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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. more ›

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Seattlest wanders. more ›

Please, oh please bring the Shaolin: Temple of Zen exhibition to Seattle. From the Aperture Foundation:

For the first time in history, the notoriously guarded warrior monks of the fifteen-hundred-year-old Shaolin Temple—a Chinese Buddhist sect dedicated to preserving a form of kung fu known as the "vehicle of Zen"—have allowed their secretive society to be documented. With the blessing of the main abbot, Justin Guariglia earned the trust and full collaboration of the Shaolin monks to create an astonishing, empathic record of the Shaolin art forms and the individuals who consider themselves the keepers of these traditions.

We told you we didn’t know much about Earl Greyhound, and after Wednesday night’s Paramount show, we’re still ignorant. (Will call tickets trickle in after the opening band takes the stage? Really?) When we finally made it in, Greyhound was pounding through their last song. We noted that singer/guitarist Matt Whyte had worked himself up quite a sweat. We got this photo. They exited stage right. more ›

Earl Greyhound was scheduled to play the Croc way the hell back in January, but before they could bring their Zeppelin-heavy rock to town, they wrecked their van and cancelled the show. Boo. But now we have evidence to support our folks’ oft-spoken belief that (shitty) things happen for a reason: Greyhound is playing the Paramount Wednesday night—and they’re opening for Chris Cornell. more ›

Alice in Chains’ former lead singer would be blowing out candles today had he not said yes, yes, yes to drugs. The Chains gang would likely still be making both crunchy (Dirt) and beautiful (Sap) music. Jerry Cantrell, who co-founded the band with Layne, probably would have written some lighter lyrics and cut his hair. Seattlest would have had the pleasure of seeing Alice in Chains—or the supergroup Mad Season—live. more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles. more ›

Oh, Chris. How we've dug your voice, how we've revered your place in Seattle music history. We loved Euphoria Morning. We boarded the Audioslave bandwagon for you. Really, you had us at Screaming Life. more ›

This week the weather's cooperating a bit more. Nothing like escaping rainy days with a film festival (except if you get stuck in a downpour while waiting in line, so pack that umbrella). Once inside you'll be golden thanks to your perusal of Seattlest picks. Trust us. Golden! more ›

This weekend the National Weather service is calling for mid-70s to 80 degrees. You may want to recover from heatstroke by rehydrating in an air-conditioned theater with other bepinkenned Seattleites, and their melanin-endowed friends savoring their little moment of schadenfreude. (Here's the Seattle Times cheat sheet on the various venues.) more ›

Chris Cornell formed Temple of the Dog along with Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready to perform a couple of tribute songs for Chris's roommate Andrew Wood who had ODed in 1990. A couple of those guys also played in Mother Love Bone with Wood, who was previously known as Landrew the Love Child. This is a letter from Wood explaining that his presence in the band Mother Love Bone doesn't mean that an earlier project, Malfunkshun, was over. more ›

Like a chorus of howls at the moon, there’s a rumor going around that one-time absolutely incredible super-band Temple of the Dog will reunite for a Seattle show. Next month. People are already begging for tickets on Craigslist. more ›

Seventeen years ago yesterday, flamboyant Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood died of a heroin-overdose-induced brain hemorrhage. He’d be 41 this year, near the same age as the guys who, in ’91, got together as Temple of the Dog to commemorate his short life. (Ironically, those guys became some of rock’s biggest acts.) Had Andy kicked the habit, Seattle’s then-music-future might have been dramatically different. His glam personality and look likely would have influenced the grunge scene and in turn, the nation. more ›

SEATTLE ARTS & LECTURES: Art Spiegelman's 1992 Holocaust tale Maus (based on a true story) won the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a comic book. Its success paved the way for the graphic novels thriving today and led to Spiegelman's ten years on the staff of the New Yorker. In the Shadow of No Towers (2004) gathers his recent broadsheets of disenchantment with the war on terror. more ›

>>>UW iSchool at Kane Hall, 7:00-9:00pm. "Voices in an Empty Room: Five Apologies for the Narrative": Children's author Richard Peck discusses his writing and teaching careers, and his experiences with the kids today. He'll read from On The Wings Of Heroes, his new novel about a World War II childhood. Free with RSVP. Kane Hall, Rm. 220. more ›

>>>Benaroya Hall, 7:30pm. Seattle Arts and Lectures brings prolific big shot and errant van survivor Stephen King by. Maybe you’ve heard of him? For the Constant Reader, it’s an event not to be missed. He'll talk about Lisey’s Story, his latest novel. Tickets $25 and $35. But, like many things in King’s Dark Tower world, they’ve already moved on. more ›

>>>University Temple United Methodist Church, 7:30pm. Religious believers can be co-opted, argues distinguished biologist and secular humanist E.O. Wilson in his talk "The Creation: A Meeting of Science and Religion." Blah blah salvation of biodiversity blah glory of nature blah work together. We dislike this automatic Religion-and-Science connection ("Ballet and Groundskeeping: A New Unity"), but he's a smartie. Could be worth it. . more ›

As the NBA's 10th worst team, the Sonics had about a 1/25 chance of getting one of the top three picks, and about a 9/10 chance of getting the 10th pick. They did not pick up an ace "on the river" however (if you have been unemployed in the past year you will know what this means), and so the tenth pick is theirs. more ›

If you're a liberal, a Democrat, left-leaning, a new media person, an old media person, a fundraiser, a grassroots organizer, or a blogger or any combination of those you probably already know that some of the cool kids are in town this weekend and have plans to catch them in concert at least once. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos and Jerome Armstrong of MyDD are going to be kicking around Seattle and the area starting today at the Seattle Labor Temple 2800 1st Ave, Hall 1. Like us, you probably have no idea what a labor temple is, but it sounds kind of Karl Marx/Mad Max cool. more ›

Seattlest has taken our fair share of potshots at Wallingford. And it's true: we hate Wallingford NIMBYs, the Friends of Gasworks Park are most assuredly not our friends, and any effort to become suburbia-in-the-city earns our scorn. more ›

-Ha, Spokane sucks. Gonzaga students have been reprimanded for chanting "Brokeback Mountain" at opposing players during basketball games. Apparently a reference to "Brokeback Mountain" indicates that one is a cowboy. Ironic that the biggest cowboy of them all actually plays for the Zags... more ›

-The two high school kids who were killed by a train this week in Pierce County were apparently listening to a boom box when they were struck in the back. Man, that thing must go to eleven... more ›

It's time for Seattlest to ask a couple of absurd questions about Neil Gaiman. For instance, if Mr. Gaiman were to swoop from the sky and attack you- like a bird of prey- what sort of predatory bird would he be? more ›

If you're not watching Game 7 (go Pistons), consider heading downtown to the waterfront for the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park construction kickoff event spectacular. The sculpture park isn't set to be completed until a year from now, but the Party in the Park---sponsored by Target?---is tonight from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. Featuring music and jump roping and dancing (oh my), this soiree is free and for the whole family. Seattlest is particularly excited for the performance of everybody's favorite afroed new wave soul luvaman, Reggie Watts. more ›

If you are more into reverb (and we think that you are), go see Built to Spill at the Showbox tonight. They are one of our all time favorite bands (Built to Spill fun fact: They often play a really long version of Neil Young's 'Cortez the Killer' which is a great opportunity to grab a beer or two. If you are not drinking, it is an excellent opportunity to grab a Shirley Temple or perhaps a Diet Coke). more ›

The Northwest Film Forum needs your money. No, seriously, they do. As a non-profit organization that lends support to the production and exhibition of artistic films, they ain't exactly rolling in the dough. And in order for them to continue to provide resources, facilities, and education for filmmakers (both professional and amateur), as well as to screen all those films at the cinematheque, a great deal o' dough is exactly what's required. Some might go so far to say that it takes money, a whole lotta spending money, it takes plenty of money to do it right, child. For this very reason, the NWFF is hosting their fourth annual auction this Saturday, which presents you with a prime opportunity to make a contribution to their cause. more ›

We have been spoiled by the decandent amount of sun recently, so we have decided not to go outside until it stops raining. Since we have a cable modem and free time, we would like to point out some free and legal downloads for your listening pleasure. more ›