WE PLAY FAVORITES: HOUSTON PRESS MUSIC AWARDS VOTING GUIDE

WE’RE BACK. NICE TO SEE YOU! Yes, it took only just over three hours on the phone with the folks at Comcast, but we are back online, able to snoop for news in the PM hours, and more importantly, kinda sort at a point where we can put some time into writing again. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO.

Each year in our parking-lotted city a great cultural debate arises. Are the Houston Press Music Awards a helpful gauge as to the evolving (or stagnating) tastes of the undiscriminating (read: not you) music fan in this city? Are they a popularity contest where the act who MySpace Mobilizes Most Magnificently Musters Majesty? Are they just a good excuse to get wicked drunk on the balcony of the Rice Hotel? Who knows? ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS. But, at the very least, you should vote. So, we are pleased to present the totally partial SKYLINE NETWORK EXCLUSIVE 2007 HOUSTON PRESS MUSIC AWARDS ALL CAPS VOTING GUIDE. YUSS.

Best New Act: The Dimes
This is a no brainer for this category. The Dimes blend of pop energy with everything you used to like about Matador Records takes us back to when, well, we were their age. A totally convincing first year on the stage (and on disc) has us stoked for where they go from here. Also, it doesn’t hurt that we’ve never heard of any of the other bands in this category.

Best Punk: Something Fierce
This is where the entire balloting process starts to break down (too bad, as it’s only the second prompt). From the outset, though, The Jonx, though ACES and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED don’t fall under our understanding of punk rock. You could say the same thing about the Fatal Flying Guilloteens. That being said, where do these bands belong? Indie? Post rock? Math? Frenchy Kissy Recordsy? We say vote Something Fierce in this category cause, well, they hustle – promote like hell, put our seven inches like they own the factory, write some catchy-ass head shakers and are the kind of earnest kids that will prolly genuinely appreciate the recognition.

Best Alt Rock: The Western Civilization (write in)
Who knows what the hell this category even means anymore. For us, it means a band that could prolly get on the radio or something like that. So, we suggest writing in The Western Civilization, cause they’ve got that hella indie pop thing going on that way more people need to just chill and get with rather than surrounding themselves with an impenetrable bubble of axe body spray-rockin’ post rap-metal jeep brah-ness.

Best Hardcore: O Pioneers
Chris Ryan is O Pioneers!!! new drummer. Are you kidding us? We're stoked. But on the real, if we knew anything about hardcore this contest wouldn’t be about "our favorite local heavy as heavy drummer" (O Pioneers!!!) versus "best t-shirt" (The Jonbenet, whose recent wardrobe submission featured a bespectacled Roy Mata [Fatal Flying Guilloteens] drinking a can of beer). But, as it turns out, we don’t know anything about hardcore, so we vote you go with drums so hopefully O Pioneers!!! will win and blow up and member Eric (I Heart You Productions) will get too busy with the band to keep bringing MC Chris back to town.

Best Meatal: Golden Axe
Like we were going to suggest something else. Ok, actually, Insect Warfare is pretty aces too and this was a tough call. Sadly, a nu-metal crap bucket from Clear Lake or Spring will win this one easily.

Best Indie Rock: whoever
These are all good bands, with solid years and tite bros in them. Like we are gonna tell you to vote for one of these bands over the others.

Best Pop: Arthur Yoria
We are so totally stoked on the Handshake Smiles LP that we recommend you just vote for it, even though we are sad to make Program second fiddle by doing so. Dear Pedro, please don’t get butthurt about this and continue to send us text message notices of rad stuff going on that night.

Best Traditional Rock: The Wiggins
If The Wiggins are the new sound of Traditional Rock, then we’re really stoked about listening to KLOL again. Should win for being associated with Neil Patrick Harris alone.

Best Experimental/Avant Garde: Satin Hooks
Because it’s so freaking hilarious to us that a band with such ACES and WELL STRUCTURED indie rock jams not only won this last year, but got nominated again this year. Also, we have no idea why Peekaboo Theory is in this category either (there is a race joke to be made here), as their songs are far from the noise collages of A Pink Cloud or mesmerizing thought drones of ruaminx.

Best National Hip Hop: Devin the Dude
Smooth as chill. Hell as silk.

Best Folk/Acoustic: Jana Hunter
If you haven’t picked up on this by now, you’ve obviously been reading the local media and not the national music media.

Best DJ: DJ Sun
Even though he wins pretty much every year, it’s not without good reason. Also, he put out (finally) a 12” single this spring which we rotate pretty heavily around the home office and look forward to reviewing it sometime between now and 2009.

Local Musician of the Year: Your call.
Another toughie. This depends entirely on what criteria one uses to define such Musicianship of the Yearmanship. One released an aces record independently and has been working the system to get his name and music out there (can you say OC?). Another has gone the reasonably DIY route, crafts great songs, bounces back from ridiculous management decisions and made hands-down the city’s best video. Another recorded a full length with a noted producer, had a song appear in a national public service campaign by a major skincare maker and seems poised to break out of the local market in a big way. Whatever you do, don’t vote Tony Vega, cause that noise is tired. Whoever wins this, if they win atleast one or two other awards, will be on the cover of the awards issue.

Best Female Vocalist: Sabra Laval (write in)
God we love it when Sabra sings. She’s still a relative unknown in this town, and we’re willing to bet you haven’t seen her yet. But damn. Them pipes.

Best Male Vocalist: Shawn Adolph
We love Shawn, we really do. Former roommate, teller of tales, gentleman of the country club - we have no clue how it is that he got nominated in this category, but since the Guilloteen’s “Get Into It” "White Diet" (from their forthcoming Quantum Fucking LP) is one of our favorite songs right now, we propose that you vote for his 13 year old girl versus velociraptor style of vocals.

Best Bassist: Melissa Lonchambon
We can only endorse this as a vote now that she got rid of that nancy-pants music-man bass; that and Sharks and Sailors have recently been used by the SPCA to euthanize cats by crushing their very existence with heavy riffage, much of which Melissa rounds out the bottom of. Plus, she is partially responsible for making someone go into labor at a show. YUSS

Song of the Year: Delilah – The Dimes
Damn. Another hard one. We’re going for Delilah because we (again) like the video and it’s great for dancing. But we wouldn’t begrudge anyone for voting for The Scattered Pages' “Iris” or Indian Jewelry’s “Lost My Sight.”

Best Guitarist – Warren Hatfield (Golden Axe – Write In)
Don’t blow it.

Best Drummer: Paul Valdez
Paul Valdez wins this category because he is the only drummer on this list that could get away with playing drums on songs that Andy McWilliams (Scattered Pages) played drums on.

Album of the Year: Jana Hunter - There is no Home
Make no mistake – Lazy are the Skeletons and Invasive Exotics, especially, are outstanding albums, and it’s not fun to say we like one of these over the others. That being said, There is no Home is a not just a mile marker document of Jana’s musical growth, but a flat out (yet understated) off-ramp of writing, composing and plain old living realized with a Houston dream-team of collaborators. Well produced, sequenced and packaged, it nails the technical end of the album too. Plus - much of it was written on a sailboat and it reminds us of the beach. But in all real talk - you should own all three of these records.

Songwriter of the Year: You Pick
Again, this purely goes down to taste, and all of these contenders are among the city’s best with the narrative and the note. We’d prolly ask all five of these folks to help us pen a musical, and we’ll prolly vote by rolling a dice.

Best Concert Venue
What the hell is a concert. That sounds so large, so expansive – like Traffic is opening up for the Eagles. If that’s the case, the only place to see such an event is the Woodlands. Picnic blankets, grass, open sky – hell yeah.

Best Rock Venue
The Mink. It's small and tight as hell, but fun, and since nobody ever goes to shows in this town, you might as well rock out in a place that’s crammed to the rafters instead of one half full.

Best Record Store
Thank god Cactus is finally out of business so a real record store like Sound Exchange has a chance of winning..

So that’s it – our voting guide. Sure, we definitely copped out on a couple of these, but whatevez, we’re just stoked to be back telling you what to think. And speaking of what to think, stay tuned as we roll out our SUGGESTED VIEWING schedule for the awards showcase (coming up this Sunday, the 29th) later this week. Thanks for reading, it's nice to be back.