1,210 bands went down to Austin, TX in a frenzy to South by Southwest. An entire week of music, film, and good times, SXSW has been a high-octane media frenzy, with hundreds of reports and rumors.
But, there's always the dark side of things. Zachary Cole Smith, DIIV's frontman, went off on a rant on the band's Tumblr about SXSW, which is in full force.
Hi Austin. Fuck SXSW. There… I said it.
Here, the music comes last. 5 minute set-up, no sound check, 15 minute set. The “music” element is all a front, it’s the first thing to be compromised. Corporate money everywhere but in the hands of the artists, at what is really just a glorified corporate networking party. Drunk corporate goons and other industry vampires and cocaine. Everyone is drunk, being cool. “Official” bureaucracy and all their mindless rules. Branding, branding, branding. It’s bullshit… sorry.
-Cole
Four hours later, Smith admitted on Twitter, "for the record, i'm actually having a blast at SXSW."
In case you're not familiar with DIIV, they released their debut album, Oshin, which was given positive reviews. Tracks like "Sometime" and "How Long Have You Known?" are very dreamy and shoegazey, while "Doused" is a punk-esque, rousing jumper. The entire album is semi-cinematic in its entire length, and the album ends with the beautifully heartbreaking "Home." [The Line of Best Fit]
Here's DIIV with their newest (NSFW) video for "Wait":