Be a Riot Grrl, or Just Look Like One!

Posted Oct. 21 at 4:01 pm by Hannah Levin

​I'll take this over Cheerleader Barbie or Sexy Kitten any day, but there's still something not quite right about this costume choice. It's probably because of the obvious: if one's aiming for authenticity, march your daughter over to Goodwill or Value Village. Also, as one astute reader on Monitor Mix pointed out, it looks a bit more like a Gwar fan costume than anything Kat Bjelland or Kathleen Hanna would have been caught "rioting" in back in the day...

Topics: Blog Watch and Elsewhere on the Web

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K'naan Blogs About Trendy Charity

Posted Oct. 20 at 2:13 pm by Hollis Wong-Wear

​Is it cool if I call K'naan a genius? His nearly flawless Troubadour album released early this year demonstrated both razor-sharp lyrical skills and acute global consciousness: unlike other rappers who handle social issues with a transparent righteousness that indicates a total absence of lived experience, K'naan's perspective as a Somalian-American-Canadian war refugee is combined with his prodigious production and writing abilities to deliver a true artist and necessary voice in hip-hop today. For better or for worse, you'll get to know him very well when his anthemic "Wavin' Flag" features as the theme song for Coca-Cola's World Cup 2010 campaign.

Over on the Huffington Post, K'naan delivers a poetic and compelling opinion piece, "The Problem of Charity," wherein he points out the virtual lack of agency of those receiving good-intentioned philanthropy as well as questions the naivete of those intentions. His conclusion is a bit too morally laissez-faire for the set-up, but it's good to see rappers switch it up and tackle the themes that resonate through their music in essay form, even if there's no real punchline.

Topics: Blog Watch

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Sean Nelson Blogs About Harvey Danger Ending

Posted Aug. 28 at 1:21 pm by Paige Richmond

Sean Nelson has been writing long, ponderous tour diairies about the music industry and his band at EW.com.

​If you can't wait until tonight's Vera Project Harvey Danger show or tomorrow night's Last Show Ever at the Crocodile to get your Sean Nelson fix, Entertainment Weekly has got you covered. The mag has been running weekly guest blogs by Nelson for the past three weeks, as part of the band's final tour diary and part of EWs' "Attack of the 90s" series.

Continue reading "Sean Nelson Blogs About Harvey Danger Ending"

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, Show Announcements, and Tour Diaries

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New Dutchess and the Duke Track Available Now

Posted Aug. 26 at 2:46 pm by Hannah Levin

​The buzz around their forthcoming sophomore release has been huge for a reason, and now you can hear. Do yourself a favor and pop over to the Hardly Art site to listen to the mp3 of "Hands", the sweeping opening track from Sunrise/Sunset, which drops on October 6.

Topics: Blog Watch and MP3s

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Drive A Car, See Santigold For Free?

Posted Aug. 19 at 11:54 am by Hollis Wong-Wear

​Marketing is funny these days, and some companies know exactly how to trap us unsuspecting young folks with discerning taste. American Spirit was posted up at Capitol Hill Block Party handing out free packs of smokes, and Red Bull sponsors a slew of "underground" and usually worthwhile events, including the Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle held a few weeks ago. This weekend, Kia, the Korean auto manufacturer, is throwing a veritable bonanza at SODO's Pacific Industrial Center; according to a press release, it is the "first-ever youth-oriented nationwide series of events centered on emerging culture," all in an effort to push the Kia Soul, a petite car "full of personality" targeted to "youthful consumers."

While these corny buzzwords aren't totally true (Scion did the same thing five years ago) and make this youthful consumer cringe, they've seemed to have compiled an impressive lineup of performers, drawing both from local DJ talents and national "indie" acts. The best thing is that they're all performing for free throughout the weekend. On Thursday, DJ DV-ONE and the very solid Atlanta-based indie-rock outfit Manchester Orchestra will be performing; you have to be 21+ and RSVP in order to get into that one, and there's a free bar. On Friday, they feature The Dum Dum Girls and the irreverent Wavves with DJs Sean Cee, Four Color Zack and N8, and on Saturday No Age (who will be playing Bumbershoot) and Chairlift will perform along with DJs Soul Uno, Risk One and Supreme LaRock. And if you patronize either of those days, are over the age of sixteen, and happen to test-drive the cutesy Soul, you are promised a free pair of tickets to see Santigold, the Brooklyn electro-pop bombshell who kicked serious ass at Sasquatch in May, on Sunday evening.

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Topics: Blog Watch

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No Depression Archive Site Launches Today

Posted July 7 at 2:11 pm by Hannah Levin

No Depression publisher Kyla Fairchild has been working nearly non-stop for the last year to re-launch the ND website to include not only a plethora of new, user-generated content, but also complete, searchable archives of the magazine's back catalog, stretching all the way back to their debut issue in 1995. The site went live this morning; you can check it out over here.

Topics: Blog Watch and Elsewhere on the Web

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Remember Living Colour?

Posted July 2 at 10:57 am by Mike Seely

I sure do, thanks to last night.

Topics: Blog Watch

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Blogs address Krist Novoselic running for office

Posted June 5 at 8:43 am by Paige Richmond

Krist Novoselic has already tackled the issue in his weekly SW column, but Web sites and blogs are talking about his decision to (sort of) run for public office in Wahkiakum County. The Daily World, the local paper for the county, reports that the one-time Nirvana bassist filed Wednesday to run for county clerk as a member of the "Grange Party."

This isn't the first time that Novoselic, a resident of Grays River Valley, has taken on local politics. He's already served as Chairman of the Wahkiakum County Democratic Party and Master of the Grays River Grange. But this time, Novoselic is throwing his hat in the ring as a form of protest.

Novoselic registered to run as a member of the "Grange Party," which doesn't exist. The Washington Post called it a "publicity stunt," while the Daily World said "it's a move designed to confuse voters" and consequently bring attention to problems in the Top Two primary election system.

Other blogs have picked up the story, too — even Entertainment Weekly and tabloid OK! magazine.

"I listed 'prefers Grange Party' in this partisan race," Novoselic told the Daily World. "Of course there is no such thing as a Grange Party. Before I-872 was implemented in Washington, it would have been illegal to list Grange, or American Legion, Eagles, Boy Scouts or whatever next to a candidate's name on the public ballot. The way I-872 is implemented is confusing voters."

Over on the Daily Weekly, Novoselic claims that it's state law that is confusing — not his actions. He points out that while primary elections in Washington are supposed to be non-partisan, candidates are actually allowed to state which party they "prefer" when registering for office. This means that primary ballots inadvertently—or in Novoselic's view, intentionally—list candidates' political affiliations.

"There are very complicated legal arguments with why I can claim to be a Grange Party candidate on the ballot," writes Novoselic. "The State offers a disclaimer that says a candidate might not really be representing a party; they only prefer that party. This is pure legalese, cooked up by lawyers who are trying to skirt associational issues in court by parsing the word prefers."

Novoselic previously took on the primary issue in a column on the Grays River Grange Web site, calling for a state settlement to change voting rules.

So, what's next? Novoselic claims he doesn't want to win and would rather vote for the incumbent. If elected, he'll resign.

And since it's only a matter of time until some other blogger does, we might as well just dub this "Novoselic-gate" right now.

UPDATE: The Daily News has posted an extensive story about Novoselic's political career.

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, and News

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New Cave Singers Record Announcement and MP3

Posted June 1 at 11:55 am by Hannah Levin

I've been eagerly awaiting the return of these guys and now Matador has given us a date: Cave Singers' sophomore effort, entitled Welcome Joy, will drop on August 18. Judging from both the gorgeous artwork and the fetching first single (listen to it over here), we're in for a treat.

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, MP3s, and News

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Solving the Mysterious and Maddening Allure of The Airborne Toxic Event

Posted May 28 at 4:46 pm by Hannah Levin

For someone who is both a music journalist and a slightly compulsive music fan (unfortunately—and fortunately—these things are not interdependent), the only thing worse than being unable to get a song dislodged from your internal jukebox is being at a complete loss to explain why you are obsessed with said song.

Of course, what I just wrote is fucking ridiculous. You should just listen to whatever the hell you like without giving a rat's patootey why it turns your crank. It seems to me that people who speak of "guilty pleasures" when it comes to pop music seem to be missing the point entirely. Music is a sensual, periodically intellectual pleasure and analyzing it to death is a risky activity.

Nevertheless, it's an occupational hazard for me, and when I became hung up on, "Sometime Around Midnight", a song by a seemingly shallow band I'd never even heard of called "The Airborne Toxic Event", I spent way too much time trying to figure out why a ditty about a dude running into his ex-girlfriend at a club was blowing my mind. Leave it to reliably brilliant, former Sleater-Kinney guitarist-turned NPR blogger Carrie Brownstein to solve the mystery...

Continue reading "Solving the Mysterious and Maddening Allure of The Airborne Toxic Event"

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, and Guilty Pleasures

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Everybody Rips Off Journey

Posted May 20 at 11:36 am by Mike Seely

Even Alicia Keys, Kasey Chambers, U2, and Toto. Believe it.

Topics: Blog Watch

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Rock of Ages, A 'la Carte

Posted May 13 at 5:35 pm by Hannah Levin

So last year everyone flipped out over the vocals-only version of Van Halen's "Running With the Devil" that was making the rounds online (some resourceful fellow even turned it into a temporarily addictive website that myself and my peers spent WAY too much time playing with one evening). This week, a new one surfaced, only this time it's Def Leppard's Joe Elliot who is being left to stand naked out there on the internets. Enjoy:

Props to the esteemed Mr. Ben London for bringing this to my attention.

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, and Random

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Blogs buzzing about Sunny Day reunion

Posted May 12 at 6:34 pm by Paige Richmond

On the same day former lead singer Jeremy Enigk releases a solo album, rumors are continuing to circulate that Sunny Day Real Estate will reunite this year.

The rumors are nothing new; they started back in 2006, when Enigk told MTV News that a reunion was "tempting." But for the past few days, those rumors have become more and more specific. Cheryl Waters mentioned the rumor on KEXP earlier this week, stating that a reunion was likely by the end of the year.

Now, KEXP DJ Marco Collins — who also organized Enigk's private preview show at the Triple Door Monday — is adding fuel to the fire. This morning, he Twittered this:

"Sunny Day Real Estate @ Bumbershoot? Fact or fiction?"

Ear Candy picked up on the message, calling Collins a "credible source" and stating that it was likely the band would, in fact, play at Bumbershoot. Lineout made a similar, more cautious speculation this morning.

But that message has now been removed from Collin's Twitter page, making the possibility of a reunion even more mysterious. What gives? Any out there think it's likely this reunion would happen? How do the band's previous break-ups and make-ups factor in?

Topics: Blog Watch

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The Accused Sign With Southern Lord

Posted May 4 at 7:58 pm by Hannah Levin

There's something sort of heartwarming about seeing an influential, veteran band sign to a newer label that was originally inspired by said band's groundbreaking sound. Just such a scenario played out when Southern Lord picked up Seattle hardcore heros, the Accused.

The band's first release for the label is in the works; they plan to hit the studio with producer Billy Anderson (Melvins, Neurosis, Brutal Truth, Cattle Decapitation, High On Fire) soon to record their first album in four years. They even have a title already: The Curse Of Martha Splatterhead. Aww! Decapitated kittens and puppies for everyone!

Topics: Blog Watch, Elsewhere on the Web, and News

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Beth Ditto vs. Barbie

Posted April 24 at 5:22 pm by Hannah Levin

There's no doubt who would win in that street brawl: Ditto with a bullet (and now with her own doll).

Topics: Aesthetic, Blog Watch, and Random

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