Does it really surprise you that the Head and the Heart made it onto Morgen's countdown? Yea, we didn't think so. Day 13 in this series is a photo for each member of the group since our photographer had a really hard time choosing just one photo for the local sweethearts.
Countdown in Photos #13: Head and the Heart
Gallery: Head and the Heart and Death Cab for Cutie
In one short year, the Head and the Heart has gone from unknown to national sweethearts. Opening for another group of locals who made it big, Seattle was well-represented Saturday at Key Arena.
Sasquatch Gallery: Iron and Wine, Death Cab and More Round Out Saturday
Saturday at Sasquatch! was filled with music, fun, food and most importantly: sunshine. I may have left my suntan lotion at the hotel, but it was still completely worth it to get some fresh American sunshine.
Seattle’s Top Ten Local Albums of the Week
Each week the Seattle Office of Film + Music compiles its rankings of the top 10 Pacific Northwest albums of the week. The numbers are based on sales figures at Sonic Boom and Easy Street locations throughout Seattle. Here are the results for the week of June 1-7:
It's Official, Sasquatch Has a Lineup. Huzzah!
The lineup for Sasquatch 2011 is out, announced last night at a special performance at the Showbox. The big names include The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and, of course, the Foo Fighters.
Ben Gibbard Gives Back to the Kids Tonight
photo by Autumn Wilde
Speaking of Teen Feed, tonight they'll be the beneficiary of an amazing musical performance. While highly anticipated by Death Cab for Cutie, solo Ben Gibbard, and Postal Service fans alike, the solo Gibbard show at the Crocodile wasn't publicized much. Really, they didn't need it since it was sold out long ago to many music lovers' chagrin (or delight depending on if you were lucky enough to snag a ticket). Gibbard has a bit of a personal stake in the project as well since his sister is the Executive Director. You can learn more about Teen Feed and the possibility of future shows like this one in the 3 imaginary girls interview with Megan Gibbard. I think despite his sister's involvement Ben, along with a majority of Seattle-based musicians, are willing and ready to help out locally. It's exciting to know that so many people with influence are so dedicated to our fair city and its inhabitants. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside to be Seattlites.
Can't Miss It: Weekend Edition July 17-19
MARYMOOR IT UP: Crazy hot concerts at Marymoor this weekend! Tonight, hyper-literate prog-indie Portland kids the Decemberists with Andrew Bird and Blind Pilot; Saturday and Sunday, Death Cab with Ra Ra Riot and the New Pornographers.
6 p.m. doors all days // Concerts at Marymoor // 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Parkway // tix $35
Second Death Cab at Marymoor Show Added
Tickets to Death Cab at Marymoor Park on July 18th just went on sale last weekend, and already a second show has been added the following night due to overwhelming demand. Tickets ($35, not including fees) for the Sunday, July 19th show are on sale now via Ticketmaster and Live Nation. No word as to whether the openers for Sunday are the same as Saturday--Ra Ra Riot and the New Pornographers--as of right now, there's only "special guests" affiliated with the Sunday show.
New Death Cab at Stereogum
Ye Olde Stereogum is spending this whole week doing a track-a-day premiere of Death Cab's new Narrow Stairs companion The Open Door EP. Monday was Track 1 from the EP "Little Bribes"; yesterday was "A Diamond and a Tether"; and today they have posted "My Mirror Speaks." Now all you've got to look forward to--besides Ben Gibbard possessing your heart and/or following you into the dark--is "I Was Once a Loyal Lover" and a demo of "Talking Bird." The Open Door is available digitally next Tuesday, with a CD release next month.
The Shins to Wince Two Nights Away at the Showbox
Just announced: The Shins are set to play two shows at the Showbox on Monday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. (all ages) and Tuesday, May 5 at 9:00 p.m. (21+) . Tickets are $34.99 (yowza), not including those delightful Ticketmaster fees. Tix go on sale this Friday, March 27 at 10 a.m. We'd advise you to save a few bucks by buying your tickets directly from the Showbox box office. Also on sale via Ticketmaster/Live Nation this Friday/Saturday: Death Cab/New Pornographers/Ra Ra Riot at Marymoor Park July 18, Ben Folds at the Paramount May 14, and Phish at the Gorge for two nights (*shudder*) August 7 and 8.
Death Cab For Cutie to Release New EP
Come March 31st, Death Cab fans will have some new music to possess their sensitive little hearts. The Open Door will feature four previously unreleased songs recorded during the Narrow Stairs sessions and a demo version of "Talking Bird," with Gibbard showing off his ukulele skillz. The new EP will be available online March 31st, on tour April 7th, and in stores April 14th. The band has also announced their Spring tour schedule. Thus far, the closest to Seattle they'll be is April 22nd at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham (with Ra Ra Riot), and July 18th at Marymoor Park in Redmond (with Ra Ra Riot and The New Pornographers).
In Other Political Protest News, Death Cab Hates Auto-Tune
While clearly not as important as foie gras, there's another issue weighing on our hearts and minds. Death Cab for Cutie have valiantly taken up a meaningful cause: auto-tune. The band has faux-organized a pseudo-political campaign against "auto-tune abuse in music." At last night's Grammys, DCFC showed up wearing baby blue ribbons pinned to their jackets, which they claimed was to raise awareness for their "campaign."
Oh Noes, Zooey Goes Postal!
She's already a member of She and Him, but now Zooey Deschanel is a part of She and Him? Is he funny or something?
Death Cab: About To Go Off The Rails
Mog, a pretty cool music site (tagline: "Because The Web Mostly Sucks"), posted a cute video interview with guitar player/producer Chris Walla and drummer Jason McGerr of Death Cab For Cutie. They talk about lots of things, including music (shocking), and there are plenty of dramatic shots of the guys' fidgeting hands. It's just...cute. They're still our Seattle boys at heart!
Ben Gibbard's Next Moves
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie tells SPIN.com that the next album will be a lot "softer" than Narrow Stairs, which he says was a dark and exhausting album to create. In return, SPIN calls him a 'broken-hearted bard,' which sounds like an exhausting way to live--even before taking on an ambitiously epic musical project. Maybe it's time to make another electronic indie pop record. (Note to Gibbard: Please reconsider your hesitancy and give the people what they want!)
Can't Miss It: Tuesday
BEST LOCAL SHOW EVER: Okay, maybe that's too strong a statement. There are people who would argue otherwise, but Seattlest is pretty thrilled with all the bands on the bill tonight at the Tractor. It's a big ol' acousti-pop night in Ballard with Grand Hallway, Kate Tucker, Odessa Chen, and Husbands Love Your Wives. Yeah, we know. Hot action. Maybe it's not as killer as a Pearl Jam-Dave Matthews-Death Cab-Heart show would be, but it's definitely the best in local music tonight.
Death Cab for Cutie on Sound Opinions
If you haven't listened to Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions before, it's a show hosted by two well-respected music critics/dorks (Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot). Each week they have intelligent, candid discussions on popular music. Often, they have guests and these guests perform songs and get chatty with Jim and Greg.
John Roderick, Funny MFer
Not that we need to feed his ego or anything, but John Roderick (of The Long Winters) is a funny dude.
Watching Death Cab For Cutie
It's Thursday night, and we're getting pretty psyched up for Sasquatch. We've spent the better part of our day online, listening to but a small sample of the bands we'll see this weekend. And tonight, we finally got around to watching this "Open Windows" Death Cab documentary video for Current.
Listen to Death Cab's New Single, "I Will Possess Your Heart"
That is, if you've got an extra eight and a half minutes in your pocket.
Heads Up: Sasquatch Lineup By Day
Right on the heels of the announcement that the Mars Volta was added to the Sasquatch lineup, and right before tickets go on sale this Saturday, the three-day music festival has seen fit to delineate who will be playing on which day:
Heads Up: Sasquatch Lineup Announced
After months of wild speculation, the official 2008 Sasquatch lineup has finally been announced:
Chris Walla's Field Manual, Shackletons' Debut Out Today
Chris Walla is best known for being the guitarist in Death Cab for Cutie. Or he's known as a producer for Tegan & Sara and the Decemberists. Or maybe you heard about the little incident he had with Homeland Security confiscating his computer last fall. Now Walla's got another reason for notability: his first solo album, Field Manual, out today on Barsuk Records. Singer-songwriter stuff ain't exactly our bag, but Walla's smooth delivery ensures that even the more overtly political songs go down easy. Above is the video for first single "Sing Again," which was filmed in Portland and features about 9,000 cameos from Walla's friends/other Northwest artists. Betcha can't name 'em all!
New Death Cab For Cutie Album
If you haven't yet heard through the grapevine, Death Cab will release their 8th studio album in May of this year.
Now is the Time That We Rock!!!
We've been hitting shows on the Seattle music scene for about four years now, and if there's one thing we can say with certainty, it's that Seattle doesn't need more musicians, it needs ones. Such may be the consolation of learning that next week, the Seattle chapter of Paul Green's School of Rock opens. If Green's now famous "school" can help create a new generation of musicians whose influences go deeper than Green Day, that alone will be an achievement.
There Will Be People Talking and Singing
Bumbershoot 2005 hosted the inaugural People Talking and Singing show, where 2,800 festival attendees packed McCaw Hall to see Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), Mike Doughty, Sarah Vowell, and Death Cab for Cutie, all the while raising $18K for 826 Seattle, the youth writing center in Greenwood. Last year's event, also at Bumbershoot, was hosted by Daily Show Resident Expert™ John Hodgman and singer Jonathan Coulton. Eggers, Handler, Gibbard, and Vowell were back for more, along with Decemberist Colin Meloy, Smoosh, and Stephin Merritt. All together, the benefit raised another $10K.
Holy Crap There's an Actual Real Celebrity in Town
We spotted Jim from The Office--real name: John Krasinski--having drinks at the Crocodile Friday night with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (who Seattlest Jack chatted with last week).
All The News
--Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie is reported to be set for his big screen debut in the adaptation of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Gibbard himself is not a hideous man, though.

