The Briefs are officially on hiatus. But the bad news for the Seattle punk band’s fans is that it may be of the permanent variety. At least that’s how it sounded recently when I caught up with singer-guitarist Steve E. Nix.

"The Briefs just aren’t doing anything," he said. "Maybe we’ve broken up. There’s just no plans. Some members moved away, and I’m concentrating on the Cute Lepers. So you never know. We may play again, or we might not. Bands aren’t supposed to go on forever."

The good news is that "Cute Lepers" thing he mentioned. That’s

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People always ask me what I listen to when it’s not for a paycheck. So here’s what’s in heavy rotation on my iPod this week.

How many ways can Trent Reznor convey the message, "By the way, I’m a little messed up?" He shouts it over blaring guitar riffs. He whispers it over weepy piano melodies. And on this underrated track from 1999′s "The Fragile," he says it robo-funk style. This one’s been stuck in my head since Nails blew up KeyArena last weekend.

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Here are some answers to yesterday’s car song trivia challenge. Avoid spoilers here.

Useless Trivia Tuesday answers

1. "Jesus Built My Hotrod", N. Ministry

2. "Car Wash", L. Rose Royce

3. "Keep the Car Running", O. Arcade Fire

4. "Gasoline", B. Audioslave

5. "Automobile", H. N.W.A.

6. "Fast Car", P. Tracy Chapman

7. "Drive", A. The Cars

8. "Black Cadillacs", D. Modest Mouse

9. "Car Thief", F. Beastie Boys

10. "Fast Cars and Freedom", I. Rascal Flatts

11. "I Can’t Drive 55", M.

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I’ve noticed a couple of decent videos from last Saturday’s Nine Inch Nails show. This is my favorite cut from “The Slip,” performed at KeyArena in the first clip and in a rehearsal clip below that. Ain’t it cool how they build that giant Kaos Pad (or whatever that was) Reactable for the live show?

Flowmotion’s eighth annual Summer Meltdown will be take place from Aug. 8 to 10 at Darrington’s Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheatre. And I just got this environmentally friendly announcement from organizers. Take that, Neil Young and Willie Nelson!

The Summer Meltdown, having garnered critical acclaim for its diversity of musical acts – is proud to announce that they will be the first festival in the state to be run on 99% recycled biodiesel. In partnership with Bid For Green, (provider of event biodiesel solutions for Willie Nelson, Keb’ Mo’ & others,) and national diesel generator supplier

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With Hotrod-A-Rama coming up this weekend at the Swiss, I thought I’d come up with a car mix to get you all in the mood. But it would be too easy to just list the songs in order though, right?

Useless Trivia Car Challenge

Match the car song with the artist behind it.

1. "Jesus Built My Hotrod"

2. "Car Wash"

3. "Keep the Car Running"

4. "Gasoline"

5. "Automobile"

6. "Fast Car"

7. "Drive"

8. "Black Cadillacs"

9. "Car Thief"

10.

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You can count on Nine Inch Nails to do at least two things in concert – to rock intensely and to dazzle with lots of unconventional special effects. And Nails did not disappoint on either front Saturday night during the U.S. tour launch at Seattle’s KeyArena. Trent Reznor’s outfit served up two hours of powerful cyber-rock, enhanced by some of the slickest and most innovative L.E.D. effects I’ve ever seen in concert.

The daring set list (photo here) will have fans talking, too, though some will surely grumble that

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Nine Inch Nails kicked off their U.S. tour just a little while ago at Seattle’s KeyArena. And it was just the sort of amazing, effects heavy show we’ve come to expect from our man Trent Reznor. Coolest LED effects I’ve ever seen. I’ll elaborate more later, but I just wanted to post the set list for starters. Note how heavily it draws from the new albums. Tune in later for more. [Update: The review and photos are posted here in case you Googled your way to this post and don't see it above.]

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Day two of the Capitol Hill Block Party featured two of Western Washington’s hottest acts, Olympia folkie Kimya Dawson (top) – featured on the "Juno" soundtrack, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year – and Seattle’s Fleet Foxes (singer-guitarist Robin Pecknold, bottom), a band making a big splash with its blissful, reverb-drenched vocal harmonies. “I haven’t felt nerves in a while, but I feel really nervous today,” Dawson declared as she got started. Her

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A few scenes from the Capitol Hill Block Party last night …

Vampire Weekend was the biggest name on the main stage at day one of the Capitol Hill Block Party. "So far we have one album, and today we actually played every song we know," lead singer Ezra Koenig (top) declared near the end of the band’s set. And that included a new song which the band debuted in honor of Seattle’s KEXP-FM, radio station that broke the band nationally. The highlight of

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