The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: Music

Poster of the Week

editor@thestranger.com (Aaron Huffman) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Poster by David Gallo by Aaron Huffman Tons of great posters again this week! I'm not in love with all the type on this one, but the brass-knuckles image and the simple composition look great from a distance, which is something that people often forget about. Check out more work by David Gallo at www.iheartwhitespace.com.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Underage

editor@thestranger.com (Megan Seling) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Expo 87's 2009 Lineup by Megan Seling This weekend, the Expo festival returns for a second year—Expo 87 this time—bringing its three-day DIY art extravaganza to the Anne Bonny and Cairo Gallery on Capitol Hill, showcasing not only dozens of bands but also local filmmakers and artists. Opening night on Thursday at Cairo features screenings of two collections of short films. The first, Pacific Open, is what the schedule calls a collection of "miscellaneous musically driven films," and the second, Supervideografen, is a bunch of animated films.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Up & Coming

editor@thestranger.com (Stranger Staff) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

This Week's Noteworthy Shows and Parties by Stranger Staff Thursday 11/19 Plump DJs (Trinity) See Data Breaker. Built to Spill, Disco Doom, Finn Riggins (Showbox at the Market) Built to Spill's recent performances—whether revisiting the entirety of Perfect from Now On or structuring their set lists based on their fans' requests—have found the indie veterans dwelling on their back catalog. So if you've seen the band in the last 18 months, you've probably caught an uncharacteristically nostalgic angle of Doug Martsch and company. It's unfortunate—while Ancient Melodies of the…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Bad Boy Gone Good

editor@thestranger.com (Eric Grandy) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Chris Mansfield Gets His Shit Together with Fences by Eric Grandy If Fences' Chris Mansfield doesn't have a record deal by the time you recycle this newspaper—or refresh this page or whatever—then something is seriously wrong with the music business (I know, news flash). The 26-year-old singer-songwriter has pretty much everything going for him: classical training, crucial industry connections, and most importantly, a finished first album just begging for the right label to release it. He has just enough going against him, as well: a slightly troubled but more or less…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Rhythm & Booze

editor@thestranger.com (Dave Segal) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Foscil's Not So Sober Cinematic Excursions by Dave Segal The Foscil interview takes place at the Rendezvous. This is relevant for two reasons: Foscil's members are infamous for their prodigious alcohol consumption, and Foscil's music is, according to the band's four members, "pure fucking Seattle," much like the Belltown watering hole in which we chat and quaff. Aptly, drummer/percussionist Tyler Swan—who also plays in Linda and Ron's Dad and Flexions—makes a point to order another round of whiskeys before the official questioning begins. The legend's true. Alert Seattle music…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Data Breaker

editor@thestranger.com (Dave Segal) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Plump DJs' Fat Breakbeats and Joker's Comic-Book Dubstep by Dave Segal Plump DJs—England's Andy Gardner and Lee Rous—rank among the elite producer/DJs of nu skool breaks, a subgenre with deep roots in big beat—the mid-'90s movement that spawned Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Headrillaz, Propellerheads, and other (mainly) British artists who fed wicked funk samples steroids and speed and proceeded to rock parties harder than a motherfucker. Such a rambunctiously hedonistic style rarely lasts for long, and by the late '90s, many of big beat's major proponents decided to leave those rowdy…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Fucking in the Streets

editor@thestranger.com (Eric Grandy) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

War Room for Sale, Ben Hills RIP by Eric Grandy Last week, War Room co-owner Marcus Lalario officially announced that, after a nearly five-year run, the club's current ownership would be shutting the doors on November 30. The press release said, "The future of the popular nightclub remains uncertain... Although there are interested buyers in place, no change of ownership has yet been confirmed." "We feel like we've had a good run of it," said Lalario, in the same statement. "It's time to move on to other projects, while we're…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

It's a Hit

editor@thestranger.com (Michaelangelo Matos) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Rihanna, Chris Brown, and "Russian Roulette" by Michaelangelo Matos "Russian Roulette" by Rihanna (Def Jam) Is it possible to hear this song as just a song? Not right now; probably not for a good while. It's a public event, a capital-S Statement, a sonic headline—all in a way it couldn't possibly have been before February 8, the night of the 51st Grammy Awards. Rihanna was scheduled to perform. She cancelled, and everybody found out why the next day. The fact of Rihanna's beating at the hands of Chris Brown…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

My Philosophy

editor@thestranger.com (Larry Mizell Jr.) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

War Room, RIP by Larry Mizell Jr. Well, fuck. Starting out with yet another RIP; we get all the nightlife-friendly candidates voted in, and now the War Room is about to close its doors. From summertime happy hours wasted on the roof deck to some classic Yo! Son nights (okay, not always as classic as at, say, Chop or Neumos, of course, but whatever) to the very first Big Tune, the War Room has been a hub of beat-centric awesomeness on the Hill since its inception. It…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

the Score

editor@thestranger.com (Christopher DeLaurenti) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

John Luther Adams, Agendacide, and Jazz by Christopher DeLaurenti "Whenever we listen carefully," writes composer John Luther Adams in The Place Where You Go to Listen (Wesleyan), "we come to hear that music is around us all the time. Noise is no longer unwanted sound. It is the breath of the world." Many composers write books—these days, it seems to be a job prerequisite—but few write well. Richly mixing technical speculation and spiritual inquiry, The Place offers insight into the upcoming concert (Sat Nov 21, Chapel Performance Space, 8…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Party Crasher

editor@thestranger.com (RACHAEL PULLIN) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

A Sex Game and Bacon-Flavored Vodka by RACHAEL PULLIN The first party I was scheduled to crash had been canceled, so I opted instead for an event at the Columbia Tower Club dedicated to the success (over one million copies sold) of the adult card game Sex! by Kheper Games. This swanky venue is members-only and required a disorienting ascent up 75 floors into the Seattle skyline. Upon my arrival, club personnel immediately told me: "You need some sex!" My drink options, Sex L'Orange and Chocolate Sex, both involved…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Triumph of the Chill

editor@thestranger.com (Eric Grandy) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Seattle Chillwave Scene Is "Rising"—But Is It Already "Too Late"? by Eric Grandy In 1996, the film Hype! documented the evolution of "grunge" from underground scene to critical acclaim to mainstream popularity to inevitable backlash, a cycle that will be as familiar as verse-chorus-verse to anyone who pays attention to popular music. But consider this: That film came out seven full years after the Seattle scene first broke in the international press via (former Stranger music editor) Everett True in Melody Maker. A decade and change later, and such a lengthy hype/backlash cycle…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Flight of the Sonic Nomads

editor@thestranger.com (Dave Segal) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

The Grand Grind of Sonic Nomads Fuck Buttons by Dave Segal Nothing on which legendary British producer Andrew Weatherall—who's been harnessing studio magic for two decades—has worked has ever sounded quite like Fuck Buttons' new sophomore album, Tarot Sport. The handiwork of Bristol-based musicians Andrew Hung and Benjamin Power, the disc embodies its title—the mystical aura of tarot with the athletic grandeur of sport—in a grandiose manner. Whereas Fuck Buttons' debut full-length, 2008's Street Horrrsing (produced by John Cummings), amalgamates noise, drones, minimal techno beats, and the sort of tortured howling…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Gone Away Again

editor@thestranger.com (Michaelangelo Matos) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

The Fiery Furnaces' Rekindled Sibling Rivalry by Michaelangelo Matos Just when you thought you'd never hear a straightforward recording by the Fiery Furnaces again, along comes their new album I'm Going Away (Thrill Jockey). It's the most classic-rocking record of their career and the least cluttered since 2005's EP, and it couldn't come at a better time. After seven years of flaunting their restless creativity, siblings Matt and Eleanor Friedberger take it easy for once—and the result is their most lived-in album, and one of their best. I'm Going…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Data Breaker

editor@thestranger.com (Dave Segal) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Audion's Audio-Visual Dazzle, J4CK17 Debuts, Bonkers! Exits by Dave Segal As one electronic-music night ends, another begins. Sayonara, Bonkers!; greetings, J4CK17 (aka JACKIT). Thus the balance of Seattle's underground electronic scene is maintained. Bonkers!—led by promoter/musician Ian Scot Price—has championed adventurous producers and DJs for the last two-plus years, most of it IDM, but also electro, techno, ambient, experimental, and other styles. The legendary monthly is going out large Friday, with a finale called In Search of the Bass Crystal. Past Data Breaker stars PotatoFinger, Ya No Mas, and Splatinum…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Fucking in the Streets

editor@thestranger.com (Eric Grandy) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Doolittle Is the Best Pixies Album by Eric Grandy Every Pixies album is awesome, and a case could be made for any one of them being the band's best, but I still say—and this is objectively and with legally binding authority—Doolittle is their greatest. Doolittle captures the band at a creative peak and a career crossroads—and it's packed with perfect punk-pop rock songs (plus, lamentably, "Silver"). The band is performing the album in its entirety, along with contemporaneous B-sides and rarities, at two concerts at the Paramount this week,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

It's a Hit

editor@thestranger.com (Michaelangelo Matos) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

New Singles from Julian Casablancas, LCD Soundsystem, and Darkstar by Michaelangelo Matos "11th Dimension" by Julian Casablancas (RCA) Forget the misguided Television comparisons: The Strokes always sounded a hell of a lot more like the Cars, and on his first solo single, frontman Julian Casablancas proves why. The Lite-Brite synth riff that pops the thing out of the speakers is as rudimentary as the downstrokes of his old bandmates, and about as resistible, especially when the bridge comes in half-quoting Shannon's "Let the Music Play." He still sings like he's five sheets…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Party Crasher

editor@thestranger.com (Jesse Vernon) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Who Knew Vegan Potlucks Rocked So Hard? by Jesse Vernon A fairy prince flaunting baby blue wings, a hot pink sparkly scarf, and pink leopard-print short-shorts welcomes me to "Bend-it Bandits' Semi-Secret Social: Hallowganza" with a slight curtsy. Though too late for the vegan potluck, Party Crasher is just in time for the Sleater-Kinney-esque stylings of house-show regulars My Parade. Their "POC dance punk" (POC = people of color, fool) fills the living room-cum-dance floor with crisp, raucous beats, inspiring grins and bouncing from partyers. Highlights include a sped-up punk…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

My Philosophy

editor@thestranger.com (Larry Mizell Jr.) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Big Tune Beat Battles and Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel's Sad Beef by Larry Mizell Jr. This ain't a dis column, this a real column! I'm saying, Beanie Sigel dissing Jay-Z (if you ain't know, go hit the YouTube for "What You Talkin Bout," so you know what the hell I'm talking about) makes that forever undying rap fan in me—that frozen-in-time Roc-A-Fella stan within—deeply, deeply sad. Sadder than when Jay and Dame split, sadder than when I heard Coldplay's Chris Martin on "Beach Chair," sadder than Christión, Teairra Mari, Rell, and Rick Vocals all put…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Poster of the Week

editor@thestranger.com (Aaron Huffman) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Poster by Damon Nakagawa by Aaron Huffman Poster art is really taking a turn for the better so far this fall. Maybe the deteriorating weather conditions have forced everyone to stay inside and get some work done. Here's a particularly good example by Damon Nakagawa from DNA Designlab. You can see more of his work at www.dnadesignlab.net.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Score

editor@thestranger.com (Christopher DeLaurenti) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

Thirty Years of Paul Taub Versus HarshFest by Christopher DeLaurenti His last name means "deaf" in German, yet Paul Taub has the most receptive ears of any flutist in Seattle. Has any other flutist championed so much new music for so long? As anchor of the Seattle Chamber Players, Taub presents music by an exhaustive list of composers, ranging from relatively new voices in the avant such as Toshio Hosokawa and DJ Spooky to established stars like Astor Piazzolla, John Zorn, and Alfred Schnittke. The flutist maintains a surprisingly omnivorous…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Up & Coming

editor@thestranger.com (Stranger Staff) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

This Week's Noteworthy Shows and Parties by Stranger Staff Thursday 11/12 Pixies, Rain Machine (Paramount) See Stranger Suggests, and Fucking in the Streets. Blockhead, DJ Signify, WD4D and Dead Noise, DJ Absolute Madman (Chop Suey) Blockhead's path to recognition was Aesop Rock, a NYC rapper whose path to recognition was Def Jux, the Def Jam of the 21st century. Blockhead has done production work on all of Aesop Rock's albums, two of which—Float and Labor Days—are underground-hiphop masterpieces. Blockhead's style is not usually the sort rappers enjoy or appreciate,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Underage

editor@thestranger.com (Megan Seling) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

The Seattle Rock Orchestra Perform Funeral by Megan Seling In the fall of 2004, the Arcade Fire released their debut full-length titled Funeral, and the little-known band from Canada with the flair for theatrics carved out a spot in the hearts of fans and critics alike—the record got a four-star review from Rolling Stone and an "A–" from famed rock critic Robert Christgau, and it ended up topping many notable "Best Records of the Year" lists, taking number one at Pitchfork and number two at NME. Talk about credentials.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Up & Coming

editor@thestranger.com (Stranger Staff) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

This Week's Noteworthy Shows and Parties by Stranger Staff Thursday 11/5 Mem1, Wyndel Hunt, Steven Barsotti, Tiflin (Rendezvous) See Data Breaker. Big Business, Thrones (El Corazón) Live, Big Business are a powerhouse of deafening bass chords and dexterous drums. Yet the band have repeatedly recruited indie-pop producer Phil Ek—the man behind records by Fleet Foxes and the Shins—to lay these barrages to wax. It's as if the Biz were hearing something more elaborate and nuanced in their sound, something that the two members couldn't channel alone. Enter Mind the…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Underage

editor@thestranger.com (Megan Seling) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0800

SAD Songs (Say So Much) by Megan Seling This Friday, BOAT play a free in-store performance at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard, and it's a perfect opportunity to pick up a copy of their brand-new record, Setting the Paces. The album is full of fun, mood-elevating pop songs that celebrate the small things—like eating nachos, driving down I-5, and being the prince of Tacoma. Their playful harmonies and the happy jingles that ring from their tambourines are especially welcome right now, as the approaching winter has caused my…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]