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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
MP3 Neil Landstrumm's RA.174 Podcast
Posted by Dave Segal on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 5:08 PM
When I can find a spare 65 minutes, I'm going to dive into Neil Landstrumm's podcast, hosted by Resident Advisor. I'm excited because Scottish producer/DJ Landstrumm put on my favorite performance at this year's Movement festival in Detroit, toggling between avant-rave techno and innovative dubstep cuts with head-spinning frequency and making the rapid, unlikely juxtapositions work incredibly well. I'd never heard anything like it; he literally provided a thrill every 45 seconds, making seemingly incompatible styles sound like harmonious bedfellows.
You can listen to the podcast and read an interview with Landstrumm here (you must register with RA in order to gain access to it; it's free and painless). But hurry, as these podcasts live only for a couple weeks on the site.
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Homo / Tonight Well, Forget It.
Posted by Adrian Ryan on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Nothing is happening tonight.
Not. A God. Damn. Thing.
Sorry.
(And it's not happening tonight at The War Room, doors at 9pm. The incredible photos are all Kevin Kauer's fault! More after the jump.)
Album / Love You've Heard the New Visqueen Record, Right?
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 4:17 PM
It's called Message to Garcia. I wrote about the woman who made it in this week's paper. If you are a fan of rock n' roll, it will kick your face in with pleasure.
Full Rachel Flotard/Visqueen/Message to Garcia word-explosion here.
And you may hear Message to Garcia's smashing "Janitor's Waltz" —my favorite MTG track—below.
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Tonight / Politics Tonight: Mike McGinn, Dow Constantine, Pete Holmes, and the Presidents at the Crocodile!
Posted by Eric Grandy on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Tickets (available here) range from $25-$350, and all proceeds will be split evenly between the three campaigns.
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Tip Surely Bassy: Mary Anne Hobbs’ Fave Female Dubsteppers
Posted by Dave Segal on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 2:04 PM
In last issue's interview with renowned BBC Radio DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, I asked her about the dearth of female producers in dubstep and its bass-heavy offshoots. She said if you know where to look, women, to paraphrase Renegade Soundwave, are not only responding to bass, but they’re making music that uses a lot of the stuff, too. Below are the names she dropped on me. Now I’m passing them on to you for your own exploration.
Drinking / Drugs re: Hiphop Today
Posted by Kelly O on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 1:57 PM
50 should really smack down Amy Winehouse. And her new "Jewmaican" and "smoke bacon" rhyme. Eesh. Maybe Ames should stick to baby mice?
Last Night / Photo The Blakes @ Neumos
Posted by Kristen Blush on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 12:54 PM
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Video Hiphop Today
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Some next level shit...
Housekeeping / Tickets Find Out About Local Shows the Instant They're Announced and Go On Sale!
Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Just follow SEAshows, The Stranger's Twitter feed of ticket info for Seattle's music scene, and get instant information from dozens of local clubs, including their latest show date additions, ticket sale information, and even pre-sale passwords.
Classic / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz The First Cut Is the Deepest: Best Opening Tracks on Debut Releases
Posted by Dave Segal on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Listening to Neu!’s “Hallogallo” recently, it struck me that this song was an incredible way to launch one’s recording career. It also spurred me to ponder the idea of groups and solo artists bowing into the recording sphere with a sonic nuclear bomb. It’s crazy (and wonderful, too) to realize that some groups peak with the first song they issue into the world.
So below I’ve compiled some opening tracks from debut releases that qualify for that hallowed pantheon of songs that announces to the world, “Head’s up, motherfuckers! We’re gonna be important!”—which is not to say that I think every song here represents these artists’ peaks, although sometimes they do.
Just as interesting to consider is the number of classic artists whose initial efforts don’t merit inclusion here (ymmv, of course): The Beatles, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Captain Beefheart, Black Dice, Animal Collective, Tim Buckley, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, etc.
Contribute your ideas in comments, if you’re so inclined.
*Indicates an album’s first track after what I consider an insignificant “Intro.”
Neu!- “Hallogallo” (Neu!)
Kraftwerk- “Ruckzuck” (Kraftwerk)
Funkadelic- “Mommy, What’s a Funkadelic?” (Funkadelic)
Hawkwind- “Hurry On Sundown” (Hawkwind)
Can- “Father Cannot Yell” (Monster Movie)
Roxy Music- “Remake/Remodel” (Roxy Music)
The Velvet Underground- “Sunday Morning” (The Velvet Underground & Nico)
Jimi Hendrix Experience- “Purple Haze” (Are You Experienced)
The Who- “I Can’t Explain” (I Can’t Explain 7”)
M.I.A.- “Galang” (Galang EP)
Public Enemy- “You’re Gonna Get Yours” (Yo! Bum Rush the Show!)
Mercury Rev- “Chasing a Bee” (Yerself Is Steam)
The Move- “Night of Fear” (single)
LCD Soundsystem- “Losing My Edge” (Losing My Edge 12”)
Television "A Hugely Influential Seattle Band" Played Fallon Last Night
Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Sunny Day Real Estate playing "Seven" on Jimmy Fallon:
Fallon seems sincerely giddy about their performance.
They play the Paramount on October 16th and it appears tickets are still available here.
Classic Why Do Birds Sing So Gay?*
Posted by Gina Young on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Today in rock and roll history marks the birthday of Frankie Lymon (1942-1968): rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, precursor to Jackson Five-era Michael, heroin addict from the age of 15.
Lymon and his group The Teenagers are best remembered for the 1956 hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"— a song repeatedly appropriated by white artists that remained more successful in its original incarnation, a rare feat at the time that numbers among their many coups as an integrated group in a very racist America.
Check out this golden, vintage (and completely unscripted) clip from their first national television broadcast. Watch how his nervousness during the stilted dialogue flips to complete panache when he breaks into his trademark falsetto croon. Man, rock and roll has gone downhill since.
* Actual lyric; was in fact the original title of the song.
Tonight Tonight in Music: Miike Snow, Danny Godinez, Toubab Krewe and More
Posted by Chris Govella on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 9:00 AM
In Up & Coming:
Jack Penate, Miike Snow(Neumos) Last time Miike Snow (two dudes from Sweden and one dude from New York; the former, Bloodshy and Avant, responsible for producing Britney Spears's "Toxic," among other pop singles) rolled through town, I was fixated on their song "Animal" and its remixes (especially the Punks Jump Up version). Then as I was waiting in line recently at the coffee shop, this nagging, sunny, playfully descending guitar melody was playing, and I knew I had heard it before but couldn't place it (Peter Bjorn and John, maybe? No), so I asked, and it was Miike Snow's "Song for No One." It remains a great little melody, but it's not really much of a song, and the same might be true for "Animal," really. Jack Penate is British singer-songwriter, in the pejorative sense of the term. ERIC GRANDY
Toubab Krewe, Danny Godinez(Tractor) This is a jammy little lineup: Danny Godinez plays acoustic-guitar compositions that derive from the blues, but sound lighter, with little Latin touches and pop-song changes. It's groovy, but not in a bad way: harmonics and muted strings, picking out arpeggios and slapping the neck for rhythm. The worst that can be said about it is that it would make excellent background music on a warm winter night at an excellent outdoor restaurant run by Italians on a beach in the Caribbean. And that's not so bad. Toubab Krewe are a bunch of dudes from Asheville, North Carolina, who play instrumental Afrobeat with dashes of zydeco and surf rock. These guys spent a lot of time creating their website, and before you can read anything on it, you have to watch a stylized digital tree grow. Which seems a bit presumptuous. What if I don't want to sit and watch your tree grow, Toubab Krewe? Does that make me uptight or square or something? BRENDAN KILEY
Looking for more? Search a complete listing of shows and live music in Seattle with our online calendar.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Politics The Culture Constituency
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Let's play a game of compare and contrast.
Today, Mike McGinn released a released a five-point arts and culture plan—including funding for arts and music education through the Families and Education Levy, a recognition that money for culture is an investment and not a handout (using some familiar language and figures), a pledge to fund individual artists, and backing for CODAC (a push to preserve arts spaces in gentrifying neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, which tend to lose arts spaces when the developers move in).
Dom's right—it's not city-shattering news, but it's specific and pointed in the right direction.
What does Joe Mallahan have to say about culture in Seattle?
Seattle could not be the great town that it is without our strong arts and cultural scene. As mayor, I will continue the city’s support of arts programs around the city, which leverage economic activity and increase the quality of life in Seattle. Support for arts, film, music and other cultural events will have an official place in my administration. Supporting arts is something we all need to do, especially the city, and I will continue to do that as mayor.
Well, that's nice. But... how? Willing to put any specifics on the table, Mr. Mallahan?
Seattle has a lot of artists and arts workers: employees of STG, the theaters, the ballet, the opera, the symphony, SAM, music venues, dance clubs, independent movie theaters, etc., etc. I'm guessing there are thousands of you out there—enough to throw a tight election.
Seattle also has a lot of arts money: board members and donors and subscribers who care about all those arts institutions.
Remember: You are a constituency. Ask yourselves throughout the next few weeks: Which candidate will represent your interests—the interests of culture and urbanity, which means money as well as quality of life and edification and, you know, fun—when he's in office?
UPDATE
Commenter Enigma says:
It's too bad the Stagehand Union followed the rest of the unions in endorsing Mallahan. Seems a bit misguided when the other unions only supported Joe cause of the tunnel, the Stagehands don't have much to gain out of that deal.
Brother-union solidarity has its place—but it'd be a shame if the stagehands threw themselves off a cliff for the sake of the trade unions. (And when was the last time the trades did theater workers a favor?)
A couple of bonus reader comments from this story on why organized labor has endorsed Mallahan, even though he comes from years as a vice-president at T-Mobile, a virulently anti-union business:
Oy! Considering I'm a former TMO worker (emphasis on FORMER), I dread Mallahan. If he runs this city like he ran TMO, we're in for a bad ride. TMO was the very definition of "ride employees until they break" and "no job is good enough."McGinn needs to get his head out of his ass and realize he's wasting time pissing and moaning about a tunnel. It's NOT the biggest issue on the table for Seattle. Bread and butter issues like AFFORDABLE housing (not just yuppie condos), environment, and living-wage work need attention.
Because the unions are corrupt, out-dated and run by the very same yuppies Mallahan represents. The unions do not have the interest of their members in mind - they have their own interests in mind.DON'T JOIN A UNION - FORM A UNION!
Shit Talk / Teh Internets The Dumbest Part of the Wavves/Black Lips Beef
Posted by Eric Grandy on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 5:13 PM
...Jared Swiley of the Black Lips' moronically homophobic "official" response:
“First of all, I just wanna say that Wavves was NOT involved in that fight. That faggot didn’t even touch me.I’ve never “come after” that kid, it wasn’t four a.m., that wasn’t my girlfriend, no one was spitting, and I didn’t attack him. I don’t give a shit about that kid and his music.
What happened was, after we finished our set I went to Daddy’s with some friends and saw that faggot from Wavves talking to a photographer friend of mine. The only thing I did was walk up to him and say “You’re that faggot from Wavves and I don’t like you”. He smiled a bit but didn’t say anything.
After that, I went outside and saw their tour manager hanging around with some guys. They started getting all chuckles with me and so I told them I wasn’t gonna have it. After that, Wavves tour manager hit me square in the face with a bottle. Blood started pouring out and six dudes fucking started kicking me until I blacked out.
All I remember is getting hit with the bottle and my friends dragging me to another bar. They wrapped my head up until I looked like a Confederate soldier.
So yeah, I lost the fight.
I also missed three flights. I’ve been in the airport all day having stewardesses cleaning my head because it kept cracking open. You can’t go on board if you’re bleeding.
Bottom line is that faggot from Wavves didn’t even hit me. Never touched me. And he should’ve, cuz he had a free shot.
He’s coming to Atlanta October 3rd and we’re gonna get ugly on him. We’re gonna destroy their van, we’re gonna destroy their faces, we’re gonna get crazy on em’. Nasty style.
Seriously. Fuck these clowns. Anyone playing in a "punk" band (fuck, let alone a "flower punk" band) who uses insinuations of homosexuality as an insult* (because, you know, being gay is weak and despicable and thank god "that faggot" never touched him, because, eww gross) is either an idiot or a homophobe or both. Dudes sure didn't seem too homophobic when they played hella gay faggot bar Pony in its original incarnation, so maybe Swiley just has the mind and the mouth of an 11-year-old elementary school drop-out. In any case, stay assy, Black Lips.
*This post dedicated to anonymous commenter #2.
Politics In Less Than 24 Hours
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., City Attorney Tom Carr and challenger Pete Holmes will face off in Electionland to answer your questions. Here are the most popular questions so far:
Do you support WA Senate Bill 5615, which would reclassify adult possession of marijuana from a crime to a civil infraction? Why or why not?Would you be for encouraging the WLCB to allow later closing times for bars?
How would you advise the police handle noise complaints on established bars and clubs by home/condo owners in new buildings?
You can vote "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on all the questions. And you can add new questions until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Tonight Near Dark Comes to Light at Triple Door
Posted by Dave Segal on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Sam Rousso Soundsystem of Ruff Gemz monthly party at Lo-Fi debuts a new Tuesday weekly tonight at Triple Door called Near Dark, which will feature a rotating cabal of DJs—including residents Deejay Jack and DJ McCrae—plus special guests spinning no wave, nu disco, dance punk, and other species of rock that trigger rhythmic movements in human beings. Near Dark begins at 9 pm.
Triple Door discounts your bar tab 33 percent from 9 pm-close on Sundays through Thursdays; it also offers two happy hours during week nights, from 4 pm-6 pm and 9 pm-12 am.
Read Me, I'm Sick: Grunge Book Release Party
Posted by Dave Segal at 1:25 PM in Upcoming
How Fucking Lucky is Wavves to be Playing with Zach Hill?
Posted by Eric Grandy at 12:14 PM in Teh Internets / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Stream the Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack
Posted by Megan Seling at 11:30 AM in Album / Tip
Decibel: Highlights From Days 3 & 4
Posted by Dave Segal at 11:25 AM in Show Review / Decibel
Tonight in Music: The Blakes, Jeffrey Lewis, Telefon Tel Aviv and More
Posted by Chris Govella at 9:00 AM in Tonight
Monday, September 28, 2009
KEXP Making Layoffs in NYC Operations
Posted by Eric Grandy at 4:16 PM in Out of Town / Radio / Business
Zohom-bey, Zohom-bey, Zohom-bey-bey-bey-bey
Posted by Paul Constant at 4:12 PM in On Tour
Decibel 2009 Highlights
Posted by Eric Grandy at 3:17 PM in Show Review / Last Night / Decibel
Mountains @ Triple Door
Posted by Trent Moorman at 12:40 PM in Last Night / Decibel / Video
Alter Ego @ Decibel
Posted by Dave Segal at 12:23 PM in Last Night / Decibel / Video
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The Song I Listened to Over and Over Again After I Had My Heart Broken for the First Time by Megan Seling
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Ivan & Alyosha's Gear Gets Stolen, Rhapsody Gives 'Em $10,000, but They Still Want Your Cash by Megan Seling
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NOT EVEN JOKING: Michelle Shocked Is Playing 2013 San Francisco Pride by Kelly O
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What You're Not Wearing: Vito's Edition!! by Timothy Rysdyke
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That Chilling Moment When a Song’s Lyrics Smack You Right in the Feelings by Megan Seling
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Lou Reed's "The Original Wrapper" vs. Dee Dee King's "Funky Man" by Emily Nokes
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A Very Juggalo Father's Day: "Fuck My [Deadbeat] Dad" by Kelly O
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Playing Void For the Children of Grunge by Mike Nipper
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The Most Badass Record Covers Featuring Aviator Shades by Dave Segal
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