Outside In

It's not too early to be thinking about your summer festival plans. What is summer for, if not to get outside, shoulder-to-shoulder with your fellow terrestrials, soak up some sunshine, and lose yourself in the swirling nebula of euphoric intangibility that is Radiohead? To be fair, Radiohead is only one of three headlining acts set to thrill your musical senses at the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival August 22, 23 & 24 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. They just happen to be my favorite. Additional headliners Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers can be counted on for a super tight and thoroughly enjoyable rock show, and Jack Johnson is like the musical equivalent of a piña colada poolside. What’s not to like? Then there’s the rest of the line-up, a who’s who of awesomeness including Beck, Wilco, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Widespread Panic, Primus, Steve Winwood, Steel Pulse, and so on.

You can float through the weekend’s glorious sea of sound guilt-free as this is a green event complete with a solar stage, bio-diesel generators, composting, recycling and even a bicycle valet. Tickets are on sale March 30 and available only through the event’s website. A portion of the proceeds benefit San Francisco Parks and local charitable organizations.

Future Butterfly Past

Elliott Smith's music was startling in its genuineness. His haunting and deceptively simple melodies balanced on the knife edge of raw vulnerability. Such fragile beauty made his death in 2003 seem all the more shocking. The universe simply could not let such broken perfection slip away so early. And yet, there it was.

Chronicle Books' recently released photo-bio by Autumn de Wilde, an art director and photographer noted for her portraits of indie musicians, provides a poignant look at the life of a brilliant, though tragically troubled, artist. Interviews with friends, family, and fellow musicians provide context for de Wilde's intimate snaps. You'll also get a look at some of Smith's handwritten lyrics, personal ephemera, and insights from those closest to him. The book includes a 5-song CD of previously unreleased live recordings, along with a foreward by Beck and Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Chris Walla.

It seemed he only lived a day, but it was brilliant anyway.