My favorite-est Juke Boxes in Seattle

Every now and again I find myself wanting to spend an entire Sunday afternoon hanging out in the bar rather than catching the ever fleeting ray of sunshine. It’s not because I’m a booze hound or because I need to bend the bartenders ear about the woes of the world. Yet something always pulls at me to hunker down with a good bloody mary or yellow beer, and just hang out. There are always a handful of haunts that I turn to in these times of need and I am beginning to figure out why. It’s all about the Jukeboxes. A bar with a good set of discs is like a bar with an old friend. I love when you walk into a place and you find yourself wanting to sing along with song after song-and eventually do depending on how long you’ve been there. Now if I can just figure out the precise location to throw a Fonzie elbow into these damn things and I could save a load of dough.

So my question to you is this:
Where are your most favorite-est Jukeboxes in Seattle?

Here’s my top 5 rundown.

5) Chupacabra (Phinney Ridge) - Punk, Buttrock, and Burritos
4) 5-Point (Belltown-ish) I can get my laundry done and get my Tom Waits fix
3) King’s Hardware (Ballard Ave) Let the music move you through cheap Sunday Bloodies, righteous Sliders and all the Ski-Ball you can handle
2) The Tin Hat (65th in Ballard) I’ve heard TV on the Radio plugged end to end more than once in here. Makes for a great Pinball soundtrack
and finally…
1) The Pacific Inn (Stone Way in Fremont) Fish n Chips and a side of rock please.

Now if you know these places, you’ll notice that all of the grindboxes listed are the old-fashioned CD-in-the-machine type not the connect-to-the-internet type. (Foze here tells me neither one of those are old fashioned.. Semantics, my friend. Now go “Sit on it”.) It’s my opinion that there is no flavor in the MP3 version. Any non-discerning clod can load any song they wish to the player and you inevitably end up with the one friggen single on every damn album in the list. Screw that. (Arthur agrees fully on this.) The entire point of selecting specific albums is to have a soundtrack for your joint, a consistent backdrop. It also means I don’t ever have to listen to someone’s favorite Jimmy Buffett “song” (read torture device) just because it’s “Yeah..Spring Break… Whoo hoo!” Plus, my tender MTV battered mind only has the attention span to pour over 100 CD titles, MAX. I get frightened and confused when I first have to choose a letter of the alphabet then pick a band, then an album, and then AW, DAMN! they only have the friggen single!!! and wham, I’m curled up on the floor wanting my 10 minutes and $2 back.
Now I suppose if you get a steady crowd of music savvy hipsters loading tunes on a regular basis, you could end up with a pretty bitchin set-up. If you know where this gem resides, lemmieno.

Popularity: 92%

The Police and Elvis Costello at the Gorge 12 July

I just heard tickets are now on sale for this rock show of old-timers. Maybe I am getting old, but this sounds like a solid bet. When The Police appeared in Seattle last year, Sting’s son’s band opened, and the show was at the Key Arena. This lineup and venue makes the $80 ticket seem a much better value, no?

Popularity: 95%

Seattle’s Best Hip Hop Group is…

Its the P-H-Y-S-I-C-S…aka The Physics

Get Familiar

Their debut album “Future Talk” was one of my favorite releases last year (any genre, any town) and stays in heavy rotation. Spring/summertime will bring more spins of this record for its cool-out, crack a brew, holler at the ladies, backyard cookout vibe.

MC Thig Natural possesses such a great combination of infectious flow, intricate wordplay and effortless delivery that “rewind that” will become a regular part of your vocabulary. Producer/MC Just D’amato builds some seriously soulful beats that put you in a good mood all by themselves, and holds it down on the mic as well.

This record should be available at local retailers and I highly recommend you go buy yourself a copy. If they don’t have it, tell them to get it. Do it for yourself. Do it for the kids. Do it for the town.

Popularity: 100%

Joshua Morrison at Tractor Tavern

9:00 with The Lovely Sparrows, Debonair

Monroe native and singer/songwriter Joshua Morrison is returning to Washington for a show at the Tractor. Morrison released his first full-length album, Home, a beautifully mellow and soulful album, in 2007. He will also be playing at Sasquatch Festival on Saturday, May 24th.

Have a listen to the live performance recorded for KEXP here

http://www.jmorrisonmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/joshuamorrison

Popularity: 4%

C-Leb - Adam Smith and His Invisible Hands - Dead Scene Celebrity - High Dive

Nada Mucho.com Presents: A Tribute To Bullfighter
Should be an interesting night…
Charge: $8
Time: 9pm

Popularity: 4%

This is what you came up with, Portishead?

Last week, I got an advance copy of Portishead’s upcoming release, “Third” and have been struggling to get through the album. Due for a 29 April release in the US, this 11-track showcase of darkness leaves me wanting more. Where the hell are the hooks in these songs? Beth Gibbons’ unmistakable sound is there, but the instrumentation has moved on in a new direction since their previous two studio recordings. “Silence”, the lead-off track, makes promises for the rest of the album but it never quite delivers. It’s followed by a very Mazzy Star-esque “Hunter”… it’s all very somber and chilling as we’d expect, but given the decade that the group has had to (potentially) create these songs, I am disappointed and frustrated.

I haven’t seen writing or musicians’ credits for “Third”, but I cannot help but think of Pink Floyd’s last studio offering, “The Division Bell”, which required some 409 writers to collaborate to “create the ‘Pink Floyd’ sound”. Yeah, that’s meant as some damning praise. (OK, it wasn’t 409… but there were a lot of people involved.) More recently, there was Massive Attack’s 2003 album “100th Window”, which had fallen on ears accustomed to the dark sounds of “Mezzanine” and Tracey Thorns’ unforgettable contributions to “Protection.” It was a fairly significant departure, perhaps due to the absence of long-time member of Grantley Marshall.

To this listener, the difference between Portishead’s sophomore effort and this one is just as significant. (The distinction is in the instruments and not the singers as Sinead O’Connor hasn’t replaced Gibbons.)
I’ll see if I can follow this up with something further and more encouraging. In the meantime, spin “Roseland NYC Live”, their last release, for a proper visit with P’head.

Popularity: 92%

420 - Rebelution - The Panda Conspiracy - Trolls Cottage - Neumos

Smart Went Crazy Productions is putting on a 420 event at Neumos with a little help from Hempfest and Brody Nation… all reggae rock
but be careful… pretty sure their searching at the door
REBELUTION
TROLLS COTTAGE
PANDA CONSPIRACY
$10 ADV
8PM DOORS
ALL AGES/BAR W/ I

Popularity: 4%

Sir Mark the Poet - C-Leb - Laguna - Showbox (SODO)

If you’ve never seen Sir Mark the Poet it’s definently worth checking out (besides the obvious C-Leb). He’s a fantastic poet who read over the top of house beats… its pretty interesting and cool… Love to see you there.
$7.00 ADV / $10.00 DOS at the door
Doors at 8pm - 21+
Showbox SoDo - 1700 1st Avenue South

Popularity: 3%