READING: This weekend, 2008 Seattle Reads author Dinaw Mengestu is making the rounds to the city's libraries to read from The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. This novel about immigrant life in D.C. has gotten so much love from so many corners that we're kind of ashamed we haven't read it already. If you don't want to purchase this book, sign up now on the Holds list at the library: we're currently Hold #424.......

Scottish band Sons and Daughters maintains a fierce sound that fluctuates between rock and punk, paired with catchy choruses. If you still need a sonic picture, they’ve opened for Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand and The Decemberists. Sons and Daughters are playing Neumo’s tomorrow night, a re-scheduled show, due to "logistical problems," from earlier this April. Considering that their latest album tells stories of depression and loss, we can only imagine what these logistical problems may......

We clued you in to this last October, but now it's official: Sub Pop Records is celebrating its 20-year existence with a three-day comedy and music festival July 11-13. And the (initial) lineup, though weighted more heavily in the hipster-ish now, features a few super acts from the label's big then. Per yesterday's press release: The SP20 activities will commence with a comedy show on July 11 at The Moore Theatre. Among the performing......

Seattlest has been uncharacteristically busy this week, so we were looking forward to a couple hours of mind-buzzingly beautiful harmonies at the Sunset. Little did we know that Johanna Kunin would be bringing an entire consortium of bandmates with her, and that they would be performing an entirely new repertoire of music from what we heard last time. Mind-buzzingly beautiful? Yes! But it was also crazier and louder than would fit comfortably in our......

Kurt Cobain shaped the country's rock music landscape while wearing Converse sneaks. He blithely, angrily altered Seattle's future, ripped a hole for the city on the map of pop culture, all while wearing Converse. He went nuts on stage. He whispered and screamed. He played the shit out of guitars. He shot up and nodded off in the shoes. Kurt killed himself while wearing Converse. The shoes were prominent in the image that famously......

MUSIC: Saul Williams--actor, poet, musician--comes to Neumos with his album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. In our interview, he said: "I characterize Niggy Tardust as an angel of mercy. You know, I think that in the face of America and our changing times there’s a lot to be said, a lot that could be said, and a lot of ways that it could be said. And if, you know, your revolutionary......

Last month, four-fifths of Pearl Jam touted their own Obama-song, unofficially signaling the band's endorsement of the (delegate) leading Democrat. Unofficially, because Eddie Vedder wasn't involved. Then Ralph Nader—Eddie's favorite former candidate—joined the presidential race. Would the frontman split from his bandmates or maintain political solidarity? Now we know. Eddie likes Barack Obama. Evidence: The Body of War soundtrack-contributing artist is one of 24 "celebrity judges" (our quotes) to judge the entries of MoveOn.org's......

Girls Rock! is a documentary about a week-long summer camp in Portland where girls between the ages of 8 and 18 go to learn how to make music, form bands, and perform in front of a live audience at a showcase. Tonight it opens at SIFF Cinema. We got to watch the movie earlier this month and loved it. The stories of the girls the filmmakers followed were funny, touching, entertaining and illuminating. The movie,......

Try as they might Tuesday, Great Northern couldn't bring much levity to a heavy night at the Showbox. Their fuzzy, bordering-on-pop sound was like the prologue of a bad dream—when you know something bad's coming, but for the moment, things are truly swell. In this case, badness (in the coolest sense of the word) was the looming presence of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli: The Gutter Twins. While the place was still pretty well-lit, Rachel......

Musicians who remain active in the recording industry for over 20 years usually become internationally famous and aim to save the world, or quietly cultivate a devout fan base by emancipating humanity one pair of ears at a time. Mark Pickerel—drummer, vocalist, and Ellensburg native—has followed the latter career path. While in high school, Pickerel joined what would become one of the most notable—and yet most overlooked—bands of the grunge era. Seven years later,......

On Saturday night, we took one of our oldest and best friends to her very first hiphop show over at the Sunset in Ballard. She's typically more of a KT Tunstall/Garden State soundtrack kind of girl, and we had to bribe her with $2 mojitos at La Isla's late Happy Hour to get her to even leave the house after 9pm. Her feedback after three hours of Elefaders (trippy), N/NW (loud) and dj100proof's mixes?......

Sometimes we'd rather experience a new (or new-ish) band's sound in person, rather than be tipped off by their recorded work. So we haven't listened to Great Northern's streaming songs, played their (first) 2007 album, or let fly The Gutter Twins' online teaser. (We didn't even listen to that live Twins clip; sorry if the sound sucks.) Tomorrow night, when the former opens for the latter, we expect to experience true aural pleasure. Great......

Hillary Clinton's conviction that our next president must be a "fighter" now has literal representation: Fighter of Foo Dave Grohl has announced his candidacy as an Independent. HARP magazine's new issue showcases the "worldwide exclusive" scoop; the online version of the piece highlights the former Nirvana drummer's "politics" and electability likability. A few snipped-up snippets: On why he’s the right candidate for the job: “Every night when I’m on tour, I bring my message......

If you weren't lucky enough to nab a pair of tickets to an April Eddie Vedder show via Pearl Jam's fan club presale or Ticketmaster's sale last Friday, you're only screwed if you aren't extremely wealthy—and charitable. Though his six-city, expanded-to-10-date tour sold out within minutes, there are a few sweet seats reserved for big-time, big-money fans who also wouldn't mind seeing the West Memphis Three go free. Per the press release: For all......

We think of Kurt Cobain’s short, violently-ended life like Clarence Worley does The King’s: "In Jailhouse Rock he was everything rockabilly's about. I mean, he is rockabilly. Mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie he couldn't give a fuck about nothing except rockin' and rollin', living fast, dying young and leaving a good-looking corpse." In most respects, Kurt lived—and died—just how he wanted. But it would be nice to still have him around. He’d......

"Where have all the crocodiles gone?" by jaycoxfilm We can't help but gaze at the now-empty belly of the dead rock-hosting beast. Thanks for dropping it in the Seattlest Flickr pool—so we can feel depressed nostalgic all over again.......

We first saw Toshi Reagon at the House of Blues in New Orleans, where she was opening for Ani DiFranco. Not the greatest venue for acoustic music -- the NOLA HoB has an echo problem. Toshi sat on a stool center stage and just oozed music, though, and we were totally sold. Something about that woman you just gotta see and hear. She's the daughter of Bernice Johnson Reagon--the woman responsible for Sweet Honey in......

What with his recent Into the Wild success, it's not a huge surprise that Eddie Vedder's embarking on his first solo tour—announced today—up and down the West coast. What is surprising is that he's not playing Seattle. Where Eddie is playing: Apr-02 The Centre Vancouver, BC Apr-05 SC Civic Aud. Santa Cruz, CA Apr-07 Zellerbach Th. Berkeley, CA Apr-10 Arlington Th. Santa Barb, CA Apr-12 Wiltern Th. Los Angeles, CA Apr-13 Wiltern Th. Los......

Wild speculation surrounding the possibility of Radiohead playing somewhere in Washington sometime in the next year has got us pissing ourselves with excitement. The P-I A P-I reader blog called Ear Candy** thinks they might headline the Sasquatch Festival at the end of May with REM and The Cure but our sources are suggesting the band will embark on a West Coast run after their European summer tour ends. As of right now, the......

We know what some of you are thinking: "Rock Bottom? Really? Isn't that a corporate chain that makes all the same typical beers at their locations?" Well, yeah, that's pretty much them. But, each location has its own brewer that gets to experiment and brew their own seasonals and special release beers. In other words, it's in these beers that the brewer really gets to shine. Think of it as that special project you......

Well, not exactly. Eddie Vedder wasn't involved. And it's a "new rendition of an old-school tune"—a cover of the 1955 ditty "Rock Around the Clock." The "new rendition" doesn't amount to much more than a single-word swap; "Clock," in both title and refrain, has been replaced by "Barack." Seriously. Listen. Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam's guitarist and "Barack" vocalist, says this about the tribute: This is a track I've been thinking about for a while.......

So the Sonics won last night. Kevin Durant scored a bunch of points and stuff. The biggest highlight, though, came from the seats, when Pearl Jam bassist—and die hard Sonics fan—Jeff Ament donned a headset for a chat with announcer Kevin Calabro. Jeff commented on Durant's talent, voiced opposition to the Sonics' possible departure, and said our recent snow (quality) was stellar. Regarding his band, Jeff told Calabro, "We're gonna get together here in......

Before there was Soundgarden or Mudhoney or Alice in Chains, there was Skin Yard and Gruntruck, two late-80s-spawned bands that foretold and influenced Seattle's grunge phenomenon. Ben McMillan, who died here yesterday of complications stemming from diabetes, fronted both bands. He was 46. Seattlest wasn't fortunate enough to live here when McMillan's bands existed, but thanks to the magic of the internets, we can pretend, if only for a few minutes, that we were. This......

The only thing more sad and lame than a cover band is a tribute band. (Usually.) Well, even worse is a tribute band that plays the music of an another band that still exists. No, wait—a tribute band that plays songs from a one-off band’s one-off album … whose members live on. That’s truly scraping the musical barrel-bottom. Okay, okay. Worser yet is a national tour of three tribute bands that run this lamentable......

Has it really been over four years since you've taken a stage in Seattle, Mark? We could be wrong, but your late 2003 Showbox show—a great one, by the way—is the last we heard about. (QOTSA appearances don't count.) Assuming we're right, that's just silly. It's not like you haven't had albums to support. Your 2006 pairing with Isobel Campbell was a gorgeous, syrup-and-sour-mash treat—but did you two share any live love outside of Europe?......

Seattlest attended the late-night Graffiti Rock beat battle at The Sunset on Saturday night, casually organized by P.U.S.H., primarily so we could remind ourselves what Ballard looks like. Ballard's doing fine, in case you haven't been there recently either, and djblesOne of Massive Monkees took home the battle's imaginary trophy somewhere around 2am; second place went to Sportn' Life DJ Nphared (interviewed by Seattlest here). Both of the finalists brought beautifully composed, rock-hard, trampoline-tight......

With everyone still nursing their post-NYE hangover, there's not much going on this weekend in terms of live music. In fact, your best venue bet for the foreseeable future is Chop Suey. Head there tonight to help Unscrew the Croc Employees with a all-local lineup including Coconut Coolouts, The Intelligence, The Girls, and Das Llamas. Tonight there's also Carrie Akre's last show before she takes a loooooong (and well-deserved) break. It's at the Triple Door.......

Vedder’s first solo music video—for his critically lauded and Grammy-nominated Into the Wild song “Guaranteed”—airs on VH1 (and VH1.com) on Monday. Perfect timing, then, for the ever-more-famous guy to bump into his 1992 self while browsing Easy Street’s vinyl bins. Serendipity! 1992 Eddie (strokes soul patch; sings to himself): I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution… take a bow for the new revolution… 2008 Eddie (spots 1992 Eddie): Hey, are you ... ? Young......

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 better 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,......

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. The obvious choice for Baltimore would have been crab cakes. They are plucked fresh from......