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jim franklin

The Man Who Made Austin Weird

Too often living legends go neglected in their own environs, as if already past history. They become walking ghosts, barely acknowledged where they exist–while neighbors thrive off their genius.  Austin, Texas is in the middle of its first post-pandemic, in person, somewhat subdued (1,400 bands instead of 2,000) South by Southwest (SXSW) music, film, new media, everything-but-animal-husbandry festival. This bloated, expensive (ten-day access badge: $1,395 to $1,895) schmooze fest is the tech-elitists’ successor to the old-style Texas State Fair (which still takes place in September in Dallas, 24-day pass $50).  This year’s SXSW is still expected to draw, incredibly, hundreds of thousands of attendees, in the process generating enough income from ticket and gear sales and big buck...