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 ›

Jack has already mentioned Stars at the Showbox, and Katelyn's put the word out about Grayskul and Hangar 18 at Chop Suey. That leaves us to mention M.I.A. and the Cool Kids at Showbox SoDo, or, if you like things a little more old-school, Mudhoney is at El Corazon. Here they are playing "Hate the Police" in Prague: more ›

Next year’s publication of Itch, Love Stories About Heroin means that if you've been waiting for a full-length, in-depth book about Alice in Chains' Layne Staley—well, don’t get your hopes up. more ›

It’s been five years since soft-rock-but-hard-when-they-want-to-be Brad has released a proper album, and about three years since they’ve played live. Now the local quartet (Shawn Smith, Stone Gossard, Mike Berg and Regan Hagar), one of our favorite bands anywhere, is back in action—they’ve got an album in the works and they’re playing NYC and Seattle this month. more ›

There were all the things a soapbox derby should have at last weekend's Redbull Soapbox derby in Fremont: sleek, high-design vehicles next to totally scrappy, yet hysterically themed clunkers (the pickle seemed to be a crowd favorite). Attitude, bravado, and shenanigans mixed with derring-do. There were kids and old folks, and everyone in between. And ridiculous skits before each run (many requiring the removal of pants), a nice twist. Unexpectedly, there was Sir Mix-A-Lot and Travis Pastrana (we actually thought that was cool, but many seemed not to know the moto trickster by name) for judges. There was just one thing we wish there had been more of, and that was sightlines for the race. Or, as fellow Seattlest contributor Jack put it: "No matter where we stood along the course, it was hard to see anything without dry-humping the person in front of us as we leaned forward hoping to catch just a glimpse of our heroes cruising down Fremont Avenue." 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 ›

"Pretty," she said of Joshua Petker's "There Is a Light that Will Never Go Out." more ›

When Seattlest received that fateful email from a friend, our immediate reaction was a roll of the eyes and an audible, drawn out, "Bull shit." No way would the one and only Beastie Boys play the legendary but very wee Crocodile Cafe. No way. Then came the Ticketmaster link all but confirming it. The Croc's website kept mum, not listing the show at all. Supposedly The End had been talking it up, but we wouldn't know since we haven't listened to that station since discovering KEXP years ago. A click of the mouse fractions of a second after tickets went on sale and we were in. Many of our friends and most of the Seattle area weren't as lucky. A quick check on Craig's List and Ebay showed that scalpers had done some of the immediate damage. Venting ensued. more ›

All-star surgeon James Andrews fixed Matt Hasselbeck's torn labrum yesterday. Hasselbeck's played with the injury, which is in his non-throwing shoulder, for three seasons, but it apparently got too troublesome. more ›

Local boys Travis Snider (OF-Jackson High of Mill Creek) and Tim Lincecum (P-UW) were both drafted in the first round of June's MLB draft. Thought we'd check in. more ›

The Seattle Mariners have finally abandoned all hope and traded pitcher Eddie Guardardo- he of that unique and well-honed ability to deliver the timely game-winning home run to the opposing team- to the Cincinnati Reds in return for a whole lot of nothing: a minor league pitcher named Travis Chick (4-5, 4.61 ERA for AA Chattanooga) and a quiet, hushed "thanks" from Mariner fans everywhere. more ›

Pass on local boys Tim Lincecum and Travis Snider, instead selecting RHP Brandon Morrow from Cal, who supposedly throws 99 mph. Watch video of him here. more ›

In which Seattlest contributors divulge their weekend plans and disclose their favorite things to BBQ. more ›

When it comes to art, Seattlest is in the "we know what we like" camp. We're not unversed in art theory or history, but when you cut to the chase, we want to look at pretty pictures. That's one reason we're so fond of Roq La Rue and now BLVD -- Kirsten Anderson and her cohorts have an eye for pretty that resonates with us. more ›

Friday night Seattle gets a new art gallery -- BLVD, dedicated to urban contemporary art. (Note to the uninitiated: that's "boulevard," not "beloved.") We talked with gallerist Kirsten Anderson, who also owns Roq La Rue, the neighboring lowbrow/pop surrealism gallery, about urban contemporary art and what to expect from BLVD. more ›

Last night at the Northwest Film Forum, Seattlest was in attendance at a pre-production fête for The Sidewalk Never Ends, the upcoming film from LT Productions. As to the movie's subject matter, here's a hint: it ain't no Shel Silverstein poem. more ›

When this week began, wrestler Eddie Guerrero and TV pioneer Ralph Edwards were both alive. No one outside Steel Country had heard of Rep. John Murtha, and Bob Woodward still had credibility. Next week is really only three days, so probably nothing will happen. Thus, we at Seattlest intend to enjoy ourselves over the weekend. more ›

Roq la Rue, Seattlest's favorite purveyor of lowbrow art and pop surrealism, is opening its new gallery space tonight with "Bad Moon Rising," their annual Halloween group show. Stop by and ogle artwork by Ojimbo, Jim Blanchard, Lisa Petrucci, Pooch, Mike Leavitt, Mike Curato, James McLeod, Travis Louie, Ryan Bubnis, Joshua Petker, Brian Despain, Anthony Ausgang, Johnny Crap, Nicole Steen, Yo Ueno, Joe Vollan, Amanda Wachob, Jason D’Aquino, David Rauschenberg, Chuck Demorat, Justin Hampton, Quintin Gonzalez, Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, and Luke Chueh. more ›

Saturday night offered quite the dilemma for indie rock fans: Should one buy tickets for the KEXP Benefit show at Neumo's or Franz Ferdinand at the Paramount? Luckily, Franz was also playing the following night, which allowed Seattlest to attend both shows and not miss a thing. more ›

We would have written about this earlier, but we were so enchanted with ABC New's ad for the Brad Pitt interview on 'Prime Time Live' that we couldn't look away. His eyes and roguish smile are just so mesmerizing. Last week, local music fan and we are sure all-around nice guy Richard Monroe alleged that he was assaulted during Snoop Dogg concert at the White River Amphitheater. "They just beat me, stomping me, and beat me with a microphone," Monroe told a local TV station. The Snoop crew claims Monroe was considered a security risk and that they acted accordingly. more ›

We told you last week about the local kids who'd made it to the nationals in both the Geography Bee and the Spelling Bee. more ›

or a fan of reliving your awkward junior-high years, the next two weeks are all you. more ›