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Calvin Johnson's history is filled with such odd touchstones (the iconic International Underground Pop Convention, Kurt Cobain talking shit about him in print) that it's sometimes easy to forget that he's still creating music that is obsessed with the tonally odd and the religiously low fidelity.
Music
For those of us who have grown up in the Pacific Northwest, who've been weaned on indie rock, and Pac NW indie rock in particular, the name Calvin Johnson is a known and loaded one. For the uninitiated, Calvin Johnson is - for all intents and purposes - Washington's indie
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Grab the Bat Killer is one man who sounds like a lost transmission from a very dark dance floor somewhere in the world, late at night, after booze and other substances have thoroughly infested the exhausted minds of after-hours revelers. The persistent beats are like desperate pleas to keep the
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For years, now, Colonies have been upholding the indie rock and shoegaze flag in Tacoma. While our city has its fair share of punk, garage, metal and psychedelic rock, indie music has not typically flourished. The success of Colonies (who have now been booked at Seattle's colossal who's who festival,
Military Life
It's about that time to pile the kids in the car and head out in search of the perfect Christmas tree. And we're not talking about a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, we're talking a big ole' tree with lots of room for tinsel and ornaments. Here are the best places
Music
To paraphrase Paul Simon: If you took all the mosh pits you played to in tiny rock clubs and brought them all together for one night ... Title Fight is a band that's finding out just how that would feel. "We started when we were 12 years old," says Title Fight bassist
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There's something perversely pure and bloody-minded about recording a 9-minute electro-opus about acne, but Johnny Unicorn does just that on "Break Out!" the opener to his giddily loopy double album, Thinking Hard to Overcome Nervousness. Musically, Johnny Unicorn can approach areas like the transcendent dance rock of LCD Soundsystem, the
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Taking cues from early hardcore, as well as perennial punk from the '80s, Portland's Autistic Youth make driving, anthemic stuff that'll clear up your sinuses. Songs rush by in delirious two-minute bursts of group cheering and insistent drumming. The band will be joined at Tahoma Tea & Co. by a
News Front
With summer in full swing, it's hard not to want to pile the family in the car and head to the beach! But, what about your beloved Fido that also longs to play frisbee on the beach or splash in the waves? Lucky for Fido there are plenty of Washington
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Citing whimsical, prolific, minor-key songwriters like Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson as influences, OK Sweetheart's M.O. seems to consist of crafting delectable nuggets of pop music that equally serve the heart and the brain. Frontwoman Erin Austin's delicately lovely voice stands front and center and is
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If I were to guess, I'd say that Sources in Code are not a band that would shy away from a label like "epic" or "mind-expanding." They describe themselves as progressive and experimental, but these qualities mainly manifest themselves in the form of these momentous, expansive
Music
I know I'll probably come off as naïve when I say this, but I am consistently blown away whenever I see a musician build a song with a looping pedal. The first time I saw this live, it was at an Andrew Bird concert, and I'm sure my
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I know I'll probably come off as naïve when I say this, but I am consistently blown away whenever I see a musician build a song with a looping pedal. The first time I saw this live, it was at an Andrew Bird concert, and I'm sure my jaw was
News Front
The 62nd Airlift Wing will salute the American heroes at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19 during an Air Force Salutes morale flyover throughout Washington state's Puget Sound region, May 8. "The 62nd AW salutes each American serving on the frontlines in combat against the COVID-19 pandemic," said U.S. Air
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Margy Pepper are one of the most adorable slash awesome slash rocking slash slash bands out there. If you like your punk with a sense of humor and maybe a little bit too much of an obsession with kitty cats, Margy Pepper is for you. The band's music is imbued
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As a writer in Tacoma, I've had the unique privilege of documenting SOTA alum Brad Oberhofer's group, Oberhofer, and their rise to fame in indie rock. Brad was an interview of mine in my first year of music writing. I spoke with him on a trip to New York. I've
News Front
Q1. What is being done to ensure our service members are safe in their travels and keep them healthy? A1. The actions outlined in Secretary Esper's memo and the Force Health Protection Supplement #4 are done to protect our personnel and their families. The department will take several measures to enhance
Music
For all the guff Tacoma takes from outsiders and its own population for various exaggerated reasons, something I will always defend and take a certain modicum of pride in is that we take care of our own when it's called upon us to do so. Part of the reason people
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Last year, I was melting in Austin, Tex., during South By Southwest. In a sticky haze, I found myself outside a blue theater. There, in the parking lot, I saw the best performance of my time at SXSW: the Back Pockets, from Atlanta, Ga. Some 10 or a dozen members
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An album as astonishingly overblown as the '90s Smashing Pumpkins landmark, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, is uniquely suited for the astonishingly overblown treatment being given to it on Saturday. The over two-hour, 28-song concept album will be covered in its entirety by a cavalcade of local artists and
