SXSW

Scan Here for the Afterparty That Replaced the Afterparty

The doorman at the old Bourbon Rocks on 6th and Red River now requires you to scan a QR code before he'll even look at your ID; what follows is a 90-second "experience" video from a crypto exchange that went bankrupt in 2024, all so you can access a band playing to a room that smells like sponsored energy drinks and broken dreams.

The SXSW Corporate Takeover Tracker: Block by Block, Brand by Brand

We mapped every corporate activation zone in downtown Austin during SXSW. It took three days and most of our will to live.

The SXSW Free Stuff Quality Index: A Decline Measured in Koozies

The free stuff used to be good. Then it was fine. Now it's a QR code printed on a napkin.

The SXSW Porta-Potty Census: What 1,200 Plastic Toilets Say About Late Capitalism

We counted the porta-potties so you don't have to. The findings are damning and poorly ventilated.

The SXSW Local Survival Guide: Or, How to Live in Your Own City for Two Weeks

A tactical guide for Austinites who want to survive SXSW by doing the only sane thing: avoiding it completely.

SXSW Badge Price Timeline: A Brief History of Financial Ruin

From $50 wristbands to $1,900 platinum passes — a love story between Austin and your empty wallet.

Tracking the annual corporate colonization of Austin's weirdest week.

"It used to be about the music. Now it's about the lanyard."