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This Sunday, they return to Seattle for the fourth time (they most recently played Bumbershoot), with the Hold Steady at the HUB Ballroom at the UW. Art Brut's newest effort singles like "Modern Art" and "Bad Weekend," but it still delivers some memorable songs like "Direct Hit" and "Nag, Nag, Nag, Nag." more ›

We finally made the (arduous!) four-block trek down to the Frye to check out "Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands." The exhibit highlights the last 20 years of Cole's work, heavy on the mixed media sculptures he's famous for. Cole takes ratty, disposable, everyday domestic objects and transforms them into pristine pieces that mimic symbols from South Asian and African art: scorched ironing boards become Domestic Shields, detached gas pump nozzles arc up from the floor like vipers ready to strike, and hundreds of thrift store high-heeled shoes transform into masks and dragons and mandalas. Cole's understanding of the forms and symbols at work in African and South Asian art shines through everything; the shapes and styles he evokes are spot on, no matter the medium. We had no idea irons could be so sexy. more ›

Back in 2003, when Art Brut formed, the British music scene was dominated by power pop outfits like The Libertines, who were better as celebrities than musicians. Today, we have similarly over-hyped bands like The Arctic Monkeys and The Subways, who release albums that NME fawns over for six months until the next big thing comes along. more ›