Late last month Paul Westerberg put up a brand new album for download for the Radiohead-esque price of 49 cents. It was just over 43 minutes, one big long track with the "songs" running together as though they were coming over a car radio, with one station fading out and another taking over. It was freewheeling, fun, and a refreshingly new approach to the endangered species of the LP. And now it's gone.

SXSW started off right with Black Joe Lewis on Wednesday. Austin's very own twenty-something soul shouter was so much fun I thought about going out on a high note and picking things up the next day. Instead I hit a very weird Slits reunion, if two original members and three young recruits count as "the Slits" at all. Ari Up bounced around in skintight leggings, mooned the crowd, and reminded us repeatedly that "the Slits exist!" Entertaining, yet surreal.