In which we check back with a couple of stars from Weeklys past: Tacoma's hit-making ghosts, The Writers Block; and Noel Brass, Jr. of Afrocop.

Renee McMahon

The Writers Block: William Jordan (L); Clemm Rishad (R)

Since gracing our cover (with Nicki), Tacoma's The Writers Block (Clemm Rishad and William Jordan) have been hard at work on their solo careers, and this week we get our first taste of new product. Songwriter/rap rapper Rishad just premiered the lead single, "The Beginning", from his upcoming album of the same name on The Source's website, and it shows off his blossoming skill as well as previous hit "Back to the Paper". In his success, he's become more self-aware and self-referential, but laces his lyrics with a touch of humility, and invites you into the fold with a welcoming voice.

William Jordan's next offering, Electric Ill 2 is also in the works (and what I've heard is pretty fantastic), so we'll keep an ear out for that. In the meantime, enter to win a chance to perform at KUBE 93's Summer Jam (where Rishad, Jordan and their Sky Movement crew have their own stage), and listen to "The Beginning":

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Possum Dixon guitarist Celso Chavez, who passed away yesterday.

I've been reminiscing about the 90's far too much lately, and in doing so, I've been revisiting a lot of the records that turned me on my head in high school and college. Amongst those records is a total underdog of a band worth championing, Los Angeles' Possum Dixon. Managing to blend The Cars' new wave, the raw jangle of The Animals, the hopped-up libido of the Violent Femmes and the Pixies manic unpredictability, Possum Dixon had some songs that charted well enough on college/modern rock radio but never quite found the right rhythm to sustaining it all. Almost 20 years after the release of their debut album, it still sounds like an out of control joyride through restless days spent in office jobs and nights spent in dingy nightclubs and crumbling stucco apartments.

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The Black Keys play KeyArena on Tuesday, May 8.

I get the reason people are interested in the Black Keys. Really, I do. In terms of what's being played on major alt-radio airwaves at the moment, their fuzzy, blues-y licks and alpha male moaning stick out like a sore thumb (in a good way) from the sea of processed sixteenth-note loving dance-rock bands that look more like Abercrombie models or soap opera stars than they do an honest-to-God rock band. The Akron, Ohio duo benefit from an undeniably charming backstory, too; a soccer team captain and a nerd from the rust belt meet in high school, play shithole bars and sleep on floors until they magically howl their way to arenas. On paper, the band sounds faultlessly great. It's hard to hate on that sort of real American success story.

Maybe it's the fact that, on that same paper full of a great story, lies a lot of facts that are just a little too eerily similar to a little duo from a garage in Detroit, another "face made for radio" couple known as The White Stripes. However, whereas Jack White has spent the past decade letting the general public know what a weird dude he is (I get the sense he probably sleeps in a coffin with a taxidermied bear, if he even sleeps at all), nothing about Patrick Carney or Dan Auerbach is strange enough for superstardom. Maybe there's something unique and haunting underneath all of that unremarkableness, but all I can see are a couple guys who look a lot more suited to the IT department than being rock stars.

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Renee McMahon

A couple of Late Passes are due, but it's worth noting that Shabazz Palaces percussionist Tendai Maraire has released a few new sounds over the past month independent of his SP group work. First, while catching up on the last webisode of "The Mezzanine" (a semi-regular Internet radio show/podcast put together by Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson, The Stranger's Mike Ramos, The Stranger/KEXP's El Mizell, and Witch Gardens guitarist Casey Catherwood that you should be following if you like rap and staying hip), I was grabbed by new music by Chimurenga Renaissance, a song called "It's Bigger Than You" from an album slated to come out sometime in the future called Rise. Chimurenga Renaissance is the name for Maraire's new solo project, and "It's Bigger Than You" features a slick verse from SP bandmate Ishmael Butler. It's quite the departure for the duo, who trade in their trademark slinking beats and bob-and-weave rhymes for an uplifting, Maraire-produced song about overcoming obstacles. It'll be interesting to hear if the rest of the album is just as positive and direct, or if each song carries a different mood. Either way, listen to "It's Bigger Than You" here at 1:07.

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Laura Musselman

Yes, press tickets are always good, and when they're for a popular band, you're likely to be seated with your peers. The advantage here is that your perspective of the show is apples to apples. Nobody can say, "Well, from where I was sitting ..."

At Monday night's Radiohead show at KeyArena, I was seated between The Seattle Times' Andrew Matson and The Stranger's Grant Brissey. But, as it happens, I think I'm the only one still on a high from the show. I did not go in expecting to be blown away by their ingenuity, but I was. Maybe it's because I hadn't seen the band since '97. I didn't fully realize until Monday night that their wizardry in the studio extended to the stage as well.

Our opinions weren't polar opposites, but I think the differences were pretty interesting (naturally, nothing makes me happier than comparing my work to someone else's). So, here you go, three different takes on one show, from three guys sitting in the same row. (BTW, it should be said that I couldn't get either of these prudes to come home with me after the show ...)

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spoke.bandcamp.com

I got hip to Seattle's Spoke just recently upon the recommendation (indirectly via Facebook timeline) of local MC/good guy Gabriel Teodros, who mentioned that he had given the guy a turntable back in the day, and "had a feeling he'd make something dope with it one day." Spoke, (real name: Christopher Carroll) has indeed become a talented producer, creating accessible, easy-paced electronic and hip hop-dipped (of course hip hop is simply a strain of electronic music) R&B. On his latest album, Ghost, his voice is mellow and even, and when he sings--and occasionally raps--he does so with a relatable sincerity that makes somewhat common lines like "We flock together/like birds of a feather/talkin' words about forever" (on "Satellite" which features vocalist Jewel Lazaro) sound like touching memories that you want to hear more about. There are a few moments where he auto-tunes his vocals, and sounds like he's going for something like Drake (which is not his best approach), but always sets himself up with an effective instrumental to work with, and for the most part, constructs quality songs that have definite mainstream appeal.

Check out his latest album Ghost on his Bandcamp page, or sample a few tracks after the jump...

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grimeshine.bandcamp.com

If we take his pulled-apart Gmail address and city-referencing audio-drops on his new instrumental album rip.mpc as fact, Grimeshine is a dude from Seattle named Dominic Tallariti. Combining information available on his Bandcamp and Soundclick pages, his set-up (unless his MPC actually bit it) is an MPC 1000, a Microkorg keyboard, and a set of Technics turntables. His music is mixed and sequenced solely through the MPC unit without the use of computers. Unlike much un-quantized material though, his beats are precise, and don't fall back on the ever-popular pattern-light syncopation that emerged with such force from L.A.'s Low End Theory scene, and spread across the internet. Tallariti (IF THAT IS HIS REAL NAME!) cuts samples from across the spectrum of soul to rock and beyond, tops things off with the occasional rap or R&B vocal sample, and surrounds his loops with such fitting drums/reverb/accouterment that they take on whole new personalities (check out the way he comes in sideways with the drum track on "Give the drummer sum'"), and fall in line with a professional-grade continuity.

Tallariti has three A-grade, mostly-instrumental albums on his Bandcamp page (the most recent being the aforementioned rip.mpc., and the best-named being Yoga Pants & Doja Plants) all of which I recommend checking out. Definitely keep a look out for Grimeshine in the area's beat scene. Check out some jams here, or a sampling after the jump.

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The Portlandia tour hit New York City this weekend, and St. Vincent made an appearance at the Bowery Ballroom show--Annie Clark made a cameo on the IFC show's second season as a hapless cafe waitress. At the show, Clark--who made her love for Seattle known to SW last year--performed a beautiful cover of Pearl Jam's 1991 track, "Black." Best part of the performance comes at 3:15, when Clark exclaims "Don't fucking make me sing this song alone!" and the crowd obligingly chants along.

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Got an interesting letter from a reader in response to Brian J. Barr's piece last week, "Soft As (Allen) Stone." Anyone else care to chime in here?

I just read your article on Allen Stone. It sounds to me, after having seen his show last night, that you have only listened to the album and not seen his show live. Am I correct in my assessment? His live show is where the true soul and 'grit' comes in and it had 1000 bodies shaking their asses for 2 1/2 hours last night. Thanks for your time. -- Jaime

Do these happy hipster rockers need a push off their pedestal?

If 2011 was the year that put the exuberant achievements of The Head and the Heart on the map, Leigh Stone and the folks at Crybaby Studios are hoping 2012 is the year that puts the boundless enthusiasm of their fellow Emerald City rockers into some perspective. Isn't it a natural law, after all, that when an entity achieves unparalleled power or unchallenged success, something--or someone--has to knock it down a little bit? To be fair, though, wasn't it Morrissey who said, "We hate it when our friends become successful"?

After the jump, check out the real life grit and the dark, Siouxiesque vocals of Stone (who performs as New Reunion) in the video, "The Severed Head and the Sacrificial Heart," a satirical look at what Stone says, "reflects the other side of Seattle that's happening."

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