An Idle ThreatIn February, I threatened to stop running Google on my name every other month, but I haven't been able to stop.What can I say? I'm addicted. Even if the results look the same every time. Why do Ido it? To assuage my ego, naturally. Whether it shows or not, I put a fair amount of workinto my reviews, and I'd hate to think no one's reading them.However illusory, Google makes me feel as if my efforts hav-en't gone unnoticed. So here are the latest stats: 194,000hits for my full name, 30,600 hits for the short version(lately the former has been growing, while the latter hasbeen shrinking). These are some of the more interesting sites.Air Ame

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We All Like SpikeI haven't seen either, so I can't vouch for their quality, but I plucked these two back-to-back Tribeca Film Festival reviews from The Village Voice simply because both mention the man of the hour: Spike Lee. More than that, Lee is teamed with Martin Scorsese in the first, with Charles Dickens (!) in the second. The significance? After a few years of bad press and bad reviews, the tide appears to be turning. Inside Man is a hit and Lee is more of an influence than ever before. Also, while I agree with Manohla Dargis that "race matters" (see her review of Inside Man for the details), I like the way Lee is compared to great talents like

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Dinosaur Jr. - An Encounter With the Beast: Part ThreeConclusion of a 1989 inter-view from KCMU's Wire. ***** ***** ***** *****Click here for part twoFennessy: I read [a piece with] Thurston Moore saying he thought Bug was better than Daydream Nation. He said this in the same interview where he talked about all these "bugs" that came out in 1988, like your album, then the U-Men had Step on a Bug, and then Das Damen had the song "Bug." I was just wondering why all that happened. Any thoughts on why all of a sudden that was the big thing?Murph: I don't know.J: The Harmonic Convergence.J: I think it was the Harmonic Convergence.[Ah, the '80s...]Murph: Mm

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Dinosaur Jr. - An Encounter With the Beast: Part TwoPart two of a 1989 inter-view from KCMU's Wire.***** ***** ***** *****Click here for part oneFennessy: When did you do the "Just Like Heaven" single?J: We recorded it about a year ago.Fennessy: I was wondering how you had the time to do that...Murph: I think that song's pretty cool. I like that.J: It's okay. I mean, it's better than "Show Me theWay" [from 1987's You're Living All Over Me].Fennessy: You didn't like that one? That's the impression I got.J: No, I didn't like it.Fennessy: Was it a joke or was it serious?J: Yeah, Peter Frampton's a jerk.Fennessy: I thought it was a good sing-le. It's kind

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Dinosaur Jr. - An Encounter With the Beast: Part OneHere's the transcript of another interview from KCMU's Wire. As with my Lucinda Williams piece, I've made a few changes to my intro and outro, but I've left the Q&A as is, with the exception of the phrase "you guys" (what was I thinking?). The publication date was sometime in 1989. In the meantime, Merge has reissued Dinosaur Jr.'s early (Homestead and SST) recordings and the original trio even reformed to tour in support of them. Who saw that coming? At the time I met with J (Joseph D. Mascis), Murph (Emmett Patrick Murphy), and then-manager Steve, Lou Barlow (Sebadoh) was just days away from le

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Hypatia Lake, "...And We Shall Call Him Joseph," Sad RobotFrom the neon pink cover art to the sonics within, "...And We Shall Call Him Joseph" is a flashback to--but not a rip-off of--Dayglo-era Love Battery. (2002 debut Your Universe, Your Mind rocked the neon chartreuse.) While one Seattle band may be alive and kicking, the other dead and gone, their music is similarly dark and fuzzy--sometimes quiet and lovely, sometimes loud and distorted.Divided into "scenes" (rather than songs), the local quartet's second concept recording concerns a rebellious candy factory worker in the fictional town of Hypatia Lake. In other words: S.F. Sorrow meets Willy Wo

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I Am Trini AlvaradoDo you remember Trini Alvarado? She's third from the right in this poster for 1994's Little Women. Some movie mavens may also recall her from the new wave-saturated Times Square (1980) and Peter Jackson's The Frighteners (1996). Well, I'm not really Alvarado and I don't look much like her, but I do look like this image.In case you've ever wondered why my picture on this site is represented by a portrait of Barbara Stanwyck, circa Double Indemnity (1944), the answer is because: 1) I love Ms. Stanwyck, and 2) I don't currently have access to a scanner, so I'm unable to post a snapshot of the real me...but I will someday, I swear.That

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Scott H. BiramGraveyard ShiftBloodshot Records[7/18/06 release date]All I want in this creation,A good lovin' woman and a long vacation.-- Scott H. Biram, "Been Down Too Long"The blurry cover of Scott H. Biram's new CD made me happyat first. "Hey," I realized, "It's a fox!" I love foxes. In fact, I thought the cap-stealing canine [above left] in Grizzly Man almost stole the show from the big bears (and their bizarre human guardian). Then I took a closer look. Something is seriously wrong with this fox [below right]: Its eyes are bugged-out, its tongue is lolling onthe ground. Worse yet—its guts are exposed. It's roadkill.As for the music, you could sa

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Unwed Sailor, Circles, Burnt Toast VinylCircles consists of two tracks. Fortunately, it isn't a full-length, but "Mist" (11:09) and "Mesa" (5:17) are longer than your average pop tunes. Then again, this isn't pop. The EP follows The Marionette and the Music Box (2003) and precedes Unwed Sailor's third long player, The White Ox, set to be released this August. Both were recorded in Bloomington, IN by main man Johnathon Ford (Pedro the Lion) with Daniel Burton, Phillip Blackwell, and Matt Griffin. Ford has since relocated to Seattle.As mentioned in my review of Belong's October Language, instrumental rock isn't really my thing. When it comes to music,

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All Kinds of CatsBlack Merda, The Folks From Mother's Mixer, Funky DelicaciesThis eagerly awaited release combines two rare recordings, 1970's Black Merda and 1972's Long Burn the Fire ("The Folks From Mother's Mixer" comes from the latter). Formed in Detroit in the mid-60s, the sharp-dressed quartet combined psych-rock with soul and blues. They got their start by backing Edwin Starr and the Temptations before striking off on their own. Instead of Westbound or Motown, they signed to Chess, then later Janus. Hence, they're frequently compared to Hendrix and fellow Motor City denizens Funkadelic ("Over and Over" could be a Maggot Brain outtake). I also

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April Showers...Make Seattle DampHere are the reviews I'mworking on for this month.Amazon: Remington Steele - The Complete Third Season [four-disc set] (my second Steele review), Forty Shades of Blue (Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner with Rip Torn), The Syrian Bride (with Hiam Abbass of Satin Rouge), Full House - The Com-plete Third Season [four-disc set] (yes, I also reviewedseason one), Dr. Dolittle 3, Green Street Hooligans, My Family and Other Animals, Mates of State - Bring It Back, Gomez - How We Operate (loved their last CD, which I reviewed for Tablet),Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (my Mom's met her Mom--hey, it's an Alaska thing), Sonya

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Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific NorthwestThe Old Haunts, Fuel on Fire, Kill Rock StarsFuel on Fire is that rare recording I took to right from the start. (None of that "it had to grow on me" stuff.) Is it because Craig Extine has one of those intense, yet reedy voices, like Jack White or Jeffrey Lee Pierce? (Alec Ounsworth, of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, also comes to mind.) Is it because the Olympia trio adds a generous helping of blues and rockabilly to their rock-based recipe? Is it because the tracks on their Johnny Sangster-produced sophomore outing conjure up the Bayou (though layed down in Seattle)? Yes, yes, and yes. The rollicking threesome kick

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