Eleanor Friedberger's video for "Heaven" starts with a shot of her drinking a glass of red wine on an ocean pier before an angel takes her aside and remonstratively shows her a slideshow of her life's worst sins, which include making out with an Asian guy and swigging from a bottle of whiskey... More >>

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the most interesting music happening in Seattle can be found on a Tuesday-Thursday at the Comet. If my theory that different crowds have specific liquor longings is correct, tonight’s show would be the equivalent of what we referred... More >>

Turns out gothic synth pop young gods Cold Cave actually have their own wine. It's a Pinot Noir from Sonoma christened "Burning Sage"—after Cherish the Light Years’ iron lung–pumping industrial dirge of the same name—and you can find a picture of the band’s Wesley... More >>

Re-Bar—and this Drinking Issue’s alcohol advertisers—would probably prefer I didn’t say this, but let’s be real: the ideal drink to go along with Omar S’s finely tuned Detroit techno is…water. Water for washing down a tab or two, and for staying... More >>

Tripwires frontman John Ramberg and guitarist Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks, Young Fresh Fellows) form this side-project and tribute group that Ramberg calls "a cover band of a relatively unknown British band called The Equals;" the music is an infectious blend of power-pop, ska, and '60s garage rock.... More >>

Michael Vermillion got his start with alternative rock band Vendetta Red, but after the group disbanded in 2006, he released an alt-country album (Last Night On Earth) and has been DJing regularly under the tag Sad Bastard. True to his name, Vermillion spins some dreary tracks—sad country... More >>

For music fans looking for a Valentine's night out, there isn't a better option than checking out Philadelphia's Dr. Dog at the Neptune. Dr. Dog is a Great Equalizer—everybody loves their lively psych pop songs—thus ensuring harmony with your date, and you'll get to hear new... More >>

The Grizzled Mighty is a blues-rock duo with a female drummer (Whitney Petty, formerly of Deerhunter) who plays simple, bare-bones beats and a frontman, Ryan Granger, whose guitar work and vocals are raw and distorted. Anyone who’s been paying attention to rock music over the past ten... More >>

When it comes to local black metal, there are few ensembles that are grimmer or more monstrous than Phalgeron. Roaring guitars, ear-splitting drums, and dueling black and death metal vocals—from Tyler Splurgis and Lane Storli, respectively—coalesce into the Seattle trio’s... More >>

When it comes to mastering the brooding, moody stillness of the Pacific Northwest, few artists capture the piercing light and haunting shadows of the region as well as Damien Jurado. For the past 17 years, Jurado has humbly churned out a catalog of stark but sweeping masterpieces that have... More >>

Nova Scotian Richard Terfry is an unlikely figure in hip hop. He was raised in a rural setting and heralded as the next great Yankee shortstop before his baseball career was cut short by a shoulder injury. Terfry has always spun his personal experiences into semi-self-referential poetry on... More >>

Big Head Todd recently released a Robert Johnson tribute album, but it's another Johnson—Jack—who owes the bulk of his success to Todd Park Mohr & Co. The imposing Korean frontman proved that it was possible to be a collegiate smooth-jam fave without having to send one's guitar into... More >>

I’m not a big sports fan, but when I find myself watching the game, I often root for the underdog. Watching director (and former roadie) Sacha Gervasi’s 2009 documentary about his beloved but down-on-their luck Canadian metal band Anvil extracted a similar emotional response: here... More >>

The Fresh and Onlys are part of a closely connected faction of rock bands burning bright in San Francisco right now that includes Thee Oh Sees, Sonny and the Sunsets, the Sub Pop-signed Kelley Stoltz, and the Hardly Art-signed Sandwitches, all of whom draw influences from raw 60s garage pop and... More >>

If all the 2011 grunge anniversary nonsense made you a little sick to your stomach, who can blame you? The movement that changed this town for better or worse (depending on who you talk to) and then spawned a million terrible imitators certainly has its share of detractors. Perhaps the biggest... More >>

Hipster Runoff once called Animal Collective "a band created for/by/on the Internet," but that distinction might be more appropriate for Die Antwoord. The South African hip-hop group emerged into the Internet’s collective consciousness in early 2010 when its video for “Enter the... More >>

The Canadian vocalist/keyboardist Grimes—alias 23-year-old Claire Boucher—came through Seattle a couple times last year while touring as a opener for fellow synth princesses Lykke Li and Austra. This time, she's headlining her own tour in anticipation of her first full-length album.... More >>

Private karaoke rooms should always be dark and dirty—stained cushions and rickety tables make screaming off-key into a microphone seem perfectly natural. Which is why Venus Karaoke in the International District is the perfect setting for your next songfest. Sure, their equipment crashes... More >>

This dingy bar in the Admiral Junction represents the roots of karaoke. The Japanese may have invented it, but back in its early days (the mid-80's) here in the states, it was the Chinese restaurant lounges that gave the art form its first home, providing it for drunken crooners seven nights a... More >>

The Tug Inn unleashed karaoke on its regulars and the neighborhood on Sunday nights over half a year ago. That night exploded so much that within a month, it demanded a second night (Wednesday). I’ve been there twice on the Sundays, and both nights were like raucous Fridays in there. The... More >>

The Crescent is easily the most popular karaoke bar on Capitol Hill. Drag queens, dykes, and hipsters squeeze into the claustrophobic space like sardines on any given night, and by 12 a.m. there’s usually standing room only. The booze is dirt cheap ($3 wells, $4 pitchers), the bathrooms... More >>

Seattle composer Wayne Horvitz's latest musical tribute to America's labor movement of relates the 1916 Everett Massacre in song-cycle form (soprano plus piano). Seattle union members from the IWW (aka "The Wobblies") came in support of striking mill workers; they were fatally met by police... More >>

I celebrated my 23rd birthday by getting plastered, flailing about to Billy Idol, and then dumping my boyfriend of two years via text message. I woke up the next morning hungover, single, and thoroughly ashamed of myself. But that unpleasant experience hasn’t deterred me from frequenting... More >>

The Rickshaw Restaurant & Lounge serves greasy Chinese food and American fare, but nobody ever goes there to eat. The establishment is much better known for satisfying folks who’ve got an insatiable appetite for karaoke. It’s packed with singers until closing every night of the... More >>

The appeal of Lower Queen Anne is the idea of something for everyone. It doesn't matter if you're a barely legal frat brother or a 70-year-old karaoke nut, you're either going home with someone's digits, a beautiful stranger, or, at the very least, a good story. Karaoke enthusiasts flock every... More >>