Mike Jaworski: Vinyl Dork and Out-of-Retirement Cop

​This week's edition of Rocket Queen focuses on the ten-year anniversary of High Fidelity. I interviewed a couple of former record store employees of note, including LA Times scribe Ann Powers and local label owner Mike Jaworski. Today I ran into him outside his former workplace of Sonic Boom, with a bag of vinyl in hand. He was particularly stoked about the 7-inch by Eddy Current Suppression Ring. It's nice to know the dude is true to his roots.

In related news, Jaworski's former band, the Cops, have decided to take another run at it (Jaworski currently fronts Virgin Islands--the Cops broke-up in 2008). There are no major plans other than to "BBQ, drink a lot of rose, and play with delay pedals." Sounds like a decent summer agenda to me.

​The kind folks at STG have kicked us a pair of tickets to each of Spoon's upcoming shows at The Moore (April 9 and 10) to share with our Reverb readers, and they've tossed in some screen-print posters (pictures at left) as well.

So, here's what we're going to do. Since today is the 10-year anniversary of the release of the movie High Fidelity, we're going to play this the way they kids at Championship Vinyl would do it. Instead of the top 5 musical crimes perpetrated by Stevie Wonder in the '80s and '90s, to be entered to win tickets, you've got to send us a list of your top 5 Stevie Wonder cuts of all time. We'll draw two winners who will bring home tickets and posters.

Yes, you have to pick up the tix/poster at our offices (1008 Western Ave.) To enter, send your top 5 Stevie Wonder tracks to me at ckornelis@seattleweekly.com. Be sure to put "FREE SPOON TICKETS" in the subject line. Include your name, phone number, and preferred night of attendance in the body as well.

Make sense? Good luck!

"Scissor" is one of the best track of Liars' latest record, Sisterworld - its smooth hums and then abrupt kicks and thrashes are unexpected and perfectly executed. The new video for "Scissor" was directed by Andy Bruntel, who's also worked with Bonnie Prince Billy and Stephen Malkmus, and is completely fitting for the tense and paranoid tone of the song. In the clip, which was filmed on location around Marina del Rey, a man (played by Liars front man Angus Andrews) is lost at sea and gets hijacked by a bunch of high-speed rocks. Yeah, rocks. Be patient with this video - you have to let the agitation in the music build along with the action, and the ending is thriller-movie awesome.

​James Mercer and Brian Burton - aka Danger Mouse - announced dates today for the first-ever Broken Bells tour. The Broken Bells album put me to sleep, but I guess I'm in the minority since it went to #1 on iTunes. Plus critics at US Weekly are likening the live show to

"being at a cozy, intimate underground basement party somewhere in Northern California with the best art rock band on the coast providing the soundtrack."

So go for it! The duo will play the Showbox at the Market on Tuesday, May 25.

Check out the full tour itinerary after the jump.

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Hers is the grass skirt the Karaoke Korrespondent pulls up for a game of peekaboo each and every night.

​I've been itching to do a solo karaoke run for awhile.Singing with friends is always a blast, but most of my crazier karaoke nights have happened lone wolf. Last Friday I hit Hula Hula in Queen Anne and it blew me away. As far as seven night a week karaoke joints go, this is the best in town. The entire place is completely devoted to karaoke.

I got there at eight and it was still pretty mellow. There were only a couple tables of people in the lower stage area. I was immediately impressed by the stage. It's set up in the center of the back wall with scaffolds on each side that hold the monitors, lights, sirens, and bubble and confetti machines. Behind the stage is a huge projector screen. To the left of the stage is the KJ station, and there's a prime table set up just to the right. What really put things over the top for me was the shelf they had to store the catalogs - four full rows filled with books organized by artist and title.

I grabbed a book and planted myself at the bar that divides the two areas. It's a great spot to watch the show because it's above all the tables, you're facing the screen, and the bar is right behind you. I was set.

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Drawing its name from the alter ego of Marvel Comics superhero The Vision, the latest incarnation of Common Market MC Ra Scion came from his brother-in-law Jimmy. Before he passed away, Jimmy detailed the superhero identities most suited to a number of friends and family members. Ra Scion's was Victor Shade, and apparently Jimmy got it right.

Following that superhero theme (complete with cape-adorned performances like the one tonight) the 12-track pairing with Everett beatmaker extraordinaire Matthew Crabtree, aka MTK, features a more cerebral and edgy duo. The familiar Common Market themes of politics and internal struggle are all there--along with the emcee's savage flow--but through a different lens. And with the departure from Sabzi's more jazz-influenced beats MTK's aggressive brass-and-guitar laced production is even more prominent, especially considering three tracks are instrumental-only.

Though the release party was held last weekend, a proper issuing of the album (that you can get your hands on) isn't a reality quite yet. MTK caught up with us via e-mail to fill in the blanks on the release, the action and how the whole project came to be.

How does the Victor Shade project compare to some of the others you've done with big-timers like Lloyd Banks and Raekwon?

The main difference is the relationship behind the music. I don't know Lloyd Banks, Sean Price, Havoc or the majority of the national artists I work with on a personal level, or any level for that matter. That's part of the beat shopping game though. Ra and I can sit down, discuss ideas face to face, and the chemistry that allows really lends itself to better music. Also, we're friends--I hang out with Ryan's family and their friends, who have now became my friends. It's a good relationship.

How long have you been working with Ryan (RA Scion) on this project? It kind of evolved over time, right?

We've been working together since the beginning of 2007, and decided on this theme a little less than a year ago. Over that time I've done a few songs for live Common Market shows--the War Pigs Remix, the Prince Remix, some others that are slipping my mind. That was something Saba could've easily handled but it was Ryan's way of keeping me in the loop while we waited for the timing of our project to be right. He presented the Victor Shade idea, the theme, and what he wanted the project to sound like, and we made it happen!

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​Life as I know it is over. I woke up this morning to discover my car had been ransacked. My glove compartment was empty, the backseat strewn with registration and insurance papers. I knew the damage before I even took a closer look. The asshole stole my precious pink Nano iPod. (No thanks, I do not want to hear a lecture on how stupid it is to store one's iPod in the glove compartment. I've gotten the spiel twice already today from my boyfriend and my father. So zip it.)

Deep breath...

What amazes me is how dependent I am on that damn iPod. The past five hours of my life have been completely out of whack. My workout was exhausting rather than energizing. My walk was marred by the sound of traffic and construction, interrupting my thoughts every few minutes. Life it turns out, is not as enjoyable when it isn't accompanied by my own personal soundtrack.

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Adriano Fegundes

Animal Collective's ODDSAC will not be available as a record - only as a DVD.

​In an audacious move, Animal Collective's follow-up to their hugely successful Merriweather Post Pavilion is not actually a record - it's a film directed by Danny Perez accompanied by a soundtrack written and performed by the band. The film, ODDSAC, is being called a "visual album" -- recalling, of course, Pink Floyd's The Wall -- and screened last night at the Egyptian. Perez appeared at the screening, along with band members Avey Tare, Geologist, and Deakin to do a Q&A. Here are some facts they gave us about the film:

-- The band first started talking about making a concept film about four years ago on a drive to Seattle.
-- The film's strong horror elements are partially inspired by some of the band's favorite films, like The Shining and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
-- Most of ODDSAC was filmed at an estate with a castle in upstate New York - although all of the scenes with the castle actually in them ended up getting cut.
-- Some of Perez's ideas were deemed "too crazy" to film - for instance, one of the first things he wanted to film was teenagers in a car crash, with "girls flailing out of a limo." That got vetoed.
-- The budget for the film ended up being around $65K.
-- Finally, the name ODDSAC came from some conversation the band had about gummy candy, but "we just liked the way it looked basically."

ODDSAC itself is essentially 52 minutes of your worst nightmares come to life.

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​In the issue that's on racks -- and the web -- this week, we bring you the following:

-- Rocket Queen: To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of High Fidelity (yes, it was released 10 years ago today!), Hannah Levin remembers one of the top 5 music movies of all time and discovers that Rob Gordon's story isn't all that dissimilar with a favorite music impresarios.

-- Hard Rock Cafe: The local club community's adjusting to life with a new room in town that has deep pockets.

-- Q&A: Owl City: "Portland has nothing on you guys."

-- Coolout TV's Chronic Chronicler: Georgio Brown is prepping his long-running video series for the next level.

-- Big, Small, Paul, and Cham: Paul Wall and Chamillionaire are making nice.

Tobacco played at Chop Suey on Tuesday, March 30th.

​There's a difference between a show rocking and a show ROCKING. Last night's Tobacco show at Chop Suey rocked (notice it's not in all caps), but never took off into that stratospheric, "holy shit, am I even on the same planet right now?" territory that he and his other group (blissed-out space-jammers Black Moth Super Rainbow) have proven themselves capable of.

Coming onto a dark stage with no announcement or fanfare, Tobacco (Tom Fec) and his accomplice, The Seven Fields of Aphelion (Maux Boyle) fired up a video projector, plugged in a laptop, strapped on a guitar, and went straight into a full blown assault of dark, swampy, psychedelic hip-hop.

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