The government is shrinking, but the business world is becoming more friendly to small women. Also, the ferry systems are down a boat, and the tunnel is ready to plow on ahead. more ›

The warm spring weather must be going to the heads of the folks in the State House, those busy little worker bees passing House bills left and right, and last night their attention was focused on state parks, as they passed a bill that will add a $5 opt-out fee on driver's license renewals. We're not upset about the $5 itself, but how those tricksters are trying to get it, placing the fee there in the "hopes" that we don't notice and select to opt-out. (You know it would be written in size 8 font.) The bill is now off to the Senate, where we hope it becomes opt-in. more ›

Do you prefer one or two lumps of conservative sugar with your tea? Today, around the nation, conservatives are joining together for the Tax Day Tea Party, (TEA stands for "Taxed Enough Already") to protest the government's spending and tax motives. Naturally, Seattle (and many other Washington cities) will be holding myriad tea party rallies throughout the day. While the group of conservative Seattle bloggers, who claim to have ignited the new "revolution" nationwide, will be drawing crowds (and singing tax songs!) in Olympia. more ›

Oh, snap! It looks like the rumors were true--the Times reports that Ron Sims, current King County Executive, will indeed be heading to Washington D.C. to take a federal job as Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The position is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. We found a handy HUD organizational flowchart [pdf] showing generally where Sims' new job will fit into the hierarchy; the department's mission is "to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination," according to HUD.gov . The news means that Sims will not be running for a fourth term as King County Executive, leaving councilman Larry Phillips running for the seat as of yet unopposed. UPDATE: Sims just released his official statement on the nomination. more ›

OLD-TIMEY MONEY-SAVING TECHNIQUES: Channel your great-grandmother and learn how to use old-timey techniques to get more for your buck at the Redmond Whole Foods class on breaking down whole chickens. It's really not that hard, and home-made chicken stock tastes lip-smackingly bright and delicious. Knowing how to handle a whole bird will boost your sex appeal by 300 percent, we can attest. But don't take our word for it: go to Redmond tonight and see for yourselves. Call (425) 881-2600, ext 3, to reserve your spot. more ›

Via Political Buzz, we learn that the Initiative King's 2009 run will target property taxes in what he says is "our last, best chance to gain control of our government." From his preliminary press release, it sounds like the plan is to put a revenue cap on the state government and use any revenue above that cap to magically lower property taxes. Eyman is claiming his initiative will provide tax relief for poor people, slow the growth of government, stimulate the economy, bring sight to the blind, and restore life to all dead puppies in the year 2009. Guess we'll see about that. more ›

Mayor Greg Nickels will be voting no on Proposition 2, the parks levy that would raise something like $145 million over the next several years to improve city parks. According to the P-I, the Mayor thinks it would be nice to see property taxes decrease for once--and the parks improvement plan isn't that superlative, anyway. Unsurprisingly, the Seattle Parks Foundation disagrees, calling the parks levy a grassroots movement (haha, grass, get it? Like the grass they would maybe plant in a park with some of that $145 mil), strongly supported by "many people." more ›

Seattlest just got our stimulus check from the government—cha-ching!—and we're looking for ways to spend it that don't involve just handing it over to the oil companies. We thought we'd share some ideas: more ›

Dennis McLerran, head of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is "pissed." Governor Schwarzenegger is suing federal regulators. According to more than 500 news articles, The Environmental Protection Agency denied California’s bill to place limitations on vehicle emissions, which would have cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent in the next 10 years. McLerran claims in a Seattle Times article the EPA’s decision is purely political, not factual. more ›

While trolling through today's Floor Proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives for our other job (it's an exciting one), we noticed something that will probably get no coverage anywhere else. However, we think it is important to note when Congress singles out one faith as important. We think it's doubly important to note when the vote is taken while Congress fights with the Bush Administration over funding the government for the next year, haggles... more ›

Bellingham jazz funksters, Megatron, had a few impressive solos, but for the most part, their songs were fairly simple and somewhat repetitive. But we're not here to harsh on Megatron. They did a good job warming the cold December crowd and getting everyone excited for our lady of the evening, the illustrious Ms. Sharon Jones and her acclaimed backing band, The Dap Kings. If Megatron had the crowd warmed up, The Dap Kings got them... more ›

Running text ads on your blog never really struck us as the Get-Richest-Quickest path; we used to have Amazon ads on a book review blog and after a year or two and no checks, we decided we could better use the real estate and quit the program. A few months later we got our first and final check for...$6ish? But Seattle's Furious Seasons blog has just discovered firsthand the pain of algorithmic rejection. The email... more ›

It's safe to assume that Sharon Jones is cooler than you. The current queen of neo-funk/soul grew up in Macon, Georgia and Brooklyn, singing in church before ending up doing session work in the '70s as the anonymous vocals on dance and disco records. Without a solo contract of her own, she left the industry and took odd jobs like corrections officer at Rikers Island and Wells Fargo armored car guard. more ›

The last time multi-culti multi-genre singer-songwriter Manu Chao hit the Seattle area was at Sasquatch this summer (see above). Singing in French, Spanish, Arabic, Galician, Catalan, English, Portuguese, Italian, and Wolof, Chao fuses a variety of styles, including rock, reggae, punk and ska. So this ain't your grandma's drum circle's world music. There's no word as to when he's headed back to the Northwest, but if you're looking to experience the Spanish political punk in your own home, Nacional Records just released a limited quantity of the double vinyl version of his latest album La Radiolina today, available at Sonic Boom, Easy Street, and Everyday Music. more ›

This summer Manu Chao showed his love to Seattle (and the rest of Washington) with an explosive set at Sasquatch (above). The seriously broadly multilingual and multicultural songwriter—he's French-born and -raised of Galician-Basque origins and sings in French, Spanish, Arabic, Galician, Catalan, English, Portuguese, Italian, and Wolof, often mixing languages within the same song—Chao fuses a variety of styles, including rock, reggae, punk and ska. With his hodgepodge of genres and tongues, he crosses cultural boundaries and appeals to many listeners who don't typically dive into "world" music. No doubt that's part of the reason why he just won his first Latin Grammy. If you're looking to experience the true Spanish political punk in your own home, Nacional Records is releasing a limited quantity of the double vinyl version of his latest album La Radiolina tomorrow. It'll be available at Sonic Boom, Easy Street, and Everyday Music. more ›

Austin-based Anglophile pop quintet Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a couple well-received EPs, the band put out their self-titled debut full-length earlier this year (see above single "Firecracker"), and then proceeded to tour up a storm. Now the boys are back on the West Coast: Voxtrot headlines an extremely twee-centric all-ages show (Division Day, Tullycraft, and Math and Physics Club are also on the bill) at Neumo's next Tuesday night, and Seattlest has one pair of tix to give away. Enter to win by filling out the form below. No worries: Your info is safe with us and will not be shared with advertisers and/or the government, yadda yadda yadda. We'll be drawing one winner Monday at 10am. more ›

And we mean everybody: the New York Times, Pitchfork, the ever-fickle blogosphere. Seems that it's not hard to garner that kind of love and affection when you're a Brit-leaning pop quintet straight outta Austin. With clever arrangements, charming melodies, limber lyrics, and jangly guitars, Voxtrot just can't help but draw comparisons to bands like Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, the Wedding Present, and even the Cure. After a string of well-received EPs, their self-titled debut full-length came out in May, and since then, they've been touring nonstop (most recently as openers for Arctic Monkeys), while also performing at the Pitchfork festival, the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island, and at CMJ. more ›

Indie underground vets Les Savy Fav manage to be both experimental and catchy. It's a tough balancing act, but the NYC quartet pulls it off with aplomb, especially on latest (and greatest) album Let's Stay Friends. The art-leaning band with academically-inclined lyrics is equally well-known for its intense live shows, with frantic frontman Tim Harrington providing a great deal of the spastic energy and wildman antics, as well as the costumes and gratuitous nudity.... more ›

Art-punk quartet Les Savy Fav has scored the best reviews of their ten-year-plus career for their latest album Let's Be Friends. Truth be told, we never really paid attention to the band until this release, probably because the term "art-punk" is a mite too pretentious for our tastes. Whatever the case, the angular new album totally does it for us, from the heady statement of intent on opening track "Pots and Pans" to the... more ›

Tuning the Air continues their multi-guitar soundscape at the Capitol Hill Arts Center showroom every Monday through 12/17. So you've only got four more chances to see the guitorchestra in action, playing their fusion of the old and new, the classic and the modern, live and in the round. Intrepid reporter MvB has seen them on more than one occasion and had this to say about the CHAC residency: Tuning the Air is guitar-topia,... more ›

Tuning the Air has been performing their big guitar orchestra take on all genres, from classical to rock, pop, and ambient, for a couple years now. Think the Beatles back-to-back with Bach, and some improv thrown in for good (huh huh) measure. The show used to be in Ballard, but for the past few months, they've taken up a weekly residency at the Capitol Hill Arts Center, in the CHAC showroom on Mondays through 12/17--which means you've only got four more chances to sit in the middle of a guitar circle. Waaaay better-sounding and -smelling than a hippie-infested drum circle, believe you me. more ›

As if The Terrorists haven't already been winning by employing their agents, the American Indian, to poo-poo on our Thanksgiving parade of turkey, football, and/or explaining your deviant behaviors to your meddlesome aunts and uncles whom you only see once a year. This time, worst of all, our very own government is getting in on the act. Are you flying this holiday and wondering if you can bring aboard your grandmother's delicious jelly or your uncle's savory gravy? The answer is a resounding No! according to the Keystone Cops. Pack your mother's tangy salsa in checked baggage or have it shipped! Here's the list of un-American gels and liquids: more ›

It's been a while since we've heard from The Forms. The Brooklyn four-piece put out their debut album Icarus in 2003 to widespread acclaim, with the Steve Albini-produced work earning an 8.5 from Pitchfork for its "wiry, punchy, indie pop with refreshingly un-hackneyed time-signature games and judiciously placed dissonant chords." more ›

(This fall we are combining our love of the football and our dream of learning to cook. On Sunday morning, following a trip to a local farmer’s market/major supermarket chain, we will be preparing a meal from the city of the Seahawks opponent. Then at halftime we will throw our badly burned hands in the air and make hot dogs.) more ›

Above is a six-minute sampling of Melbourne-based noise quartet The Drones and their not-easily-classified dirty blues/swamp rock sound. Wikipedia makes a valiant effort, in describing the band as "The Birthday Party kick the shit out of Neil Young in Hendrix's garage." That's a start. more ›

Melbourne-based quartet The Drones are a little bit country, a little bit blues, and a lotta bit rock 'n' roll. And check it out, they've got one of the most eclectic list of influences we've ever seen: Van Morrison or Dylan or Suicide or Bad Brains or Nina Simone or Black Flag or the Scientists or Ornette Coleman or Thelonius Monk or (australian)X or Townes Van Zandt or John Lee Hooker or Karen Dalton... more ›

Ben Harper released his eighth studio album, Lifeline earlier this year to rave reviews. In his first ever seated theatre tour, Ben, along with his Innocent Criminals, will perform songs from the new album, as well as dig deep into the back catalog. He'll be in Seattle at the Paramount next Wednesday and Thursday. Seattlest has a pair of tickets to give away to Wednesday's all-ages show. Enter to win by filling out the... more ›

Earlier this fall, Laura Dern's baby-daddy Ben Harper released his eighth album, Lifeline, the product of a week-long marathon recording session in Paris. The record's been heralded as Harper's best work in years, due to its casual simplicity and laid-back vintage sound, drawing comparisons to Bill Withers, Otis Redding, and Van Morrison. That's almost enough to get us to ignore the fact that he discovered surfer/"musician" Jack Johnson. In his first ever seated theatre... more ›

is the type of play that gets a regular theatre-goer excited: A clever original script, expertly produced by a small theatre company, with a strong cast of local actors. This is what fringe theatre was supposed to be but rarely managed. more ›

We really don't feel it's the day after an election until we overhear people talking about how they forgot to vote, didn't know there was an election, and how they'll definitely vote next time. more ›