This year was my first visit to SXSW Music. I stuck around for a few days after giving a SXSW Interactive talk (thank you for those who attended!) and was blown away by the energy and the discovery taking place on such a massive scale. I picked up a few new favorite bands and some timely reminders about music as a form of artistic expression:

music is personal.

Each person’s navigation through the endless waterfall of musical expression is unique.

music is best shared.

As solitary an experience as music can be when you’ve got your headphones on at home, it’s something entirely different when you’re with friends or strangers, enjoying a familiar sound or discovering something new.

music is connection.

One of the most exciting things to see at SXSW is a relatively obscure band snowballing followers by performing passionately, 8, 9, 10+ times in a weekend, and watching word of mouth transform off-the-beaten-path bands into legends by week’s end. The best bands, regardless of genre, make you smile regardless of whether you’ve heard of them or not.

Some of my favorites (just scratching the surface): The Middle East, Broken Bells, Local Natives, Here We Go Magic, Shearwater, Surfer Blood, Miike Snow, The Very Best, The Walkmen (with local 5 piece brass ensemble @ Digg Shindigg), and of course his Orchestra, which was especially endearing for its unique context (secret venue in a power plant parking lot, with DIY flamethrowers and human mic stands, with VIP transportainment by the RVIP Lounge).

I was especially proud of the San Francisco representation at SXSW, both musically and diplomatically.

Album Art was “invented” in 1940 by a young designer, who proposed that putting artwork on the covers of albums, instead of the earlier treatment of silver or gold type imprinted on a heavy, solid color background (like an encyclopedia), would increase record sales. He was right.

Before that, designers created visuals to imprint a mental image and a mood on the covers of sheet music. From exotic to seductive to classic, the examples below (from the 10’s, 20’s, 30’s) show how an appropriate use of imagery and a touch of drama turn an otherwise cut and dry medium (staff lines and dots w/ flags) into an emotional piece of literature. All using about 3 colors.

Pretty sexy for 1931. The “too distracted to care about my hat” is a nice touch.

Flights were a bit more expensive back then and many years before Vegas was an option for exotic getaway.

Apparently I need to spend some time in Ohio.

Must have something in the repertoire for when grandma comes by for tea.

The simplicity is contemporary and would also make great packaging for saltines or raisins.