
In 1975, Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt published Oblique Strategies, a series of aphorisms intended to help artists to break out of creative ruts/blocks. You can still buy the fancy box of cards for £30 at Eno’s online shop… or you could go to this site and keep refreshing the page for these intellectuals’ skewed nuggets of wisdom. For example: "Look closely at the most embarrassing details and amplify." Sounds like a plan.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Noise for the Needy has introduced a limited number of $10 wristbands—that gives you access to all 12 shows (with over 30 bands)! The NftN lineup includes Battleme, "The Rolling Stones," Kris Orlowski, Hot Bodies in Motion, and more. The full schedule is here.
You can buy the wristbands here, and all proceeds are donated to the Ballard Food Bank.
[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]
Shalabi Effect are a Montreal psych-rock group who incorporate exotic elements into their epic compositions. (Leader Sam Shalabi now plays in the Invisible Hands with Seattle musician/Sublime Frequencies co-owner Alan Bishop and some Cairo-based players.)
“One Last Glare” comes from Shalabi Effect’s 2002 album, The Trial of St-Orange (Alien8 Records). It’s an intriguing slice of strange-terrained psychedelia, with an extended tabla break running from approximately 2:24-3:16. I recommend that you use something in that stretch for your next track—because you’re special. The rest of the song has some great, sparse instrumentation out of which I can imagine some disciples of cLOUDDEAD constructing something extraordinary.

There are a lot of things I don't understand about this Craigslist ad looking to start a chic band, but I think it's the "numbering" in the post that's most confusing. Or maybe the incorrect use of "your/you're." Or maybe the threat of mixing those genres together?
I'm thinking about auditioning just to get some questions answered... but I'm not sure if I look better in jeans than I do in a skirt.
FEMALE drummer starting chic band (wallingford)
I'm starting a band. Hot chicks and good music. I have my own kit but nowhere to practice. I'm thinking ska/punk rock but also wanna throw some dubstep-esque electronica in the mix. Looking for girls only for this one...sorry boys. early to late 20's.
REQUIREMENTS
A) Your hot. AND you dress hot. No jeans unless you look better in jeans than you do in a skirt.
2) Your good. Not amazing but you can at least play and write your own shit. If I can't find the right musicians to write than I'll just write the music myself.
C) Your cool. You have to be tolerable to hang out with.
5) Your not easily offended. I'm somewhat offensive. I'm sarcastic and have a mouth like a sailor. The music will be filled with sexual innuendos and inappropriateness. So please have a sense of humor.If you think this sounds like you send me an email w/pic and link to samples or facebook or something. If not eat your heart out bitches.
h/t Sacha Maxim!
Tomorrow is the Rainy Dawg Birthday Festival! Rainy Dawg Radio, a non-profit radio station run by students at the University of Washington, will be celebrating it's 10th year with a local-band showcase featuring Natasha Kmeto, Keyboard Kid, Futurewife, Key Nyata, Jarv Dee, Naomi Punk, and Pony Time!
The fest will also feature record labels, clothing brands, vendors, and artists. And I've been hearing rumors of a birthday cake.
Sylvan Grove Theater on the UW campus // 5-10pm // Check the invite for more details!
[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]
Jeremy & the Satyrs were led by jazz-fusion flautist supreme Jeremy Steig, probably best known for the Beastie Boys sampling his tune “Howlin’ for Judy” on their track “Sure Shot.” (Steig is quoted on allaboutjazz.com: "I made more money from that sample than from any of my records. It saved my life at the time.")
Before he embarked on an artistically fruitful solo career, Steig cut an album full of excellent, electrified blues rock with the Satyrs in 1968, titled simply Jeremy & the Satyrs. Perhaps the highlight from that record is “The First Time I Saw You Baby (With the Pretty Green Eyes).” The bit from 0:16-0:19 is so functionally and vigorously funky it’s a wonder DJ Premier or Pete Rock never used it. Well, their oversight is your gain. You're welcome.
STG, the show's promoter, says ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.
In honor of their upcoming album Champions of Breakfast, our friends, the non-stop hiphop, snap crackle pop punks Don't Talk to the Cops are challenging anyone with an Instagram (everybody's getting those, you know) account to a BREAKFAST CONTEST! All you have to do is post a photo of your best, most creative breakfast with @donttalktothecops #ChampionsOfBreakfast.
The winner gets a copy of the new record, DtttC cereal, a T-shirt, and a button pack! Also, have you seen this poster?

[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]
Lothar and the Hand People were a quirky psych-pop group from the late ’60s who recorded for a major label (Capitol) back when major labels catered to those crazy, drug-addled kids because business in general was booming, so who cared if an LP only sold 3,017 copies? Here, have another hit of purple owsley…
Anyway, Lothar and the Hand People, a septet featuring theremin and Moog synthesizer in their repertoire of instruments, released an excellent album in 1968 titled Presenting… Lothar and the Hand People, produced by Robert Margouleff of Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, who later worked the boards on some of Stevie Wonder’s most adventurous records in the ’70s.
Among other gems, Presenting… bears the chunky oddity known as “Machines.” The opening, vocal-free 27 seconds provide some ear-grabbing Rube Goldberg, uh, machine klang and plonk with a woozy robotic groove that's just screaming to be sampled. I'm telling you, this one's got legs—very wobbly legs. Get on it, producers.
The link to this "Women of Punk" on Network Awesome was blowing up my Facebook feed all morning, and I just finally fell prey to its greatness. It includes "30 shows containing almost 400 video clips exploring the role women have played in punk music from the 70's to today, with rare interviews and concerts, videos, documentaries and feature films." If you wanna dork out on old '80s VHS-quality videos of interviews and performances by Kleenex, the Bags, Mo-Dettes, Model Citizens, Blondie, Delta 5, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Pandoras, and a segment called "77 minutes with Kate Bush," then this is for you.
Plus, it has a bunch of bands of the last decade that I hadn't thought of in a minute, like Finally Punk ("WTF, MISSILE??"), Erase Errata, All Girl Summer Fun Band, Mika Miko, New Bloods, and Tracy and the Plastics.
It’s 2013 and people in the music-promotional game should already know these things, but every once in a while something happens that proves a helpful reminder is necessary. Ergo, this list of common-sense guidelines to orchestrating a successful Monday night musical entertainment experience.
Prologue: Monday nights are horrible, obviously, because 97-percent of your target demo is recovering from the weekend—on top of which many people have loads of laundry to do, online music retailers' email lists to peruse, and toenails to trim. So, promoter/venue booker, the odds are stacked against you from the get-go. You shouldn’t hold an event on a Monday night. Seriously. But sometimes you have no choice. Maybe a band from overseas that’s never played your city is in town for a Monday night and maybe some people have been itching to see said band for many, many years. Oh, all right, let’s put on a Monday show, even though Mondays are the George W. Bush of nights.
Please follow these guidelines in order to make the best of a (probably) bad situation.
• Start the show early—say, 7 pm or 8 pm.
• No more than three (3) bands on the bill. This is a fucking gig, not a war of attrition.
• First band should start no later than 45 minutes after doors open. No fucking exceptions.
• Bands should not be soundchecking before they play their set. That should’ve been done before doors opened.
• Set lengths for opening acts should fall in the 25-/35-minute range, max. Ever hear of the dazzling nugget of wisdom, “Always leave ’em wanting more”? Heed that sage advice, for the love of all that is holy.
• Headliners should go on no later than 11 pm. If your headliner goes on at, say, 1 am and only gets 30 minutes to play, you’ve seriously botched things. This should be apparent by the grim realization that much of your meager crowd has already dissipated.
• Shoo out the punters by 12:30 am (at the latest) by playing third-wave ska over the PA.

1.) Remember how CJ Frederick from Daswasup Gigs was booking fun punk shows at the Mars Bar until it tragically shut down? Lately he's been putting on equally fun shows like this one next door at the Victory Lounge.
2.) I am really excited about discovering the new local band the Acapulco Lips. They sound like the soundtrack to a more reverb-y, rock n' roll production of Grease and kinda bringing to mind the vocals of Mariska Veres from Shocking Blue or Emily Beanblossom from Christmas, sans psychedelia. The result is re-envisioned '60s sock-hop silliness filtered through '90s garage, a la Headcoatees
3.) Plateaus from San Diego are perfect summertime beach-pop, and as a bonus feature a member of the brilliant but now defunct band the Anasazis. They just put out a new LP on taste-making label Art Fag from San Diego, who are notable for being one of the first on board with bands like Best Coast, Colleen Green, the Dum Dum Girls and Bleached.
Just announced! Paul McCartney will be playing Safeco Field on July 19th. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, April 12, at 10 am, via Ticketmaster.
Kisses on the bottom.

See the line-up (so far—more bands to be announced soon) here and buy your three-day passes here for $75. They'll be $95 starting Thursday at midnight.
Single-day tickets will be available soon.
[I’ll Give You a Break is a sporadic series of posts highlighting obscure (and not so obscure) breakbeats in unlikely places, so that they may be sampled by producers or just enjoyed for their own geeky purposes. NB: Don’t forget to clear all samples through the proper channels (cough).]
This may be the wackiest entry in the I’ll Give You a Break annals. Check out the naked beats in the first seven seconds of Second Hand’s nutso prog monstrosity “Lucifer and the Egg.” They’re not the easiest slaps to work with, but I have faith that somebody out there can use them—especially the opening volley—to benefit the human race.
The song’s remaining seven-plus minutes take you on a serpentine journey to the heart of British prog’s baroque virtuosity and boundless tomfoolery. If you gaze long enough at the amazing cover art, it all starts to make (non)sense. The first time I heard the album on which “Lucifer and the Egg” can be found—the geniusly titled Death May Be Your Santa Claus—I was tripping on acid in Dallas, Texas (thanks, Eric and Matt). I’m still trying to recapture that feeling of helium-filled, outlandish absurdity that this track conjures.

Her new album Cerulean Salt is being praised by NPR/Spin/Pitchfork/Everyone, and you can pick up a copy at one of the two Seattle shows Waxahatchee this weekend: Tomorrow at the Victory Lounge (433 Eastlake Ave E) or at Porchlight Coffee (1318 E Pike St) on Saturday.
Pitchfork has the new, much talked about Strokes album, Comedown Machine, in its entirety.
I'm not going to listen to it, mind you. "One Way Trigger" was bad enough to make me swear off the band for the rest of my life.
But you can! Hear it here.
NPR.org has Mr. Grohl's speech, delivered just moments ago to a very appreciative crowd. He wore drugstore grandpa glasses! And told the story of how Bruce Springsteen laughed at him. I love him.
Are you a musician? Give up. You've lost. RT @daddypobbin: Just witnessed the future of music youtube.com/watch?v=2dllo8…
— Adam Buxton (@AdamBuxton) March 12, 2013