Rudolph Valentino. Ray Charles. Jerry Lee Lewis dancing on pianos, for God's sake! Dance in Seattle had anything but a boring 20th century. We were prowling around the internet this morning and discovered that today is the anniversary of the date the city banned a really bizarre but popular 1920s and '30s fad called "dance marathons" within its city limits. That was enough to pique our interest, and we've spent the day researching what was happening in the world of dance during the 20th century. Here are some of the highlights, thanks in large part to our favorite local history website: HistoryLink.org. more ›

Wait--choke back that vomit. We're making shit up. Speculating doom, if you will. Only half of that title is true. more ›

We have a message for 15-year-old us: "You are a fuckface." more ›

MUSIC: A Northwest Tribute to Ray Charles. No, Jamie Foxx will not be in attendance. more ›

Tuesday, January 9 more ›

As we were finishing our morning swim commute yesterday, KBCS played a fantastically incongruous tune: Oh What a Beautiful Morning. And it was Oh What an Awesome Rendition by Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra. more ›

Tuesday 17th more ›

This week, we're tempted by David "Fathead" Newman's Tuesday and Wednesday gigs -- a tenor saxman who used to play with the Ray Charles Band, Newman is said to belong in the company of Coltrane and Getz. But Saturday night we were at the Triple Door for the Rocco DeLuca/Sierra Swan bill.
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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 ›

Seattle has been the home to many a great jazz artist like Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, but you don’t hear us getting excited about new local jazz that often. Especially ones who do improv. Improv can often sink an audience into a quicksand of repetition and leave it gasping for air. It’s just a letter away from "Improve" afterall, so one tends to be skeptical. more ›

Kanye West, we hear, is one hot rapper hiphop artist. And he samples Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" on his single "Gold Digger." Thus, in an attempt to appeal to the kids, we will sample the late great Ray on this post. more ›