The folks at KNDD-FM (The End, 107.7) just gave me a ring with details for their annual holiday gala. Modest Mouse will headline this year’s event with support from Spoon, Coheed & Cambria, Jimmy Eat World, She Wants Revenge and the Kooks. It’s set for Dec. 6 at the Everett Events Center. The station will provide further details on air tomorrow.

Click here to revisit last year’s event. Or for photos from a more recent End event, check out my Endfest coverage here.

This just in off of the AP wire.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security may be substantially hipper than previously known.

Chris Walla, the guitarist and producer for indie rock legends Death Cab for Cutie, says border guards seized the master recording for his upcoming solo album last month when a courier tried to deliver them from a Vancouver, British Columbia, studio to Seattle-based Barsuk (bar-SOOK’) Records.

Walla writes on his blog that he had a backup copy of the album, titled "Field Manual." He says he’s been told computer forensics

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As mentioned the other day, the Sonics are playing their first gigs together in decades next month in New York. And while that’s all good and well, I wanted to get to the bottom of what had kept them from doing something sooner – especially given how popular old school garage has become again in recent years.

Bumbershoot organizer One Reel attempted to coax the iconic Tacoma rock band out of retirement for the 1999 festival, and lead singer Gerry Roslie was the lone holdout, according to inside sources.

And while I haven’t caught up

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Tickets for a pair of huge shows go on sale Saturday morning. First, there’s Kiss-FM’s annual holiday gala, the Jingle Bell Bash, which will bring Timbaland, Sean Kingston, the Jonas Brothers and Colbie Caillat to the Tacoma Dome on Dec. 4. But personally, I’m even more excited to see Queens of the Stone Age on Dec. 18 at the Paramount.

Jingle Bell Bash tix go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, QOTSA tix at noon. Find details here.

Was just transcribing my interview with Schoolyard Heroes Ryann Donnelly (a grad of Tacoma’s own Charles Wright Academy.) She and her mates will headline the all-ages show at Hell’s Kitchen on Friday. And after listening to her talk about the new video for “The Plastic Surgery Hall of Fame,” I had to surf on over to You Tube and check out the finished product, right?

It’s pretty slick, actually. They’re either putting that Island Def Jam cash to good use, or they have some friends cinema savvy homies. And check out the behind the scenes clip

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This weekend I’ve been listening to the new Radiohead and Fiery Furnaces albums pretty much non-stop, all the while thinking about where they might fall on my year-end top albums list. Or if they’ll be on that list at all, considering I still have two more months of releases to filter through.

But enough about me. What albums have you all had in super heavy rotation on your iPod this year?

My Myspace amigos and occasional interview subjects, the Presidents of the United States of America, just posted this show announcement.

GET SNOWED IN PARTY with THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

November 09, 2007 7:00 PM

Pyramid Alehouse in the “Snow Cap Tent”

1201 1st Ave S.

Seattle, WA 98134

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

with Special Guest DJ RADAM

Tickets $21 in advance

21+ Only

Doors at 7PM, Show at 9PM

21+ with ID

If you’re not out and about tonight, you might want to turn your radio dial over to KNDD-FM (The End, 107.7) at 9 p.m. That’s when Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and producer Steve Fisk will be on the air with Harms talking about the score they composed for the new Kurt Cobain documentary, “About a Son.”

Speaking of which, I’m gonna have to make the trip up to Seattle’s Varsity Theatre to catch that since it’s not opening down in the South Sound just yet. (Find a cross section of reviews on

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Our little corner of the Northwest has spawned its share of music legends – from the Fabulous Wailers to Nirvana. And among the most reclusive of those have been Tacoma’s garage rock titans, the Sonics. Some would argue the band laid the foundation for punk in the 1960s with brutal rockers like "The Witch." And a gang of followers – Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder and the Hives to name just a few – have sung their praises. But the band hasn’t played a show in decades.

Well, that’s all about to change next month. As reported elsewhere, original

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Vote for your favorite “Bollocks” track here. The plan is to use the results for an anniversary story later this month. And so far “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy UK” are front runners, as you might expect. But where’s all my “Pretty Vacant” people? I’m just sayin’. Highly underrated song. My favorite British, midget rapper is even a fan. But what’s up with this You Tube clip? Laziest video ever!