Yeah, that's how stoked Seattlest is today. We woke at 4 a.m., turned on the TV, and worked a bit before heading to our volunteer shift. First, we had to stand in line at 400 Pike St. to turn in our absentee ballot. The line was long and stretched around the corner, but we were inside within 10 minutes of the polls opening. At the Baltic Room, where the Obama camp is gathering volunteers......

BASKETBALL: It's a battle for first place in Kingco's Mountain Division when Roosevelt hosts Redmond. 7:30pm // Roosevelt High Gym (it's new!) [1410 Northeast 66th Street] // $6 ($4 with your ASB card)! SCIENCE: Spencer Wells, the Indiana Jones of DNA, tells you from whence you came. 7:30pm // Benaroya Hall's Taper Auditorium [3rd and Union] // Sold out, but maybe you can score some at the door? MUSIC: Johanna Sarad [myspace] and Hardison [myspace].......

A little something for everyone. Consider next Monday's show the icing on the delicious music-y cake. Tuesday 12th >>> Sarathan Records Showcase w/The Purrs, Two Loons for Tea, Christopher Blue, Shane Bartell at Neumo's. Local label Sarathan Records is going to show off some of the bands on their roster. They've got great t-shirt designs, so the merch is top-notch. 8pm; $5. 21+ >>> Jeff Lang at Tractor Tavern. A blues guitar master from......

After kicking our collective asses for four consecutive days, the heat is finally backing down. So pull yourself together. Go outside again -- especially to Capitol Hill this weekend. Tuesday 25th >>> The Long Winters at Sonic Boom in Ballard. Putting The Days To Bed, the third LP from Seattle's The Long Winters, combines the lyrical intimacy and melodic complexity of the Ultimatum EP with the guitar pop rave-ups of the bands previous full lengths.......

This week Seattlest invites you to get your hand out of your pants and join us for some shows... Wednesday 12th >>> WIRE presents: Pleasurecraft This is a Blackout cd release; performing live with New Gray Area at The Baltic Room 9pm; Free! Thursday 13th >>> The Clumsy Lovers at St. Edward State Park (Kenmore) >>> "Trapped In The Closet!" at Rebar 7pm doors; 8pm show, $10 >>> Refugee All Stars of Sierra Leone......

The last few months have seen a few changes in the "house music nation." Here's your update, in case you haven't been keeping up. - Flammable's tireless curator, Brian Lyons, has skipped town to LA. The Sunday house music night, commonly referred to as "church," continues however, under the watchful eyes of Wesley Holmes and DJ Graham. Brian isn't gone for good, but is down in LA for the next 6 months for work, planning......

Seattle often gets hung up on genre conventions. Whether digital ("I spin deep, east coast, jazzy disco tech-house.") or analog ("My band plays indie, emo, post-rock, instrumental math-core."), pigeon-holing seems be forever be the name of the day. Rather than realizing that such labeling is all but useless to most people, artists and writers only help to further marginalize a public left overwhelmed by the dearth of less-than-useful tags. While that might be the M.O.......

Seattle is known for grunge and always will be, no matter how much we might want the world to know we've moved on. Detroit is a bit less pigeon-holed, but they've earned that distinction through extraordinary musical breadth, impacting rock, R&B, industrial, techno, electro, and ghettotech along with other genres too numerous to mention. Over the next few days Seattle gets to benefit from Detroit's electronic legacy, with two shows guaranteed to move a crowd.......