But Jazzbones booking guy Sean Culver recently gave me the skinny on a Nirvana tribute show he's got going on Saturday night. It'll be headlined by touring tribute band Nevermind, for those inclined to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's passing which, based on best estimates, was last Sunday. (Personally, I think the guy's birthday, Feb. 20, would be a less depressing occasion for a tribute. But I'll actually be in Seattle checking out X on Saturday, anyway.)

Tacoma's own I-Defy opens, more details here.

I’ve been trying to avoid downloading from iTunes when I can help it in protest of their stupid five computers only rule. But it took me forever to find a record store that could successfully order “The Greatest Gift,” a collection of this obscure noise rock band’s entire output. (Rocket Records eventually came through for me.) Scratch Acid is another one of Nirvana’s influences (though you can't really tell from this string-heavy track) and some of you may remember this song from the “About a Son” soundtrack.

Detroit’s Electric Six is kind of like Flight of the Conchords without the accents. And more ridiculous, I think. I first fell in love with "Down at McDonalz" from their "I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master" album. But lately I've been digging this track.

The new album, “New York City,” snuck up on me this month, but as a big fan of this New York outfit I was quick to run out and invest. This clip is from one of the spacier tracks. But elsewhere the vibe veers toward the dance-rock stylings of bands like C.S.S., a group that actually has Brazilian girls in its lineup. Hey! I think I found their perfect tour mates.

If you're looking for a good musical road trip, you can check out the second annual Lounge Acts benefit concert, which will start at 7 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Seventh Street Theatre in Hoquiam, according to a press release organizers sent out this week. Popular Seattle bands Harvey Danger and Schoolyard Heroes will headline this second annual benefit to memorialize the late, great Kurt Cobain in his hometown, Aberdeen.

In 2005, organizers erected a sign at the entrance to town that reads "Welcome to Aberdeen: Come As You Are." And last year, they kicked off the Lounge Acts benefits.

Opening acts for this year's event are Black Top Demon and Gebular, chosen from a dozen entries at a "battle of the bands" competition in June. Find out more at the Kurt Cobain memorial site.

“We didn’t come here to put on some b------- hour and a half show,” Dave Grohl declared a few songs into a fun Foo Fighters set at KeyArena. And the guy wasn’t kiddin’. The Foos served up more than 2 ½ hours of steamin' arena rockin’ goodness last night. The band was bigger this time around, with bleached blonde guitarist Pat Smear notably back in the fold. And they got the party properly started with “Let It Die,” “The Pretender” and “Times Like These,” with Grohl wandering back and forth along a catwalk that ran nearly the length of the arena floor. The concert's most memorable moments took place on a second smaller stage lowered onto the far end of the catwalk for the semi-acoustic part of the show. That included a life-affirming sing-along to “My Hero,” Grohl’s ode to fallen Nirvana band mate Kurt Cobain. And as the rest of the Foo Fighters headed back to the main stage, Grohl stayed back for subdued solo start on "Everlong" before rejoining his band mates in bringing the hit to a rockin' close.
ERNEST A. JASMIN

Granted, the set was bogged down by a few self-indulgent stretches. “This is a Call” and “Stacked Actors” were stretched thin during epic but unfocused jams. And Grohl acknowledged that he'd done a lot of yapping (albeit, funny yapping) during parts of the show. He feigned being hurt when fans chose a five-song encore over four songs and a funny story. “F--- you, guys!” But of course, he told the story anyway. It was about a night in the '90s when he and a buddy named Ernie got drunk and spray painted “Foo Fighters” onto a Michael Jackson mural at the Seattle Center Tower Records, which used to be at Fifth and Mercer. Grohl got busted after Ernie slipped a Polaroid of the rocker posing in front of his handiwork under the record store door, leading to a call from his old boss from Tower Records and the photo running in defunct alt-weekly, the Rocket, which Grohl rated as one of the coolest things that had ever happened to him. Earlier, he acknowledged his South Sound roots. “First I lived in Tacoma, which was beautiful,” he said, referring to when he moved from Virginia in 1990. “Then I lived in Olympia where the nightlife was f------ amazing. For me, it’s either Paris or Olympia, Washington.” Hmm. Snotty hipsters make nice stand-ins for rude Parisians, I guess. Oh, wait. He was being sarcastic, right? Anyway, Minus the Bear and Supergrass opened the show. But those weren't the only rock stars on hand. I spotted Wade and Jesse from Tacoma's own Seaweed, who will soon to play Sub Pop's SP20 festival, as I headed into the arena.
ERNEST A. JASMIN

"Are you here because you're a fan of the music or because you're doing a story," a graying hipster asked, a hint of accusation in his voice, moments after I stepped into Hell's Kitchen last night. So I admit it. I am something of a newbie when it comes to Flipper. And just to annoy the hipsterati even more -- yes, it wasn't until Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic joined the influential Bay Area punk band that I was encouraged to dig a little deeper and get my hands on more of the bands music. But cut me some slack, y'all. I don't think Flipper ever made it to my old stomping grounds in Louisville, Ky., back in the day. They were inactive for over a decade before reuniting for a couple of CBGB’s benefit shows in 2005. And it’s not like their albums are easy to come by, iTunes available live set “Blow N’ Chunks” being the notable exception. (That'll change with a bunch of reissues for the band's 30th anniversary, drummer Steve DePace told me recently.) But if more people tune in to a cool cult band because a rock star the band influenced has joined ranks, all the better. At least Flipper might get their due this time around. And having been caught up to speed, I had a blast at Saturday night’s show at Hell’s Kitchen. Led by the magnetic front man Bruce Loose (above) Flipper rocked, especially on messy proto-grunge anthems “Way of the World” and “Ha Ha Ha.”
ERNEST JASMIN

Loose was pleasantly buzzed (finishing a fan-bought Guinness in a single gulp at one point) and hilariously sarcastic as he pretended to berate a gal down front. “Stop giving me attention! He’s the rock star,” he said, pointing to his buddy, Novoselic (above right). "It's not like I've been busting my ass in this band all these years." Other times, Loose joked about “Behind the Music” moments his band has gone through over the years. Starting with the death of bassist Will Shatter in the '80s, the band has had more than its share of the sorts of tragic moments that the VH1 series was built on. So you thought he meant it when he encouraged fans to "be happy! That's all we got." And towards the end of the set, Loose called out a couple of lusty fans engaged in premature foreplay at his feet. “Yeah! Lick her neck some more. She likes that!” Guitarist Ted Falconi and drummer Steve DePace (bottom) were comparatively subdued.
ERNEST JASMIN

The set list included a few new numbers, “Night Falls Like Dirt Rocks,” “Why Cant You See?” and “Triple Mass Murder Suicide” from a new album the boys are finishing up in Seattle. As a matter of fact, Rocket Records owner Steve Gaydich (whose finger holds this set list in place) tells me that a couple of the Flipper guys dropped by his store yesterday with producer Jack Endino.
ERNEST JASMIN

Many forces conspired against finishing my Flipper podcast: Two days of fallout from that crazy "Tim McBrawl" incident; the dying battery in my laptop; the need to sleep at some point last night. But here it is, y'all – just in time to pump you up even more for the resurgent Bay Area punk band’s shows at the Funhouse in Seattle tonight and Tacoma's Hell’s Kitchen Saturday.

Flipper podcast: “Way of the World”; Nirvana's Krist Novoselic talks Flipper's impact on grunge; “Ha Ha Ha”; drummer Steve DePace on Novoselic; “The Light, the Sound”; DePace talks new album; “Shed No Tears” (outro)

I spoke too soon before I posted that last "video of the week." Nearly forgot about these clips a buddy of mine told me about, with Nirvana performing at Tacoma's Legends back in 1990. (They were more of a Tacoma and Olympia band than a Seattle band on the way up, in case you didn't know.) This is good stuff.

That last one actually shows them playing Tacoma's Community World Theatre on Jan. 23, 1988. Click here to go to a cool site that has that day's set list and other details.

The answers to Tuesday's lyric game are below. As always, you can take the quiz and avoid spoilers by clicking here.

1. “A mulattao, and albino, a mosquito, my libido, yay.” (Nirvana’s “Smell’s Like Teen Spirit”)

2. “Rollin’ down the street, smokin’ endo, sippin’ on gin and juice …” (Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice”)

3. “Make my funk the p-funk, I want my funk uncut / Make my funk the p-funk, I wants to get funked up.” (Parliament’s “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”)

4. “Generals gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses” (Black Sababath’s “War Pigs” …”

5. “Mike D. grabbed the money M.C.A. snatched the gold, I grabbed two girlies and a beer that’s cold” (Beastie Boys “Paul Revere”)

6. “Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world, she took the midnight train goin anywhere” (Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”)

7. “Well I'm not the world's most physical guy, but when she squeezed me tight, she nearly broke my spine.” (The Kinks “Lola”)

8. “You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, “… know when to walk away and know when to run.” (Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler”)

9. “All right stop collaborate and listen Ice is back with my brand new invention” (Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby” … don’t act like you didn’t know that one)

10. “AK-47 is the tool, don't make me act the @#%@% fool” (NWA “Straight Outta Compton” … you have some of the street cred you lost by listening to Vanilla Ice back if you knew that one.)

11. “Billie Jean is not my lover, she's just a girl who claims that I am the one” (Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” … not that I gave you the title or anything.)

12. “But what can a poor boy do, except to sing for a rock n roll band” (Rolling Stones “Street Fighting Man”)

13. “If we don’t find our way to the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die, I tell you we must die” (The Doors “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)”)

14. ”You got mud on yo’ face, you big disgrace, kickin’ your can all over the place” (Queen’s “We Will Rock You”)

15. “You must not know about me, I could have another you in a minute, matter fact he’ll be here in a minute” (Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”)

16. “Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to gooooooo, I wanna be sedated.” (The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”)

Are you ready for this week's quiz, y'all? It's kinda tough. Your task: Match the classic album to the guys who produced 'em:

The classics

1. Nirvana’s “Nevermind”
2. Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”
3. X’s “Los Angeles”
4. Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions ..."
5. Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures”
6. The Beatles “Abbey Road”
7. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”
8. U2’s “The Joshua Tree”
9. Radiohead’s “OK Computer”
10. Parliament’s “Chocolate City”
11. Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”
12. Devo’s “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo?”
13. Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique”
14. Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie”
15. The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”
16. Nine Inch Nails’ “The Downward Spiral”

The producers:

A. Ray Manzarek
B. Quincy Jones
C. George Clinton
D. Mike Flicker
E. Nigel Godrich
F. Dust Brothers & Mario Caldato Jr.
G. George Martin
H. Butch Vig
I. Martin Hannett
J. Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois
K. Rick Rubin
L. Flemming Rasmussen
M. Hank Shocklee & Carl Ryder (aka the Bomb Squad)
N. Brian Eno
O. Trent Reznor & Flood
P. Brian Wilson

This month, Nirvana fans are flocking to see the new documentary "About a Son," based on interviews done for Michael Azerrad's bio. But Variety reports that a new bio pic is in development based on Charles Cross's "Heavier Than Heaven." Cool!

Krist Novoselic has been playing with Flipper, the Bay Area punk band that is credited with influencing his own group, Nirvana. And Flipper will play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in England in December, Novoselic told me when I met up with him for a few fleeting minutes today at the University Bookstore Starbucks on Pacific Avenue.

He was at U Books to introduce his buddy, political writer Steve Hill, the author of "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy: An Owner's Manual for Concerned Citizens." During their appearance, they pushed Amendment 3, a measure that would bring instant runoff voting to Pierce County if passed in November. (Learn more about that concept by clicking here.)

From past experience with Novoselic - having called him at home last year, before he spoke at a Grammy in the Schools event at the University of Puget Sound - I figured he would steer the conversation away from Nirvana and back to the topic that had brought him to town. And that's kind of how it went, with passing references to playing the old Community World Theater (once located at 56th and M streets) and living in T-Town in the late '80s and early '90s quickly circling back to Amendment 3. The Flipper thing was the only scoop I was able to pull out of him.

But here are a couple of sound bites for those interested in learning about his latest cause and his passion for politics. Apologies for the sketchy sound quality I was using a backup recorder, and there's a bit of background noise.

Here he sings the praises of instant runoff voting.

Here he talks about his initial interest in politics and the chances he'll ever run for office.

Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic will host a reading by author Steven Hill, who will discuss his book "10 Steps to Repeir American Democracy: An Owners Manual for Concerned Citizens" at 6 p.m. Monday at University Bookstore in Tacoma.

Hill is director of the New America Foundation’s political reform program. His book highlights elements of American democracy that he feels are in need of repair, from winner-take-all elections to the influence of big money.

Novoselic has lived in Tacoma at various times; near Point Defiance and off of 38th Street in the late '80s and early '90s, and in a loft that he and wife, artist Darbury Stenderu, shared part time in 2004.

"We passed through Tacoma a lot, and we found a place that was really nice," he said in 2005 before he appeared at a Grammy in the Schools event at University of Puget Sound. "You know, Tacoma's a great value real-estate-wise. And Tacoma has the most beautiful architecture. . . . It just has a great vibe."