Chris Walla: DNC is Like SXSW With (More) Snipers

Chris Walla at Sasquatch! 2008. Photo by Renee McMahon.

Finding the political blogosphere simply to irresistible to pass up this week, Death Cab's Chris Walla is penning a blog for Rolling Stone from Denver. In his first entry, posted yesterday, he compared the DNC to the indie rock day camp, but that it's easier to get free beer at the Denver shindig. And we thought Austin had the franchise on world's cheapest buzz.

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Terminate on Sight

The New York music writer to whom I turned for information and inspiration almost every day throws up the peace sign, and the New York rapper to whom I direct my unholy hatred toward almost every day drops a new album. I think I’ll go buy an ice cream cone and ponder the terrifying chasm that has opened beneath me.

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99 problems, and a Gallager brother ain't one

Actually, no one feels the way you do, jackass. Living well is the best revenge, indeed. Noel Gallager is a dipshit, part 1,487:

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Poor Kanye: The Reckoning

Mr. West, having just stepped out of a Banana Republic catalogue, pauses to consider the majesty of the "caps lock" function.

Not to contribute to the rugby-pile of poo-poos and disses smothering Kanye in ironically much the same way his ego smothers ALL OF HUMANITY (see, Mr. West, what you taught the children about using all caps. You’re so powerful that even jaded, mysteriously employed writers are following your lead. Rock!), but I must direct you, my vast and loyal readership, to New Yorker pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones’ open letter to He Who Hath No Sense of Self in Relation to All Other Things. And please do remember to watch the video.

Food for thought: Doesn’t Kanye remind you of that kid in 7th grade who cried every day for no reason? It’s a quotidian impulse I fear only electroshock therapy will curb.

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Whalebones Download on RCRD LBL

After a bout with a nasty flu bug, I'm finally vertical again! And what better way to re-enter the blogosphere than with a post about some of my favorite Seattle rock dudes/ettes, Whalebones.

Though keyboardist/wailer Amy Blaschke has recently left our fair city for the sunny, sprawling reaches of Los Angeles (soon to be joined by Night Canopy collaborator Nick deWitt), our friends are basking in the glow of internet praise via RCRD LBL, who've made their track "Another Jungle" available for download.

Snag it, and read a few enlightening tidbits from Justin Deary over here.

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The Ring : Summer 2009

Richard Wagner's operatic epic, "Ring" cycle, took him 26 years to write and spurred him to attempt to have the entire city of Munich built around an opera house that could hold such a large scale production. But until I listened to WNYC's Radiolab on the opera, I didn't fancy myself inclined to sit through the 18 hour, four part series. Plenty of people do however, following it around the world like high-class Dead Heads (minus the magic burritos I imagine) and it's taking Seattle by storm in the summer of 2009, and now I believe, or at least understand the hype. Download the free podcast here.

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Grief Ripples

Three Imaginary Girls have a bittersweet post and comments thread going on where people are weighing in with their favorite memories of the Crocodile, and many are posting pictures. It's a good read, but terribly, terribly sad.

In releated news, the TIG bash scheduled at the Croc for this Thursday, December 20, has been moved to El Corazon.

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Carrie Brownstein: Vlogger

They may be broken up, but Sleater-Kinney are still a regular part of my life. I don't think I've ever DJ'd a single episode of KEXP's Audioasis without playing S-K, and the time I spent interviewing the band before their swan song The Woods came out is easily one the more memorable experiences I've had talking to artists about their craft.

For those reasons and more, I was thrilled when flamboyant guitarist/inimitable vocalist Carrie Brownstein started blogging for NPR. Her posts thus far are gracefully written, wryly humorous affairs that show off what a natural writer she is, and what a thoughtful music fan she continues to be.

Now she's entered the world of video blogging, and her inaugural voyage is, well, hilarious.

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Tasteful Headline of the Day

Right. Way to go, New York Post!

Via Chunklet.

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I Want Some Too

Oh I know, I know, it's not going to sound like it's 1978 or even 1984, but reviews like this one in Billboard make me hopeful about their forthcoming Seattle appearance. Now if only someone could convince them to add "D.O.A." to their set list.

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Carrie Brownstein's Blog

True confession: I generally read blogs because I have to keep up with what's going on culturally, not because I enjoy them very much. I rather sink my teeth into a longer print feature (or just gaze at smart smut) any day than work my way through a torrent of bitter comments splattered underneath someone's half-baked, clever-cruel thoughts. Shit just gets ugly too fast.

But every once in a great while, I come across a blog that I immediately bookmark for future reading, and today former Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein gave me an excellent reason to do just that. Who knows how things will evolve, but what she says in her introductory post struck me as damn refreshing:

"My hopes for Monitor Mix are that it will be descriptive as opposed to merely prescriptive. I would rather discuss and examine what it is that people actually consume than to tell you what you should be listening to. There are already plenty of great blogs and online resources that tell us what the best new music is or that unearth rarities and lost classics. Though I might occasionally review a piece of music, I would rather explore the contexts and the ways in which we enjoy or maybe even despise it."

Perhaps it's not perceived freshness, but sheer vanity on my part, since that's often (but not always) what I aim for in my column. Regardless, I like her attitude. Gimme more.

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Rocky on the Road

Emeritus Weekly intern Keegsybones Hamilton has a detailed review of Barsuk hero Rocky Votolato's show last night at Off Broadway in St. Louis, where Hamilton now works for the Riverfront Times (my alma mater). Hamilton said the show made him homesick for Seattle, while Hamilton's writeup makes me homesick for Off Broadway, truly one of the best small music-only rooms in Middle America that's reminiscent of a Tractor Tavern-Backstage (R.I.P.) hybrid. Speaking of great St. Louis venues, I'll be at the Fox Theatre this coming Monday for this once-in-a-lifetime pairing. Viva Missouri! Viva the Froeb-Foster union!

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What's Up With the Miranda July Haters?

Photo by Bart Nagel

Boy, I'm not necessarily crazy about all her selections on this playlist, but the way people are tearing into her on this New York Times blog thread is just nasty. I guess anyone as talented as July is gonna draw detractors eventually.

Thanks to kick-ass local blogger Kathy Fennessey for the tip.

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The Hipster Olympics

Via Ultragrrl:

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Band of Horses Vs. Bootleggers

Click here for a slideshow of Band of Horses' recent stop at The Showbox. Photos by Renee McMahon.

I was a bit surprised to hear that my request to record a portion of Band of Horses' set at The Showbox was rejected. We've had pretty good luck with bands (Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon) allowing us to give readers who weren't at the show a listen after the fact.

Horses' Ben Bridwell opened up to Pitchfork about why he gave our request—and more recently a fan—the finger.

"Do you have to tape every second, or even just your favorite song? I understand it, but it's becoming annoying."

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