Via Bears I'm Jealous Of.

In the left corner, Tim Harrington; in the right, Damian Abraham.

​Tim Harrington of dance-punk pranksters Les Savy Fav and Damian Abraham of post-hardcore howlers Fucked Up are two of the most sweaty, bearish bruisers going in rock music, and since both excellent bands are playing the Capitol Hill Block Party this weekend, we thought we'd do a scientific side-by-side comparison. Let's have a nice, clean fight, fellas.

Tim Harrington
Age: Unknown
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Band: Les Savy Fav

Damian Abraham
aka: Pink Eye
Age: Unknown
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Band: Fucked Up

Years Active
Les Savy Fav: 1995-present
Fucked Up: 2001-present
Advantage: Les Savy Fav

Discography
Les Savy Fav: Five studio albums, 15 singles, one EP, one live album, and the compilation Inches.
Fucked Up: Three studio albums, countless 7"s, a series of Zodiac-themed 12"s, various mixtapes and compilations (including David's Town, a collection of songs by fake bands released as a companion piece to their new album).
Advantage: Fucked Up

Onstage Antics
Harrington: Has been known to stuff bricks in his underpants, climb ladders, sacrifice stuffed animals, build catwalks through audiences out of stage risers, run through crowds to buy a hot dog mid-song, chew up dollar bills and tongue-kiss them to audience members, and almost always get sweaty and naked.
Abraham: Has been known to hurl himself into a mosh pit with impressive force, get sweaty and naked.
Advantage: Harrington

More after the jump . . .

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SPOKANE!

​And it's only Tuesday!

"We just need new stereotypes to work with. Say, Spokanites get angry about online articles making fun of them. Seattlites bold practically EVERYTHING on the Internet." -- Danieltwalters

Via Gwendolyn Elliott's post, "Quit Tweakin', Townies! G. Love--and Spokane--Put on Their Best, Friday Night at The Knitting Factory."

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​Reverb's incestuous lovers in New York released the results of the annual Pazz & Jop critic's poll this week, culling critics' picks from more than 700 music writers from around the nation, present company included.

Not surprisingly, Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" were the big winners in the album and singles categories, respectfully. On the local tip, Beach House's album Teen Dream, out on Sub Pop, ranked #7 on the album list, and Damien Jurado's Saint Bartlett picked up a few points, among others.

Here's a look at my picks, alongside selections from Reverb regulars Erin Thompson, Greg Franklin, and Nick Feldman:

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We can all agree on M.I.A.

​What do you think? The following is list of the ten best-selling albums from a city last week.

1. Back Keys, Brothers
2. Alejandro Escovedo, Street Songs Of Love
3. M.I.A., Maya
4. Jimmie Vaughan, Plays Blues, Ballads, and Favorites
5. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, Dark Night Of the Soul
6. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Mojo
7. Eminem, Recovery
8. Crowded House, Intriguer
9. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
10. The Roots, How I Got Over

These are the best sellers in one of the following shops:

A. Waterloo Records, Austin
B. Vintage Vinyl, St. Louis
C. Sonic Boom's Ballard Location, Seattle

The answer's after the jump.

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​ In addition to paying impromptu nursemaid to the this weekend's birth of the Calligraphers, a new group formed by Evan Dando (in town recently for a solo stint at the Tractor), Kim-so-much-for-retirement-Warnick, and Mike Davis, the folks at Crybaby Studios have been hard at work on their first compilation CD.

Artists recorded thus far include Alicia Amiri (featuring Neumo's booking agent/owner Jason Lajuenesse on drums) and Strong Killings. Also scheduled for studio time in upcoming weeks are Gravelroad, Book of Black Earth, Hallways, the Knast, Black Breath and See Me River.

Read Kevin Capp's story on Freeway and Jake One's new record, The Stimulus Package, selling like crazy at Ballard's Sonic Boom location.

​Alright, to be fair, Sade's still selling pretty well in town, too, beating out the likes of Yeasayer, Hot Chip, and Magnetic Fields at Ballard's Sonic Boom location last week. After the jump we've got the best sellers on Capitol Hill and what the rest of the country sucked up last week.

Top 10 Sellers at Ballard's Sonic Boom:

1. Beach House, Teen Dream (Download "Norway")
2. Freeway & JakeOne, Stimulus Package
3. Spoon, Transference
4. Vampire Weekend, Contra
5. Sade, Soldier of Love
6. Massive Attack, Heligoland
7. Yeasayer, Odd Blood
8. Magnetic Fields, Realism
9. Hot Chip, One Life Stand
10. The xx, XX

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​Here's a little study in Seattle neighborhoods. Sade's Soldier of Love, her first new album in a decade is the top album on the Billboard charts (after the jump), the top album at Easy Street locations (Queen Anne/West Seattle), but at Sonic Boom's Ballard and Capitol Hill locations, it's still beaten by the likes of Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend? Anyway, something to think about.

Top Sellers at Seattle's Easy Street Locations:

1. Sade, Soldier of Love
2. Vampire Weekend, Contra
3. Massive Attack, Heglioland
4. Yeasayer, Odd Blood
5. Hot Chip, One Life Stand
6. Beach House, Teen Dream
7. Spoon, Transference
8. Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here
9. Charlotte Gainsbourg, I.R.M.
10. The xx, XX

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Beach House

​
While the rest of the country's been busy gobbling up copies of the latest from Lady Antebellum, Lil' Wayne, and one of the Jonas brothers (after the jump), residents on the planet of Capitol Hill--at least according to their new Sonic Boom--have been subsisting on a steady diet of Spoon, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beach House, and Shabazz Palaces. Consider the following:

Top Sellers at Capitol Hill's Sonic Boom Location Last Week:

1. Beach House, Teen Dream (MP3: "Norway")
2. Magnetic Fields, Realism
3. Spoon, Transference
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg, IRM
5. Shabazz Palaces, Shabazz Palaces
6. Midlake, Courage Of Others
7. Vampire Weekend, Contra
8. Shabazz Palaces, Of Light
9. Campesinos, Romance Is Boring
10. Laura Veirs, July Flame

P.S. We predict a massive surge in sales of the Graham Nash catalogue on the Hill now that news is out that Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and Vetiver are joining forces to play tribute to his classic, Songs for Beginners.

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Beck, left, produced and co-wrote Charlotte Gainsbourg's I.R.M., which hit stores last week.

​The city of Seattle likes Beach House's Teen Dream a whole lot more than I do, apparently. The new one from Sub Pop's Baltimore duo was the fourth-most-popular seller at Easy Street locations last week. Vampire Weekend's Contra stayed strong at #1, undoubtedly helped by my purchase of the LP last week while I was in the store for Zoe Muth's in-store performance (her self-titled album was #14 on the list for the week, btw). And Patti Smith's magnificent classic, Horses, popped into the top 10, buoyed by her speaking engagement at Benaroya Hall.

The rest of the country lapped up the new one from Lady Antebellum, went back to the Boyle well, and Fanilows made Barry's The Greatest Love Songs Of All Time a debut at #5 on the Billboard 200 chart (after the jump).

Here's what Seattleites picked up at Easy Street locations last week:

1. Vampire Weekend, Contra
2. Spoon, Transference
3. Beach House, Teen Dream
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg, I.R.M.
5. Magnetic Fields, Realism
6. The xx, XX
7. Patti Smith, Horses
8. Four Tet, There Is Love In You
9. Patti Griffin, Downtown Church
10. Cave Singers, Welcome Joy

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Justin Dylan Renney

Vampire Weekend at Deck the Hall Ball

​Seattle kept gobbling up copies of Vampire Weekend's Contra this week, as well as new releases from Spoon and Eels. The rest of the nation (#s after the jump) were picking up the so-far digital-only release of Hope For Haiti Now (since it's digital, don't expect it to show up on the Easy Street list anytime soon, obviously), and Spoon got its highest chart debut of its career at #4. Not bad, fellas.

Top sellers at Easy Street locations last week:

1. Vampire Weekend, Contra
2. Spoon, Transference
3. Eels, End Times
4. Shabazz Palaces, Shabazz Palaces
5. Tom Waits, Glitter & Doom Live
6. Shabazz Palaces, Of Light
7. The xx, XX
8. Blakroc, Blakroc
9. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
10. Editors, In This Light & On This Evening

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