Joy Hollingsworth's response to Hannah Krieg's post "Joy Hollingsworth Tried to Stop New Apartment Construction on Madison in 2017" certainly makes great points, but it fails to directly answer the key fact Krieg presented:

...in a 2017 letter, which Hollingsworth wrote as the property manager for three neighboring lots that her relatives own, Hollingsworth did not mention gentrification or displacement. Instead, she complained that new buildings obstructed her view of Bellevue and Lake Washington and deprived her of natural light. 

Hollingsworth's assessment of urbanism and its inherent limits are, however, right on the mark. Urbanists tend to be white and present market-driven development as the only path to the kind of density that reduces our dependency on cars and the fossil fuels they consume. But does Hollingsworth provide a viable alternative to the white urbanists who, in her view, are wanting in intersectional and respectful modes of thinking? Not really. Indeed, there is still greater similarity between Hollingsworth and standard-issue urbanists, than between her and the council member she hopes to replace, Kshama Sawant. Because the latter is unapologetically a socialist, she can recognize decommodification as the most rational (if not the only) way out of a crisis caused by unchecked value inflation in the housing market.

Bruce Harrell proposes 2024 budget: Ta-dah! The Mayor’s 2024 budget could lead to hundreds of millions in cuts to City programs and doesn’t anticipate the deficits we are projected to face in 2025 and 2026. Sweet! Harrell also resurrected the prospect of adopting the ineffective acoustic gunshot locator technology ShotSpotter, a plan the city council shot down last year. Hannah has more on all of this here.

The FTC and 17 state attorneys general sue Amazon: The antitrust suit alleges the company illegally prevented online merchants from listing products at lower prices on other sites and pressured them to use its delivery network, all while boosting its own products, which resulted in “artificially higher prices” for shoppers. The FTC says monopoly tactics smothered the competition like the soft folds of an Amazon Basics pillow. Amazon says shoppers will have fewer products to choose from and slower deliveries if those mean regulators get their way!

When Tangerine Dream composer/multi-instrumentalist Edgar Froese passed away in 2015, that should have spelled the end of the band/brand as the world knows and loves it. He'd founded the vastly influential German electronic group in 1967 and was its only constant member till his death. Key musicians from TD's essential '70s era—Peter Baumann and Christopher Franke—were long gone and not interested in rejoining. Tangerine Dream had had a great run and could've called it a career and everyone would've understood.

But meister Froese wanted the Dream to continue, so in 2013 he tapped masterly synthesizer player Thorsten Quaeschning to guide the monumental ship onward, perhaps indefinitely, like some Teutonic version of the Sun Ra Arkestra—figurehead-less, yes, but still bursting with vital sounds that should eternally be revived and repurposed on stages.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell unveiled his 2024 budget during a press conference this morning, and it looks like he’s prepared to start the same fights he started last year with a proposal that could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to City programs in 2025 and 2026. Not exactly a visionary, that Mayor!

In his 579-page budget book, the Mayor and his staff stuck close to the draft budget the council endorsed as part of the two-year budgeting process in 2023. As far as highlights go: He advertised a “historic” $334 million investment into affordable housing that depends on the passage of the upcoming housing levy, which is a safe bet. He also proposed $850,000 to set up the new social housing authority (as required by the voter-approved initiative), and he threw the Seattle Department of Transportation and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority a few more million than expected.

The Seattle chapter of Sonic Guild has given out more than $250,000 in grants to more than 30 local musicians and bands since 2020. The list of recipients features some of the best music makers in the city—Chong the Nomad, Sol, Sera Cahoone, Tomo Nakayama, Thunderpussy, the Black Tones, Shelby Earl, and Tres Leches, just to name a few. Now it's time to vote for Sonic Guild's class of 2023. 

Usually, the list of nominees is gathered via input from Sonic Guild members, past grant recipients, and advisors, and then winners are decided after multiple rounds of voting. But starting today, and for the first time ever, Sonic Guild Seattle is opening nominations to the public. Anyone is welcome to throw their favorite artist into the ring to be considered for a $10,000 prize, no membership required.

A 24 year-old single woman wants to learn how to perform dirty talk, but she has no one to practice on. How can she learn the dark art? 

A woman is newly out of her bad relationship and into a joyful era of slutting around. She’s happy as a clam, but when her parents ask about her love life, they treat her like a sad spinster. How can she explain that she’s doing JUST FINE without going into too much detail?

The new Shibuya Hi-Fi bar wants to make Ballard a destination spot for elevated DJ culture, focused listening on an elite stereo system, and sophisticated cocktails. That's an ambitious and risky goal, but if anyone can pull of this herculean feat, it's owners Brian Rauschenbach and Quentin Ertel and musical director DJ Supreme La Rock (aka Danny Clavesilla). They form one of Seattle's most powerful and experienced teams of local nightlife lifers.

Rauschenbach and Ertel have worked together in Seattle clubs for 20 years. The former's a DJ who just retired after 30 years behind the decks and formerly owned Capitol Hill hip-hop-oriented club War Room. The latter owns Havana and formerly the Saint, managed Chop Suey, and bartended at the Showbox. The globetrotting Supreme is perhaps Seattle's foremost ambassador for vinyl DJing and record collecting, as well as being half of the excellent '90s/'00s electronic duo Sharpshooters and catalyzing the city's hip-hop scene since the '80s.

Did you know that you can technically keep learning things after you’ve left school? That's right, your dusty old brain is still capable of acquiring new skills even long into adulthood. You’re in the right place to do it, too: Seattle’s rife with fun classes and workshops geared toward adults, from cooking romantic to speaking Icelandic. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn some crunchy ancient-seeming skill, like how to weld, or how to repair your favorite holey sweater? You can! All kinds of skills are out there in the city, waiting to be learned by you, and there’s no time like back-to-school season to give ‘em a try.

Dance classes at Century Ballroom

You walk by this place all the time. Next time you’re at Molly Moon’s or the Elliott Bay Book Company, look up—on the floor above is a gorgeous dance hall where folks are cutting it up seven nights a week. Live swing and salsa bands aren’t uncommon here either, and the shows all fucking rule. Anyway, suppose you’d like to join the party but think you'll break your ankle if you try? Century Ballroom saw ya coming! Dance classes are held Sunday through Thursday, in styles including but not limited to lindy hop, country, bachata, tango, hip-hop, collegiate shag, Latin hustle, and West Coast swing. If you break your ankle after this, it’s on you.
(Century Ballroom, Capitol Hill, $80 for four classes or $25 per class, often with free admittance to that evening’s dance) 

Harrell's budget drops: Today Mayor Bruce Harrell plans to share his budget proposal for 2024. We'll be watching how he plans to handle funding for the Seattle Police Department amid a series of scandals and as other City workers rally against his proposals for meager wage increases. Follow Hannah for more on that today. 

Seattle and King County spend $773/person on carceral programs, while only spending $359 on health, $625 on housing, & $117 on library services, per person. Explore the analysis by #NationalEquityAtlas here: https://t.co/x4TCfQS67x https://t.co/Z5qa0kwih2

— WA Budget and Policy (@budget_policy) September 25, 2023

I have an etiquette question for you. I’m a cis straight woman. I recently hooked up with a bisexual man I met online. In the middle of missionary position sex, he began to sniff what I can only assume was poppers. I have no experience with them. Should he have said something beforehand? Should he have asked if this was okay with me? Or offered me some? What if he spilled it on me? Missionary position can feel vulnerable and something about this man unscrewing a small bottle of liquid directly above me felt pretty weird.

Hoping Unimpressive Fuckboy Finishes Sniffing

“This guy should have said he likes doing poppers,” said...

Click here to read the rest of this week's Mini Savage Love (free-to-all). 

This weekend the Crocodile hosted the second Black and Loud music fest featuring more than a dozen local artists including Beverly Crusher, Down North, and headliners Nik West and Big Joanie. The festival, started last year by members of King Youngblood and Down North, features bands led by Black musicians. 

Photographer Brittne Lunniss was there to capture some of the magic. 

The 10th annual Freakout Festival in 2022 was supposed to be The Big One. Event founders Skyler Locatelli and Guy Keltner and their team of seasoned organizers had booked Latin American psych-/ garage-rock legends Os Mutantes, Los Dug Dug’s, and Los Saicos’ César “Papi” Castrillón. The performers—many coming in from other states and countries—numbered 150, the most in FF’s history. There were more venues than ever, including a free outdoor stage. The social-media hype and press coverage were present and correct. Coming off its best attendance and financial year ever in 2021, Freakout had momentum on its side.

But the 10th-anniversary of Seattle’s premier psyche-decadent extravaganza underperformed, at least from an accountant’s standpoint. Attendance was lower than expected. Money was lost. Doubts festered. The COVID grant funds had run out. Freakout Fest—as exciting and aesthetically successful as it was—couldn’t go on like this.

Pacific Northwest Ballet kicked off its 51st season with a bang, as it were. The title for the big fall opener, Petite Mort, is French for "little death," which serves as one of the classier euphemisms for an orgasm—or, more precisely, that calm, bereft, post-orgasm feeling that makes you want to have a Godard film and a cigarette for breakfast. At least until you're ready for round two. 

ANYWAY, the show runs through Oct 1 at McCaw Hall, and it features a trio of contemporary ballets—a hot one and a funny one from Czech legend Jiří Kylián, and a parodic one from Swedish dancer/choreographer Alexander Ekman. When I wasn't enthralled by the raw physicality of the performances, I was laughing my ass off at all the stunts, the high-level slap-stick, and the visual trickery that united all three of these works. 

It's the top of another week, and we daresay you already know what that means: we're here to shout out the top events happening every day, from Rina Sawayama: Hold the Girl Tour - Reloaded to Michelle Buteau and from the 19th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival to Kremfest 2023.

MONDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Lauren Mayberry
In preparation for her debut solo album, Lauren Mayberry (aka the frontwoman of Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES) is heading out on her first-ever solo tour. The elusive album, which she has described as a "fun, freaky, sad, weird, joyful pop playground," has yet to receive a release date or tracklist, but if it's anything like the recently released single "Are You Awake?" we foresee deeply personal piano-centric songs that shy away from the polished pop she's been known for. And, according to recent setlists, Mayberry has been playing a blend of new music, covers, and a couple of CHVRCHES songs to please both new and long-time listeners. AUDREY VANN
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)