Music
In my mid-teenage years, I picked up my first vinyl album from the discount bin at Rocket Records. It was a weather-worn copy of Harry Nilsson's underrated Son of Schmilsson, the tongue-in-cheek quasi-sequel to his breakthrough Nilsson Schmilsson, and it was filled with tossed-off goofs ("I'd Rather Be Dead"), surging
Music
In the days since David Bowie passed, an overabundance of think-pieces were published about the effect that he had on generations of weirdos, experimenters, LGBT kids and astronautic explorers. Bowie gave permission to so many people to live out their wildest ambitions and their most taboo desires. I've spent a
South Sound Cinema
It's remarkable to think about how new the art form of motion pictures is. To this day, some people don't even consider films to be an art because of how new they are. A little over a century ago, the Lumiere brothers began filming things as simple as someone doing
Music
You can be forgiven for thinking that Marion Walker is some rootsy folk singer from the ‘60s that was lost to the sands of time, or that she may be a retro-leaning find that is being groomed by producers that would like to snake their way into the currently profitable
Stage
In one way, dear reader, it would be very difficult for me to describe the plot of Arcadia without spoiling it for you; in another way, it may actually be impossible for me to spoil this play to anyone. Going into this production, the managing artistic director of the Lakewood
Music
I've said it countless times in articles I've written about bands in the almost seven years I've been doing this, but that's because it's truly stuck with me in the way that most insights in music journalism don't: "The better the person's voice, the harder it is to believe what
Music
There are a lot of milestones that come with growing up listening to music: leaving the comfort of the music that your parents played for you, using their teachings as building blocks to discover bands on your own; getting the first pangs of abandonment when a favorite band releases a
Music
Over the years that I've spent writing for this fine rag, I've made no secret of my distaste for just about every holiday (not you, Arbor Day; don't go changing). In particular, I've let New Year's Eve have it on several occasions. It's become something of an annual tradition in
Music
I sometimes cast my mind back to a formative experience when I was around 13 years old. I had attended an old friend's Bat Mitzvah, followed by a reception at a local hotel. I found myself frequently huddled together with my male friend that came with me, avoiding any interactions
Stage
I confess that I was nervous going into Tacoma Little Theatre's production of A Christmas Story. Somehow, even though the 1983 film (upon which this play is based) plays on a non-stop loop on TV during the holiday season, I had somehow avoided seeing it during my 26 years on
Music
After so many years of writing about music, the one thing that still fascinates me is the myriad ways in which bands have found to combine genres and era into a bizarre soup. As far as pop music is concerned, there has always been a bungee chord effect that finds
Music
I think it's safe to say that the majority of the films of John Hughes found their success and their long-lasting nostalgic value through their impeccable usage of music. Movies like Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club are passably surface-examining studies of teenage life, more comfortable dealing
Music
Different generations of people have their own touchstones when it comes to nakedly emotional catharsis in music. This type of sound can come from just about any time and genre - from Bruce Springsteen to Nick Drake, from the Smiths to Del Shannon, from Arcade Fire to Kendrick Lamar. Any
Music
In the late ‘60s, there existed a band consisting of three sisters: Dot, Betty, and Helen Wiggin. Dubbed the Shaggs, to take advantage of the popularity of a then-current hairdo, the band was assembled by their tyrannical father, who was told by his mother on her deathbed that the girls
South Sound Cinema
Saturday, the Rialto will host a double feature of two Tacoma-centric music documentaries. In Strictly Sacred: The Story of Girl Trouble, you'll see - among many other things in a wildly kinetic time capsule of ‘80s Tacoma rock - Bon Von Wheelie, drummer for Girl Trouble. In the film, she
Stage
Styles of comedy come in and out of fashion. Comedies of manners were largely confined to the UK; slapstick is interchangeably considered the height of entertainment or the bottom of the barrel; cringe-comedy made a roaring entrance onto the scene with stuff like Christopher Guest movies and The Office, even
Music
Why is it that minimalism always sounds much harsher than the lush efforts of bigger bands? There's an aggression at play with minimalist bands that transcends the limitations of production. Bands like Suicide and producers like Steve Albini recognized this phenomenon, erring on the side of thinness and lo-fidelity in
Music
When you're listening to psychedelic music, at some point you have to make a choice: Where exactly do you want your brain to go, and what do you want it to be doing? Some bands are paramountly concerned with melting brains and faces and basically everything that isn't bolted down.
Stage
Even before he started writing and directing fiercely original movies like World's Greatest Dad and God Bless America, it should be noted that Bobcat Goldthwait was always more than the guy with the squawking voice in the Police Academy movies. As a stand-up comic, finding his footing in the Boston
Music
It took me years before I would even bother to look up the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, let alone listen to it. Just hearing the name was enough to turn me off. When I finally did make the time to listen, I realized that they were an absolutely batsh@* crazy