Billy Altman

I've been attending the South By Southwest music festival for many years, but I can't ever recall ever hearing the particular sound I encountered late Friday night at Stubb's: squealing. And I mean the kind of squealing that means only one thing – female hormones on the march. 

The first full day at the 2012 South By Southwest music festival was really all about the ladies, as a number of talented women from all points of the stylistic compass made their presence felt at various hot spots throughout the day and night.

Throughout its long history, country music has often found itself staring at the mirror and trying to make sense of the reflection.

Listening to Lady Gaga’s relentless new CD, I can’t help but think of those old TV commercials in which a housewife would unscrew the cap to a bottle of Ajax liquid cleanser and unleash a “White Tornado” on her kitchen floor. Except in Gaga’s case, it’s a (bleached) white tornado being unleashed on every dancefloor of the planet.