Brother Ali is here to share The Undisputed Truth in person! From the Twin Cities, this man has a powerful story and a powerful vision for what hiphop can be. He's challenging, personal, and fresh. Witness: From a compelling feature in City Pages last year: One minute, Ali's sonorous voice is a crowd-controlling force—as brash as anything since Run-DMC shouted down their own building-sized beats—and the next it's a whispery lullaby.[...]Yet as Ali's reading list......

It's not so often you get to see a play as thoroughly pleasing as Reefer Madness: The Musical. Yes, we admit: we've bemoaned musical adaptations of movies in the past, and we could find plenty to complain about with this production (occasionally uneven cast, venue leaving something to be desired) if we tried, but really, that's all nitpicking. In sum total, this is the most recommendable and enjoyable piece of theater we've seen in Seattle......

Not so long ago--even into the 1980s--it seemed certain that the Western would stand the test of time as the quintessential American cinematic form. After all, the story of cowboys, outlaws and Indians on the great rolling plains between the coasts and the travails of those courageous families crossing the country in covered wagons is as much a part of our creation story as defeating the British; Independence and Manifest Destiny go hand-in-hand, and John......

We've already mentioned the lovely and talented Jesse Sykes appearing tonight at the Tractor with bandmate Phil Wandscher. Also tonight (and also in Ballard) is San Francisco's Citay at the Sunset. Think Sabbath and Zep meets the light pop touches of Big Star. Here's some footage of them from a previous visit to Seattle: Saturday night, besides Kultur Shock at Chop Suey, there's LA's Spindrift at the Comet, who play peyote-twinged cosmic cowboy jams. As......

When we lived in LA we had no problem watching the Huskies play at Pauley Pavilion. We could just get in our car, hop on the 10, and presto, eight hours later we were in the building. The first time we went, in 2003, the Dawgs needed to win in order to have a chance at the eighth seed in the Pac 10 Tournament. The last time we went in 2005 the fans were chanting......

Saturday night we were itching to get our drink on. A few calls later, we ended up with a plan to check out The Copper Gate in Ballard. The wife, who used to live within walking distance of the place was wary. "When I used to live up there, the cops warned us about that place." The friend in charge of organizing the evening assured us that the bar has indeed changed and is......

The L Word's coming back on Sunday, 9pm on Showtime! This means weekly installments of nothing but gloriously bad decisions, lesbian sex both complicated and primal, stylishly coiffed men, women, and those who have yet to make up their minds, and -- possibly our favorite part--endless cups of coffee, gossip, and star guest performances at (all-purpose meeting point) The Planet. If you haven't been watching, get thee to the video store and rent thee......

There is something seriously wrong in this city right now. The fight between drivers and bicyclists has been brewing for years, but recently it seems to be reaching a boiling-over point. It pushes what we consider to be sane people, on both sides of the argument, into a state of rage that we honestly find a bit frightening. It needs to stop (and by stop we don't mean that we want to see a bunch......

Last night, Seattlest hit up the Red Bull Big Tune 2007 Championship at Neumos just like we said we would. The idea of the competition was to showcase U.S. hip-hop producers in the form of a beat battle, tournament-style; in between rounds we were treated to the skills of DV-One and Just Blaze, and also to a mini-concert from giants De La Soul. We were not expecting this last, and it was kinda fun. Our......

For a guy who's nearly tone deaf, Eddie Argos has done pretty well for himself in the world of rock music. When his band Art Brut broke a couple years ago, their sound--spoken-word lyrics over choppy punk rhythms and AC/DC-inspired riffs--stood out in the London indie scene, amongst Britpop redux bands like Babyshambles and Bloc Party. Their debut album, Bang, Bang, Rock & Roll was a Pitchfork and KEXP fave, and the first time......

We gotta admit to being kind of a sci-fi nerd. We own all the Star Wars movies in most of their various formats and edits, have read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels numerous times (including the atrocious Mostly Harmless), and actively seek out any books and films that depict any kind of a dystopic view of our future. So when we heard that yet another cut of Blade Runner was playing......

Mateo Messina, a Seattle native, has been composing television and film scores and penning symphonies for 10 years. His most recent score is for the upcoming, buzz-magnet comedy Juno. His latest symphony will be heard tonight at Benaroya Hall's (sold out) Symphony Legacy concert. (That's him above, at last year's show.) Messina's Symphony--a benefit for Seattle Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center--features the combined musical talents of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest......

"socialized kittycats" by pink_fish13, visiting from LA. Thanks for sharing; we hope you had a great time!......

[REDACTED COMPANY NAME] [REDACTED ADDRESS] October 19, 2007 To: Susan, Acquisitions Grp From: MvB Subject: Math & Physics Club - Initial Impressions Onstage 10:30pm. All very cute! New EP Baby I'm Yours (see discography). Jangly twee pop crossed with a dollop of Morrissey (i.e., over-literate sadsack drone w/happy-sunshine guitars). Title track here. Setlist blends together into long-but-listenable romantic up-and-let-down song. Liked "Do You Keep A Diary" -- cross-promo opp with Moleskine? Too much "ba ba-ba......

A while back, we posed some questions and then got some answers about WaMu Theater. A Seinfeldian what is the deal? kind of thing. Well, we're finally going to find out for ourselves whether the joint is a "concrete cave" with poor sound, or an innovative concert hall. Either way we're super-excited about this show. Interpol will be good for sure with their dapper, shoe-gazer selves, but we're way more excited about experimental LA band,......

Local filmmaker, occasional pub trivia host, and friend of Seattlest Dom Zook blogged on September 19 that he's moving to LA. I’ve been a stalwart Seattle fan for most of my adult life. I love this town, even though some of the people who govern it are slightly “challenged”. I love making movies in this town… but I think I’ve gone in depth about my issues here. Many have wondered why I’ve stayed so long......

Sometimes when you start going off about how *hysterically funny* someone is, people take it as a dare not to laugh. But Lauren Weedman cracks us up, and we don't care who knows it. Tonight she's reading from her new book, A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body (Tales from a Life of Cringe). It's a free reading, 7pm at Neumos, 21 and over only. If you want to prep beforehand, here's a Seattle Times......

Sketch comedy isn't rocket science. Get some funny jokes, present them in a scene, and get off the stage. Simple enough, yet most sketch comedy isn't good, it's pretty groan inducing. Relying too much on bad/tired jokes, yelling, cursing, and sketches that drag on long after the joke has been made. Sketch Fest Seattle goes out of their way to make sure you won't sit through too many of these groups. Now in its ninth......

The Detroit Cobras, from the selfsame city, mix the old and the new, combining the sounds of Motown girl groups with raw garage rock. With their tough chick singer Rachel Nagy (and female guitarist Mary Ramirez), the Cobras are kinda like a certain big-haired British trainwreck minus the trackmarks. LA Weekly said it loud and clear: "No offense to Amy Winehouse, but it was the Cobras [and] Rachel Nagy who first reinvented the 60s......

It's east meets west tomorrow night at the Crocodile. Come for the psychedelic rock of Brooklyn's The Comas, stay for the indie pop goodness of LA's Great Northern. Both bands released a new album only a few months ago. Pitchfork gave The Coma's Spells a not-so-bad 7.4, and Great Northern's Trading Twilight for Daylight is pretty much your classic California rock album, which is a good thing. Crocodile Cafe // Doors at 9pm // $8......

You may recall that Seattlest recently moved to Rainier Beach. The house we're renting came complete with a mystery: a newspaper box posted next to our mailbox. We haven't subscribed to a newspaper for over a decade but, we know what a newspaper box is for. What we don't know is anything about the newspaper advertising on our delivery receptacle: the Western Sun. Google? Nothing. Wikipedia? Nothing, unless it's an unmentioned alternate name for......

We did our best to ignore the shirtless guy's bongo tappy tappy, but when two California poseurs got him to provide a beat for them to rap to (badly), it was time for our person to move along. Just as we were walking around the north end of the fountain thing at Cal Anderson Park, we spotted our unlikely subjects: Two northwest indie-rockers sitting out in the sun? They'll burn for sure! We hung back,......

Mark Siano has been performing in Seattle for over ten years (with stops in New York, LA, and most recently the Orlando Fringe Festival!). His new show ‘The Mark Siano Soft Rock Spectacular’ plays this weekend at Re-bar, and features soft rock, dance, and comedy. You've written, performed sketches, monologues, choreographed dance; however, it appears that singing is your favorite. Why? Singing is the most satisfying. I can't control it; I just want to sing......

It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by poop. Finally D.C. contemplated taking Vermont's place as a state and marveled at the GOP lessons learned from the "Macaca Moment." Due to some sad shootings......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

Vitals: Andrew Eugene Pettitte, 34 yo LHP. Born in Baton Rouge, LA. 6-5, 225. 188-105, 3.79 career. 2-1, 2.72 in 2007. Arsenal: Low-90s fastball, his excellent cut fastball (it runs in to righties), a 12-6 curve and a change. Recent Battles: Pettitte hasn't pitched against the M's since August of '03. Only two guys from that team still on the M's are Ichiro (who went 2-4) and Willie Ballgame (0-3). Pettitte's 8-9 career against the......

Monday BOOK CRUSH: Librarian Nancy Pearl´s latest book is Book Crush, a guide to books you loved when you were growing up. How does she know? Head over to the launch party and find out. 7-8:30pm // Seattle Central Public Library Microsoft Auditorium // FREE PETER BEAGLE SPEAKS: For the Fantastic Fiction Salon, fantasy author Peter Beagle (The Last Unicorn, Tamsin, and The Innkeeper's Song) teaches "Dialogue Says it All." 7pm // Hugo House......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Neighborhood-centric blog aggregator Outside.in released its list of "America's Top 10 Bloggiest Neighborhoods". Seattle, tech-centric 2.0tropolis that it is, must've cracked the top 10 with at least one neighborhood (cough Capitol Hill cough cough), right? Nope. There's nary a Capitol Hill, West Seattle, Belltown, or Rainier Beach to be seen. What neighborhoods beat us? Clinton Hill, Brooklyn; Shaw, DC; Downtown LA; Newton, Mass.; Rogers Park/North Howard, Chicago; Pearl District, Portland; Watertown, Mass.; Harlem, NY;......