Music

The Presidents of the United Sates of America Rock The Showbox Market, 2/17 and 2/18, By Holly Homan

This Friday and Saturday nights Seattle will witness the return of local icons, The Presidents of the United States of America (Presidents for short). The Presidents, fronted by the charismatic Chris Ballew came onto the national scene back in 1995 with catchy, poppy tunes like Kitty, Peaches and Lump (the latter of which was parodied …

Ducky – Like Rain – Overdose MP3

Ducky – Like Rain from Bicephaly Pictures on Vimeo. From Ducky’s press materials: “Ducky, aka Morgan Neiman, has a producer’s instinct and a powerful voice. She has been making music since she was 13 years old, and has played alongside the likes of Japanther, Ninjasonik, Roxy Cottontail, Trouble Andrew and Action Bronson. Her latest release, …

The Spring Standards – Here We Go

From the Spring Standards’ press materials: “In yellow//gold, The Spring Standards deliver 2 EPs that can be described as a set of fraternal twins, metamorphic stages, or acts in a drama. yellow is a nostalgic meandering through the trio’s shared childhoods—they started playing folk music together as teenagers in the rural landscapes of the Pennsylvania/Delaware …

A Little-Known, Spare, Very Beautiful, and Extraordinarily Unlikely Example of the Artist Whitney Houston Might Easily Have Become, If Not For Clive Davis’ Greedy Intervention In Her Career, By Tom Kipp

I wrote a rather lengthy comment tonight for a friend’s largely critical thread re: the departed Whitney Houston, but, just as I was about to post it, it FUCKIN’ DISAPPEARED and I was far too pissed to attempt to re-create it from scratch. Anyhow, one aspect I’d included was the fact that there is a little-known, spare, very beautiful, and …

The Toasters, Poorsport, Juice, Poke Da Squid and Life Afterlife Wow An Enthusiastic Crowd at Seattle’s El Corazon, By Holly Homan

Last night, February 4th, 2012, I once again headed to Seattle’s El Corazon where ska legends The Toasters were headlining a show. When I arrived, the opening band, Life Afterlife, was just starting. Life Afterlife is a five-piece from the Tacoma area who play a mix from pure punk pop to some harder core punk …

M.I.A. – Bad Girls and Give Me All Your Luvin’ with Madonna and Nicki Minaj, By Mike Hughes

I’ve just been looking at MIA’s new Bad Girls video. It’s real. I mean she’s always the deal, 100%, despite what anyone might say. You can smell the smoke on this one. I’m still not sure about that other video with Madonna. Can’t help feeling Maya and Nikki are fuelling Madonna’s magpie tendencies. http://www.miauk.com/ – …

Dada – Moon, By Ron Swanson

Let’s talk about Dada. Best known for “Dizz Knee Land,” their album Puzzle is really quite good. The song “Dim” is first rate (reminds me a bit of Flake – whatever happened to them?) and I go back to “Moon” from time to time as the perfect song for certain moods… – Ron Swanson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJgdok_iRc

Tommy Keene – The Parson Red Heads – The Riffbrokers – Jan. 28 – The Sunset, Seattle, By Steve Stav

Seattle maintains an open marriage with roots music, and has been noted for its dalliances with grunge and hip-hop. However, the Jet City has held pop music — jangle-pop, folky pop, avant-garde pop, power-pop — dear to its heart for quite some time. It’s a reliable mistress. Seatown seemed a fitting stop, then, for eternal …

Stone in Love Journey Tribute Band to Rock the Neptune Theatre in Seattle, 2/11 and the Star Theater in Portland 5/19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrpBTIAWDBM Stone in Love, the West Coast’s foremost Journey tribute band is based right here in Portland. They will perform at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle on February 11 at 8pm and the Star Theater in Portland on May 19 at 6pm. Just watch the videos here or listen to the sound clips on their …

Punch Brothers Release New Album, Perform in Portland March 7 and Seattle March 6

Punch Brothers, the best post-bluegrass band out there today, are releasing a new album, “Who’s Feeling Young Now?” on Valentine’s Day and will be touring through Portland’s Wonder Ballroom on March 7 and Seattle’s Neptune Theater March 6. See the dashing lads and their tour poster here. Punch Brothers – “Clara” Who’s Feeling Young Now? …