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Speaking of old timers, Billboard.com announced last week that Sub Pop is set to release Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska on November 7. Nebraska was the Boss' 1982 solo effort, recorded on a home four-track as a set of demos and released "as is" at his insistence. Keeping it real, Sub Pop has requested that all contributions to the tribute be recorded in the same manner. So who's on it? There are some pretty impressive names: Chrissie Hynde ("Nebraska"), Billy Bragg ("Mansion on the Hill"), Ani DiFranco ("Used Cars"), Patti Smith ("Open All Night"), Ben Harper ("My Father's House"), Aimee Mann and Michael Penn ("Reason to Believe"), and Hank Williams III ("Atlantic City"), to name a few.
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Foo Fighter Nate Mendel told a funny story while doing publicity for Summersault 2000, a Canadian summer music festival. A man on his flight the prior day asked if he knew the name of "the guy that drummed for Nirvana." When Mendel replied in the negative, the apparent non-Foo fan breathlessly informed the bassist, "Well, he's on the plane!"
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Former U-Men vocalist John Bigley recently expanded his Capitol Hill lounge empire (the Capitol Club) with the swank new Barca. Conveniently located on 11th Avenue between Pike and Pine, Barca is strictly a watering hole, and should attract a fashionable clientele, given that it's right across the street from the snooty Monique Lofts.
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Back to Experience Music Project: Everyone be sure to take off the afternoon of Friday, August 11, so you can attend EMP's fascinating "Curatorial Talk," entitled "Grunge--Boon or Bust?" EMP Associate Curator Dave Rosencrans and legendary Northwest producer Jack Endino will wax both nostalgic and philosophical on the subject twice--once at noon and again at 2:00 p.m. JMJ.