The King Elephant

Quickie: Nasty Jams

2011-06-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Cardboard robots are really making the rounds in the music world, but this video is exceptionally nasty. What are the kids listening to these days, anyway?

That being said, I could really go for a hundred mimosas. Happy Tuesday!

Battle of the Buses: KC Exec on fee for transit

2011-06-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

King County Executive Dow Constantine got on the KUOW this morning to defend his proposal for a $20, two-year car tab to help fund King County Metro.

Unsurprisingly, Constantine's argument centered around reducing congestion, but what caught my attention was that (according to him) 95 percent of commuters in King County own cars. That doesn't mean that 95 percent of people use their cars to get to work, though (a recent study found that half of commuters use transit of some kind to get to and from downtown Seattle). However, it does mean that thousands of car owners who take the bus to work (like me) will likely hop back in the cars if bus service gets cut, making the roads even more clogged. Another point, which didn't come up in the interview, that seems to rebut the argument drivers make when they pout and scream and say bus riders don't pay their way: If a good portion of bus riders also own cars, it means they will also be paying the car-tab fee (in addition to bus fare).

Constantine isn't known for sugar-coating his opinions, and his answers to questions about transit and taxes from callers and ever-smug Steve Scher were firm, dismissing claims that maybe "efficiency measures" could close budget shortfalls (Metro has already cut thousands of hours through "efficiency measures," resulting in a more unreliable bus schedule) and complaints about being taxed too much (ugh, I don't even want to touch this one).

He also said that to make up the needed revenue without the car tabs fee, Metro would have to raise bus fares by about $1.50 per trip–meaning a one-way trip during non-peak hours would cost $3.75. (For comparison, San Francisco is increasing standard bus fare to $2 in July, and it costs $2.25 in Chicago, the same as Metro's current rate.)

My favorite point of the interview came when Scher asked Constantine about Mckenna's plan to bolster education through efficiency measures in the state. Constantine called it a plan of "attrition" in state workers.

"That is an absolute fantasy that you could make up the enormous gap in education by laying off state employees."

Love him or hate him, the guy's got a way with words.

The Pot Spot: Seattle Times endorses legalizing marijuana

2011-06-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

In somewhat unlikely news, the Seattle Times editorial board (the same one that endorsed vapid attention-mongering Republican Dino Rossi in 2008) came out in support of an initiative that would allow the state to legalize, tax, and distribute marijuana. The initiative, perhaps the first of its kind with a shot at actually making the ballot, is sponsored by the likes of former U.S. attorney John McKay and the travel guy.

Last year, a poll found that 56 percent of Washington residents support legalizing marijuana possession (54 percent support selling it in liquor stores), which means, given the muscle and the money behind it, this might actually pass. It would no doubt get struck down in federal court (the Obama administration has been hands-off with medical marijuana enforcement, but it's unlikely they would ignore such a blatant challenge to federal law).

Should be quite a show!

Full text of the initiative here.

Toward a Heightened State of Narcissism

2011-06-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

A swarm of anti-tax, anti-government loudmouths descended on the comment section of a recent Seattle Times article about King County's proposal for a $20 car-tab fee to raise a little cash to help maintain the current inadequate level of bus service from already-debilitated King County Metro. The sentiment was nearly universal: I don't ride the bus, so why should I have to pay for it?
From brave American Hero/anonymous commenter rock90mc!:

Let the people who ride the damm bus pay for it- isn't that the logic behind the tolls...

Yes! The tolls–all those tolls we pay on the thousands of miles of state highways and roads throughout Washington! Great argument!

These are the same people who call up the county in the middle of January and bitch about that goddamned pothole where the Escalade is supposed to park. Then a truck full of low-wage "union thugs" shows up to fix the boo-boo using money from our "socialist" tax coffers. And then it's, they should have come faster. And why don't they just repave the whole goddamned thing? WHY WILL NO ONE HEED MY NARROW SELF-INTEREST?

Nobody is asking it the obvious question, so I will: Why should I have to pay for your pothole? I don't use your road. I don't drive down the streets of your low-density urban sprawl. Why should my money go toward your problem? Because roads are a public good that a lot of people depend on for getting places–just like public transportation, which costs money but helps a whole lot of people (who still have to pay a fee) get places.

I know it's not healthy to read online comments in local news stories, but after last year's election I'm beginning to believe this isolationist, self-centered mindset is gaining a following not just nationally but here in "progressive" Washington.

These Heroes of Humanity and Keepers of the New Millennium usher in a new era of progress and Responsibility by bitching about potentially having to vote on a two-year, $20 fee on cars to help an ailing public transportation system–just like they bitch about how oppressed they are when they want to allow our school system to continue crumbling into a mess of squalid dropout factories by opting out of funding public education taxes, because some Important People are rich enough to afford to send their kids to private schools. These are the real battles of our times! And these are our heroes!

Meanwhile, we continue to spend ~~$6.7~~ $10 billion a month chasing after a couple hundred amateur bomb makers and "rebuilding" a faraway nation that never really existed in the first place, as the Vice President gets on the email to complain about the government spending $125 for a website to help save a species of tortoise that may soon vanish from the planet because a bunch of greedy investors, aided in part by incentives from the government, decided to build suburban McMansions in the middle of the desert during the height housing bubble.

In Bob Herbert's final column for the New York Times, he writes:

The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely.

Burn the turtle website!

Booze News: Olympia spits at Costco

2011-06-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hot dog, we got ourselves a liquor war!

In a blatant attempt to throw a wrench in Costco's continuing jihad against the state's monopoly over liquor sales, Gov. Gregoire signed a hastily sewn-together bill Wednesday that allows the state to solicit bids for control of liquor distribution, hoping tip voters toward defeating Initiative 1183 in the fall.

The bill included an emergency provision that lets the state to start seeking bids immediately, citing reasons of "public peace, health or safety" and impacts on state revenue. The funny thing about this bill is timing. If the legislature really thought that privatizing the distribution system (right now!) was a viable way to raise some cash, why did they wait until the very end of the session to ram it through? Why didn't this come up in December after voters repealed the candy tax? Oh that's right—Costco's Initiative 1183, which would totally dismantle the state-controlled liquor system, is headed to the November ballot—and it might just pass.

The legislature sees 1183 as a real threat to its liquor monopoly (which it is). The Costco-backed initiative (which would allow only large retailers to sell liquor, capitulating to grievances from law-enforcement groups about ease of access, among other compromises, probably stands a much better chance of passing than the two murky initiatives on last year's ballot.

By passing this "emergency" bill, Gregoire and the gang hope to convince voters that the state is in fact getting out of the liquor business. They are betting that they can get voters who are on the fence about this issue—who are uneasy about liquor in grocery stores and mini marts but also dislike the state monopoly—to be sufficiently satisfied by the distribution deal to vote against 1183 in the fall.

So in a sense, this is an emergency—for the state, at least, because it stands a real chance of losing the liquor monopoly this time around.

However, the troubling thing about this bill is that if the state does decide to lease the distribution mechanism (it doesn't have to, according to the legislation), it would simply turn a public monopoly into a private monopoly. Potentially, one distributor could control liquor distribution in Washington for 10 years, or however long the state decides a "long-term" contract is. This was what many voters—rightfully!—had beef with in last year's 1105. Oh yeah, and guess who sponsored the initial legislation? Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla), a former beer distributor! Granted, the state will still have control over product selection, but I find it hard to believe that this is what privatization promotes are pushing for.

The saga continues.

Obama will fulfill promise to try KSM in civilian court (PYSCH!)

2011-04-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Remember three years ago when we were all, "Gitmo SUXXX" and "NO MORE WAR TRIBUNALS! Bush is a no-good, war-mongering jerk!"? And then we elected that one guy to make it all go away and he was like, "I'm gonna close Gitmo in one year!" and "we're gonna try everybody in civilian courts (because our justice system is fine, thank you very much)." Well, Mission Accomplished, folks! APRIL FOOLS LOL!

From NYT:

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is set to announce on Monday afternoon that he has cleared military prosecutors at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to file war-crime charges against Mr. Mohammed and four others accused in the Sept. 11 case. Mr. Holder had decided in November 2009 to move the case to a federal civilian courtroom in New York City, but a political backlash shut down that plan.

Michael Ennis thinks cars rule, will laugh at you at parties

2011-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Will no one defend the poor, voiceless drivers of this state?!

Conservative research person Michael Ennis wrote an editorial for Publicola saying that Seattle sucks and is prejudiced against car owners because the state and city are broke and won't build a 40-lane bridge between Bellevue and Seattle's business district and H-bomb those anti-capitalist parking meters.

The rest of us have generally accepted Seattle’s anti-driver policies as the cost of doing business in a big city, and used them as punch lines at parties or whenever relatives from out-of-town would visit.

Har har har! Those stupid bus-riding hippies!

He goes on to reference some study that ranks Seattle as the most congested city in country (another crappy study ranks at as the ninth, and another ranks it tenth). He then uses it to complain about the 520 Bridge project and how lame it's going to be driving on that thing because of all the bus and HOV lanes. Does that bridge even count in the study? I mean, it's not really in Seattle, is it?

But he doesn't hate buses!

Public transportation is important and serves a vital role in highly dense urban areas like downtown Seattle. But transit is expensive and it does not work for the majority of people.

Right, almost nobody outside of downtown Seattle uses public transportation, which is where Metro makes all its fare money, offering those free downtown buses.

Remember, this is the guy who thinks bus drivers, who are among the most stressed-out people ever, are overpaid.

You know what else sucks about buses? Those stretchy things in the middle. I mean, I can't tell if I'm going to puke because of the corners or because of the stench from those dirty, car-hating freeloaders. Amirite?

"Clip Your Wings" music video now online

2010-12-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I like making music. Well, as it turns out, my friend Andriy likes making videos. At some point, we figured out that a lot of people are kind of into something called "music videos," so we decided to make our own. How logical!

Make sure to check it out in HD:

Andriy Semenyuk filmed and edited the video in Bellingham this autumn. He is originally from Ukraine, but he came to the states to study. I met him in one of my journalism classes last year. We became fast friends and started working on a few visual projects, including this one. If you get a chance, check out his blog.

The song is the fourth track on my album, Mel's Hole. I wrote and recorded all of the songs for the album on Iron Street in Bellingham over the course of about a year. You can download the whole thing for free on my website.

This song is actually one I started writing several years ago but never finished. I went back to it last spring and reworked it for this album. Enjoy!

McRib: is it food?

2010-11-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

The McRib is back! If you are like me, you probably didn't even know it was gone.

Well, apparently it's a big deal. McDonald's has only sporadically offered the sandwich at select locations over the past few decades, but now they are making it available everywhere for a limited time. Normally, I wouldn't care because I don't really like McDonald's, but the fact that there is a full-on cult following—which includes a website where McRib lovers can post McRib sightings—made me curious.

Naturally, after reading about the elusive sandwich and its mysterious pressed-pork patty molded to look like it has bones protruding from sides, I had to do the world a service and answer the question that I'm sure everyone is asking: Is it food?

The outside of the box read, "McRib: TANGY TEMPTATION." Frankly, I was only mildly tempted, but I tried to set the mood and give the McRib its fair trial.

From the outside it actually looks a little bit like food!

Undressing the McRib reveals a wealth of healthy vegetables—and barbecue sauce!

I didn't find the bottom of the sandwich at all tempting. You can see how the patty is formed to look like some kind of barbecue spare rib mimicry. They actually used to feed us something similar looking at my elementary and middle schools. Even as a prepubescent garbage disposal I remember being skeptical of that mystery meat.

A cross section reveals a strange, opaque gray-colored meaty center. This really doesn't look like food to me.

THE VERDICT

It tasted exactly like everything else I've ever had at McDonald's. I don't know how they do it, but everything they serve there seems to have that same Mcflavor. That in itself is good reason to believe this isn't food.

The pickles and barbecue sauce really didn't complement each other very well. Don't get me wrong—I love pickles, but the combination just tasted weird. The "meat" was rubbery, and aside from that familiar Mcflavor, it really didn't taste like anything I should be putting in my body. Not surprisingly, I experienced a bit of a McStomach ache after all was said and done.

Back when I was a vegetarian, my meat-eating friends made fun of my veggie burgers and questioned whether or not my tofurkey was actually fit for human consumption because it looked kind of weird and wasn't made out of animals. Well, to those people I say, McRib!

Out of 5
Presentation: 2
Taste: 1
Texture: 0
Digestibility: -500

PROBABLY NOT FOOD

The King Elephant's guide to the election: Whatcom County and Washington State

2010-10-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

It’s finally time to vote! We’ve had the pleasure of spending the last nine months watching our favorite politicians drag each other through the mud, make outrageous campaign promises and generally make us want to vomit. Now is the moment when we finally get to indulge in our democratic right and vote in the best of the worst and kick out the cockroaches.

So you got your ballot in the mail, but you’re not sure who or what to vote for. Are we really voting on six initiatives? Good gravy! That voter’s pamphlet is almost as big as the eight phone books piled up on my porch! How am I supposed to pick a supreme court justice? I didn’t even know we had one of those! Voting here in Washington State can seem like a perilous, time-consuming headache. And it is! Fortunately, the good King Elephant has your back.

If you want the quick and dirty version without long explanations, click here. It’s printable for easy reference!

This year we have a lot of choices that could fundamentally alter the trajectory of our state, including ballot measures that could seriously change the way our state collects revenue. We also have the chance to elect Tea Party-backed state candidates who challenge incumbents by claiming the state is on an out-of-control spending spree and promising to reduce taxes and find efficiencies to maintain some—but perhaps not all—of our favorite state services.

The unfortunate reality is that state programs cost money. Making government more efficient is an admirable endeavor, but there is only so much juice you can squeeze from a lemon before you’re left with—well, a gross lemon. Quite frankly, we have to decide whether we want to cut taxes or maintain state programs. We can’t have it both ways.

THE FEDS

US Senate

Elephant says: Reelect Patty Murray

During the past two elections, politicians have used earmarks as a scapegoat for bloated budgets and out-of-control deficits. Nobody in this state has been more vocal about pork barrel spending than Dino Rossi, who has pledged to put Murray’s Senate seat on a vegetarian diet if he gets elected. The truth is that a lot of stuff we like here in Washington depends on earmarks—from road improvement projects to money for agricultural research and measures to save vital businesses, and few politicians are better at bringing home the bacon that Patty Murray. You can disagree with her stance on social issues, but if you need money, Murray’s your best bet.

She is by far the most powerful politician in the Northwest, and one of the most powerful in the Senate today. If Rossi is elected, not only will we lose out on the money, but Washington’s influence in Congress will suffer. All that grumbling about crazy spending and ads depicting Patty Murray trampling on children are pretty scary, but the fact is Rossi won’t be able to put his money where is mouth is. When he hits D.C., the money will disappear. And once people start complaining that Washington’s roads and bridges are falling apart, Rossi won’t have the sway to fling some of that pork our way.

US Congress, 2^nd District

Elephant says: Reelect Rick Larsen

Rick Larsen doesn’t hold the same sway in the House that Murray has in the Senate, but he has heralded some good environmental legislation and established himself as a slightly left-of-center Democrat in a swing district who is able to bring home money for district-specific projects. If our state decides it doesn’t want to shoulder rising costs and revenue shortfalls by adapting our tax system, we are going to depend even more on Federal cash, and Larsen is best positioned to bring some back to the 2^nd District.

Koster, on the other hand, embraces the me-first attitude of Tea Partiers by promising to vote against pretty much everything. Don’t expect to see any Federal cash if he gets elected. Koster's hardline social conservative platform is the brainchild of Larry Stickney, who pushed Referendum 71. To put it bluntly, Koster's whole agenda is pretty out-of-touch with most people in the district.

INITIATIVES: The juicy stuff

Initiative 1100 and 1105: liquor’s never been quicker

Elephant says: go with your gut on 1100, vote no on 1105

The Elephant believes the state probably shouldn’t be in the retail liquor business. Both initiatives are flawed, and the state would do well to come up with its own method to get out of the business, but who knows if that will happen.

Costco-backed Initiative 1100 would end the state’s monopoly on liquor sales and allow private retailers to have a go. If this passes, the state will lose out on some money from the markup it pockets from selling liquor, but it will still be able to collect liquor taxes. Undoubtedly, liquor prices will fall once competition allows supermarkets and gas stations to manipulate their markups and negotiate with distributors. The downside is that nearly 1,000 state employees will lose their jobs once the government stores close, and the new rules could give big discount manufacturers an advantage by eliminating price controls.

Initiative 1105 will do much the same thing, except it will eliminate the state liquor tax, the revenue from which goes to cool stuff like health care, education and municipal governments, and force the state to come up with a new liquor tax model. 1105 would also give big distributors a huge advantage by keeping the current distribution controls in place, basically guaranteeing a state liquor cartel by forcing retailers to go through distributors instead of buying directly from manufacturers. Not surprisingly, this initiative has the backing of distributors who stand to make a fortune. If it passes, it would not only mean that the state will lose out on a lot of money, but it would probably stymie competition and variety by putting small distributors at a disadvantage.

Law enforcement and religious groups argue that it will be easier for minors and abusers to get booze if either initiative passes, and they are probably right, but let’s face it—you can already get Steel Reserve and Boone’s just about anywhere.

Initiative 1107: ditch the candy and soda tax

Elephant says: vote no

Our state budget is weird in that it depends on sales tax, and what better way to raise a little revenue than to tax the things that are bad for us? We tax the hell out of stuff that gives us lung cancer and liver damage, so why not tax the stuff that makes us fat and diabetic? We probably shouldn’t be consuming that crap anyway. Besides, that money goes mainly to health care to take care of our fat asses.

Initiative 1053: reinstate two-thirds majority rule for passing taxes

Elephant says: vote no

The Elephant doesn’t understand why we send legislators to Olympia and then turn around and pass laws that make it nearly impossible for them to do their jobs. Nobody likes taxes, and no candidate in the right mind runs on a pro-tax platform, but sometimes taxes need to be adjusted, especially with such an insanely unreliable revenue source like our state sales tax.

Requiring a two-thirds majority means a small minority has the power to restrict the government from passing tax-related legislation. If we want to address our state’s inefficient and regressive tax system, we should give our representatives the ability to do it. If Tim Eyman wants to determine our state’s future, he should run for office. He has that option, and he might just win somewhere. Until then, he should go back to selling kitschy college memorabilia and let the legislature do its job.

Initiative 1098: income tax for rich people

Elephant says: vote yes

If you are reading this, you probably won’t be affected by this tax. If you are, I’m pretty jealous. This tax would only affect individuals making more than $200,000 or families making more than $400,000 and could raise as much as $2 billion a year, which will go to education and health services. Property taxes will also go down if this passes, which is good for everybody.

As I previously mentioned, the state’s sales tax is unpredictable and very regressive. A state income tax on the wealthy will help stabilize revenue and could be a step toward rolling back sales tax and replacing it with a more reliable income tax, which almost every other state has.

Initiative 1082: privatize worker’s compensation

Elephant says: vote no

This initiative would eliminate the state’s nonprofit worker’s compensation insurance and let private insurers take up the cause. Don’t be fooled. The current system works fine; the only reason this is on the ballot is because insurance companies figure they can make a killing by reducing payouts to workers and raising rates.

REFERENDUMS: Are you confused yet?

Referendum 52: bonds for schools

Elephant says: vote yes

This referendum would let the state authorize bonds to build and repair schools to make them more energy efficient. Why not?

Resolution 42 20: more ability for courts to deny bail

Elephant says: vote no

This measure is most likely in response to the recent police shootings in the state. It would give courts more flexibility in denying bail for certain crimes. Judges can already set bail ridiculously high for violent offenders, making it virtually impossible for most people to buy their way out.

Making it easier to deny bail sounds like it could be a slippery slope that could make its way down to less-heinous crimes, and this just seems a bit unnecessary.

Resolution 8225: make borrowing easier

Elephant says: vote yes

Unlike the federal government, the state legislature must balance its budget. The state can borrow a little money to help pay for certain capital projects, like school improvements (if Referendum 52 passes). Without going into great detail, this initiative would update the state constitution to change the way the legislature calculates how much it can borrow.

BELLINGHAM PROPOSITIONS: There’s only one!

Proposition 1: Multi-modal transportation tax.

Elephant says: vote yes

WTA recently cancelled Sunday bus service due to a lousy budget. City voters passed a levy last April to give WTA some much-needed cash, but the county as a whole rejected it. This proposition would add a .2-cent sales tax to fund WTA and road improvement projects.

If you like buses and bike lanes, or know someone who does, you should vote yes.

JUDGES

Why do we elect judges in the state? I think it’s crazy. I’ll let you do your own research on this one.

STATE LEGISLATURE: Almost there!

42^nd District: Position 1

Elephant says: Elect Al Jensen

Al Jensen bills himself as a centrist Democrat—bent on balancing the budget by finding sensible solutions that will leave essential services intact without bankrupting the state. He has spent 30 years working in law enforcement, seeing how state services operate and suffer from under funding from—literally—the street level. His platform is by no means radical, and frankly we don’t need any funny business.

Meanwhile, Jason Overstreet seems to be pushing a kinder, gentler form of Tea Party sensibilities—citing a desire to maintain certain state institutions like Basic Health and education, but he relies on magical “efficiency” measures to squeeze performance out of state programs while lowering taxes. To be sure, the state could use a serious efficiency audit, but Overstreet’s plan will mean rolling back essential services and reducing state revenue. He spent time on the Blaine City Council when the city saw some small-business growth and believes the private sector will somehow solve all of our problems if we just let it. That's nice, but governing a border town that relies heavily on the inflow of Canadian currency isn’t the same as governing a state.

42^nd District: Position 2

Elephant says: Reelect Kelli Linville

The 42^nd District is one of those magical places where moderates tend to have a difficult time finding their voice. With Bellingham leftists and county Right-wingers getting into spitting matches on The Bellingham Herald website and in the county council chambers, it’s no wonder the middle-of-the-roaders feel so out of place.

Fortunately, we have moderate Democrat Kelli Linville to talk some sense on our behalf. Not only does Linville have a savvy, centrist governing style, but she also chairs the House Appropriations Committee, which works on really important stuff like how to balance the budget. Like losing Patty Murray in the Senate, losing Kelli Linville would mean losing a powerful voice in the legislature.

42^nd District: Senate

Elephant says: Elect Pat Jerns

I don’t enough know that much about Pat Jerns. He talks a lot about cooperations, but doesn't everybody? The one thing he does get right is calling Doug Ericksen one of the most polarizing figures in the legislature.

Ericksen has contributed right next to nothing to the state government in the past decade, meanwhile blowing a lot of steam. His platform is the same anti-tax, empower businesses la-dee-da we've been listening to for years. This time around, he has the backing of the local Tea Party—odd, considering they are so anti-establishment, and he is so the establishment, having served six terms in the house.

IN CONCLUSION

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I do not think the Tea Party is out to hijack our government and turn America into crazyland. I think a lot of voter anger is misguided, and the Tea Party naïvely thinks its policies and platform it can save us from our financial problems and put people back to work by rolling back taxes. The reality is that lowering taxes means many of our much-loved programs will suffer in the process.

We really don’t have it bad here in Washington. Our tax system is kind of lame and regressive but, financially, we are doing OK compared to most other states. Voting in angry loons who want to dismantle our generally functional revenue system and passing ill-conceived ballot measures that restrict our lawmakers’ ability to do their jobs puts us in jeopardy of losing our position as a generally financially healthy state. Just look south to California if you don’t believe me.

The Beatles remasters aren't as good as everybody says they are

2010-10-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

It’s been more than a year since Apple Corps (not to be confused with Apple—as in iPhones) released an entirely remastered Beatles discography. I’m very, very late in reviewing this release, but I waited until now in the interest of my own personal safety because I, unlike most reviewers—including notoriously negative Pitchfork Media—was disappointed in this latest incarnation.

Let me preface this by saying that the 2009 remasters were far superior to the CD versions released in 1987. I don’t think there is any debate about that. The ‘80s versions were flat and boring and stupid compared to the vinyl versions and the versions that came out last year, which were supposed to recapture that vinyl sound. I should also note that I’m only referring to the stereo remasters. I’ve only heard the mono version of Sgt. Pepper, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to include it in this review.

Mostly, my disappointed stems from the fact that whoever remastered these tracks could have done a lot more to clean up the audio and make it sound amazing.

Please hear me out on this one.

George Martin was able to capture sounds in the 1960s that just couldn’t be found in releases by other groups during the same era. Of course The Beatles had a ridiculous amount of money to spend diddling around in Abbey Road Studios, and that no doubt had some influence on the level of sound quality they could put on vinyl. Nevertheless, Martin and the group pushed the limits of the technology available in the 1960s like nobody else around (with the possible exception of Brian Wilson).

From the early days, Martin and the crowd felt compelled to experiment with cutting-edge technologies, from syncing four-track tape recorders to accommodate for eight tracks of sound and using tape delays to simulate double-tracked vocals to slowing down John Lennon’s vocals so that it was in the same key as the orchestra on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Without getting into too many technical details, these guys were way into their sounds—beyond just laying down a few far-out licks and three-part harmonies.

So when I heard that George Martin and his son Giles were releasing a “reinterpretation” of Beatles music for Ciique du Soleil a few years ago, I was pretty curious. Previously, Paul McCartney managed to assemble a few producer friends to assemble and release Let it Be Naked. While kind of a weird interpretation that surgically removed most of the Phil Spector glitz from the original, marginal 1970 finale, the songs just seemed to pop in a way that made it clear that the entire Beatles collection could benefit from a serious remix/remaster.

Granted, the Naked version suffers from its own share of inadequacies (“The Long and Winding Road is still pretty boring), but “Across the Universe,” slowed down to its original recording speed and separated from weird vocal effects and background chorus singers—or whatever the hell that noise was—absolutely saturates the speakers. It’s almost like when you see pictures of dust bowl immigrants in high school, and then discover the same photos in color several years later, or something. There’s just so much more life in the Naked version. You can hear the imperfections in Lennon’s voice; you can make out the pick striking the guitar strings. Of course a lot is due to the absence of that annoying flange effect or whatever, but much is due to the going back and using modern equipment to clean up the original sounds.

Love simply sounds great. It really pops. The kick drum on “The End” that leads into “Get Back” just thuds with power, and “Back in the USSR” sounds way edgier than I could have imagined. These aren’t re-recordings; all the sounds are on the lackluster 2009 release and downright crappy 1980s versions. It’s like somebody actually listened to the master tapes and thought about how they could be improved instead of just trying to duplicate whatever got released in the 1960s. That is what I was hoping for in the remastered discography—a new, improved Beatles sound. And I don’t think I was crazy in my thinking, because nearly 15 years ago, another band from the same era did something similar.

And God damn! The stereo remaster of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds sounds amazing! That album came out in 1966—the same year The Beatles recorded Revolver. I dare you to listen to the two—the 2009 remaster of Revolver and the 1997 Pet Sounds remaster—and tell me which one got the better treatment. When they remastered Pet Sounds, the engineers couldn’t find some of the original vocal tracks, but they released it anyway, and it sounds fantastic. The point here is that the Pet Sounds remaster wasn’t just a way to reproduce the 1960s sound (Brian Wilson didn’t even try to mix a stereo version of Pet Sounds) but to take the original recording and make something new and wonderful.

This is my disappointment in the Beatles remasters. They sound fine. But that’s it—fine, adequate. They aren’t that remarkable; they’re simply a replacement for the crappy versions that came out in the 1980s. Maybe Apple Records will come out with a reinterpretation of the Beatles catatlogue—presumably one album at a time—in five years or so, but it will only serve to keep Beatles in the news and push more sales for the record industry.

I understand the intent of this release was to deliver a digital version of the albums that sounded as close to the vinyl masters as possible. But the stereo versions weren't even considered definitive at the time. George Martin and the gang spent way more time on the mono versions because they knew those were the records people would be listening to. Most people in the 60s didn't have stereo equipment, and the stereo mixes, especially on earlier albums, weren't really taken seriously by the band. The Beatles weren't even present for most of the stereo mixing sessions, which is why the mono version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" sounds so much different than the stereo version.

My question is why the these versions have to be the definitive versions, when they weren't in the first place. It seems to me that the producers could have taken the same approach as the Beach Boys did with the stereo re-release of Pet Sounds—clean up the mono versions and make them sound just like the originals, and then release cool new stereo versions that sound great. Maybe in five years.

This is the great irony of the Beatles franchise. Fourty-some years ago, the band pioneered new recording methods and transcended the rock-n-roll genre by relentlessly pumping out music every year and indulging in sounds the Western world had scarcely heard, melding it with new studio techniques. In turn, they inspired generations of tinkerers, audiophiles and dreamers. In the last two decades, that influence has been co-opted by a few greedy jerks intent on finding some gimmick to keep the public just shy of satisfied and anxious for the next marketing ploy, which Apple Records cleverly camouflages as some revolution in sound engineering technology; when in reality, it’s just some small change to the same formula designed to get people to shell out ridiculous amounts of money for basically the same sounds that have been around for more than 40 years. Ok, maybe I'm going a little overboard.

Bellingham Rock 'n Roll: D.Y.A., Queen Anne's Revenge and The Sunshine Bumpers make noise at the Cabin

2010-10-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

I've been to embarrassingly few rock 'n roll concerts lately. With the exception of last month's Thermals show at the Wild Buffalo, my live music consumption has pretty much been limited to the standard farmers market-friendly folk/blue grass bands, schmaltzy barbershop quartets and the impromptu hippy jams that seemed to go on endlessly at my old house. It's every 20-something Bellinghamster's God-given right and occasional civic duty to walk home with ears ringing from distorted guitar sounds and incoherent warbling from crappy PAs at local dives, and frankly I've been suffering from noise deficiency.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to head down to the dive-turned-hipster-refuge known as the Cabin Tavern on Friday to watch three groups from right here in the 3-6-oh.

I like going to big shows now and then, but there is something about locals-only shows that remind me how cool it is to have a local music scene. They are the kind of gigs where you can run to the bar to get a fresh can of Rainier and still manage to get back to your spot in the front without having to worm your way through drunk high schoolers between songs. It almost makes you hope these guys never play big shows.

First up was punk/garage band D.Y.A., which stands for—well, visit their myspace page and you'll get about 30 ideas. I hold a soft spot in my heart for '90s punk rock, and this is a band that seems to understand how to channel that energy, add a splash of the Misfits and finish the whole thing off with a 21st-century kick from the rhythm section. And did I hear some ska upstrokes in there? Nice.

Mark told me they have a new album in the works, so keep an eye out!

Next up was straight-rock group Queen Anne's Revenge. Guitar-era licks and solos dominated the Queen Anne sound, and I have to say they pulled it off quite well. The thing I really like about these guys—and D.Y.A.—is the call-and-response singing between the guys in front. It's fun to watch bands when their members actually seem to be interacting with one another while they are playing, and both these bands looked like they were having a lot of fun.

It's refreshing to hear guitar-driven rock bands that don't sound cheesy or overly nostalgic.

The last act to take the stage was The Sunshine Bumpers.

The Rainiers I drank that night were definitely taking full effect by this point of the show, so my memory of this band's sound is admittedly hazy. The lead singer, Daisy, had quite a stage presence—owing as much to Karen O as Janis Joplin, in my opinion. Musically, they sounded to me much like they were trying a nod to '60s electric blues with a slightly sarcastic dive-bar blues idea in the back of their minds. But that might just be the Yakima Valley hops talking.

The answer may be blowin' in the wind

2009-12-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Cattle and horses graze near a wind farm outside Umapine, Ore.

Peering south from Walla Walla, the rolling hills of Eastern Oregon seem garnished with dozens of pinwheels, slowly turning in the crisp afternoon breeze.

But these aren't children's toys. These deceptively large wind turbines are some of the Northwest's newest sources of renewable energy.

Just a few miles southwest of Walla Walla, nestled among a few hills and a town called Umapine, which appears to have only a single street, the Combine Hills wind farm is host to more than 40 turbines.

Oregon currently ranks fifth in the nation in wind-power capacity, beating Washington, which ranks sixth, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Just after the rain had settled on a cold December afternoon, I took the short drive from Walla Walla to Umapine so I could take a peak at some of the turbines.

Wind turbines dot the horizon.

The turbines dwarf nearby power lines. Although they look small from a distance, wind turbines can tower nearly 400 feet in height.

Though a source of green energy, wind turbines have recently come under attack from a few Oregon farmers who complain about the noise.