Music and Media Mondays

Another fantastic weekend in and around Austin. Driftwood and Mandola wineries on Saturday, and fun, food and drinks on Superbowl Sunday. I finally made the Steamed Pork Buns I've been wanting to make forever (they turned out great! And a timely appetizer for Chinese New Year) and some Spanish Tortilla to bring to the festivities. Recipes to come.

First: Music and Media Mondays! I've thought about this post for weeks now, (obvi I can't do it on a Tuesday or a Wednesday), and, let's face it, Gossip Girl is on Monday. So it's been difficult to commit.  I hope this will be a reoccurring thing, at least until SXSW, with posts on new music, apps, websites and other media I stumble upon while checking out bands and food related stuff.

If you haven't already seen it yet, the first (and second and third) round SXSW lineup.

I'm excited to see Toro y Moi, Columbia, SC

Starf*cker, Portland

Chikita Violenta, Mexico City

Telekenisis, Seattle

Bombay Bicycle Club, London

...and many more. And of course, Austin faves, Suzanna Choffel, Balmorhea, etc. 

Do512 is the all-encompassing resource to discover and organize your list of bands to see, in fact I like the Do512 site more than the "official" sxsw site - way more functional and user friendly.  Keep in mind they are still adding bands, and bands are still scheduling shows,  so closer to SX they'll have up a daily lists with recommendations. While you're on the site, follow Gorilla vs. Bear and Brooklyn Vegan - both have killer parties with pretty good lineups.

Discount wristbands for locals should go on sale any week now; I'll try to give you guys a heads up once I hear. Are there any bands you can't wait to see? Let me know so I can check them out!

Favorite Apps for iPhones

Indie Music I listen to this app at work and in traffic, especially since I don't have XMU anymore. I really like that you can choose from listening to "Top 100" indie songs (is that an oxymoron?), or broken down by region. Also, you can skip songs, whereas Pandora won't allow to skip more than 3 songs, I believe. And the best - wanna buy a song you like? Just click the "buy" button and it goes straight to iTunes.

And since we're on the topics of Apps (but totally not music-related) I highly recommend Locavore. This is a great app for foodies that helps you find local farmers markets (wherever you're at in the US), in-season fruits and veggies and even recipes. 

Is there a favorite music or food app that you want to share? Let me know, and I would love to check it out.