We're very excited to announce that The War on Drugs will be playing at the Tractor Tavern tonight. We mentioned it earlier today in our calendar section, but it bears repeating. We love them for the grimy and wandering sound they create that has landed them comparisons to a mixture of Dylan and My Bloody Valentine, and also because, from the bottom of our hearts, they make the best road trip music in the entire world. more ›

As is the case every year, we try to take some time away from the masses to give you a taste of what we’ve particularly enjoyed at Bumbershoot mid-festival. While it’s always tough to pull ourselves away from the action, we hope it will give you a glimpse to know what you’re missing. Better yet, if you’re here with us on the ground, we hope it will cause you to reflect on what you’ve really enjoyed about your experience . With a ton of great memories so far, like last year, we’ve decided to hand out some awards to some of our favorite acts. As always, feel free to share your favorite takes in the comments. more ›

As we do every year, this Seattlest has gone through the year's schedule and made the hard choices. We've selected the can't-miss acts and have made a point to provide options if you aren't able to see your first choice. Though we've heard about some changes that are designed to make comedy and theatre lines more bearable, we still recommend setting aside enough time to stand in line and encourage you not to be too heartbroken if things don't pan out exactly how you'd planned. With Bumbershoot a mere 24 hours away, we give you our official schedule followed by five can't miss acts. Do yourself a favor and bookmark this post to reference while at the Center or print it off today, while you still have access to the office printer. (Schedule and can't miss sets after the jump) more ›

LAY LADY, LAY: see Mr. Bob Dylan himself. Ever had the urge to hear 'It Ain't Me Babe', 'Whiskey River', and 'Jack and Diane' live in one evening? Of course you have. Make tonight the night and satiate your urge with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mellencamp. more ›

Casey Neill is one of our personal favorites from that other Northwest city with the other great music scene. He and his Norway Rats play hard-drinking folk-rock ala the Dylan meets the Pogues, meets early R.E.M, and they'll be joining some great Seattleites, Kasey Anderson and the Crying Shame's Arlan and Dylan, at the Sunset this Thursday. more ›

more ›

Man, this Folk Alliance conference has been total insanity. Last night, the wait for the only four elevators going to the top floors of the hotel (where all the artists showcase) reminded us of waiting for the subway in New York on the 4th of July. Good luck. more ›

Yes, they're overblown and sure, it's tiring to watch 4+ hours of Hollywood patting itself on the back, but it's the Academy Awards, fer fuckssake. We can't not watch Sunday's big show. From the red carpet fashion to the drawn-out musical numbers to the people-who've-died montage and the Academy's tribute to gaffers, the Oscars offer something for everyone. Plus, this year it's hosted by Jon Stewart and, though his comedy is not exactly made for Hollywood insiders, we still love that wee little funnyman. (Fact: Jon Stewart is approximately Oscar-sized.) more ›

Reliable sources tell us that if you ask Mike Daisey what he does for a living, he replies that he's "a monologist." more ›

Joshua Roman, for those of you more concerned with what's going on at Neumo's than what's happening in Benaroya Hall, is the star cellist in Seattle Symphony. He's also 23, has hair like a young Bob Dylan, and seriously kicks ass. more ›

The past few months have seen Mr. “Wes C. Addle”—Eddie Vedder—looking more like Mr. Tinseltown than just another (incredibly talented) Easy Street customer. Times don’t look like they’ll be a-changin’ in 2008. more ›

A few weeks ago, singer/raconteur Jenny Owen Youngs was in town, playing at the High Dive the same time as the Fremont Bridge was being closed evenings, which led to our arriving mid-set in a state of high dudgeon. We decided to skip a half-assed review, and afterwards fired off some impertinent questions via email. We just heard back, and as you'll see, Jenny schools us a bit. Now we adore her even more. If you buy her new album, Batten the Hatches, tell her we sent you. more ›

We're not going to fault Nordstrom's for their decision to ax the piano players in some stores. Instead, we'll blame Nordstrom customers, and their preference for new-fangled pop music. more ›

So Krist Novoselic blogs for the Weekly now. Oooh. Courtney Love doesn’t need any stinking alt-paper to share her anarchic thoughts. She’s got authenticity. She’s got voice. She’s got MySpace. more ›

Unbeknownst to us, producers of CBS's glossy detective series, Cold Case have been using all sorts of pop music from Toby Keith to The Postal Service to elevate the cool factor of each episode. Their website even has a page listing the "Music of Cold Case" -- some episodes of which showcase a single recording artist (such as the 2/18/07 "Blood on the Tracks" episode featuring music from Bob Dylan). more ›

British boy wonder/musical polyglot Jamie T makes his first trip to Seattle to play the latest incarnation of John in the Morning at Night, coming up this Saturday at the Croc. On his debut full-length Panic Prevention, the young Mr. T. makes veritable sound collages, amalgams of rock, reggae, punk, soul, rap, heavy cockney accents, and assorted audio clips. That's exactly why he gets comparisons that run the gamut from a baby Bob Dylan to a "one-man Arctic Monkey" to "the bastard lovechild of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression" (eminently choice quotes care of Wikipedia). When we asked Jamie how he would characterize his sound, he cheekily referred to a bandmate's description: "My friend Ben who plays drums in the Pacemakers [his backing band] describes it best--well, it's the only way I like to describe it--like liquid shit being poured into your ear." Delightful. more ›

Jonathan Lethem understands what being an unabashed fan feels like, and we are an unabashed, dorky fan of his many books and recent essays. When we heard that he is non-exclusively sharing some of his short stories for $1 to be reused in other works of art (films, songs, etc) and he is giving away the option to his new novel, You Don't Love Me Yet, and releasing the ancillary rights after five years, we realized he was moving even further into territory very dear to our heart. We chatted with him in advance of his appearance at the Seattle Arts and Lecture series Wednesday night. more ›

This is Week 3 of Pacific Northwest Ballet's Celebrate Seattle Festival, and the busiest one. There's the cunningly named Program A, Program B, and Program C, all highlighting the work of locally born or spent-some-time-here choreographers. Plus, one of our favorite good times, 10 Tiny Dances is performing One Tiny Dance in the lobby at intermissions. more ›

This weekend Seattlest ventured out into the wilderness to spend both nights in Ballard. This rarely occurs, but we're willing to make the arduous journey if we know the music's going to be worth it. more ›

Tuesday 14th more ›

Starbucks has been hyping a movie lately that they co-produced. We haven't actually seen Akeelah and the Bee, but we're guessing it goes down as smooth as a shot of espresso tipped into a bottle of peppermint syrup and chugged. A little girl (and we're sure she's adorable and that the child actor does a fine job) faces adversity in her inner-city neighborhood and even in her own home (mom's probably an excellent actress) and yet she triumphs over all that... what do you call it... adversity and enters a spelling bee. In the bee she probably faces a bunch of rich, home schooled kids with three dads and poor social skills and she beats them! In the face of adversity! more ›

All right, look. Seattlest is just going to come out and say it. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a wee drink. Or two. And if they’re cheap, even better. Not to mention free drinks – offer us free drinks and we'll ask you to marry us. more ›

Were you at Bumbershoot on Friday? We were. Here is what we saw… more ›

Here at Seattlest, we love the New Pornographers, but one big reason we love them is our obsession with Neko Case, the female voice of the band. Her alt-country (whatever that is) solo work makes our teeth just vibrate with excitement. more ›

Fresh off the Alanis Morissette-Starbucks deal, Bob Dylan further caters to his adult contemporary demographic with a new exclusive distribution deal with our favorite mega-corporation that has the words 'Star' and 'bucks' in the title . Under this deal a never before released Dylan CD containing ten live recordings from 1962 (back when he was good) will be sold exclusively at the coffee chain. more ›

Sure, Modest Mouse is sold out. Bob Dylan is sold out (though for the life of us we can't understand why). If you are, however, looking for live music this evening, your best bet is KRS-One at Chop Suey. He was a member of the legendary Boogie Down Productions, which despite its embarrassing name was one of the most important hip-hop bands of the 80s (you know, the decade that VH1 likes to have shows about). He is a master of thoughtful and substanative rhymes about politics, race and culture. Really, he is the "anti-Nelly," and we can think of no better endorsement of a musician out there then being the "anti-Nelly." more ›