me even said the following sentence, out loud, without any hint of irony, “well, you know good charlotte is one of the hottest rock bands out there right now.”

out of the entire crowd, though, this girl really took the crazy cake:

naturally, the camera people interviewed her! and then they asked her to do it again, but gave her a script, “i’m addicted to perez!” which she did with much excitement and pep. unfortunately, the media missed out on her earlier conversation with henri, which covered everything from the fact that obama will bring on the new world order to her plan to marry a rich businessman because “they love bubbly girls. and i’m bubbly!”

no really, i DID have a good reason to be there. cos in addition to free beverages, perez actually offered some pretty great bands! plus, i have to give him (er, his people?) major props for converting the old safeway into a pretty sweet party space:

i was also REALLY impressed with the sound. usually the systems kind of suck at these parties, but to my (admittedly non-audiophile) ears, the sound quality was pretty great.

unfortunately, tragedy struck before the party even began. you guys I HAD TO USE A PORTAPOTTY. AUUGHHHH! i had successfully avoided them ENTIRELY for the festival and then… on the last night… gah. plus they were super dark so i had to use sadie in order to find the actual toilet which made it EVEN SCARIER AND GROSSER. it was like a scene from “the abyss”!! which i have actually not seen but i know it’s terrifying and set in a cave.

i vowed to refrain from peeing for the rest of the night. which made things painful later but it’s ok, my bladder is hardcore.

after a bathroom and bar break, we headed right up to the front of the stage cos, well, most of the people there didn’t *really* care about seeing music. and for that i want to say: thank you, perez fans. you made my night so much easier and less elbow-y.

perez came out to start the show and dazzled us all with his pink aretha franklin inauguration hat:

i have never, ever said this about any piece of perez’s wardrobe but… i really coveted that hat.

and i had MANY chances to steal it cos for most of the show, perez was sitting right in front of us!!! of course, in true papparazzi fashion, we had to capitalize on this situation with many, many ridiculous photos.

look! erica and perez are totally best friends!

and yes, we ARE winners. big, big winners.

margaret cho started the show, and she was funny! predictably dirty, but funny.

i’m not a fan of those jeans, though.

the surprise guest turned out NOT to be britney spears but was instead… the indigo girls.

that’s right, instead of a superstar pop singer, we got to a little slice of lilith fair. oh well. it was fun to watch perez sing along, excitedly, and it was even *more* fun to see henri suffer flashbacks from his hippie days (when he actually DID listen to the indigo girls. i guess they’re, like, third eye blind for him).

i was WAY more thrilled by the next act, ladyhawke!

she was awesome, again. i like her music even more after seeing her in person, cos she’s got this fantastic rock swagger in her voice, but she’s super quiet and shy in real life. it’s really endearing.

after ladyhawke, thunderheist took the stage. i hadn’t heard of them before, but they (a singer and a DJ) were pretty fun– the perfect music for a party. plus the singer lady was fierce!

also? those tights? NEED.

the next act was TRISH AND CHRIS!!!

ok, no, not on stage. but in my life! and i was super glad to see them! plus the crowd dispersed, so there was plenty of room for them next to me at the front.

i wasn’t so sure about the next band, cos i think their name is stupid: natalie portman’s shaved head. but i must admit, they put on a highly entertaining show. sort of like junior senior, but younger and american (and therefore less cool).

henri basically wanted their entire wardrobe. which i know does not shock you.

NPSH was followed by solange, beyonce’s sister (i’m sure she hates that her name is always followed with “beyonce’s sister” but whatevs. i hate that i don’t have an older sister that made my family rich, so whatevs).

dude you guys, solange is FABULOUS! she has a killer voice, awesome costumes (note the guys in the banana suits, which matched her tights) and, most importantly, she can dance in high (pink) heels.

really, she put on an extremely entertaining show and worked the crowd like a total pro. after watching her perform, i felt myself rooting for her to step out of her sister’s shadow. you go with yr banana pants, solange!

apparently, the perez party was THE place to be, cos i also ran into robin and reno! it was like a mini-NYE!! and actually, it kind of *felt* like NYE, so the encounter was highly appropriate.

having seen her before, henri was super excited about the next act, little boots. and after her set, i totally understood why– little boots is a SUPERSTAR!!!

i mean, the gold dress and massive geode necklace are pretty good indicators of awesomeness, but that picture doesn’t begin to convey her fantastically poppy voice or her sparkly charisma. i totally want to invite her over for a slumber party and watch “annie” so we can reenact  “it’s a hard knock life.” i just… LOVE HER.

at the end of her performance, perez surprised her with kid cudi, whose song “day-n-nite” she recently covered. i mean, just look at her face!!! now you can see why she goes by little boots cos ADORABLE.

she also had the guts (and the star power) to do what all of us had been DYING to do… steal perez’s hat!!!!

see what i mean? SLUMBER. PARTY.

and in spite of the fact that i’d just seen what felt like a bazillion bands, the party was sooo not over. which by the way meant that i’d been standing for about five hours and had most definitely NOT used the portapotties again.

fortunately, rye rye proved to be a good distraction…

but unfortunately for rye rye, there was an even BIGGER distraction sitting on the side of the stage…

KANYE FREAKING WEST!!!!!!!

ok i realize that’s no longer a surprise for any of you. but you have to realize that it was a preeetty awesome surprise for *us* during the show. i mean, i knew he was at the fader fort, so i figured he’d show up at perez but still. you never know with kanye– he keeps you guessing. like “why does kanye always write in all caps on his blog?” etc. etc.

so while rye rye’s performing, we’re all wondering WILL KANYE TAKE THE STAGE?! this question lead a lot of people that were previously uninterested in actually *seeing* any of the music to rush towards the stage, which then lead to quandries like, “should i stay here, so i can keep my place, or should i pee, which i need to do v. desperately?”

this dilemma, btw, was documented by henri via twitter and then documented publicly via idolator (thanks for sending me that link, josh). so now henri’s identity on twitter will forever be connected to kanye and pee. hurrah!

fortunately, we didn’t have to wait to much longer (kanye reference! what!) cos as soon as rye rye finished her set, perez came on stage and introduced kanye!! and then he came on stage and performed RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. OMGGGGGG!!!!!

honestly, it was really surreal. esp. considering the fact that last year, henri, erica and i paid a good chunk of change to see this dude from a bit of a distance. and now we were seeing him, a mere four feet away, for free.

it was also surreal cos it was FREAKING KANYE! HOLY CRAP!

note the gold jesus necklaces. kid cudi kept coming on stage and adorning kanye with more and more of them. also? i love perez’s face in that picture. he totally looks like everyone else in the audience, because even though he’s used to celebrities, he’s not looking at celebrities. he’s looking at KANYE WEST.

so apparently kanye lip synched for most of the set, which i guess is a common thing, but i had NO CLUE. i was too busy trying to get him to TOUCH MY HAND. TOUCH MY HAND KANYE! trish and i were desperately reaching out our hands every time he came by, and even though he totally touched people on the right and left of the stage, he never reached out for the center. KANYE. COME ON. WE’RE CUTE. JUST TOUCH US.

in spite of not getting touched by kanye (even better than by an angel, yo), the show totally MELTED MY PANTS OFF.

not to mention the fact that it made me, henri and erica totally famous cos LOOK YOU GUYS WE WERE IN THE NY TIMES!!!!

ok, well, part of my face was. but still!!!

i love that henri’s “i need to pee… but it’s kanye!” face is preserved for all of eternity. also preserved? the guy next to erica who was a SUPERJERK and violently pushed his way to the front and then threatened to cut erica (he really said that) when she complained.

obviously, his behavior left me no choice, especially given the context of the party.

suck it, stupidface!

but even mr. jerky pants couldn’t dampen the amazingness of kanye’s surprise (ok, kinda surprise) show. when it was over, everyone was literally glowing.

well part of that glow is a beer that someone threw on us, but whatevs. we were filled with sxsw kanye magic!!!!

there’s only one place you can go after seeing tons of bands and standing for hours and holding yr pee and having kanye practically spit on you cos he’s so close…

TACO CABANA!!!!

and that, my dear pantsters, is how i ended my 2009 sxswpants: with good friends, new (awesome) memories and a bunch of queso.

so, yeah, BEST LAST NIGHT OF SXSW EVER.

i rest my case.

and my sxspants. cos they were tired.

consequently, i hope you’re prepared for the awesomeness of these next two entries.

FRIDAY (cont)

i left the show at club deville and walked over to parkside to meet erin (with a little “e”) and leah for some martinis and, of course, mac ‘n’ cheese.

it was really lovely to see these ladies and hear about their various adventures while munching on culinary delights.

reason #6 why i love sxspants: it gives me an excuse to go to parkside every single day!!

of course, we HAD to get dessert, so i feasted upon this slice of peanut butter chocolate mousse heaven (with banana ice cream!).

even though sxsw is over now, it’s reassuring to know that parkside remains, steadily serving tasty business on sixth street. I NOM YOU PARKSIDE!

outside of the restaurant, i saw the Best Metal Hair Of All Time:

never fear, you shall see this rocking gentlemen again…

in addition to mousse and mac ‘n’ cheese, my tummy was buzzing with excitement cos OMG HENRI AND I WERE GOING TO SEE THIRD EYE BLIND!

now, you may think i’m trying to be ironic here, but you guys… i’m not that cool. i *really was* excited! i mean, yes, i realize third eye blind is totally passé and super 90s, and i was not expecting to hear any earthshattering new material BUT hello “jumper” is one of the best songs (from the 90s) EVER!!!!! and i was going to finally hear it live, performed by the actual band instead of me singing it at karaoke!

i think what may shock you the most is not the fact that *i* wanted to see third eye blind– it’s that OTHER PEOPLE wanted to see third eye blind. a LOT of other people.

yes, there was a line. in fact, there were TWO lines cos people had ACTUALLY BOUGHT TICKETS TO THIS SHOW I AM NOT LYING.

they finally opened the doors and we rushed inside to what is probably the most oxymoronic show i’ve ever experienced at sxsw: it was so INCREDIBLY LAME and yet… SO AWESOME!!

the lead singer of TEB unfortunately never lost his whole 90s alterna shtick, which means that nowadays he writes songs that literally have the words “showerhead massager” in them. henri took one look and said, “you realize this guy is basically rufus from ‘gossip girl,’ right?!!”

but who cares cos THEY PLAYED JUMPER AND WE TOTALLY ROCKED OUT!!!!!!!

in fact, the following video is probably my most favorite video from all of sxspants 2009. please enjoy our outrageous dorkdom.

reason #7 why i love sxspants: i totally get to cheese out with bands from my past… and then leave after i hear my favorite song.

after the show, henri and i grabbed a quick dinner and then walked over to red river to find micael (henri’s brother). while scanning the crowd, we encountered the most amazing street performance EVER, courtsey of quaff, a japanese rock band:

reason #8 why i love sxspants: stuff like that happens. a lot.

i seriously had “shake yr booty!” in my head for hours after watching the performance. according to the flier i got, quaff “brings elements of traditional japanese music and culture into their hard hitting music and live shows. based around the japanese concept of ‘uta’ (melody) and ‘tsuzuri’ (rap), quaff rocks out with two vocalists emphasizing their japanese roots. quaff have come back to america to play their ‘samaurai rock’ with their unsheathed katanas in hand!”

AWESOME.

here’s me with my favorite member of this hard hitting band!

WE ARE SO METAL!

that picture is totally getting me in to the official slash fan club, btw. like, who can rock harder than us? NO ONE! katanas unsheathed!!!!

the rest of the night paled in comparison to quaff. we checked out some comedy at the velvetta room, but it was pretty terrible (as expected) except for this dude, brendan walsh.

after enduring a particularly horrible act from this guy impersonating lou ferrigno, we decided to check out japan nite at elysium. it was fun, but the bands were certainly no quaff, so we left after one act and then i went to bed!!! which was a v. smart decision, cos i needed lots of energy to prepare for what was to come…

SATURDAY

last year, my favorite day party happened at the mohawk, and i was happy to repeat the experience in 2009. originally, henri, micael, erica and i were gonna hang out at the rolling stone party (to see janelle monae again), but when we got there, the bands sucked and lone stars cost $5. WHAAAAAAT. janelle, i love you, but i could not possibly endure two hours of that suck to see you again.

instead, we walked over to the mohawk and discovered a fantastic line-up of bands and $1 PBR! hello, rest of my day!

reason #9 why i love sxspants: dollar beers on the mohawk patio. amen.

the first act was a band i’ve been really wanting to check out– the vivian girls. they started playing and I STARTED CRUSHING!!!!!!

this band is soooo my ktru ideal. like, circa 2000-2002, i totally wanted to be a cool indie rocker chick and look just like the lead singer (she has a hamburget tattoo on her arm!! what what!!). heck, forget seven years ago, i want to be her NOW!

in spite of some instrument mishaps, the vivian girls were utterly, utterly charming, and i would totes see them again.

during our blissful time at the mohawk, we were joined by selina, who boosted our Purple Power Factor to three!!!

next up was one of my favorite bands to see at sxsw: peelander z!!!!!!!

i discovered peelander z a few years ago, thanks to my rock star pal erik, who toured with them. they are everything you want in a japanese band: ridiculous, engrishy and totally totally crazytown.

they’re also really friendly!!

did i mention the giant alien squid guitar?!

or the fact that they engage in dazzling feats of acrobatics?

HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY NEED MORE REASONS TO SEE THEM? ok FINE. here.

NOW are you convinced?!!

well, as should be OBVIOUS by now, we had a total blast watching these guys go absolutely bananas on stage. seriously, i hope they come back next year and do a battle of the bands with quaff. although i’m pretty sure i know who would dominate…

reason #10 why i love sxspants: PEELANDER Z!!!!!!

camera obscura was up next, and even though they are so v. v. delightful, it was hard to focus. i mean, where was the giant squid? the human bowling? (did i forget to mention that?)

we decided to finally leave the blissful scene at mohawk to prepare for our evening adventures… which proved to be EXTRAORDINARY!!

and you will hear about them… tomorrow!

seriously, though. stay tuned. it ended with a bang. a totally pantstastic, superstar bang.