Death From Above 1979, 3/17/2005

posterized n – 1. North American slang derived from an action in the game of basketball in which the offensive player “dunks” over a defending player in a play that is spectacular enough to warrant reproduction in a printed poster 2. to be humbled, shamed, and exposed as an inferior athlete 3. a blog series on BDWPS.com that revisits various concert posters collected over the past ten years by contributor Android50

On first glance, this poster for a SXSW show back in 2005 doesn’t seem worth discussing in my “Posterized” series. It’s really more of an advertisement for MTV2 than actually a poster promoting a concert.  Most shows at SXSW are sponsored by someone (a record label, an online streaming outlet, a beverage company, a natural gas/fracking conglomerate) but rarely do the posters feature much about the sponsor other than a small watermark logo in one of the corners.

The second reason this poster doesn’t seem to deserve much attention is the fact I didn’t even go to any of the shows listed on the poster. They were all day parties, something I wasn’t even familiar with in those early days of SXSW.

No, this is far from the coolest concert poster I own, and no, I didn’t even attend these shows.  But despite these two admissions, it’s still one of my favorites in the entire collection that adorns my walls because it reminds me of one of the best concerts I ever attended.

Perfume Genius “Too Bright”

Perfume Genius

Too Bright

[Matador; 2014]

RATING: 8.5

In the past, Perfume Genius’s album covers have featured variations on images that convey fear, secrecy, and the forbidden. On 2010’s Learning, Mike Hadreas could be seen looking away while a hand is reaching in from off-screen to cover his mouth. On 2012’s Put Your Back N 2 It, Hadreas is joined by what resembles a polo team, and once again, his face is obscured, this time by a bloodied piece of cloth that also covers the boy sitting next to him. The images matched the common theme of silence and shame found on those first two albums.

So when I first saw the boisterous, in your face presentation on the cover of 2014’s Too Bright, I knew I was in for a drastic change from the established, introspective piano therapy of the past. Hadreas can be seen sitting upright, wearing a shimmery shirt covered in gold sequence. His face is no longer covered, and his expression is not one of fear, rather one of defiant intensity. Below his knitted brow, any icy cold stare off into the distance is revealed. This is no longer a man hiding from his past; instead, he’s ready to take it head-on.

BDWPS Podcast: Episode 30

In this episode we listen to new tracks from Ex Hex, Death From Above 1979, Willie Nelson, Goat, Shellac, and Jennifer Castle. I also discuss the new HBO series “Sonic Highways,” the documentary “Beware of Mr. Baker,” and take a look back at Bob Dylan’s legendary road trip in 1964. You can listen to the episode HERE or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes (search: BDWPS).

Playlist:

Ex Hex “Don’t Wanna Lose”
Death From Above 1979 “Right On, Frankenstein”
Willie Nelson “The Wall”
Goat “Hide From the Sun”
Jennifer Castle “Sailing Away”
Shellac “The People’s Microphone”
Fela Kuti & Ginger Baker “Let’s Start”
Bob Dylan “Chimes of Freedom”