​As we announced yesterday, it is our intention to review EVERY SINGLE local release in our new music magazine, Reverb Monthly. Here's how it's going to work:

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Kyle Johnson/Red Bull Content Pool

Illmaculate did not throw in the towel

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Red Bull EmSee rap battle 2011
The Crocodile
Thursday, July 28

Sure, sure, there were some killer one-liners and impressive 60-second rounds last night, but the Red Bull EmSee Seattle event was already a win the second Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton walked through the door (not to mention the fact that West Coast legends Too $hort, Casual, and Crooked I were sitting in as judges). Somewhere, Kevin Calabro did a play-by-play of GP passing The Reign Man a G&T, then the night went on as previously planned.

Though there were a few gimmicks to keep the contestants honest (the preliminary round forced each MC to use image-prompts against their opponent, the second simple word prompts), the format was a traditional single-elimination bracket that went down like this:

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​A major venue change went down in Madison Park recently. Baby Van Beezly, the magnificent host of the most dynamic karaoke show in town, ditched the Red Onion and moved the party four doors down to The Attic.

The news bummed me out at first. The Red Onion's vintage look and cozy, wide-open space was such an ideal stage for Beezly. But the fact of the matter is she is the best KJ around, and all her fans, including myself, will follow her wherever she goes.

So far, her only night at The Attic is Friday. Last week, a couple buddies and I checked things out. We got there an hour before the show started at 8:30 and took our seats at the bar. The place was already full.

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​Although I'm a lifelong Madonna fan, I'd never watched Truth or Dare. But late Wednesday night, it came on VH1 Classic, so I decided I'd watch it until I nodded off in a comfy gray chair in my living room. To my surprise, I made it to the closing credits, and thus had to search for a crappier film to nod off to.

Truth or Dare is not a great film. As rockumentaries go, it's decent. It paints quite the rose-colored portrait of its subject. Yet it's a worthwhile time capsule in that it proves that Madonna in her prime (and maybe now) could wipe the floor with the likes of today's pop divas with her choreography and athleticism. But what mainly held my attention was just how not scandalous the film's more controversial elements would be if Truth or Dare were released today.

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The all-hallowed Divorce reunion is just one day away! As I type this, tickets are still available for $10 via the Crocodile's website, so take care of that. And, this is very cool--in anticipation of the big event, the band's made two of their three full-lengths available for free download. Head to thedivorcereturn.com to snag The Gifted Program and In Arms in full. If you're wondering about the band's debut, There Will Be Blood Tonight, the website says:

Recorded and released in 2003 by Aaron Sprinkle and Fugitive Recordings (respectively). No one's really sure who owns the rights to this one, so we can't let you have it for free at the moment.

So, that's too bad, but two out of three ain't bad, and in the meantime, above is the best song off of Blood, "Redcoats."

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Laurie Pearman

​I'm excited to announce that on August 31, Seattle Weekly will add a magazine, Reverb Monthly, to its family of music outlets, which currently includes a daily blog and weekly section of the paper.

A monthly magazine will allow us to escape the hustle of daily and weekly deadlines and to step back and put the scene into context--to create a time capsule that will document the evolution of the Seattle sound and how it fits into the city's larger culture. For casual music fans, Reverb will provide a monthly snapshot of the sounds surrounding them, while active participants in the local scene will gain a greater understanding of the music community's personalities, infrastructure, and significance.

New features will come from old friends like Duff McKagan, John Roderick, and many others. And, on a single page, we will aim to review every Seattle release of the month, providing the most definitive look yet at the singles, EPs, LPs, and mixtapes being produced by Seattle's artists, bands, and labels.

Each issue will carry a theme, with regular features and news stories touching on topics such as Bumbershoot, SW's Reverb Local Music Festival, and the year in music. The magazine will be printed on newsprint, inserted into the Weekly, and circulated independently at select locations around Seattle. We can't wait to show it to you.

Chris Kornelis
Music Editor, Seattle Weekly

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A week from tomorrow, Flexions will be playing a CD-release show at Chop Suey to celebrate their new record, Golden Fjord, which is officially out Tuesday, August 2. In the meantime, the band's just announced a slew of other related news, which we will now share with you, starting with the above video for album track "Her War." It features fencing! dancing! and glitter! (And is, recall, the second video the band has done this summer alone). More >>

Laura Musselman

Duff McKagan's column runs every Thursday on Reverb. His sports column on ESPN.com runs every Wednesday.

​For those of you reading outside of the Seattle area, let me tell you a little story about an old movie theater here called The Neptune. For those of you here and familiar with this grand old place, let me fill you in on what's new with it.

A couple of years ago, as the city of Seattle was planning for places to put its new Light Rail train stations, their architects zeroed in on the southeast corner of N.E. 45th and Brooklyn--the site where the 90-year-old Neptune sat. I am all for progress, but not at the cost of losing our iconic places of culture and history. I guess that Seattle Theater Group felt the same way.

If you are indeed a Seattleite, well, then you have probably read about the transformation that STG has done to The Neptune--from the movie theater it has been for the last 90 years to a live venue that will also show a film from time to time.

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​If you're planning on catching Foster the People at the Showbox SoDo this fall (Sunday, October 9, to be precise) but still haven't purchased your tickets, you'd better act fast. The show, which was originally booked at the Showbox at the Market but had to be moved to the larger SoDo venue after the flurry of ticket purchases, is on its way to selling out, according to the man who'd know the most, the Showbox's Chad Queirolo. Queirolo just tweeted:

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This week in overreaching analogies of which I'm particularly proud, Scandinavian punk-rock upstarts Iceage as Copenhagen's own Odd Future:

Iceage are like the Odd Future Wolf Gang of 2011 Scandanavian punk/hardcore. No, hear me out: They're a gang of teenagers, they're notorious for acts of juvenile aggression at their shows which they studiously document on their own blog, and they'll be making their live debut in America amidst a swirl of hype largely generated by people sharing their album over the Internet.

Read the rest--it gets better!--in this week's Short List, and for fuck's sake, go to this show already!

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