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I just got the news that Mark Linkous shot himself through the heart on Saturday. 

Wow…  Terribly sad news.  NYT article here.

I don’t know what else to say other than that you might want to go read the Phawker tribute to Mark Linkous if you want to know more.

And a very good NPR piece here.

Read more…

I’ve been listening to Sparklehorse lateley. You should too.  Here’s “Pig” from Good Morning Spider to get you going.

Here’s “Anenome” from the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s fourth album, Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request.

And some Visqueen, because you know you love Rachel Flotard.

Scott H. Biram is performing at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard tonight. Who? Scott H. Biram!!!

From his website:

Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t pretty and neither is Scott H. Biram.  The self proclaimed ‘Dirty Old One Man Band’ successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal. Biram ain’t no dour ass singer/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways.  HELL NO!!!  His singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin’ and hollerin’ is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his 1959 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot.  The remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables.  Years of non-stop touring have honed his assault to a fine edge; his wide-eyed throw downs in the First Church of Ultimate Fanaticism routinely lead giddy followers to a fiery baptism.  Scott H. Biram wont die.  On May 11th, 2003, one month after being hit head-on by an 18-wheeler at 75 MPH, he took the stage at The Continental Club in Austin, TX in a wheel chair – I.V. still dangling from his arm. With 2 broken legs, a broken foot, a broken arm and 1 foot less of his lower intestine, Biram unleashed his trademark musical wrath. When Scott H. Biram took the stage at his 2004 SXSW festival showcase right after Kris Kristofferson he was quoted as growling “They said that was a hard act to follow….I’m a hard act to follow motherfuckers!!”   The stunned crowd looked on.

speaking of bad mutherfuckers…

and since Valentines Day is on Sunday…

Today is Bob Marley’s birthday.  He would have been 65 years old had he not died at the age of 36 from a form of cancer he contracted from an infected toe that spread throughout his body. 

Celebrate by watching the “Jamming” video today.

Patti Smith was in town last night for a Seattle Arts and Lectures program, and co-blogger Cory and I attended the event.  She was promoting her new book, Just Kids, about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in New York City during the seventies – their decade of discovering each other and their art. 

Patti Smith at Benaroya Hall for Just Kids book reading, January 25, 2010

Patti read selections from the book to a packed house at Benaroya Hall.  One section told of how proud she was at the age of fourteen to win third place in a painting contest sponsored by a local paint store and how she dreamed of entering the world of artists by being the mistress of an artist.

She read a few pages about how she convinced Robert Mapplethorpe, who she didn’t really know very well at the time, to pretend he was her boyfriend so she could get away from an “evil science fiction writer” who had bought her dinner and invited her up to his flat “for a cocktail.”

Another passage was about her first encounter with Allen Ginsberg.  She was starving and had managed to scrape up the fifty-five cents she need to buy a cheese-and-lettuce sandwich at the local automat but, once there, she found they’d raised the price by ten cents.  Allen Ginsberg was in line behind her and gave her the dime she needed to get the sandwich.  He also bought her a cup of coffee and invited her to his table.  They talked for a few minutes before Allen leaned towards her and said, “Are you a girl?”  He had mistaken her for a very pretty young boy.

Local rock critic/historian/biographer and editor of Seattle’s The Rocket (1979 – 2000), Charles R. Cross sat down with Patti for a thirty-minute question and answer period.  She answered some questions that audience members had jotted down for Charles Cross, including one about Oprah’s magazine naming her a fashion trendsetter, and one about writer’s block that led to a discussion about her work ethic.  She said that what she does is a job, and she has to make herself work at it, pretty much like anyone with a job.  You don’t just not show up, you get up and do it because you are committed to it.

She talked of the current album she’s working on that she says is about two-thirds completed.  It will be influenced by her current studies:  Russian Literature, St. Francis of Assisi , and a bit of the novel she finished just prior to arriving in Seattle, Roberto Bolano’s 2666.

And one of the funnier moments came when she answered a question about who she’d like to collaborate with.  Rough transcript via the Seattle Weekly’s Reverb blog:

Cross (paraphrased): You’ve collaborated with many artists throughout your career. Who else would you like to collaborate with?

Smith: Russell Crowe

Cross: As a musician or as an actor?

Smith: As a girl.

Following the Q&A, Patti picked up her acoustic guitar and told us how she was inspired to write the song “Grateful.”  Jerry Garcia had just died and she’d seen a vision of him: “You know, like people see images of Christ in a potato chip, only I saw Jerry Garcia appear in my room.”  She played that song, and then introduced the next one as something she’d written in the middle of the night.  The song was about visiting rainy Seattle and hanging out in Pioneer Square, and it sounded to me as though she made it up on the spot and used it as a segue into “My Blakean Year.”  She also did a great performance of “Beneath the Southern Cross” and closed with an a capella version of “Because the Night,” during which she encouraged the audience to sing the chorus with her.  At the end of the song, she cocked her head, spat on the floor, raised her arms, and absorbed the standing ovation.

There was a reception at the W Hotel following the performance.  The friendly staff was serving some tasty appetizers, and the folks from McRea Cellars were there pouring complimentary glasses of their wines.  The Cuvée Orleans Syrah was quite tasty.

Patti arrived at the reception and mingled with the crowd for about forty-five minutes signing autographs on newly purchased books and vinyl editions of her albums that were provided for sale by Easy Street Records. 

Around 10:15 or so I started thinking one of those jobs that Patti was talking about that I happen to have, so I headed home so I could get up in the morning at get at it.

Today is Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday.  Celebrate by watching a few videos.

Start with the man himself.

Followed by the Mexican Elvis.

El Vez Suspicious Minds

Followed by Seattle resident Vince Mira, (better known for his Johnny Cash covers).

And because it is Friday, click here to watch Nick Cave’s cover or “In the Ghetto.”

It’s New Year’s Eve and KEXP is just about ready to star their countdown of the best albums of 2009.  I’ll be listening and commenting on that later but, for now, here’s what you need to know.

The Top 10 Albums of 2009

1. Rising Mountains – Capsula:  I first heard Capsula on KEXP on July 3rd and I was immediately hooked.  They are the most exciting band I’ve heard since discovering The Duke Spirit three years ago.  The band is originally from Buenes Aires, Argentina and they relocated to Bilbao, Spain.  They are a guitar driven, hard rocking band that knows how to write songs with catchy lyrics and great hooks.  The album is currently available as an import only.  You can get it at Amazon.  I suggest you go there now and buy it.  They will be coming to the U.S. in March for a show in NYC and then will be in Austin for SXSW.  See them if you can.  More about them here.

2. Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever – Scott H. Biram:  Gorby turned me on to this guy by giving me an earlier album to listen to.  In May, I went to Austin with Gorby and Zippy, and we saw Scott live at The Continental Club.  GREAT one-man show.  I bought the album shortly after that, and I’ve been listening to it constantly.  Junkyard blues just don’t get any better than this.  Scott Biram will be in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern on Friday, February 12th.  See you there.

3. Truelove’s Gutter – Richard Hawley:  I read a review of this album in MOJO magazine, and immediately went out and bought it.  It is by far the most sonically interesting album of 2009.  He uses some really rare instruments:  the glass harmonica (based on the haunting tone you get when rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a wine glass – a.k.a. the hydrocrystalphone invented by Benjamin Franklin), the waterphone, the cristal Baschet, the ondes Martenot(kind of like a theremin), and a musical saw.  The key track on this album is “Remorse Code.”  Can’t stop listening to it. 

4. One Fast Move or I’m Gone, Kerouac’s Big Sur – Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard:  I am a huge fan of Jack Kerouac, so I bought this they day it came out.  The cd is the soundtrack to a movie about Kerouac’s journey back to California to get some down time at Ferlinghetti’s seaside cabin.  The film is excellent.  It features readings of Big Sur by the man himself.  Kerouac’s voice is intoxicating.  I could listen to it for hours.  Oh, and the music by Farrar and Gibbard is stripped down and soulful.  I recommend “California Zephyr” and The “Void.”  They will be performing at The Showbox in Seattle on Sunday, January 24th.

5. Wilco (the album) – Wilco:  The guitar work by Nels Cline on this record is incredible.  The songs are great.  Tweedy sounds great.  What more can you ask for from a Wilco album?

6. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers:  This is a beautiful sounding album produced by Rick Rubin who fleshed out the trio of banjoists and drummer with piano and sometimes lush orchestration.  The title track and “Tin Man” are my favorites. 

7. Broken – Soulsavers:  This is Mark Lanegan at his best.  A dark brooding album that matches his voice perfectly.  He gets excellent vocal support from Rosa Agostino (a.k.a. Red Ghost), and Richard Hawley makes an appearance too.

8. Welcome Joy – The Cave Singers:  I heard of this band, but never really knew what they were about until I saw them at Bumbershoot.  It’s real rootsy stuff with catchy lyrics and great vocals.  “At the Cut” and “Leap” are my favorites.

9. The Spirit of Apollo – N.A.S.A.:  That stands for North America South America.  It’s a duo that pulled together a whole lot of artists to sing vocals on twenty-some songs.  Who?  David Byrne, Chuck D, Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye West, Mia, Del the Funky Homosapien, and more.  The first song I heard was “Spacious Thoughts” featuring Tom Waits and Kool Keith.  You just have to hear it.  The two with David Byrne, “The People Tree” and “Money” are really great.

10. A Woman A Man Walked By – P.J. Harvey & John Parish:  The album starts out with one of my favorite songs of the year, “Black Hearted Love,” a pop song, and then it veers off in all different directions.  Thanks to “That Irsih Fella on my block, I got to see P.J. and John put on a great show at The Moore Theater this year.  P.J. was in perfect form, and John and the band were tight.  They are PROFESSIONALS!

The Top Teen Albums of 2009

11. Tell ‘em What Your Name Is - Black Joe Lewis and the Honeydrippers:  My Austin pals told me about this band last year.  Black Joe Lewis has a huge fan base in Austin, and I was lucky to see the band at a sold out show there in May.  I love the fun energy in this album.  “Get Yo Shit” and “I’m Broke” are the shit.

12. ¡Let Freedom Ring! – Chuck Prophet
13. Horehound – The Dead Weather
14. Middle Cyclone– Neko Case
15. Together Through Life – Bob Dylan
16. Hombre Lobo – Eels
17. Through the Devil Softly – Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions
18. Secret, Profane, & Sugarcane – Elvis Costello
19. The Eternal– Sonic Youth

and number 20…
Backspacer  – Pearl Jam

This year’s best series of reissues is of course the first four albums by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds out on Mute records:  The First Born is Dead, From Her to Eternity, Kicking Against the Pricks, and Your Funeral, My Trial.  Buy them all and play them loud.

The best live album of the year is Tom Waits’ Glitter and Doom.

Patti Smith celebrates her 63rd birthday today in New York City.  She’ll be performing tonight at The Bowery Ballroom.

Those of us who are not lucky enough to be at that sold-out show can tune in to Point of View on PBS tonight and watch Steve Sebring’s documentary Dream of Life, a film that covers 11 years of Patti Smith’s life as an artist, poet, and iconic punk-rock performer.  The film explores her many influences including William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Those of you in Seattle can tune in to KCTS at 9:00 p.m. 

Go here to find the channel and time of broadcast in your area.

During a little party on Christmas Day, I learned that Vic Chesnutt died. Very sad news.

Here’s Vic performingi one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums, West of Rome.

Patti Smith has a very good post about him on her site.  You should read it.

Read more…