PopMatters @ SXSW 2008

Edited by Megan Milks / Produced by Sarah Zupko

For ten days each year, Austin goes bananas, and people from across the globe bounce in to go bananas with it. Things start civilized with the SXSW Film Festival and the less-familiar SXSW Interactive Festival — those are the people who got all the hotel rooms. Meanwhile, the venues lining Sixth Street wait with bated breath, steeling themselves for the five days when their guts get bloated to bursting, filled by the usual Austinites, the out-of-town friends in town to sleep on their couches, the entire music industry, and, of course, beer.

It’s halfway through the film fest’s formidable line-up of national and regional premieres when the music kicks in, kicks up, and kicks everyone in the kertunkus. Good thing it sticks to a healthy five days; we don’t think we could survive much longer, busting booty as we do to bring you near-daily coverage of the 10, 20, 50 bands we see daily and nightly, racing from pre-party to BBQ to packed showcase (times six) to after-party to after-after-party to bed/couch to computer (repeat) just so we can share the scoop on the new, the old, the same-old, and the stunning.

And so let me and my fair intro step aside to give you that self-same scoop, straight from the penetrating eyes of our intrepid reporters to this very laptop (or desktop, as the case may be). Welcome to PopMatters‘ SXSW coverage galore. We’ve got our usual slew of incisive film criticism and music-reviewing mayhem, not to mention a photo essay and video blog on the way. Sit back, enjoy the ride, and remember: safe kids buckle up.

— Megan Milks