Seattlest Pix 09Nov24
Tuesdays are Muppet Days
Seattlest Pix 09Nov23
Can't Miss It: Monday
Thanksgiving Pairing Suggestion: Sides with a Pint
The greasy food is still awesome but the attitude and shitty new jukebox make the place a lot less lovable. Photo courtesy of ChrisB from the Seattlest Flickr Pool.
There aren’t many places in Seattle where you can eat massive turkey dinners while rocking out to Alice in Chains and not have to worry about some American Idol shit coming on next and wrecking the scene.
That all changed recently when management decided to kill the Mecca’s integrity by pulling the cord on one of the city’s best jukeboxes and installing one of those fancy download-anything machines. With the Mecca joining the digital jukebox revolution, gone are the days of mandatory dark metal that made the vibe so complete and repelled front runners with stunning efficiency.
Instead of the dive steering the vibe, the always crucial music pulse control now falls into the hands of the drunkest bidder. And many times that person sucks. This revelation blindsided us recently when we nestled next to some grandpa reading at the bar. Suddenly and without apology, Sean Paul’s Monotone Shitgae Rap Rasta Top 40 filled the air.
"What the fuck is going on?" we blurted in panic.
We looked down the bar--sure enough, some sexy, new, neon machine glittered back our way.
"That son of a bitch has nerve showing his trendy face here," we muttered internally.
Like a whore in a suicide bomber's afterlife sex camp, something horrible had infiltrated the wrong venue.
We tolerated the Mecca’s obnoxious, too-cool-for-school bartender attitude all through the winter snowstorms knowing there wasn’t anywhere else on Lower Queen Anne we could comfortably post without going insane from Top 40. No more. The last time we were there, we were getting the same old Cool Guy Front but we had to chase it with a blaring chorus of Sean Paul, tipping the joint's scale into an unreasonable balance of bad staffing and bad music, which is one too many flaws for our picky and controlling taste.
Maybe this explained why Travolta’s Grease stunt double working behind the bar seemed so bitter. Either way, the message was clear: like Amway in the Vatican, the Mecca had been corrupted and this corner of vintage Seattle was being sacrificed for progress. Too bad.
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Fuck that shit. Now I'll be sure only to come for their $4 pitchers of MHL.
"That all changed recently when management decided to kill the Mecca’s integrity by pulling the cord on one of the city’s best jukeboxes and installing one of those fancy download-anything machines."
-The old jukebox has been gone for about a year and a half. I miss the old one too, but you can only listen the same Tool and Rage Against the Machine cds on loop for so long.
"Instead of the dive steering the vibe, the always crucial music pulse control now falls into the hands of the drunkest bidder. And many times that person sucks."
-This is similar to old and new jukeboxes alike! If you don't put your own money in, you rely on the tastes of others. Why shouldn't you? They paid for it. Put in some money my friend and you can listen to 'Rooster' until last call!
"This revelation blindsided us recently when we nestled next to some grandpa reading at the bar."
-This was not a needed detail. It makes you come off as ignorant and kind of a jerk. What exactly does sitting next to someone reading at the bar have to do with the jukebox?
"We tolerated the Mecca’s obnoxious, too-cool-for-school bartender attitude all through the winter snowstorms knowing there wasn’t anywhere else on Lower Queen Anne we could comfortably post without going insane from Top 40. No more."
-No you didn't. As said before this jukebox has been here for awhile, so that winter... same jukebox. Now I question if you have ever actually been to this location.
"Maybe this explained why Travolta’s Grease stunt double working behind the bar seemed so bitter."
-Did you express your dissatisfaction to the bartender? If not then you rank among the many passive aggressive people that inhabit our fair city and I would suggest next time you express your distaste. No reason to resort to name calling on the internet.
In conclusion I suggest next time you frequent this location you pull a dollar out of your pocket and put your own money in the music maker. Problem solved. You can eat turkey and listen to whatever grunge music you wish!
A year and a half? At the VERY least. When Jonesy showed me this charming little shit missile of non-journalism, he figured it was closer to three years since the Mecca's powers-that-be got tired of paying to repair the old jukebox and upgraded to something that would provide the bar with free wi-fi and break down less often.
I couldn't agree with FishGlue more about the author of this limp exercise in whiny, pointless mudslinging being yet another member of Seattle's tiresome brigade of passive-aggressive sissies. The first thing I do when I'm about to spend ANY amount of time in a bar with a jukebox is pull a five or two out of my pocket and make sure everyone there is subjected to what I consider to be the appropriate music for the environment. That same evil digital jukebox responsible for the availability of Sean Paul provided a steady soundtrack of Misfits, Dead Boys, Al Green and (horror!) a Built To Spill track I felt like hearing during my latest visit. Put up or shut up, pussy... end of story.
As far as the blatant character assassination directed towards my favorite obnoxious Travolta stand-in, your poorly written little diatribe gave us all a good laugh, so thank you for that. It's always funny when some douchebag poseur tries to pass himself off as an outraged regular - an offended member of the Seattle old school.
In fact, you muttered it internally better than I feel like putting it myself... "That son of a bitch has nerve showing his trendy face here." The Mecca did fine without your patronage before the snowstorm drove you in there, and it'll do just fine without you in the future. If you ever DO return, please look for me at the bar (I'll probably be reading, like the grandpa I am) and explain to me what the hell you think "mandatory dark metal" is. Given how clueless you are about the Mecca, hearing your take on rock sub-genres you know nothing about (and bands like Bethlehem and Dimmu Borgir, neither of whom you'll typically hear as part of the ambience of a Seattle bar) should be entertaining.
Love and kisses,
Matt Brown
Matt,
Telling it like it is isn't character assassination or mudslinging. If your service sucks take note, don't get all kneejerk you thin-skinned baby.
Also, glad you mentioned POSEURS- you tell me who the poseur is; the guy who fronts a corny image straight out of central casting as an extension of his identity or the guy who doesn't put on a costume to drink a beer?
You tell me tough guy.
John,
Your scattershot attack on the Mecca wasn't an indictment of poor service. Perhaps you would have an actual story to present if you could produce a humorous account of actual mistreatment.
Since I wasn't attacked, there's nothing thin-skinned about my response. I find unintentional laughs peppered throughout your brief "article". My friends are capable of defending themselves if they find it necessary. My points are that A) you're not a Mecca regular and B) your bandwagonesque attempt at bemoaning the loss of a "corner of vintage Seattle" is whiny and misinformed. The costume you've worn as the voice of this poor piece of writing looks like it came from a Hot Topic in an Eastside shopping mall.
So now you've been told, "tough guy".
Matt,
Your buddy urban cowboy does offer bad service with bad attitude. So now you know.
But you are right, I'm not a regular, just a born and raised local whose been in and out of the Mecca randomly for the better part of the last decade. The new juke box opens the pandoras box of everyhthing music as opposed to a limited but solid collection. I may play Winger next time I'm in there just to prove my point.
Also, we both know hearing Sean Paul in there is a disgrace. Call me misiniformed, but everytime some top 40 comes on in there know I'm right.
Hot Topic John
Enough sniping, boys. Take it to your LiveJournals.