Tagged: arts & life

In the days before records were mass-produced, people learned about popular songs through sheet music.  The pop musician known as Beck (no relation to KUOW’s Dave Beck) was so intrigued by that idea that his latest album isn’t even a recording at all. 

Tomorrow is a dark day for many a Seattle vinyl enthusiast — Easy Street Records, the lower Queen Anne record store, is closing after serving the Emerald City for more than a dozen years. Many are bemoaning the loss of the Queen Anne record store, but what about you? Do record stores matter to you? I mean, do they really matter? Do you still buy music from stores, and how much?

With music available online through iTunes and services like Spotify, why do we still need record stores? Ross Reynolds talks with local music writer Charles Cross, Sarah Moody from Hardly Art and Eli Anderson from Neumos and takes listener calls.

Some Olympia lawmakers are backing a bill to let movie theaters and live performance venues apply for liquor licenses to serve beer and wine. The bill is sponsored by Democrat Jim Moeller, who represents Vancouver. Ross Reynolds finds out the likelihood of moviegoers cracking a cold one at a theater near you.

Since 2006, more than 40,000 soldiers, police officers, traffickers and citizens have died in Mexico’s bloody drug war — from the mountains where pot and poppies are grown to the streets of Mexico City. Journalist Ioan Grillo tracks the rise of the cartels and their increasing influence north of the border in his book, "El Narco." He joins Steve Scher with a report from the front lines of the Mexican drug war.