Albums of the Year, Part 3: Best of the Rest (Including Singles and EPs)
In No Particular Order, 18 More Great Albums From 2011:
By Taylor K. Long
9 Types of Light consists of love songs and apocalyptic spaz-outs--so are we more free to love...
Beer as Heritage in the Pacific Northwest
I’m visiting my family in Washington. I’ve only been at my mother’s house for about four hours, but I’m already reaching for a couple of beers. I take them from the outside fridge, and speed past barking dogs and bickering relatives to my mother’s deck. I close the sliding glass door and suddenly it’s quiet.......
Jake One: “Home”
This is all I have to say about Sunday – and I’m letting this song say it for me. Esp. the 2:34-2:50 mark. More on the state of T-Sides to come.
Ode To The 2010 Seahawks: The Reprise
I told you we’re hungry. What, you didn’t believe me? Surely you believe me now, having defeated the reigning Super Bowl Champs in the most glorious, nail-biting, Seattle-like fashion. I’ve watched Marshawn Lynch’s half-dozen-tackle-breaking-67-yard-run at least 10 times since Saturday, and you know what? It never gets old. But then, the greatest feats in sports...
Ode to the 2010 Seahawks
My ears have been burning lately. No doubt so have Pete Carroll’s, Matt Hassellbeck’s, Charlie Whitehurst’s, and the ears belonging to every player on the Seattle Seahawks, and all of their fans, ever since the Seattle Seahawks became the losingest winning team in NFL history last Sunday night. With their victory over the St. Louis...
Murder City Devils @ Nokia Theater, February 13th
Murder City Devils are no longer the kind of band that sets their drums on fire, or plays dive bars. For quite some time they were technically no longer even a band. But for now, having reunited for a series of shows instead of just one, they were a band. The kind of band who...
Lost MP3 of the Week: De La Soul, “Rock Co. Kane Flow (Feat. MF Doom)”
In 2004, I managed to land an internship at the Grammys. More specifically, the Seattle branch of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the professional organization responsible for the Grammys. Four or five internships later, it’s still one of my top two favorites, because I felt like I was making a difference...
You Make Me Like Charity.
Though he’s mostly known for his part in Seattle pop-rockers the Lashes, Eric Howk has a really fantastic set of solo songs up on MySpace under the name Palmer, AK. They’re short, sweet, and relaxed pop, the kind that’s perfect for driving with the windows down, laying in the park and cuddling with your sweetheart/friend/cat/dog....
Central Services: “Central Services”
It’s a tough music world for side projects. Endlessly compared to main projects, no matter how different, they bear the brunt of greatness indirectly. (The Postal Service are perhaps the only/biggest exception to this.) Even if your main project isn’t so hugely famous, the side project is almost always subject to wider criticism. Perhaps it’s...
Jordan O’Jordan Knows About You.
Jordan O’Jordan: “No Princely Frog” (download) Jordan O’Jordan: “The Baker’s Tale” (download) Jordan O’Jordan: “By Balloon Or Sinking Ship” (download) I know what you’re thinking. The above picture looks a bio picture fit for a neo-psych-folk singer-songwriter like Devendra Banhart or Joanna Newsome. But appearances are often deceiving. Seattle’s Jordan O’Jordan crafts simple songs of...
Harvey Danger: Better Than You Think
When I mention to someone that Harvey Danger is one of my favorite bands, two things invariably happen: 1) there’s a reaction along the lines of “oh yeah, I forgot about them,” and 2) there’s mention of “Flagpole Sitta.” (Unless I mention this in my & Harvey Danger’s hometown of Seattle, in which case this...
Not remotely guilty pleasures.
I don’t particularly believe in “guilty pleasures” when it comes to music. If you like something, you like it. Sure, maybe it’s a little embarassing that you listened to that T.A.T.U., Kelly Clarkson, Lovage, Head Automatica record as much as you did, but should you feel guilt? Not at all. You like what you like,...
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