Interesting things to do this weekend:

Who could turn down free pizza? I can guarantee you that Captain Ahab and Sonic Death Rabbit will put on a great show. And I’d really like to know more about the genre, acoustic beardcore. address/map

On Sunday there will be another “beat swap meet” in Chinatown, outside of the Grand Star Jazz Club from 12-6pm. You can buy, sell, or trade records and purchase dj related items and apparel. Inside the club, there will be a party going on. You can get in free to this if you bring a canned good. (the swap meet itself is outside and free) address/map

I just got off a plane where they ran out of space in the overhead bins because of all the guitars being carried on. It could only mean one thing: The 2009 South by Southwest Music Festival is upon us.

Couldn’t make the pilgrimage to Austin this year? Never fear, because KSCR has you covered. Watch this space for show reviews, exclusive interviews, photos, and more as the KSCR SXSW Action News Team dives in to music’s premier festival head first and brings up sunken treasure — a.k.a. your new favorite bands.

Tim Kasher is like a sailor. As such he mans a couple different vessels, with Cursive being his main craft. As the Captain of Cursive, he’s voyaged throughout the seas of musical genres, early on progressing through the rocky crags of punk, braving the stormy seas of indie rock and sailing swiftly through the Bermuda Triangle of emo, where so many bands were (tragically?) lost. Their latest journey though has produced a new album, Mama, I’m Swollen, which isn’t so much a new departure for their musical stylings but rather a synthesis of all the various sounds they’ve explored in the past

Musically, this is undoubtedly a more rock oriented album. Lacking the horn sections of their previous album, Happy Hollow, or the masterful cello work of Gretta Cohn from The Ugly Organ, Mama, I’m Swollen is an album that seldom feels stripped down. The production quality is markedly more polished than their early works like Domestica or the Storms of Early Summer, albums which both relied on a raw lo-fi sound. Subtle woodwinds appear throughout the album, with a marvelous flute part on track 3, ‘I Couldn’t Love You’. At least I think it’s an flute. I might be wrong.

Lyrically, Kasher seems to have come to terms with the religion he so maligned on Happy Hollow. Instead of questioning the purported existence of one, God, Kasher seems to simply not care. On track 6, ‘We’re Going to Hell’ he implores the listener to let their conscience go because, well, we’re going to hell. Instead on this album, the philosophical contemplation falls on the issue of civilization. Though certainly far less of a conceptual album than Happy Hollow, the question of whether we’d be better off as base animals recurs intermittently. Themes of guilt and remorse also pervade the oft misinterpreted supertext of the lyrics. This album is not about relationships, as many would so quickly assume.

One issue I’d note with the lyrical intergrity of this album is that Kasher’s writing seems to have lost some of the bite it once had. The shockingly crude and oftentimes ugly lyrics that so characterized Cursive are now replaced with some brash PG-13 metaphors. This album is unfortunately safe to play for your parents, perhaps not your grandparents though.

Overall, this album is not a progression for Cursive so much as a summation. Being a bit shorter than their previous full lengths (ten songs), part of me dares to think that this might mark an ending for Cursive. If I know anything about those industrious Omaha artists though, it’s that they’ll keep making records. That is if they can stay sober long enough to find their guitars. Now here is where I would end this album review with a clever reference to that sailing metaphor I made before. If only I were clever.

Spinning balearic house tracks 24/7 from the island’s pristine beaches, Ibiza Sonica Radio is the best chillout electro I’ve found on the net. Andy Wilson, founder of Sonica, moved to Ibiza ten years ago with the intention of starting a radio station after falling in love with the island’s open air clubs in the late eightees. The DJs broadcast from various outdoor locations around the spanish isle with views of the countryside and pristine beaches. Ibiza Sonica’s self proclaimed goal is the diversification and freedom of electronic music and, at its heart, “keeping the flavor of Ibiza alive.”

Groove out to the airy island inspired vibes while cramming that paper in leavey at 4:00 am… and for those of you 3G iphone lovers out there, my favorite free app is the live streaming “Ibiza Sonica 1.1″

If you’re as much of a music-lover as I am, the rare occasions in your life in which you can feel good about the amount of money you spend on iTunes are well, rare. Whenever I hear about a benefit album, I am presented with a dilemma because on the one hand; the humanitarian side of me wants to help the world… but the selfish, and lover-of-good-music side of me really can’t spend anymore money on music that doesn’t satisfy.

This new War Child: Heroes album is anything but unsatisfactory. The War Child charity works with protecting children in war-torn areas of the world including Congo, Iraq and Uganda. Incorporating a revolutionary idea, this charity asked legendary icons such as Sir Paul McCartney and David Bowie to choose the up-and-coming artists that they wanted to create a new twist on some of their classics; putting faith in the next generation of musicians. This album is such a great listen that each song reminisces of the original tracks and artist while still drawing upon our the sound of our generation’s new message of hope. Some highlights of this phenomonal collaborative effort include the covers of The Ramones “Sheena is a Punk-rocker” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Hold Steady’s take on Brice Springsteen’s classic “Atlantic City”. This album is a must-buy for anyone who loves music and well, the world.

To find out more about the cause check out their website: http://www.warchild.org.uk/heroes

The crowd at a Modest Mouse show is similar to the type of people you’d see in a Denny’s at 3 am. You’ve got kids far too young to be out that late, teens trying desperately to be cool and look fashionable, the Denny’s staff who eternally look pissed off and, of course, the drunkards. Last Tuesday’s (2/24) Modest Mouse show (really more of a concert but it just breaks my heart to think of them as a band that plays ‘concerts’) was no different besides, perhaps, a few more drunkards.

Isaac Brock kept his talking to a minimum, which was nice seeing as how he’s an incredible prick. When he did talk between songs he made fun of some guys Smiths shirt. That was better than the last time I saw them, at least, where he told the whole crowd to fuck off before playing “Float On,” which, happily enough didn’t make the setlist this time around. The song selection consisted of a handful of songs off Good News, The Moon and Antartica, and The Lonesome Crowded West along with a few from We Were Dead and This Is A Long Drive and a relic from Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks.

The highlight of the night was easily “Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset.” To hear Brock shout the lines, “You were looking kind of anxious in your cross armed stance, like a bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance.” to a room of thousands of cross armed Hollywood hipsters was the most blissful irony of my life. I was sure to put my hands in my pockets for that part.

“Dance Hall” off Good News For People Who Love Bad News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Gd7mGB0_k

Definitely a few of my favorite Los Angeles bands and no strangers to the scene. A fantastic time is promised.

Fellow Trojan and singer/songwriter Alyssa Suede comes into the Live Show on February 27th. Tune in 1-2pm.