An email popped up via my Airborne Toxic Event google alerts this afternoon. The article, from MTV.com, was titled “Exclusive: Rachael Ray Plans Return To South By Southwest” – The Hold Steady and The Airborne Toxic Event being the first two rumoured bands invited to her event. For those of you who don’t know her (that includes me, not being a Food Network viewer, and not being able to cook either, apart from maybe fried eggs and steamed vegetables), she hosts a cooking show, and is apparently quite a celebrity. And an indie music fan. Which should be fine, right? I mean, I like hanging out in skanky clubs listening to bands, and I also enjoy bird watching. But for some reason, she caused quite a stir when last year, she hosted a party at SXSW (that’s South by Southwest for those poor lost souls out there who don’t know, a very popular annual indie music gathering – of all music genres – that takes place in Austin, Texas). I guess it was startling and somehow unacceptable for someone who does something considered “mainstream” to also be interested in something well, not considered mainstream. Whatever. The bands she invited to last year’s soiree were considered respectable by those who had appointed and anointed themselves as qualified judges for us poor huddled clueless masses who obviously don’t know what’s good for us.
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