SXSW – The Excitement Is Upon Us

     What? 100 free songs?

     The best two months for music discovery are December and March. In December, there are numerous “best songs of the year” lists. Many of the lists include under-the-radar songs that you may have missed or may not have fully appreciated. In March, there is the SXSW push by thousands of bands hoping to take advantage of the excitement in Austin, Texas.

     Each year, the Indie-knowledgeable folks at NPR help those of us trying to drink from the fire hose known as SXSW. One contribution from NPR is its presentation of a downloadable collection of at least 100 songs offered by bands attending SXSW. Not all of the bands destined for Austin offer a song and the bands that do participate don’t necessarily offer their “top” songs, so the download is not intended to be a true representation of the best of SXSW.

     The NPR Austin 100 is available for only 30 days. The songs can be downloaded individually or in bulk. The NPR site is http://www.npr.org/2014/02/28/283974226/the-austin-100-a-sxsw-2014-mix. Below is the entire list of songs and a subset of embedded tracks, with the selection being based on our tastes and Soundcloud availability (which turned out to be a significant limitation). 

      "Leave the Door Open" by No

      "Waves" by Sleeper Agent

      "Back to You" by Twin Forks

      "Uppercutter" by Saintseneca

      "Ghost" by Jeremy Messersmith

      "Hey Rose" by Streets of Laredo

The full list of 100 songs (with some emphasis on songs): 

1   1.          Against Me!, "Black Me Out"

2.         Ages And Ages, "Divisionary (Do The Right Thing)"

3.         Agnes Obel, "The Curse"

4.         AJ Davila, "Animal"

5.         Ana Tijoux, "Vengo"

6.         Anamanaguchi, "Endless Fantasy"

7.         Angel Olsen, "Hi-Five"

8.         Archie Powell & The Exports, "Only So Much You Can Do"

9.         Banks, "Warm Water [Prod. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs]"

10.       Black Atlass, "Blossom"

11.       Black Milk, "Sunday's Best"

12.       Brass Bed, "Cold Chicory"

13.       The Can't Tells, "No Television"

14.       Cate Le Bon, "Are You With Me Now?"

15.       clipping., "bout.that (feat. baseck)"

16.       Cloud Nothings, "I'm Not Part Of Me"

17.       Demitasse, "Comfy Coffins"

18.       Diane Coffee, "Green”

19.       Driver Friendly, "Messidona"

20.       Dum Dum Girls, "Are You OK?"

21.       Eagulls, "Possessed"

22.       EMA, "Satellites"

23.       Empires, "How Good Does It Feel"

24.       Eternal Summers, "Gouge"

25.       Ex Hex, "Hot And Cold"

26.       Fat Tony, "Hood Party (Feat. Kool A.D. & Despot)"

27.       Football, Etc., "Goal”

28.       The Front Bottoms, "Twin Size Mattress" [MP3]

29.       GEMS, "Medusa"

30.       Golden Youth, "We Are Alive"

31.       Grace Weber, "Perfect Stranger"

32.       Ha Ha Tonka, "Colorful Kids"

33.       Haley Bonar, "Last War"

34.       Hundred Waters, "Down From The Rafters”

35.       Hurray For The Riff Raff, "The Body Electric"

36.       Imarhan Timbuktu, "Akar Warled"

37.       Jagwar Ma, "Uncertainty"

38.       Jambinai, "Time Of Extinction"

39.       Jeremiah Jae, "Survival (feat. Oliver The 2nd)"

40.       Jeremy Messersmith, "Ghost"

41.       Jess Williamson, "Blood Song”

42.       The Jones Family Singers, "Down On Me"

43.       Jungle, "Lucky I Got What I Want"

44.       Kelela, "The High [Prod. Gifted & Blessed]"

45.       Kelis, "Jerk Ribs"

46.       Kevin Gates, "Get Up On My Level"

47.       Laura Cantrell, "All The Girls Are Complicated"

48.       Laura Stevenson, "L-Dopa"

49.       Lydia Loveless, "Really Wanna See You"

50.       Michaela Anne, "Lift Me Up"

51.       Mimicking Birds, "Bloodlines"

52.       Mirah, "Oxen Hope"

53.       Moon Hooch, "Number 9"

54.       Mutual Benefit, "Advanced Falconry"

55.       Natalia Clavier, "Adios! (feat. The Echocentrics)"

56.       NO, "Leave The Door Wide Open"

57.       Nothing, "Get Well"

58.       The Pack A.D., "Animal"

59.       Paper Holland, "Happy Belated"

60.       Perfect Pussy, "Driver"

61.       Phox, "Espeon"

62.       Piñata Protest, "Life On The Border"

63.       Potty Mouth, "Sleep Talk"

64.       Public Service Broadcasting, "Everest"

65.       Quiet Kids, "The War"

66.       Quilt, "Tired & Buttered"

67.       Rathborne, "Last Forgiven"

68.       Robert Ellis, "Only Lies"

69.       Royal Teeth, "Wild"

70.       Ryley Walker, "The West Wind"

71.       St. Paul & The Broken Bones, "Call Me"

72.       Saint Rich, "Crying From The Home"

73.       Saintseneca, "Uppercutter"

74.       Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta, "Mambo Mexicano"

75.       Seryn, "Ivory Black"

76.       Silver Snakes, "Four Crows"

77.       Sleeper Agent, "Waves"

78.       The So So Glos, "Lost Weekend”

79.       Speedy Ortiz, "Everything's Bigger"

80.       Stagbriar, "The S.S. Here We Go"

81.       Steve Gunn, "Water Wheel"

82.       Streets Of Laredo, "Hey Rose"

83.       SW/MM/NG, "Younger"

84.       Sylvan Esso, "Hey Mami"

85.       Thumpers, "Unkinder (A Tougher Love)"

86.       Timber Timbre, "Hot Dreams"

87.       Tom Brosseau, "Today Is A Bright New Day"

88.       Tony Molina, "Change My Ways"

89.       Torres, "Honey"

90.       Trust, "Rescue, Mister"

91.       Twin Forks, "Back To You"

92.       Until The Ribbon Breaks, "Perspective (feat. Homeboy Sandman)"

93.       Vertical Scratchers, "These Plains"

94.       Vince Staples, "Nate [Prod. Scoop DeVille]"

95.       Warpaint, "Love Is To Die"

96.       Windhand, "Orchard"

97.       The Wytches, "Gravedweller"

98.       Yautja, "Blinders"

99.       Yellow Ostrich, "Neon Fists"

100.     Your Friend, “Tame One”

Repeating - The NPR site is http://www.npr.org/2014/02/28/283974226/the-austin-100-a-sxsw-2014-mix.