Since I Live less than a block from the 15th Avenue Sonic Boom, I have mixed feelings upon learning that it's moving to a new location (on Melrose between Pike and Pine). On one hand, I'm obviously bummed that one of the best record stores in the city won't be within a stone's throw of my front door, but on the other hand, I'm relieved that one of the best record stores in the city won't be within a stone's throw of my front door. When I do have money (rare), it's all too tempting to part with it there, and when I don't have money (most of the time), it's fucking torture to walk past that place almost every night. In all seriousness though, Sonic Boom on 15th, you will be greatly missed, and good luck at the new location.

On a side note, I'm surprised to hear that Olympia Pizza and Spaghetti House III will be expanding into the space. I know the food is great, but it never seems busy enough to justify an expansion. My advice to owner Harry Nicoloudakis: Build it out as a low-key bar/lounge. There's definitely a niche to be filled in that neighborhood, because sometimes Hopvine Pub, Liberty, and The Canterbury just don't really fit the bill, and they're always fairly busy, if not packed.

HT: CapitolHillSeattle

Helienne Lindvall, over at the Guardian, asks the question:

A major UK agent (again, anonymous) says that Ticketmaster often makes more money than the artist from a concert, once the act's management has paid for the venue, promotion, sound and lights, road crew, transport, hotels etc. And, unlike Ticketmaster, if the gig doesn't sell out the artist risks losing money. "What the fuck have they [Ticketmaster] risked?" says the agent. "They haven't risked a penny other than staffing. Manchester Arena had the highest booking fee on my artist's tour. Could I bring it down? No. 'Fuck off, we're the only arena in Manchester,' they said."

Today local label Light in the Attic—home of the Saturday Knights and Black Angels, and keen reissuers of classics by Rodriguez, the Monks, Betty Davis, Serge Gainsbourg, and others—is sending Sandy Wilson, Troy Nelson, Tyson Pickerel, and Cody Hurd in a van down the West Coast to sell its merchandise to indie music shops, face to face. (Good luck to the LITA crew: Record-store employees are some ornery motherfuckers.)

But will the savings on postage outweigh the expenditure for gas? We'll be on pins and needles awaiting the answer to that question. In the meantime, you can follow the jaunt via Twitter and LITA's blog.

Read the press release and check the itinerary after the cut.

Last Thursday, the booker at the recently reopened Crocodile decided to cut Fatal Lucciauno, a local rapper on the gangster tip of things, from Dyme Def's record release party/show on April, 25—it will be the first hiphop show at that rock venue. The reason for cutting Fatal? Because the bookers could not separate him from the Chop Suey shooting back in January (Fatal opened the show but, according to his manager, DeVon Manier of Sportn' Life Records, was long gone by the time the bullets began to fly) and also his criminal record. The booker fears Fatal will attract gun-toting (and frequently gun-blasting) gangsters to their joint.

This is the Croc's official defense of their controversial decision:

There has been a lot of chatter over the past 24 hours regarding next week’s Dyme Def record release party next Saturday, April 25, here at the Crocodile, and I’d like to take a moment to address some of the things being said.

First and foremost, please understand that the decision to remove local artist Fatal Lucciauno from the bill was one that was not made in haste, nor was it a decision that Crocodile booking agent Eli Anderson took lightly. Eli carefully weighed a lot of factors, which included advice and information from peers and colleagues in the business, before requesting a meeting with Soul Gorilla promoter Josh Doe to discuss the matter.

Unfortunately, that meeting never materialized.

The Crocodile is not judging Fatal Lucciauno for his past mistakes, and we certainly understand that history can be a difficult thing to overcome. It is regrettable that the decision to drop him from the bill had to be made when, really, a candid conversation could have probably cleared the whole thing up.

In no way is the Crocodile implying or stating that Fatal Lucciauno was involved with the tragic shooting at Chop Suey. Any statement to the contrary is false and misleading.

Today marks the one-month anniversary of business at the revitalized Crocodile, and the room has already played host to a wide variety of music and artists. We are doing our very best to provide excellent entertainment, a safe and welcoming venue, and a great experience for showgoers and artists alike. As residents of Belltown, it is our responsibility to be good neighbors in what is oftentimes a volatile part of downtown. We take this seriously, and always will.

We’re looking forward to the Dyme Def show and regret that we won’t see Fatal Lucciauno perform that night, but if he's in the house we'd love to say hi and buy him a drink. We really like The Only Forgotten Son, and respect his story.

We very much appreciate the candid conversation we had yesterday with DeVon Manier, co-owner of Sportn’ Life Records, and the open dialog that has followed the decision to remove Fatal Lucciauno from the bill.

The Crocodile is a live music venue, open to all genres. Fatal Lucciauno is not banned from playing the venue. There is no ban on hip hop at the Crocodile, nor is there any reason for anyone to assume such a preposterous notion. We hope this clears up any questions you may have but, if not, feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to sort it out.

Thanks much.

Despite their understandable safety concerns, I do not think the booker made the best decision. Fatal should not have been cut from that show. A dark cloud now hangs over what would have been a great event for a great record by Dyme Def.

The company is celebrating with a web site featuring 10,000 (digitally remastered) recordings made between 1934 and 1954. Artists include Dorsey Brothers, Rosemary Clooney, Glen Gray, Fats Waller, Vic Dimone, The Green Brothers, Ben Selvin and Len Collins.

“In 1934 Muzak began providing music to corporate America, and the soundtrack of business was forever changed,” said Bruce McKagan, Vice President, Content Services. “Three quarters of a century later, we were very excited to discover that during our first twenty years in business Muzak made exclusive recordings of some of the most popular artists of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. While researching our company history, we uncovered hundreds of forgotten boxes of masters—and they’re in pristine condition!”

The compositions of Stephin Merritt and the world of TV advertising is a match made in postmodern heaven. (Merritt's songs are freakishly concise, instantly catchy, and essentially the most artful jingles ever.)

Most recent case in point: The artsy/dancey ad below, selling the allegedly ultra-lightweight Puma L.I.F.T. shoe via the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs classic "Underwear," presented here with supplementary vocals by Britta Phillips, which robs the song of its bisexuality but sounds pretty enough.

Thanks for the heads-up, Idolator.