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SOUND
AFFECTS
Find music, news and more in Sound Affects ROSS RAIHALA Originally published Sept. 7, 2001
I can still remember ripping the wrapping off my first vinyl record, Donna Summer's 1978 "Live & More," a then-new double-album collection complete with the "MacArthur Park Suite" in its nearly 18 minutes of disco-fied glory.
It was my sixth birthday and I announced that the $10 bill I received from a well-meaning relative needed to be marched on down to the local Pamida where I would finally purchase a record to call my own.
While growing up in northern Minnesota, I was exposed to pop music nearly from birth. I idolized my sister Carmel, who was 10 years my elder. And as she entered her teen years -- a time when buying records is basically a matter of course -- I tried my hardest to do what she did, i.e. listen to music and read Mad magazine.
That jump-start into music obsession never really left me and, to this day, it's tough for me to pass a record store without at least popping in for a peek.
All of which leads me, in a roundabout fashion, to this new column, which will appear each Friday in Weekend.
I plan to focus on the fertile local and regional music scene through reviews and news items as well as release and tour dates. But I'll also expand the coverage to include news of some blockbuster releases and the more interesting alternative product coming from independent and major labels.
One policy here at The Olympian is that all columns carry a title, something I labored over at great length. I asked friends and colleagues for input (more on that later) but ultimately settled on "Sound Affects." I borrowed the title from a 1980 Jam album, the first band I purchased on CD when I moved into the digital age back in 1987.
Regardless of the title, this column will flourish with input from readers. Please do drop me a line with information on local shows and releases that may fall beneath my radar.
Nirvana news
With the 10th anniversary of Nirvana's "Nevermind" looming, just about every music publication has weighed in with new (and not-so-new) features on the band and its doomed leader, Kurt Cobain.
The October issue of Spin features a sizable excerpt from Charles R. Cross' new book "Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain."
It includes the tale of Cobain's first concert (Sammy Hagar and Quarterflash in 1983) as well as the story of Cobain's homemade tattoo -- the logo of Olympia's K Records.
Rolling Stone, meanwhile, avoided using the almost stereotypical, black-and-white stock shot of Cobain's tortured mug for its cover by placing an almost stereotypical, airbrushed-to-the-heavens cheesecake shot of Britney Spears.
The issue, dated Sept. 13, boasts a 10-years-later update of the memorable "Nevermind" album cover as well as new interviews with Nirvana's surviving members (Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl) and a helpful guide to the band's numerous bootlegs.
New in stores
-ew this week: "Sea to Shining Sea," the latest Sub Pop release from Love as Laughter, a band that previously recorded for K Records; the six-song mini-album "Thelema" from Seattle's Murder City Devils, also on Sub Pop; and "How Many Bands Does it Take to Screw up a Blondie Tribute" (Sympathy for the Record Industry), a 25-song tribute album featuring acts such as Candypants, the Short Fuses and Beards.
One new release sure to post some impressive first-week sales is "Toxicity" (American/Columbia), the long-awaited second album from new metal act System of a Down. They are set to play the Tacoma Dome on Sept. 26 on a bill that also features Slipknot, Rammstein and Mudvayne.
The Top 10
This column will conclude each week with a Top 10 list.
If I needed to, I could crank out a list like this every morning before breakfast. But it will be much more interesting to see what readers can conjure.
Take this as an open invitation for music fans to compile and submit a music-related Top 10 list on just about any (printable) topic, from the Top 10 Best Heartbreak Songs to the Top 10 Most Hideous Album Covers to ... well, the more creative, the better.
With that in mind, I'll kick things off with this list of rejected titles for this column that were suggested by friends who surely wanted to subject me to public humiliation:
10. "Pop Hodgepodge"; 9. "Electric Autobahn"; 8. "Extreme Views (with Ross Raihala)"; 7. "Verse Chorus Verse"; 6. "Drummer Wanted"; 5. "R Chord (the 'R' is for 'Ross')"; 4. "Slow Sad Boy Music"; 3. "Indie Ross"; 2. "Rant 'n Roll"; and 1. "Behind the Music: Olympia."
Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send ideas and Top 10 lists to OlyRoss@aol.com.
COMING UP
Bob Dylan returns to the Northwest for a concert on Oct. 6, and Widespread Panic will visit Seattle 10 days later.
For tickets to these and other shows, visit a Ticketmaster outlet, go online to www.ticketmaster.com or call (206) 628-0888. Here's a sampling of newly booked shows:
- Bob Dylan, 8 p.m. Oct. 6, KeyArena, Seattle, $35 and $45, on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 8.
- Widespread Panic, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16, KeyArena, Seattle, $25, on sale at 11 a.m. Sept. 8.
- Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, 8 p.m. Oct. 13, Lucky Eagle Casino, Rochester, $15, on sale at 10 a.m. today (Sept. 7).
- "Fosse," Oct. 16-20, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, $16-$52, on sale at 9 a.m. today (Sept. 7).
- Gregory Hines, 8 p.m. Feb. 8, Paramount theatre, Seattle, $27.50-$47.50, on sale now.
- Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect, 8 p.m. March 17, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, $29.50-$49.50, on sale now.
- Mandy Patinkin, 8 p.m. Jan. 4, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, $29.50-$49.50, on sale now.
- Capitol Steps, 8 p.m. Jan. 26, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, $18.50-$38.50, on sale now.
- Jonathan Miller's "Laughing Matters: Humor and Comedy," 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Town Hall, Seattle, $25, on sale now. The Olympian Copyright 2001 back to main SOUND AFFECTS index
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