Off the Record

Small Sensations

The concept behind Song Island could be a reality TV pilot: Songwriters from around the world come together on Denmark's wind-powered island of Samsø to co-write and perform original material. That's where Austin's Troy Campbell first encountered Danish star Poul Krebs in the mid-1990s, an event that ultimately led to the founding of House of Songs, a cultural exchange program for songwriters from the two respective regions. Capping off a banner year that saw the local sheltering of more than 50 Scandinavian artists, Krebs returned to Austin for what House of Songs hopes will become its international calling card: a Charlie Sexton-produced album – Krebs' first in English – composed entirely from co-writes culled from his 30-year career. "All of these stories are connected in a sort of global way that to me spiritually is much more than this little house," posited Krebs, who earned five Danish Grammy nominations for his 1995 LP, Small Sensations, in a commissioned interview with OTR for a documentary detailing the album. "It's a way of inspiring each other and learning more about another culture." House of Songs showcases Benjamin Aggerbaek and Amalie Riis at Flipnotics on Thursday, Jan. 13.

Running the Numbers

Top 10 Austin

1) Roky Erickson with Okkervil River, True Love Cast Out All Evil (Anti-)

2) The Black Angels, Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon)

3) Jon Dee Graham & the Fighting Cocks, It's Not as Bad as It Looks (Freedom)

4) 7 Walkers (Response)

5) Casual Victim Pile (Matador)

6) My Education, Sunrise (Strange Attractors Audio House)

7) Harlem, Hippies (Matador)

8) The Sword, Warp Riders (Kemado)

9) White Denim, Last Day of Summer

10) Ray Wylie Hubbard, A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) (Bordello)

Ten Locals for the Long Haul

1) Blaze Foley, The Dawg Years (Fat Possum)

2) Freshmillions (Insect)

3) The Young, Voyagers of Legend (Mexican Summer)

4) Shinyribs, Well After While (Nine Mile)

5) Nick Curran, Reform School Girl (Eclecto Groove)

6) Wild America, The Sea EP (Freedom School)

7) Murdocks, Distortionist

8) Dikes of Holland (Sundae)

9) Bright Light Social Hour

10) The Roller, Wasted Heritage (Cyclopean)

Top 10 National

1) Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam/Roc-a-Fella)

2) Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Merge)

3) Neil Young, Le Noise (Reprise)

4) The National, High Violet (4AD)

5) Beach House, Teen Dream (Sub Pop)

6) Bruce Springsteen, The Promise (The Lost Session: Darkness on the Edge of Town) (Columbia)

7) Rick Ross, Teflon Don (Def Jam)

8) Flying Lotus, Cosmogramma (Warp)

9) Titus Andronicus, The Monitor (XL Recordings)

10) Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here (XL Recordings)

Ten Locals To Watch in 2011

Kydd Jones, Motel Aviv, Crooks, Zlam Dunk, Intimate Stranger, the Trishas, OBN III's, Eagle Claw, Black Books, Shells

Playing the Odds

As history dictates, OTR has the honor of casting the first stone for the Chronicle Music Poll . Emphasis on nominations for the Austin Music Hall of Fame this year rested on full bands, from 1960s psychedelic leaders Bubble Puppy and Shiva's Headband to the decidedly modern indie folk outfit Okkervil River. Otherwise, think outside the ballot box. Voting ends Jan. 31.

AUSTIN BAND OF THE YEAR: The Black Angels

AUSTIN MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR: Jon Dee Graham

AUSTIN SONG OF THE YEAR: "Older Than You," the Golden Boys

AUSTIN ALBUM OF THE YEAR: True Love Cast Out All Evil, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River

BEST NEW AUSTIN BAND: Freshmillions

ROCK: Harlem

PUNK: Nick Curran

METAL: The Sword

INDUSTRIAL/GOTH: Dax Riggs

HIP-HOP/DJ: Phranchyze

INDIE: Bright Light Social Hour

JAZZ: Hannibal Lokumbe

BLUES/SOUL/FUNK: Hosea Hargrove

INSTRUMENTAL: My Education

EXPERIMENTAL: Weird Weeds

COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS: Jesse Dayton

ROOTS ROCK: 7 Walkers

FOLK: Slaid Cleaves

LATIN TRADITIONAL: Tortilla Factory

LATIN ROCK: Grupo Fantasma

WORLD MUSIC: Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami

COVER BAND: Magnifico

U-18: Schmillion

NONE OF THE ABOVE: Flying Balalaika Brothers

FEMALE VOCALS: Kat Edmonson

MALE VOCALS: Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne, 7 Walkers

ELECTRIC GUITAR: JD Cronise/Kyle Shutt, the Sword

ACOUSTIC GUITAR: David Garza

BASS: Steve Terebecki, White Denim

DRUMS/PERCUSSION: Thor Harris, Shearwater

KEYBOARDS: Rob Lowe, Balmorhea

MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENT: Matt Hubbard, anything he touches

SONGWRITER: Kevin Russell

PRODUCER: Will Sheff, True Love Cast Out All Evil

NEW CLUB: East Side Drive-In

LIVE MUSIC VENUE: One World Theatre

ACOUSTIC VENUE: Central Presbyterian Church

ALL-AGES VENUE: Emo's

RECORD STORE: End of an Ear

RADIO STATION: KOOP 91.7FM

RADIO MUSIC PROGRAM: AustinSurreal, Matt Sonzala, KAOS

RADIO PERSONALITY: David Brown, Texas Music Matters, KUT 90.5FM

LOCAL LABEL: Cyclopean

TEXAS MUSIC HALL OF FAME: Standing Waves

Random Play

Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy is reviving his boutique label 12XU to release Casual Victim Pile II, an 18-band companion piece to last year's revered Red River sampler (see "Slanted & Enchanted," Jan. 22, 2010). The limited-edition vinyl LP, which features previously unreleased material from OBN III's, Cruddy, Literature, and Rayon Beach, arrives Feb. 22, with another three-night stand at Beerland following in early March. "There were worthy candidates that didn't make volume one for a variety of reasons, but timing was the big one," relays Cosloy. "We're in an especially fertile period right now." Preorder now at www.casualvictimpile.com.

According to Pollstar, concert attendance in North America dropped 15% last year. For C3 Presents less proved more. Despite slight dips in total number of shows (924) and sellouts (187), the local booking enterprise managed a 2010 gross of more than $77 million – a whopping 23% increase from last year – ranking eighth among promoters in Billboard's annual year-end list. More importantly, that same trade publication listed the total attendance for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival at 225,000 (based on three sellouts), which breaks down to 75,000 daily, the maximum allowed in C3's contract with the city. That increase resulted in a $1.8 million jump in gross sales.

John Fox, better known as Artly Snuff, one of the original Shriners for Uranium Savages, is in intensive care after a Dec. 30 car accident left him with eight broken ribs and punctured lungs. More details next week.

Leading up to the March release of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology (UT Press), a 30-year greatest-hits collection, OTR's helping give away copies of the book through weekly trivia contests that start today (Thursday, Jan. 6). Each question will be live for 48 hours, and winners will be chosen at random from the correct responses at www.facebook.com/AustinChronicleMusicAnthology. For more information, follow along at www.twitter.com/ATXChronthology.