The 2006 SXSW conference is over. Now for the hung over testimonials of alcohol and musical excess. Along with tales of bottomless beer cups and miles of music, much of the commentary has been about the size of the event, now in its 20th year and, in some opinions, bloated and overly demanding.

FoC J. Freedom du Lac braved exhaustion and wrote a recap of his SXSW for the Washington Post. This pull quote sums up his mood:

"Despite the constant drumbeat of negativity that's enveloped the struggling music industry, there seem to be more people than ever trying to get their music heard. And they invaded Austin in staggering numbers this year. Music is dead, long live music, etc. -- for better or worse. At one point during the conference, the mope-rock godhead Morrissey pricked the bubble somewhat, saying, 'I think there are maybe too many people making music.'"

Wrote Patrick MacDonald in an article at the Seattle Times:

"In its 20th anniversary year, there was much talk about how big SXSW has become. There was a lot of griping about the difficulty of getting into some events. It was impossible to get into shows by the Beastie Boys, Morrissey, the Pretenders or this year's buzz band, the Arctic Monkeys, without getting into line hours ahead of time."

MTV.com's recap called the crowds a necessary evil, and added, "But make no mistake: SXSW is still the greatest rock combo platter on earth, it just takes a lot more work to get what you want out of it."

Continue reading "More SXSW Notes: Too Much of a Good Thing" »