AltWeeklies Wire
Ben Chasny Can't Shake His Golden State Rootsnew
Ben Chasny, who relocated to Seattle from the Bay Area last September, was freak folk before it was a term.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
02-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Used CDs: Indie Retail’s Secret Weaponnew
The compact disc is the new cassette tape, a highly disposable and inferior format for music. And all signs point to it being wiped out for a variety of reasons. But because of a spike in the number of people looking to sell off their CD collections, the used market has been a glimmer of sunshine.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
01-26-2009 |
Music
Tags: recording industry, compact discs
It's Hard to Assign Blame in Seattle Club Shootingsnew
Whether blame was being aimed at Chop Suey, Big Kountry Entertainment, the city's lack of attention to a purportedly growing gang-activity problem, or the music itself, grief quickly manifested itself as cries for culpability. Few viewed it as a failure of club security, but many theories abound when looking closer at the root of the tragedy.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
01-12-2009 |
Music
R&B Hasn't Only Gone Soft, It's Become Downright Bullshitnew
The watering-down of the genre is one reason R&B has been disparaged as "Rap & Bullshit" by everyone from RZA of Wu-Tang Clan to rap bloggers at Cocaine Blunts to the now-defunct music site Stylus. Another is because it's artistically moribund.
Seattle Weekly |
Ben Westhoff |
12-29-2008 |
Music
Who Is Jonathan Richman?new
Richman's wisdom is that he knows it can be very difficult to restore the original visceral reaction we had to a piece of music after we've unceremoniously critiqued and torn it apart. It's a philosophy that seems right for a man who's dedicated to living in the moment, to having experiences rather than discussing them.
Seattle Weekly |
Sara Brickner |
12-15-2008 |
Music
The Titles that Axl Rose Didn't Use for GnR's Long-Delayed Albumnew
It turns out that during Rose's 17-year effort to record the album, he weighed several other different potential titles. The first batch comprised more variations on the Oriental theme, but we're guessing China wouldn't have liked them any better.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
12-08-2008 |
Music
Zach Harjo Makes a Record He Actually Likesnew
Like Tom Waits, or the criminally under-referenced Randy Newman, Harjo mostly sidesteps the usual singer-songwriter trappings of personal confession, instead creating scenes and characters plucked from the dustier fringes of Americana.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
12-08-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Avoiding Wal-Mart for Your AC/DC Fixnew
Independent retailers have found ways to get around big-box exclusives.
Seattle Weekly |
Sara Brickner |
12-02-2008 |
Music
Seattle's Conrad Ford Finds Beauty in Highway 99new
The band is a hushed and ghostly Americana outfit cut from the same vintage fabric as Barton Carroll and Jesse Sykes.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
11-25-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
How the Drive-By Truckers Met The Hold Steadynew
While it's no surprise that bottle rockets and plenty of mischief-making have come into the mix, the meeting of DBT frontman Patterson Hood and Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler involves interests as brainy as they are bacchanalian.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
11-25-2008 |
Music
McCoy Tyner: Life After 'A Love Supreme'new
The great pianist helped give the world some of its most significant jazz recordings, including John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, all before his 30th birthday. But being a living legend has never killed his will to explore.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
11-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Blind Shake is Scary Goodnew
Through the interplay of their dueling baritone and straight guitars, Jim Blaha and his lookalike brother Mike create such an unnervingly taut and unpredictable tension that the anticipation of release leaves the listener with almost no choice but to close their eyes and rattle off of the next sonic cliff they choose to scale.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
11-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: post-punk, The Blind Shake
Foo Fighters Songs McCain Should Use Instead of 'My Hero'new
The band has not-so-discreetly asked McCain to stop using their music to rally his troops. We'd like to call on the McCain camp to do the right thing and pick a more appropriate Foo Fighters tune for stumpin'. Here are a few recommendations.
Seattle Weekly |
Chris Kornelis |
10-20-2008 |
Music
Stephen John Kalinich's LP With Brian Wilson Gets Rescuednew
Light in the Attic Records recently released A World of Peace Must Come, the lone album Kalinich and Wilson recorded together. Sessions were held off-and-on through the late '60s "whenever the inspiration struck," says Kalinich.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
10-14-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tad Doyle Goes into Interstellar Overdrivenew
He once made music heavy enough to rumble the earth. With Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Tad Doyle aims to rumble the cosmos.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
10-06-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
