What is the matter with German rock?

It's a cliché that happens to hold some water — Germans have trouble rocking convincingly. You've got your Tangerine Dream, your Trio, your Kraftwerk, und so weiter, but little in the way of contemporary, indie (or major) rock. Plenty of dance, electronica, and DJs, but no German version of The Shins. Or Neil Young. Or Dylan. Or The Clash. Und so weiter.

Why should this be? The German music market is (or was) the fourth or fifth in the world or something like that.

To explore this question, I asked Peter Radzhun, the celebrated Radio One host in Berlin. Peter loves and adores rock, and that means North American and British music. He has interviewed absolutely any and every famous performer you can name. His long experience in radio, love of music, and excellent good humor makes him a rather fascinating person to talk to. So I knew Peter would not mind if I posed the question: What's the matter with German rock?

His reply was sobering. First, he said, Nazi extermination of the Jews stamped out a critical portion of the creative and artistic culture in Germany. (I guess that should have been obvious.)

Then, he continued, men like his father were conscripted into the war. They spent years killing people (or worse). After that, they spent years in a Russian prison camp. By the time they got home again, their youth was over, not just in years, but emotionally as well. So there was no youth culture for them to give birth to, much less experience.

So making their way through an art form like rock has been rather difficult. And now I finally get that.

I am weary

It's almost 5 in the morning. I am weary of the smell of unwashed hair and cigarettes, and I would like a few thousand people to go home now.

Little Jackie

The act is called Little Jackie, after that old Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam song, but the frontwoman is Imani Coppola. I find her song, "The World Should Revolve Around Me" totally infectious and it just reminded me of maybe 70s era R&B, but not quite, I don't know, I can't totally explain it. But I knew I had to see her, health risks and all.

The BMI show was running late at Club de Ville and a electronica/rock act from Manchester, The Whip, was on when Little Jackie was supposed to be on. I milled around the not-full club and saw a bit of The Whip (the laptop was the main instrument for this act even though there are the usual bass, drums, and guitar. A Mancunian girl standing next to me assured me that they are ready to hit big in the US. Um, maybe not?). I noticed a beautiful, stylish African American woman wearing big, white-framed sunglasses slumped in a chair as though she were napping … she turned out to be "Little Jackie"!

Transformed by her disco nap, she and her wonderful band finally got onstage about 11:55 pm and put on a hell of a show, they really "brought it." She's got two equally beautiful back-up singers, a tight drummer, a guitar player, bass and well, laptop man. They did "World" first, and Little Jackie, I was the bandanna-wearing doofus right up in front of you guys smiling my ass off. A few songs later, she talked about how when you break up with a guy you consider turning lesbian, and then she did this hilarious song about, well, considering turning lesbian. The crowd loved it and so did I.

Imani said she had an acoustic show the next night at, um, a not SXSW venue, which I didn't attend because I was at X. I do believe that at least a portion of the world could revolve around Little Jackie, and they should be rock stars! 

Am I Missing Out?

I'm in our hotel room and I can still hear the day party across the street booming. The band, I don't know what it is, but they sound good and as usual I'm afraid I'm missing something. That's always the fear: I'm missing something good. Going on 20 years now.

Daisy Rock Rocks!

I have been lucky enough to meet the fabulous Tish Ciravolo, president of the Daisy Rock Guitar Company. She came by our Girls Rock Camp Austin BMI showcase Wednesday night just to meet us! Then I saw her again tonight at the X showcase at SXSW Live. I wish every woman, no matter what business she's in, could meet Tish and catch some of her energy and confidence. She wants to make music more accessible for girls and women, and her company's cool guitars are smaller and easier for girls to use. Now even I want to play guitar and I have no patience whatsoever for practice, etc., and I don't even know what music I want to play.

Overheard

"Around the office, saying you hate Alejandro Escovedo is like saying you hate Jesus."

SXSW Film . . . Rocks (?)

I have had only two experiences with the film festival this year because of my reduced abilities. The first was on Saturday when I headed to the Dobie to introduce a film I championed, The Ostrich Testimonies.

I was on Day 3 of chemo and typical of the SXSW season and furor, I had not eaten. Nor had I taken my anti-emetic. By the time I got there I felt like I had the worst hangover in history and couldn't figure out why. Duh. I could barely speak. I felt so stupid. I didn't get a chance to catch up with the filmmakers at all during the rest of the week to find out how they did.

Yesterday I was in much better shape and went to introduce another film I love, Dancing Alfonso. The filmmaker, Barak Heymann, was able to be in attendance because the Israeli consulate in Houston arranged for his travel from Tel Aviv. What a sweetheart. He seemed so genuinely pleased to be here, I enjoyed him immensely. And I got teary (again) at the end of his film.

The "rockin" part of this was, I also met the filmmaker of the short film that preceded the feature, Will Hartmann. His film is The Art of Karaoke, and it went so well with the feature. He works on his films, works at an LA ad agency, and is generally trying to be productive and creative in his chosen form. Like many other filmmakers, he shows his work during Slamdance and Sundance, but he feels that most festivalgoers never see his, or anyone else's work.

"All anyone does is go to parties," he told me. "And the filmmakers aren't invited to those parties. You can't get in unless you're a celebrity or in an entourage." So, the actual artists head back to their rented condos and wonder what the hell they are doing there in the first place.

Will said he felt like our event was a place to really get connected with others and that filmmakers' work was actually seen by people. I have heard this many times from (mostly) grateful filmmakers and it makes me insanely proud of our event. Does SXSW Film rock? Until we find a better term, I'm gonna say yes.

My Picks for Saturday Night

4:30 Lyrics Born — Auditorium Shores

5:00 The Ting Tings — Convention Center

7:00 Sons and Daughters — Convention Center

8:00 Tiny Masters of Today — Cedar Street Courtyard

8:00 Ume — BD Riley's

8:00 Mau Mau Chaplains — Flamingo Cantina

9:00 KOOPA — Wave

9:00 The Ettes — Wave Rooftop

9:00 The Lemonheads — Convention Center

10:00 Georgie James — Dirty Dog Bar

12:00 White Shoes and the Couples Company — Habana Annex

My Picks for Friday Night

2:00 Georgie James — Day Stage in the convention center

4:00 Dizzee Rascal — Convention Center

8:00 Tristan Perich — Central Prez

8:00 Eagle Seagull — Thirsty Nickel

9:00 The Builders and the Butchers — Club de Ville

9:00 KaiserCartel — Creekside EMC at Hilton Garden Inn

9:00 The Little Ones — Cedar Door. La la la la la la la la.

9:00 The Dodos — Emo's Jr

10:00 The Choir Practice — Club 115. Part of the Mint showcase

10:00 X — Convention Center. Best place to see them, my goodness.

10:30 Apes — Flamingo Cantina

11:30 Yael Naim — Driskill. "New Soul" is her song

12:00 Kitty, Daisy & Lewis — Ninety Proof Lounge

12:00 My Brightest Diamond — Central Prez

12:00 Sia — Stubb's. Although, how many people are going to use "Breathe Me" for their background music, anyway??

1:00 Destroyer — Parish. Merge showcase. One of my favorites, I've written about him before

1:00 N.E.R.D. — Yes, it happens to me, too. Two shows I'm dying to see are at the same time

My Picks for Thursday Night

2:00 Noisettes — Convention Center

8:00 Spoon — Auditorium Shores. Hey, I like Spoon and that Britt Daniel is a rock star, people need to take lessons from that guy

8:00 Phosphorescent — Mohawk Patio

8:00 Cliff Eberhardt — Driskill

9:40 Iglu & Hartly — Cedar Door

10:00 Sissy Wish — Wave

10:00 The Tontons — Tap Room at Six. From Houston and even I, Houston-hater, am not holding that against them.

10:50 Kaki King — 18th Floor of Hilton Garden Inn. She is gonna be mobbed wherever she plays

11:00 Pink Nasty — Habana Annex. I am so liking this chick

11:15 Little Jackie — Club de Ville. This is my MUST show. She reminds me of the R&B I listened to on the radio as a kid

12:00 How's Your News? — Bourbon Rocks Patio. All members have some sort of disability, I hear their show is fantastic.

12:10 Sian Alice Group — Room 710

1:00 Buttercup — Lamberts Patio

1:00 Big Red Rooster — Bourbon Rocks Patio

1:00 Bedroom Walls — Wave

My Picks for Wednesday Night

7:00 Earlimart — Convention Center, great place to see music

8:30 Choklate — Molotov Lounge. Lady R&B, I love her MP3

10:00 Delorean — Maggie Mae's. Might be hard to get near this, but I think they're going to be great

10:05 Lady Lux — Molotov. Another great lady R&B act, really would love to see this

11:00 Kaki King — Club de Ville. I'm very interested in her, big buzz on this lady, but she does have another show she's doing

11:00 Division Day — Buffalo Billiards. Missed them last year, gonna try this year

The films I like/know for SXSW 2008

I have seen none of the narrative features in our lineup because I screened only documentaries this year.

Dreams With Sharp Teeth — about Harlan Ellison, hear it's good

Living With the Tudors — takes place in an Elizabethan re-enactment village

Second Skin — about people who become lost in online gaming

Frontrunners — about the race for head smartypants at Stuyvesant High School

Full Battle Rattle — did you know the US has a "practice" Iraqi village in the Mojave?

'Bama Girl — a black co-ed runs for homecoming queen at the University of Alabama

Flying On One Engine — an impoverished, disabled doctor performs cleft palate surgeries on children in India

The Ostrich Testimonies — arrogant hot air balloonists ended the livelihood of an very interesting and original man, D.C. Cogburn

Intimidad — a story about the redemptive power of love. It is SO good.

Tulia, Texas — the undercover drug agent is not what he seemed in this rural Texas town

Dancing Alfonso — a totally touching story about a man in the golden years of life. It is SO good.

Down in Depths on the 90th Floor

Gold star by your name if you get the reference.