
Seattle avant-pop bassist/composer Jherek Bischoff (ex-Dead Science, Parenthetical Girls) has collaborated with David Byrne on the track “Eyes.” It comes from his album Composed, a heady orch-pop opus coming out June 5 on the Brassland label that's loaded with impressive guest musicians: Caetano Veloso, Deerhoof's Greg Saunier, Craig Wedren, Carla Bozulich, and Wilco's Nels Cline. “Eyes” is a lush, stately processional song featuring serpentine string motifs and tender glockenspiel, and Byrne singing in his late-era heartfelt-balladeer mode.
The band says: "It's not exactly the sun-bleached summer soundtrack people anxiously await from bands around this time of year, but if you like a little spook with your carefree love making and lazy river floats, then this one will treat you well."
Who doesn't love a little bit of spookiness in their sunshine? It's all about balance. Here, hear:

Greer McGettrick is the Mallard, and whether she's playing alone or with her backing band—currently Dylan Tidyman-Jones ("Boy Dylan") on drums/keys/vocals and Dylan Edrich ("Girl Dylan") on bass/guitar—the vibe is woozy, hallucinogenic garage rock that sounds like it was recorded from the basement through the heat vent in the upstairs kitchen. In other words, they're your new favorite band to listen to while getting drunk. The Stranger spoke with McGettrick the day after she had a minor mix-up with the San Francisco Police Department. Here's what she said on no sleep for about 36 hours.

If a documentary about Akron duo the Black Keys seems premature—because it is—a documentary about Detroit trio Death (1971-1977) is long overdue.
Though most people wouldn't discover them until three decades after the fact, the band of (actual) brothers provides the missing link between the virtuosic rock & roll of Jimi Hendrix and the righteous hardcore of Bad Brains. In other words, they were proto-punk, just like their Motor City brethren in the MC5 and the Stooges.
Found on 206 Proof, thanks to the homie AB from Sonicsgate:
It's one thing to steal our basketball team... but I draw the fucking line at them stealing our awkward white boy speed rap swag. - Billy The Fridge
Fridge nailed it, too. This is the terrible kind of double-timey commercial-rap mimicry I thought was native to the lands far to the North and East of my lofty perch here on Capitol Trill. Maybe OKC just caught that fever, and now the local lames can let that style go; Seattle-area rappers, if you ever make a song that sounds even remotely like this, you will hereby be deported to the dustbowl quicker than you can tie a baby-blue durag.
On Wed. May 23 at 8 am PST, Decibel Fest representatives will announce half of its 2012 lineup on KEXP (90.3 FM in Seattle or http://kexp.org). For now, let's just say that a lot of you are going to be very pleased about many of the acts slated to perform—especially those who may have missed Saturday's Psychic Circle event. I hope that's coy and cryptic enough for you.
In the meantime, you should go check out this stuff, cause we worked really hard on it and we think it's pretty good.

Upcoming Northwest Cave Singers dates:
5/25- Tacoma @ The New Frontier
5/28-George @ Sasquatch
7/28- Stanley, ID @ Sawtooth
8/3- Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
8/4- Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
Shotty, Hot Seat, the Archelons
(Rendezvous) There's a string band from Richmond, Virginia, called the Hot Seats, and sometimes one of their guitarists performs in a ruffly pink dress, and that guitarist is a man with a beard. This is not that band! This is Hot Seat from Seattle, who describe themselves as "Sexy. Dirty. Rock. And. Roll." And we'll have to take their word for it, since they don't have music posted on the internet anywhere. FOR SHAME! But the Archelons do have music on the internet, and tonight is their first show ever! You'll definitely want to be there if noisy, fast rock music tinged with psych and punk is your thing. Plus, imagine how cool you'll sound in a year when they're playing the Block Party and you can be all, "Yeah, I was totally there for their first show."
MEGAN SELING
I forgive Jay-Z for everything. His wife (and the mother of his daughter) is not a bitch. She is the most beautiful woman in the world.

I think Line Out may have "slept," as the kids say, on the new Azealia Banks track, "Jumanji," which popped up on the intertubes at the end of last week. Go listen! Azealia Banks is so so so so so much fun! More great than this new one, actually, and one I've been thinking about lately because of our lovely weather and the video's perfect summeriness, is her older song "L8R." You will probably get parts of it stuck in your head. I hope, for your sake, they're parts that are okay to accidentally sing in a grocery store, as opposed to the particularly raunchy awesomeness that will get you weird looks. Enjoy!

HOT.
To enter to win free guest list admission just send your first and last name to freetickets@thestranger.com with JK Pop in the subject line.
Good luck!
*Okay, not actually a hologram. NOT YET.
**Not a "new" album—a second solo album, that he'd been recording the last fifteen years of his life. Listen to it on Rolling Stone. Preorder it on iTunes.

But, as Guru said, with Bobby, it's mostly the voice: I got hooked on that beautiful, lifeworn voice the second I heard "Across 110th St" on the Jackie Brown soundtrack. Let the record show that he is one of the greatest to ever do it. His new album on XL drops next month, and it will be my first Tuesday afternoon, new music purchases in years. The title track debuted a couple weeks ago. Check it out after the cut.
What the What What?!: Refused just announced a few dates in Western Canada. One of them is in Vancouver at The Vogue Theatre. If you're too lazy to click the link, the group will be in Vancouver August 27th. As of yet there are no U.S. Northwest dates announced, but Bumbershoot is still announcing artists... All I know is I'm so glad I didn't go to Coachella...
A-dorable: Three kids put together a mock video of the Beastie Boy's Sabotage. Speaking of different "versions" of the song, hardcore band Incendiary (who's playing RainFest next weekend) recently covered the song.
More like "Knarly" Morris: Keith Morris sat down and talked about his current favorite bands, the first record he ever owned, and that one time an exotic dancer "got all up in his grill" while performing with, ironically, the Circle Jerks.
52,000 Angry Ticket Buyers VS One Event Producer: Lady Gaga was officially denied a permit to perform at her sold out show in Indonesia.
This Could Really Go Either Way: Harry Potter's Snape is going to play CBGB's owner Hilly Kristal in an upcoming movie about the start of the legendary club.
A Black Metal Bass Player is Now a Sitting Member of the Greek Parliament: Giorgos Germenis, from the band Naer Mataron has been elected to paraliament. Giorgos is known to be part of the Golden Dawn Party, which is considered to be one of the most extreme and highly active right-winged parties throughout Europe.
Pretty!: New Jersey's Screaming Females did a delightful cover of Sheryl Crow's "If it Makes You Happy." Guitarist Marissa Paternoster was also recently voted at #77 for Spin's 100 Greatest Guitarists.
Metal Meal of the Day: NPR is streaming the new St. Vitus record titled Lillie: F-65!
Last But Not Least: Watch Willie Nelson cover Pearl "Huckleberry" Jam's "Just Breathe."
"Swim"
Wind-tunnel punk-rock trio Nü Sensae announce their second LP on Suicide Squeeze. It's a howling work that speaks highly of what's to come, but hey, I'm biased. WEIRD. These Canucks will be tearing apart their corner of Capitol Hill Block Party. Get on it.
Tour dates after the cut:
This month's Rolling Stone (with Peter Dinklage on the cover) is the first Rolling Stone magazine I've bought in probably half a decade. It's smaller and thinner than I remember. It's pricier, too ($4.99? Really?), but it was totally worth the cost just to read (and re-read) Josh Eells's story about Tom Gabel, the lead singer of Against Me!, who came out as transgender last week. Most people know by now that Gabel is going to start living her life as a woman—she's going to take hormones and eventually change her name to Laura Jane Grace. And while thousands of people have commented on the blog post announcing the news, re-posted it on Twitter and Facebook (and it's been linked to just about every other music-related blog in the world), I hope just as many people read the full story to see the person who's behind the admittedly surprising "Famous Rockstar Is Becoming a Woman" headline.
Eells does a wonderful job telling Gabel's story. I feel so many writers could've taken advantage of her generosity and used this opportunity to write a darker, heavier piece. It's the first time a famous musician has come out as transgender, after all, and her transformation still leaves so many unanswered questions. It'd be really juicy to focus on all of the dramatic possibilities—Will the band stay together? Will the marriage last? Will the fans support her?—but Eells's piece is very straight-forward. He celebrates Gabel's bravery and paints everything in a very optimistic light. He recognizes the dark places she's been over the years, of course, but then ultimately focuses on Gabel's strength and the happiness she feels now that she's being true to herself.
We get to see what it was like when Gabel told her wife (she didn't know which pronoun to use at first either), her bandmates (they got stoned and decided they needed to work out to protect her), and her mom (who sounds awesome). We get to see a very vulnerable side of Gabel, but even more importantly we see her sense of humor, kindness, and excitement. Instead of being all about the adversity, it's about the triumph. It's really, really inspiring.
Basically, it's an amazing story, it's told especially well, and everyone in the world should read it.