Robin Laananen
Death Cab for Cutie played a CD-release party at the Croc Friday.
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Even in our little town, the sands are always shifting. In an attempt to appear smarter than we really are while explaining that, we were going to invoke that law of physics that talks about how matter, once created, is not capable of being destroyed, only transformed. But it's been awhile since we were in school, and already our head hurts. So what we mean to say is, they may take away our Rendezvous, our Gibson's, and our Hi*Score (not to mention a big old chunk of our all-ages funding), but that can't take away our desire—nay, our need—for crazy, half-cocked rock. Young, raw bands and the folks that love them will find a way, and it looks like one of those ways may already be sounding its siren call from down south. Booker Brian Foss has picked up where he left off at Industrial Coffee (5503 Airport Way S., 763-0354) with bands like New Luck Toy, Weird Science, the Zillionaires, and the Klassy Knights, who have already played successful shows there. And though the city budget may have been slashed on programs for the kids, the Paradox isn't going quietly into that good night; aside from their full show roster of local and national touring bands, the U-District venue recently completed work on an in-house recording studio, and word on the street is that you better get in now while the gettin' is good. Bands like Soiled Doves, the Prom, Raft of Dead Monkeys, the Capitols, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, and the Welcome Backs have already logged time. For a mere $20 an hour, bands can take advantage of a 24-track, 2-inch MCI tape machine; a Trident board; tons of great equipment; and a professional engineer (tape is extra). . . . On the more mainstream end of things, the owners of Fremont's favored billiards/ hang-time/meat-market spot the Ballroom are getting into the game with an 800- to 1,000-capacity venue located in that same neighborhood. With the Showbox and the EMP's Sky Church already representing that bracket, will another one saturate the market or stimulate it? . . . Mark + Daniel 4ever: Looks like Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and Daniel Johnston have found true (creative) love. The two much-admired indie artists are set to release a collaborative album, tentatively titled Fear Yourself, swift on the heels of Johnston's first solo release in seven years, Rejected Unknown. Probably not the ideal soundtrack for your next massive house party, but sure to be lovely. . . . If you were paying attention, you may remember our talk last month about those cool-kid awards for indie artists who haven't yet gone gold. Now the shortlist is in, and the finalists are as follows: Ryan Adams, Jay Dee, Air, Bilal, Nikka Costa, Dandy Warhols, Gorillaz, P.J. Harvey, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, and Sigur Ros. What's your pick? Judges make up their minds in two weeks, but we're leaning towards Adams or those Icelandic champs. . . . Speaking of Sigur Ros, though we were forced to sit on the floor cross-legged like it was snack time at day care, the band's much-anticipated show at the King Cat Theatre with the Album Leaf was just about as amazing as all the hypesters said it would be. At times, the otherworldly, concave-chested boys on stage seemed like a sort of musical equivalent to a Wim Wenders film, as we vacillated between feeling slightly bored, knowing that if we were more truly artsy and cool we wouldn't be, and being blown away by the sheer gorgeousness of it all. And despite their squeaky images, the boys did manage to tear it up afterward at the Croc, even breaking into a spirited rendition of Old Blue Eyes' "My Way" onstage after that night's band had turned it in. Kee-razy! . . . Oh dear. Dr. Dre seems to be undoing his lovely gift of $1 million to Sept. 11 relief funds by releasing a piece of ugly, misguided patriotism: a song called "Kill bin Laden," in which the rapper/ber producer talks about "preparing a pine box for his dead body." Yeah Dre, that'll fix it. . . . Oh dear, part II: the irrepressible Courtney Love is suing Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Universal in an attempt to gain sole rights to Nirvana's entire catalog. She's accusing the band's original label, Geffen, of mismanaging the band's master recordings and cheating her out of $3.1 million in royalties, while also claiming that the band's two surviving members "committed breaches of their fiduciary duties owed to Love," including " . . . threatening to destroy existing Nirvana studio recordings and threatening to authorize the release to UMG, without Love's consent, [of] a boxed set of songs written by Kurt Cobain and recorded by Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl." In addition, "[Krist and Dave] formed an LLC when I was stoned, so I had to remove the LLC, which I'm in the process of doing and will succeed at," Love told MTV recently. She's already succeeded in blocking the inclusion of Nirvana rarity "You Know You're Right" on the slated 45-track Heart Shaped Box set. The lesson in all this? Do not underestimate the power of a woman no longer stoned.
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