We’re three weeks out from the first full SXSW Music day and the Operation Every Band crew is feeling our deadline approaching quicker by the minute. We’re about 70% through the roster, but the eclectic additions keep coming.  What other music gathering can you make the statement, “Insane Clown Posse and Norah Jones were just added to the roster today”?!?  Check out OEB for the latest music recs and start getting your house in order with the latest info at SXSW Baby!  Today we’re bringing you the best of the best from J-L:

Lost Lander – “Cold Feet” 

Matt Sheehy has been gigging around the West Coast for the past few years, but he may have struck gold with his latest project, Lost Lander.  Granted, only one song, “Cold Feet”, has been released under the moniker, but it’s a real winner.  The song starts out with some ambient electronic elements, adding in layers of rhythm and melody throughout.  Listening to “Cold Feet” for the first time draws memories of self-discovering Local Natives or Real Estate.  There is something about tribal drum rhythms and spacey indie pop working in harmony that is so engaging.  The song somehow is dense and light all at once; Sheehy has a real knack for interplaying melodies together.  I’m making my call that this song will be a pretty big deal in indie rock circles next year.  Keep an eye out for Lost Lander – a full LP looks to be “coming soon”.

Click on the jump for more from Joe Pug, Jonquil, Just a Band and Kopecky Family Band

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The heckles are sure to come in, but that’s fine, because anyone taking on board Comedy at SXSW is going to get quite a few comments, so let’s just skip over the obvious stuff (the gender balance, how much the comedians are being paid, how many are here to promote and how many to perform) and point out the full line up of comedians who’ll be in town for SXSW is here.

This year you’ll find a mix of nightly showcases during Film, Interactive, and Music, either in Esther’s Follies or at the stages in the Austin Convention Center, while comedy podcasts will be recorded, again mostly in Esther’s Follies, but do check SXschedule for the exact dates and locations.

Personally, I’m looking forward to two of the ‘special events’ that are under the Comedy banner. A Carlin Home Companion see’s Kelly Carlin bring out personal memories and video footage of her father, George Carlin. The second is Paul Provenza’s session on Thursday 15th, promising a mix of traditional stand up and improvisation in Stand-up without a Net.

Omar Gallaga poses an interesting question to SXSW attendees on The Statesman - what tech are you going to carry around SXSW to get the most out of the conference?

 Our electronics have miniaturized to the point where you might be able to go several days with just a smartphone and a charger, but it really depends on the way you work. Some tech road warriors won’t go anywhere without a beefy, powerful laptop, whereas many others are finding they need only a slim tablet computer or even less.

As we’ve said many times, it’s about planning and being flexible. If you think about this now, you won’t have to think about it when pacing your day-bag each morning as you leave you San Antonio bedsit (hey, it was all that was available under $600 a night!). I’m convinced you can manage with a good notebook, Moleskine, or Filofax and a smartphone with decent battery life, but others need more.

So what’s your perfectly loaded kit for a day at SXSW?

Normally the “which app is going to win SXSW” is going to try and make a lot of noise at interactive, but from what we can see here at The Baby! SixSaw isn’t going to go live until Music starts – which gives it a different audience to the Silicon valley on Holiday crowd, and a competitive field with far less products and services pushing to get onto Southby’ers handsets.

So watch out for SixSaw, which mixes up the smartphone’s ability to capture memories and moments, with a competitive bingo style game, all tied into a community of players challenging each other and watching their relative scores move around.

A quick and easy idea to play, and one that could go down well with the Austin crowds. Why they’re waiting till after Interactive I’m not sure but if it’s a considered move, it’s certainly a ballsy one.

SixSaw really really mean it when they say the name is about the six things you saw to win the game.. S (i) XS (a) W is probably a co-incidence.

Sign up www.sixsaw.com

The smartphone is becoming a key battleground at SXSW, especially during Interactive, with start-ups, established services, and big corporations looking to get a foothold on the screen in your pocket (and in the column inches of the press). And then there’s the battle over organising SXSW. From shared calendars, group messaging, push alerts, there’s a fight for space (and your precious battery life) to be the part of the phone that helps you understand SXSW.

It’s time to add the official application into the mix.

Full details are up on the SXSW Go page at the main site, but all you really want to know is the cost (it’s free) and where to find it (iPhone, iPad, and Android versions here, here, and here).

I still don’t think it’s a substitute for a good diary (or a sharpie and the official paper program). Compared to my memories of last years application it feels a bit less polished and “we’ll show you everything and let you work it out” than last year. It’s still developed by Xomo Digital, so it might be better to blame my memory – and it’s not going to cost you anything to find out yourself.

Versions for Blackberry and Windows Phone users are expected to appear in the very near future, and we’ll let you know when they’re ready for download.

If you feel that a badge to SXSW is a bit pricey for you, or if you’ve got yourself a Music badge and wondering what all the fuss is about with Film, the SXSW Film Pass is a good option for only $80.

As announced in this weeks Austin Chronicle, Passes are on sale now at Waterloo Records, and Alamo Ritz, Lamar, and Village locations. And, unlike Music Wristbands, the price does not go up, and they’ll be available at those locations during SXSW, so they’re not for locals only.

Keep in mind though, that like Wristbands, Passes get in if there is room after Badges are let in, which usually is not an issue once Music starts.

Some scary-big numbers from SXSW Interactive’s Hugh Forrest at last week’s ‘Leadership Austin’ event.

 These figures [$167 million in revenue for Austin businesses] have steadily increased over the last few years, and to put that in context, that’s about half of the revenue of a Super Bowl. SXSW certainly brings in a lot of hotel revenue and restaurant revenue—it generates a lot of money, and that’s a good thing. I think these revenues will increase in 2012 as we grow across the board.

Forrest also touched on the SXSW badge prices, revenues for music clubs, and the new SXSWedu strand. Impact News reports on the event, and the resulting roller coaster that SXSW puts Austin through every year.