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News & ArtsGenius
Monday, January 23, 2012
At Large / Genius Stranger Music Genius Lars Finberg on Touring in Australia, Part 1
Posted by Grant Brissey on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Dudes / Comedy / Youth Pastor Watch / Homo / Conflict of Interest / Religion / Genius / LGBTQITSLFA Who's wearing white robes here . . . .?
Posted by Chicago Fan on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 3:33 PM
The Cardinal of the Most Holy Roman Catholic Church in Chicago compares the gay rights movement to the Ku Klux Klan. Because of an argument about routing the Gay Pride Parade. Out of touch, much?
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Arts / Genius 2011 Stranger Genius Awards in Photos
Posted by Kelly O on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 9:30 AM
More, more, and more from the Genius Awards 2011, in this handy-dandy photo slideshow: ENJOY!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Arts / Genius Genius Award Photo Booth—Dig In!!
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 5:48 PM
Genius alums became drunk. Photos were taken.
Susan Robb and Susie Lee:
The Stranger's Lindy West with Ryan Mitchell of Implied Violence:
Find photos of yourself here. Your secret code: Genius2011
Arts / Genius John Osebold's Genius Awards Acceptance Speech, Delivered by David Nixon
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Video by Timothy Rysdyke.
John Osebold's genius is explained here. He was performing with The Habit last night so he couldn't accept his own award, although he showed up later:
- USNAPS/GENIUS2011
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Arts / Genius Gary Hill's Genius Awards Acceptance Speech
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 5:18 PM
Gary Hill's genius is explained here.
Video by Timothy Rysdyke.
Books / Genius Lesley Hazleton's Genius Awards Acceptance Speech
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 4:41 PM
Lesley Hazleton's genius is explained here.
Video by Timothy Rysdyke.
Music / Genius The Intelligence's Genius Awards Acceptance Speech
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 4:21 PM
The Intelligence's genius is explained here.
Video by Timothy Rysdyke.
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Arts / Genius DK Pan's Genius Awards Acceptance Speech
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 4:10 PM
Probably the most talked-about acceptance speech of the night.
DK Pan's genius is explained here.
Video by Timothy Rysdyke.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Genius The Geniuses: The Photos
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 10:01 AM
Kelly O's photos of this year's Geniuses are really, really great—but we could only fit six in the paper. Here's a slideshow of all 15.
- Kelly O
- Lesley Hazleton, author of books on the lives of Mary, Jezebel, and, now, Muhammad—walking on water in Seattle.
The Stranger Genius Awards Party is tomorrow night at the Moore Theatre, with live music by Wheedle's Groove and Wild Orchid Children and DJ sets by OC Notes and Emerald City Soul Club. Tickets—$7—are here.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Crime / Cats / Booze / Drugs / International / Genius / Drunk / Dance The Stranger Genius Award Party Is This Friday!!!
Posted by Grant Brissey on Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Here's some weirdly placed cameras that do a decent job of catching what an absolute blast Wild Orchid Children are live:
They're fun live in a way that their records don't always convey. And then guess what else we did? We got Wheedle's Groove to headline! They don't even sound anything like each other! We're Crazy! What's more you ask? What's more is we have the venerable OC Notes deejaying as well as Emerald City Soul Club. There is so much dance for your ass at this party that you won't be able to move it for a week. All of this for only $7. YOU ARE STEALING IT. All the pertinent info for the party is right here. Buy your tickets right now and let's do this thing.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Music / Genius Wheedle's Groove at the Stranger Genius Awards Party
Posted by Jen Graves on Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 2:20 PM
The story behind Wheedle's Groove is the greatest once-upon-a-time story in the history of Seattle music. Seriously. Watch this trailer, then come to the Stranger Genius Awards Party—this Friday at the Moore Theatre to see these absurdly amazing musicians in person.
Tickets are $7 right here; doors at 9. With Wild Orchid Children and DJ sets by Emerald City Soul Club and OC Notes. More on the Genius Awards here.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Genius Sunday Reading: Stranger Genius Music Award Winners The Intelligence Write a Canadian Tour Diary
Posted by Grant Brissey on Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 2:41 PM
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Genius One Week from Tomorrow!: The 9th Annual Stranger Genius Awards Party
Posted by David Schmader on Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 12:08 PM
It's one of the most wonderful times of the year, when the critics of The Stranger are allowed to cease their critiques and traffic in pure celebration: The Stranger Genius Awards, wherein five art-makers whose existence makes Seattle a greater place are given $5000 each (no application process, no strings attached). The geniuses are then celebrated by the entire city at the Genius Awards Party, when the citizens of this art-loving city pack into the Moore Theater for a night of boozy mingling, mashing in the balcony, and live music.
On board for this year's party are the legendary soul collective Wheedle's Groove and the genre-fucking psycho pop collective Wild Orchid Children, along with DJ sets by OC Notes and the Emerald City Soul Club. Tickets are a mere $7 and are available here. It will be a glorious night.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Genius The 9th Annual Stranger Genius Awards Party!
Posted by Jen Graves on Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 1:49 PM
- Kelly O
- This is what happens to you at the Genius Party. This shot's from last year.
Yesterday, out in the sun, I read 2006 Literature Genius Jonathan Raban's descriptions of Seattle in Driving Home (coming out soon). He calls the Space Needle the black-velvet Jesus on the living-room wall of Seattle. And he says the only way to see the skyline is from the ferry:
The wind was blowing out of the south and a lumpy sea was running. Seattle, five miles off now, was a sweep of light, like a spontaneous bloom of luminous plankton in the water, a phosphorescent city. It had a watery depth and brilliance—a great floating exhibition of glowing silver office towers and glowing amber streets.
You are going to come party for this great floating exhibition, right? Can we talk fashion, then? I am considering something made in 1983 of teal satin and beads. Should I be talked out of this?
The date is Friday, September 16, place is the Moore, DJ sets are by Emerald City Soul Club and OCNotes, and live music is by Wild Orchid Children and Wheedle's Groove. Tickets are a holy $7, and everything you could ever want to know about Genius is here.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Theater / Genius An Accidental Passe-Tete
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 8:15 AM
Slogger Chris Comte sent this photo with the subject line "this happens sometimes."
1. I'm impressed by how well the hair fits.
2. I didn't know that the passe-tête had a name until ten minutes ago.
3. The Genius Awards party—Seattle's only party—is on Friday, September 16. I hope you'll join us. (Comte will be there, as well as John Osebold and his big bazooms.) You can secure yourself a ticket here.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Genius Geniuses Won't, They Don't, They Can't Stop. So Let's Party!
Posted by Jen Graves on Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 2:07 PM
- COURTESY LEAD PENCIL STUDIO (THE ARTISTS)
- All of the lights.
Susie Lee had her first LA opening last weekend—including a tabletop sculpture that burns tiny pieces of pencil lead when you text its phone number. Once you text it, it has your number, and it gets mad if you don't pay attention to it.
And Wynne Greenwood turned her LA dealer's gallery into a women's spa, with videos substituted for pools of relaxing water; Bam Bam Flintstone was involved.
There are now NINE YEARS of Stranger Geniuses, and they will rock your world.
Come celebrate them with us—plus with live music from Wheedle's Groove and Wild Orchid Children, and DJ sets by Emerald City Soul Club and OCNotes—on Friday September 16 at the Moore. Doors at 9; tickets are $7.
More info, or to donate to the Genius cause, here.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Genius This Year's Genius Party Is September 16, and It's GOING TO BE A BLAST
Posted by Grant Brissey on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Read more from Bethany Jean Clement on last year and this year's winners of Genius in Music, and how they may or may not relate to the New Yorker, HERE.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Theater / Genius The Stranger's Ninth Annual Genius Awards Party
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Now that this year's lineup of Stranger Geniuses has been announced, it's time to think about the party at the Moore on September 16. I think this moment, when Shabazz Palaces and THEESatisfaction took the stage wearing huge, ornate headgear, was my favorite of last year's party:
- Josh Bis
But the Genius party—like any good party—is made by its guests. It feels like the only time each year that so many people from the city's different disciplines wind up in the same room, talking and drinking. Theater directors meet film directors, musicians hang out with writers, visual artists talk with every other kind of artist. It's always a great night.
If you want to make sure you can get in—and you'll want to get in—buy your advance ticket here.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Genius The Genius Party Is HERE!
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 1:36 PM
- This woman makes a mean William Burroughs. Ask her to do a selection for you at the party. Seriously.
And now YOUR PARTY is being planned in The Stranger's war room. Save the date: Friday night, September 16, at the Moore. Tickets are for sale here.
For 7 bucks, you get performances by Wheedle's Groove (Seattle music royalty in the flesh, people), Wild Orchid Children ("supercharged forces of nature"), dancing to the beats of DJs Emerald City Soul Club and OCNotes, and the opportunity to shake hands with these frickin' characters.
As for me, I'm shopping for the most spectacular dress I can find, and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THESE PEOPLE:
Donate to the Genius cause here.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Theater / Genius Perversion for Profit
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 10:59 AM
Just a few hours after winning his Stranger Genius Award for theater, John Osebold sent me an email with the text "to keep you from working" and this video. If you have any pot handy, please enjoy some before viewing.
Also please enjoy this trailer for his show Mountain, which does a 1,000% better job of communicating what the show was like than any production photo. (Confidential to John and Kirk: Perform Mountain again next winter! The people of Seattle deserve it.)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Music / Genius Skype Three: 2011 Genius Award in Music Goes to the Intelligence
Posted by Grant Brissey on Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 12:31 PM
- Kelly O
- The Intelligence's Lars Finberg and Susanna Welbourne
Music was the last Genius Award to go out yesterday, and because Lars Finberg—ringleader of the Intelligence—is in Los Angeles, where he's currently spending a fraction of his time, the plan was to convey the pertinent info via Skype video connection. Trusting man that he is, Finberg left a prior engagement early for what we told him was going to be "a wacky video interview." Turns out, though, that the guy who records with quarter-inch reel-to-reel and melded together his entire first record in his bedroom with a 8-track has an outdated version of Skye and couldn't update it because he doesn't have "an administrator password" for his computer. Finally, we had to call him, but his reception was poor to non-existent. We were able to ascertain that he'd heard of the Genius Awards, and after that, convey that he'd just won one, and after that, what exactly that meant, at which time he started losing it, then the call dropped. Here's what he sent in return seconds later:
Books / Genius Lesley Hazleton Is Your 2011 Stranger Literature Genius
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 11:30 AM
- Kelly O
But the thing that most struck me about the book was the way Hazleton wrote about her adopted home of Seattle. Hazleton's Seattle was shabby but beautiful, a hopeful, flawed gem poking out of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth. It doesn't figure hugely in the book, but those few offhand peeks at the city were enough for me to confirm that I wanted to try my luck there. I especially loved the way she described her houseboat on South Lake Union; like Seattle, it was a home that maybe worked better in theory than in reality, but she was committed to making it home.
Thirteen years after reading that book, I was part of a team of Stranger staffers delivering a sheet cake to that very same houseboat. Hazleton informed us we were making a mistake. "It's too soon," she said, suggesting that her best work is still ahead of her. We assured her that while her upcoming books will no doubt be brilliant, her career is plenty genius enough already. Finally, she accepted it: "This is a good day," she said, "Philip Levine was named Poet Laureate, and now this." (Levine, she told us, is a true "working-class" poet, as well as a "mensch.") Hazleton addressed her cat: "You see that? You're living with a frickin' genius." The cat seemed unimpressed. As Hazleton posed for photos and we explained that she'd be a guest at our big Genius party on September 16th, she worried that she'd have to shift out of her "hermit" mode—she's deep in the process of researching and writing a biography of Mohammad—but she was looking forward to the celebration.
Hazelton's career is much more than Driving to Detroit, of course. The majority of her work explores the engine that runs the world: religion.
Theater / Genius 2011 Stranger Theater Genius: John Osebold
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM
If ever a man deserved a Genius Award, it's John Osebold. I first saw him perform a solo parody of the entire Shakespeare canon when we were both in college. I'll never forget one of the jokes: he was playing somebody auditioning for Hamlet and solemnly delivered part of the "to be or not to be" speech:
For who bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong,the proud man’s contumely,
The pang of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear...
Then he broke down in titters and said "... what's a fartle?" The audience fell apart in laughter.
Even though the Genius Awards hadn't even been invented yet, I knew I was watching genius—it wasn't so much in the text of the joke, but in the delivery. It landed with equal parts smartness and a silliness, an intellectual playfulness that would define Osebold's work for the next decade.
Since then, Osebold has made tons of great work: the comedy/performance-art band "Awesome"; his work with sketch-comedy group The Habit; his self-released, bedroom-recorded music. But his recent work as Jose Bold—Spidermann, Mountain—put him over the top.
And niceness is not a criteria for the Genius Awards, but it must be said—Osebold is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. When we met him with his cake at Bauhaus, he looked a little unsettled and said, "Are you sure you want to give this to me?" When we assured him we hadn't accidentally given him a Genius Award, he said that when he first saw the cake, he thought he'd forgotten something: "I thought maybe it's my birthday!"
You'll be hearing a lot more about John Osebold as we draw closer to the Genius Awards party, which is on Friday, September 16, at the Moore. Find out more about the Stranger Genius Awards, the party, and how to donate to these annual $5,000 arts grants for five Seattle artists here.
Visual Art / Film / Genius And the 2011 Stranger Genius Award for Film Goes to... Gary Hill!
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 8:26 AM
- Kelly O
- 'What is a Genius award?'
- Kelly O
- Gary Hill, surfing maniac and hungry hungry 2011 Stranger Genius in Film.
"So... what is a Genius Award?"
Hill started to light up a little when we told him: It includes this QFC sheet cake (with rainbow sprinkles), a $5,000 check with no strings attached, and a huge citywide party to celebrate all the Geniuses, in Visual Art, Film, Theater, Books, and Music. Mark your calendars! The party is Friday, September 16, at the Moore, with Wild Orchid Children and Wheedle's Groove. Yesterday, we announced that DK Pan is this year's Genius in Visual Art. We'll roll out the rest of the winners today.
Hill is coming to the Genius Party—which is amazing given his traveling schedule. If he's not traveling for work, he's traveling to surf. He is a surfing maniac. (He loves Neah Bay.)
He's also a video maniac. His studio looks like a cross between a VHS storage warehouse, a surfboard factory, and a tricked-out recording studio. When we tell him he's won the Film award, he immediately says, "I've never made a film."
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Visual Art / Genius It Was Bedlam!: DK Pan, You're a Frickin' Genius
Posted by Jen Graves on Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 5:16 PM
- Kelly O
"What?" he said softly. "Really? What?" He stared at the QFC sheet cake—our delivery vehicle each year that lets the Genius winners know they've won.
- 'Really?'
About Pan. He's not a standard visual artist. He doesn't show in galleries and museums, but just about every time you look behind the scenes of a great, community-based, interdisciplinary project, there he is.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Transportation / Genius "What should the city do about drivers who think that they are above the law? It seems that a tank is the best solution."
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 11:18 AM
This is how the mayor of Vilnius—the capital of Lithuania—deals with cars illegally parked in bike lanes:
Keep that in mind the next time Seattle Times writers drivers bitch about our mayor being a bike-humping freak.
Hearts and butterflies, Fnarf.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Genius "Ten Rape Prevention Tips"
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 3:12 PM
Posted by Leigh Hofheimer at Can You Relate?, brought to my attention by Last Days' commenter goreedgo, and proof that there is such a thing as a rape joke worth making in 2011 (despite all proof to the contrary supplied by Seattle's desperate-to-be-edgy comedians): Ten Rape Prevention Tips.
A few highlights:
3. If you pull over to help a woman whose car has broken down, remember not to rape her.
4. If you are in an elevator and a woman gets in, don’t rape her.
9. Carry a rape whistle. If you find that you are about to rape someone, blow the whistle until someone comes to stop you.
Thank you, Leigh Hofheimer.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Comedy / Genius A Joke Perfected
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 2:28 PM
I'm in Texas for next couple weeks doing theater stuff in San Antonio and talking-about-movies stuff in Austin and reconnecting with some dear old friends with whom I share a drama-kid past and an appreciation of comedy. So it came to pass that I was required to track down this skit from Saturday Night Live, featuring a passable Scarlett Johansson and a kablooey-brain-amazing Vanessa Bayer, who takes a joke I've seen replicated with various degrees of precision and success dozens of times over the past 25 years (the joke in short: what qualifies as Good Acting when you're a minor is INSANE) and nails it like no one else before. Dear people in charge: Please invent a Pulitzer Prize for comedic acting and give it to Vanessa Bayer (who is also responsible for this amazing Miley Cyrus impersonation).
The way she says "mountain" in the final scene makes me scream, cry, poop, and pee all at once.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Adventure Buddies: Episode 3 at the Sunset Tonight!
Posted by Lindy West at 4:50 PM in Comedy / Film / Genius
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Shabazz Palaces at the Stranger Genius Awards
Posted by Eric Grandy at 3:10 PM in Music / Genius
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Shine Your Shoes and Get a Haircut
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement at 12:27 PM in Genius / Drunk
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Shabazz Palaces Signs to Sub Pop
Posted by Eric Grandy at 8:27 AM in Music / Genius
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Do You Want a Sketch from Stranger Genius Jim Woodring?
Posted by Paul Constant at 4:27 PM in Books / Genius
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tickets On Sale Now for the Stranger Genius Awards Party
Posted by Eric Grandy at 8:30 AM in Genius
Friday, August 6, 2010
Get to Know a Genius: Jim Woodring Wants to Build an Enormous Pen
Posted by Paul Constant at 12:27 PM in Books / Genius
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The 2010 Stranger Genius Award Winners
Posted by Jen Graves at 10:06 AM in Arts / Music / Books / Film / Theater / Genius
The Final Cake of the Day: The Stranger Genius Award for Theater Goes to Marya Sea Kaminski
Posted by Brendan Kiley at 12:55 AM in Theater / Genius
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Genius Award for Film Goes to Robinson Devor and Charles Mudede
Posted by Lindy West at 5:10 PM in Film / Genius
Shabazz Palaces Is the First Ever Stranger Genius for Music
Posted by Eric Grandy at 2:34 PM in Music / Genius
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