Hype-o-critical
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The fact is, several other factors contributed to the decline of the Seattle scene, and their absence from filmmaker Doug Pray’s field of vision is a black hole that sucks away the film’s credibility. It’s hard not to cringe when Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil indignantly says, “It was our thing, and then all of a sudden it belonged to people who you never thought you would share your music with”–of his own volition, he signed to a major label, made videos, toured arenas, and took millions of dollars from those insensitive jerks. Boo-fucking-hoo.
As bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden transcended their regional affiliations, they left Sub Pop, and the label started putting some of the money it made off their contracts into bands from places other than Seattle–Velocity Girl, Sebadoh, Chicago’s Red Red Meat. In fact, what becomes clear by the end of the 90-minute film is that the pond was too shallow to float the boat. Most of the Seattle bands–from unknown yobbos like Coffin Break to major-label snoozes like 7 Year Bitch–were inept, unoriginal, and bland; without the hype, most never would have gotten even the 15 minutes they did. By contrast, Chicago–anointed “next big thing” by Billboard as Seattle began its decline–with its large population, rich musical legacy, and diverse artistic factions, never melted under the brief, intense heat of the limelight.
Last summer when this column reported the sale of the Bop Shop building, new owner Wayne Berman insisted he was in no hurry to oust the quirky jazz club. But last week the Sun-Times reported that proprietor Kate Smith was moving the Bop Shop to the Chopin Theatre space after Dion Antic, who owns Iggy’s and Harry’s Velvet Room, informed her that he would be moving in–a month before her lease ended. “It seems as though there was a mistake,” Berman mused when I reached him by pager; turns out Antic’s lease does in fact start February 1, even though Smith’s ends February 28.
