Clint Brownlee

If 2009 was an unusually nostalgic year in local music for certain wistful Seattle Gen-Xers, 2010 was the opening cymbal crash of an encore. Defunct old favorites reunited. Extant old favorites continued to soar. A tight-knit community that first rocked the world a quarter-century ago grew ever closer, through remembrance of lost friends and the sharing of new music. Here are five 2010 music-related events that tickled those Seattleites who’ve been listening all these years. (Part one here.)

5. Cameron Crowe Shoots Pearl Jam Film

Director Cameron Crowe’s relationship with Pearl Jam goes all the way back to 1991, when he shot Singles in town, casting Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Eddie Vedder as members of local rock band Citizen Dick (wink, wink). In 2010, Crowe was shooting the band again, this time to commemorate its 20th anniversary. (He also directed the video for Backspacer single "The Fixer.") As reported in June, Crowe and crew were spotted in Madrona and Capitol Hill, presumably recapturing important locales from the band's past. Details on the film, Pearl Jam Twenty, are hazy, but it will see some sort of release this year. (Just in: said film will be accompanied by a soundtrack and book.) Stay tuned.

4. Pigeonhed Brings Back the Funk

3. Brad Takes Center Stage

2. Fortunate Few Witness "Nudedragons" Return

1. Andy Kotowicz Remembered and Honored

If 2009 was an unusually nostalgic year in local music for certain wistful Seattle Gen-Xers, 2010 was the opening cymbal crash of an encore. Defunct old favorites reunited. Extant old favorites continued to soar. A tight-knit community that first rocked the world a quarter-century ago grew ever closer, through remembrance of lost friends and the sharing of new music. Here are five 2010 music-related events that tickled those Seattleites who’ve been listening all these years. (Part two here.)

10. Pearl Jam Launches Satellite Radio Station
What do you give the fans who have everything (hundreds of official bootlegs, multiple live records, nine studio releases since 1991)? On October 22, the 20th anniversary of the band's first show, Pearl Jam gave its fans the whole sonic shebang, in 24-hour rotation: Pearl Jam Radio. The band's satellite channel (Sirius, 17; XM, 39) not only mixes concert and studio recordings, but gives its cult-status fan family a chance to hear previously unreleased show tracks (going back to that first gig) and another to commune on fan roundtable show "The All Encompassing Trip." Live and studio recordings from PJ members' other current and defunct projects, including Eddie Vedder's solo work, Temple of the Dog, Mother Love Bone, and Mad Season are gravy. There's no better way to tune in to Pearl Jam's origins and evolution...unless you magically have all of this on vinyl.

9. Soundgarden Issues Telephantasm Retrospective
No one expected a Soundgarden reunion prior to January 1, but most folks knew that a career-spanning best-of box was just a matter of time. On September 28, the latter followed the former, in multiple packages—from simple CD to sly (and savvy) Guitar Hero bonus to limited-pressing vinyl set. The box included all the audio hits, of course, but also some previously unreleased live tracks, 14 music videos, bonus videos, and one (excellent) unearthed song from the Badmotorfinger sessions, "Black Rain." For those who couldn't witness Soundgarden's stage return—and that was pretty much everyone—Telephantasm was a worthy consolation prize.

8. The Posies Tour Behind a New Record
Twenty-three years after Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow formed the Posies, twelve after the band split, and five following the release of a comeback studio record, Blood/Candy hit the bins. The Auer- and Stringfellow-penned album, deemed "different" by that core duo and many of its listeners, maintained the pop-pep-and-harmony sounds of its predecessors while hearkening back to psych-lite sounds of the '60s and '70s. Apparently reinvigorated, the duo (rounded out by bassist Matt Harris and drummer Darius Minwalla on Blood/Candy) played the Croc and Sasquatch in the spring, released the new record, and then toured behind it through the year's last two months, delighting old fans and converting new ones in the process.

7. Alice in Chains Punctuates Return with Seattle Hat Trick
Everyone who thought Alice in Chains would kick ass without Layne Staley behind the mic raise your hand. Yeah, we were all wrong. The band's late 2009 studio return, Black Gives Way to Blue>, not only rocked like classic AIC, it rocked liked new AIC. (It wisely sidestepped the potential Staley-void argument, too; new vocalist William DuVall harmonizes with Jerry Cantrell, yes, but with his own high-register wail.) Critics welcomed the record with open arms and ears. The Grammy folks gave it both a 2010 and 2011 Best Hard Rock Performance nod. And the band toured and toured. In February, AIC rewarded hometown fans with a two-night Paramount homestand. In October, the band returned to deliver a blistering KeyArena show. That concert was filmed—in 3D, no less—for (presumably) an upcoming DVD release. That should kick ass, too.

6. Black Happy Reunites for Final Tour
While some bands rode the coattails of Seattle's pioneering Big Four in the early '90s (Bush? Candlebox?), others never quite made it, despite having a real Seattle club presence. Black Happy, out of Coeur d'Alene, ID, fell into the latter category. Perhaps the band's unique mix of metal and brass went over some listeners' heads. Or maybe it was just bad luck. Regardless, 2010 saw the group's original eight-member lineup reconcile from their 1996 split, if only for a brief Seattle/Spokane swan song. The shows sold out. The band rocked once more. Fists were shook in the face of fate. A DVD documenting the reunion is in the works.

Twenty years have passed—today—since Pearl Jam took Seattle’s Off Ramp stage and played as a band for the first time, baritone-throated San Diego surfer Eddie Vedder at the mic.

The band is still together. Playing another Bridge School benefit this weekend, in fact. And yes, you are that old.

To commemorate the date of its inaugural 1990 show and provide further proof that Pearl Jam is its generation’s Rolling Stones, the band will commandeer outer space to unleash a commercial-free, 24/7 stream of tunes: Pearl Jam Radio. Cue the official announcement:

Pearl Jam Radio will launch with a special airing of the band's 10th anniversary concert recorded in Las Vegas on October 22, 2000. The concert will be heard in its entirety on Friday, October 22 at 6:00 pm ET. The first day of Pearl Jam Radio on SIRIUS XM will also feature rarely heard highlights from the band's very first concert performance on October 22, 1990 at Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle, Washington.

In addition to these launch day specials, Pearl Jam Radio will feature archival concerts from throughout the band's celebrated 20-year career, rarities, unreleased material from the band's personal music library and music from the band's side projects, including solo and pre-Pearl Jam music.

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In other words, your music collection just got trumped. Now you can hear PJ, Mother Love Bone, Green River, Bad Radio, Brad, Three Fish, Rockfords, Mad Season, Jeff Ament’s solo work, Stone Gossard’s solo work, Eddie Vedder’s solo work, possibly Soundgarden, and lord knows what else—Shadow? Deranged Diction? Hater? Wellwater Conspiracy?—whenever you want.

To paraphrase (or nearly quote) the first fan to comment on Pearl Jam’s site: “This is fucking awesome. This will actually make it worth paying an XM subscription.”

Oh, but there’s more:

Additionally, Pearl Jam Radio will offer listeners a unique, interactive experience with the weekly show The All Encompassing Trip, a fan roundtable hosted by Tim Bierman, Manager of Ten Club, Pearl Jam's official fan club, and long-time Pearl Jam enthusiast and radio veteran Rob Bleetstein. Pearl Jam fans will be invited to participate in conversations on a different theme each week pertaining to the music, news and touring world of Pearl Jam.

Now retrieve your jaw and get thee to a satellite feed. That’ll be SIRIUS channel 17, XM channel 39, XM Radio Online, and the SIRIUS XM app for mobile devices.

Here’s to another 20 years, guys.

Will our fair, foggy city be destroyed by a gigantic, terrifying alien invader? Will our citizens ever again play Rock Band in peace? Are Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil, and Ben Shepherd actually the masterminds behind the diabolical creature's attack? (Is Soundgarden's return a symbolic cry of "Death to false metal!"?) The band's new "Black Rain" video, directed with sly '70s-animation awareness by Brendon Small, may not answer all of these questions, but it is fun to watch. And hear.

Spinner has the story of the video concept's germination, apparently courtesy of guitarist Thayil. It also reminds us that Soundgarden is, as Cornell has said recently, moving toward making new music and playing more gigs. Until then, there's the hits set (featuring the previously unreleased "Black Rain") Telephantasm releasing September 28.

Next time you're at the Croc or Neumo's or wherever and the tallest dude in the place is—if you share the phenomenon that plagues my 5'3" plus-one—standing right in front of you, it might be a Hall of Fame-bound pitcher. Because retired Mariners ace Randy Johnson, all 6'10" of him, is now dabbling as a rock photographer. And he has some local Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound friends: Soundgarden.

Turns out the Big Unit forged ties with guitarist Kim Thayil back when both the lefty's career and Thayil's band were just taking off. In 1989, Johnson spotted the bearded axeman on the big screen during a game at the Kingdome; he extended a batting practice invite to Thayil through the band's manager, and the rest is record book-rewriting history, now recounted by Johnson at Spin.com.

"We became friends," says Johnson, "and he'd take me to a lot of clubs, introduce me to a lot of different bands, and we'd drink and shoot pool and have a good time."

"It [sic] just enjoyed hanging out with them, drinking a beer, and watching them do their thing, much like I've had Kim and a couple of the other guys come to watch me pitch. Two entirely different venues and different fans. Just a whole different setting. But I can appreciate what they do—they're really good at what they do—and I think that I've been okay myself at what I do. I think it's just a great trade off."

The pitcher and the guitarist stayed close throughout Soundgarden's 13-year absence, too, talking baseball, music, and early-age retirement. And when the band was planning its return earlier this year, Johnson, freshly cleatless, was right there.

"Kim had asked me to come down to a studio where they were rehearsing," says Johnson. "And this was several days before they did that unannounced first show of theirs at the Showbox in Seattle. Unfortunately, the day before they played that show, I had to leave to go to Japan, so I wasn't able to make it, but I watched them rehearse one night in Seattle and got caught up with all them, told them all good luck."

Soundgarden's next gig—and their last-known show for 2010—was on a much bigger stage in Chicago, and this time Johnson was there. With his camera. "I put my suitcase down, and drove over to the venue with those guys and hung out, said hi to a lot of people, and then took pictures," he says. And apparently he's been shooting for some time; his color and B&W shots of the band killing Lollapalooza are accomplished, crisp studies in light and contrast. His shuttered subjects look rock-star cool; they look human.

How do you win 300+ baseball games with one arm, befriend one of your generation's biggest bands, and nonchalantly switch career gears? "Practice, practice, practice," Johnson says. Naturally.

I believe that is why god created the (really dumb, but, here, appropriately and winkingly used) word "rawk." And hey, fans, you can now pre-order various versions of Soundgarden's upcoming Telephantasm retrospective, on which "Black Rain" appears. Thirteen bucks (simple CD) to $110 (super duper deluxe limited-edition CD/LP/etc.). Help fill the band's coffers, people. Bassist Ben Shepherd's homeless.

Yesterday, I described "You Won't Let Me Down Again," the second track on Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan's upcoming album, Hawk, as "strangely uplifting despite its rather downbeat, but hopeful?, lyrics." Hours later, the duo issued a video for the song, their first for Hawk:

Downbeat despair on the open road? Check. Glimpse of hope? Yep. Pretty Isobel? Uh-huh. Stony Mark? Nope. He's one elusive dude. You'll definitely see the guy if you grab tickets for the pair's October 26 Neumo's gig.

Three albums into an initially very surprising collaboration, the sandpaper-and-velvet duo of Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan is finally cozy enough to play live in the U.S., including a stop at Neumo's on October 26. The third album, Hawk—following the acclaimed Ballad of the Broken Seas (2006) and Sunday at Devil Dirt (2008)—hits shelves August 24, but can be streamed via Campbell’s Facebook page now.

If you know Lanegan from his days fronting Ellensburg's Screaming Trees and have (ignorantly) tuned him out since, these atmospheric, South-souled songs will surprise you. If you're familiar with his eclectic, smoky solo catalog and/or work with the Soulsavers and Greg Dulli (as the Gutter Twins) or Campbell's Snuggie-soft voice (going back to 1996 with Belle and Sebastian), you'll be pleased. Either way, their latest work, though similarly fit for a long-forgotten, remote Texas tavern, is even more of a sonic—and somehow almost tactile—joy. (Campbell, the musical pants-wearer of the duo, produced.) Think salted caramel ice cream. First you wrinkle your nose, then you lick your lips.

Here's a quickly-penned reaction/review of Hawk's thirteen dusky, scene-setting songs, eight featuring Lanegan's awesome rasp, two surrendering the mic to young folkie Willy Mason (not actually featured on the Garden State soundtrack; more on that below), and one with fretwork from former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha.

"We Die And See Beauty Reign": Starts right off with the chorus refrain, a sweet duet. Sparse acoustic guitar. Not much to it and that's okay. Just a pleasant, mellow little ditty.

"You Won't Let Me Down Again": Ah, yes. Lanegan starts off, with Campbell's ahhhhh backing between verses. Pretty. With a solid, electric and acoustic guitar rhythm. Instantly hummable chorus (song's title). Dirty, bluesy electric guitar solo (Iha's work). A strangely uplifting song despite its rather downbeat, but hopeful?, lyrics.

"Snake Song": A backbeat-heavy Townes Van Zandt cover. Lanegan and simple, solid, twangy acoustic guitars in charge here. Impossible not to bounce a knee to. Great.

"Come Undone": String intro and fills reminiscent of their previous records. Lanegan again holds reins, with Campbell filling, sensually wrapping around his leads. "I can't get/close to you/I come undone." Ouch: "Oh love of my life/won’t you let me down easy." This is a slow dance number, but tough. Something you’d hear in a Tarantino flick, juxtaposed with brutal, ironic spousal abuse (or revenge).

"No Place To Fall": Uh, who's this dude that isn't Mark Lanegan who's singing? Isn't this an album by "Isobel Cambell & Mark Lanegan"? Why's he taking the lead with Campbell backing, as if he were the rusty, wonderful Lanegan? And why does he sound like that dude who made his dollar with that song on the Garden State soundtrack? Is it him? I hope not. I hate that guy.

"Get Behind Me": And now back to our regularly scheduled program, with a big, bad rollicking metallic riff and bouncing bassline. Oh, this is good. "We'll have a good time/underneath the stars." Oh, yeah. Gotta be the most rockin' song they’ve done. Like a folk song beefed up with country-guitar steroids. Galloping snare drum. Nice jam in the middle—and it just keeps going, with added rhythm. One of the best.

"Time Of The Season": Toe-tapping from note four. A Christmas song! Something about “"Kids, don't believe in Santa Claus." Oh, beautiful: "In your embrace/I found my place." Hopping the globe here: King's Cross, Birmingham, Zanzibar, Amsterdam. "If we stand a chance/we should take it/if we're feelin' love/then we should make it." More hope wrapped in uncertainty. A real duet, sharing each line equally. It's an instant beauty, one to play year-round but enjoy most during the holidays.

"Hawk": Whoa. Title track is mad, rollicking instrumental number—like the soundtrack in a hell-bound '50s roadster. Angry saxophone, tortured woman's scream floats in and out. I see a late-'50s ballroom full of sweating, twirling couples. All with red eyes flashing. Finishes in a chaotic, loose electric riff. Nice.

"Sunrise": All Campbell here, silky voice like a white sheet rippling in a breeze above the solo acoustic guitar. No rhythm needed. Short and sweet.

“To Hell & Back Again": Mellow strumming and undulent bass fades in with Campbell's voice. Reminds me of something, but don't know what. Thinking of Twin Peaks for some reason. Slow and beautiful. Some orchestral fills in latter half; "when he laid me down/when he brought me 'round." Tamborine. "And back again" repeats, fading out. Great song, totally without drama the title suggests.

"Cool Water": Oh great, here’s the not-Lanegan guy again. What was that Garden State song, something about a cup of coffee? I hate that song—and everything else I've heard from that guy. All sounds the same: boring. Sleepy. If Campbell wanted to sing with this dude, why not make a record with him and say it was by Isobell Campbell and That Garden State Dude?

"Eyes Of Green": "Have you ever seen my true love/the one that makes my heart strings sing?" Lanegan/Campbell equal duet again. Wow, blossoms into an Irish wedding song or something. Love it. Oh, and over when you're just getting into it. Could be another minute or two long.

"Lately": All Lanegan—oh, and a female gospel choir-sounding back, singing the title and filling on the chorus. Awesome. (A little Soulsavers-ish, too.) "Move forward now and leave the past behind." A little acoustic mini-solo here and there. Could put this one in a wedding playlist. Or in a movie where Julia Roberts actually marries the great guy she's been cool on—if it was an indie flick without Julia Roberts. Ends with a gospel vocal flourish. Very nice. More optimism somehow wrapped in melancholy. Or is it the other way around?

You've heard that Eat Pray Love, the August 13 film adaptation of a memoir by the same name, stars the ever-gorgeous Julia Roberts. And that it's about eating and loving and stuff. But did you know the soundtrack (out now) features two songs by Eddie Vedder? That one of them, "Better Days," is a new track penned for the film by the Pearl Jam frontman? Like his mellow, soaring songs for Into the Wild, this one pairs well with Roberts' character's apparent quest for self-definition:

You've also heard about Soundgarden reuniting earlier this year, yes? Well, they showed Chicago how a rock reunion is done last weekend. Tearing through a heavy set of hits ("Spoonman," "Outshined," "Black Hole Sun") and old-school fan favorites ("Flower," "Get On The Snake," "Slaves & Bulldozers") at the Vic Theatre and Lollapalooza (video below), the band proved that they've lost nothing in the intervening years (unlike Stone Temple Pilots and others). No future shows have been announced...yet.

First, the disappointing news: Telephantasm isn't a new studio record. It won't include a single new song from the reformed Soundgarden. It'll have just one previously unreleased tune, "Black Rain," shuttered since the Badmotorfinger sessions. (Which means it's probably thunderous.)

Second, the excellent news: Telephantasm is a Soundgarden record and Soundgarden is together. And, in the same announcement (below), the Lollapalooza-bound band revealed that it will also soon be issuing its first DVD. Undoubtedly that will include footage from Soundgarden's April 16 Showbox return de force, captured in these stills.

Here's the band's official announcement, posted last night:

It is with great pleasure that we can finally let you all know what we have been working on. On September 28th, we will be releasing a new retrospective called Telephantasm. It includes songs from all of our albums and E.P's, including "Black Rain", an unreleased track from the Badmotorfinger sessions. Plus, we are releasing our first ever DVD which will include never before seen videos, and much more.

We have partnered with Guitar Hero 6 to launch Telephantasm simultaneously with the launch of the new game. Which means if you buy Guitar Hero 6 for the week of September 28th you get a copy of Telephantasm as well. Of course, there will be vinyl, collectors editions, deluxe packages and more.

The pessimist in me worries that Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd, and Matt Cameron won't stay together long enough to release a record of new material. That there will be some insurmountable creative or personal conflict that will again send the guys packing their gear. (No, I don't believe for a second the reunion is fueled by finances.) The optimist looks forward to another couple of smallish Seattle shows, a full tour, and an eclectic, heavy new album. Both parts are crossing fingers that I'll actually, finally witness the band play live.

One other thing from the cynic: Must all rock bands integrate Guitar Hero (and its gaming kin) into their releases? I guess it probably helps sales, but it just makes me yawn.