In a land where we are inundated by new music on a weekly, if not sometimes daily basis -- few things feel better than starting a nice, fresh playlist of tracks that have made the cut (in both the new-release new and new-to-me new ways). I like to organize mine by month, so at a moment's glance, I can see what's new when a friend is looking for something to woo her ear, or what to pull from for a DJ night. That first playlist in the first folder of the year holds special appeal for us over-organizing audiophiles, and while it's already starting to flesh out with some new-to-my-rotation tunes -- "For The One" / WATERS, "Goodness Gracious" / Heligoats, "The Dreamer" / Tallest Man On Earth -- one of the first outright new tracks of 2012 that's become stuck in my proverbial craw is Nada Surf's "When I Was Young".

Slated for release later this month, and undoubtedly one of the many songs the crowd will be set to swoon for when they take the stage at the Tractor on February 2nd, this song has the same kind of intimate-cum-cinematic appeal of Band of Horses' "Funeral" -- the kind of track you turn up because the opening strains start to pull at your heartstrings, and before you know it, you're thrown into this building, accelerating wall of indie-rock, while those signature vocals hold steady and soothing. If the rest of the album is anything like this, The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy will absolutely have a firm place in your top-ten list of 2012, local or otherwise. {band official} {preorder at Barsuk}

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Autumn is upon us, and once again, we've found ourselves happily submerged in a sea of grey mornings at the local cafe with headphones on, poring through new releases and marking our calendars for upcoming shows. And in case you're in one of those spots where you had to put New Release Tuesday on the back burner for a bit, we'd love to help you catch up! Part one of two, this post features stuff we heart to the maxx that also has a live show coming up in November -- and PS, we've got tickets to give away for almost everything featured here! Read on:

Who: tUnE-yArDs, aka Merrill Garbus

What: new(ish) album from earlier this year, upcoming show, all-around awesomeness
Sounds Like: super-melodic, experimental freak-out tribal chanting over sweet beats + some very catchy sing-a-long-y vibes
More info at: http://tune-yards.com/
Playing: The Neptune on Sunday, November 20th

Short version? One of the stand-out small-stage acts at Sasquatch! 2010, plays huge venues now, not to be missed. Long version: tUnE-yArDs -- which is comprised mostly of a lady-genius named Merrill Garbus, along with some loops and accompanying musicians depending on where and when you catch her -- is not like any other band out there today. It's part crazy catchy beats, part tribal warpaint, part musical catch-and-release, and all amazing. 2009's Bird-Brains kicked our asses, and 2011's w h o k i l l took things to a whole 'nother level. Buy both albums and make sure you're front and center for her Neptune appearance later this month.

Who: We Were Promised Jetpacks

What: new album, upcoming show, mosh potential
Sounds Like: straight-up indie rock, big guitars, angst, Scottishness
More info at: http://wewerepromisedjetpacks.com
Playing: Neumos on Tuesday, November 15th

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{Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 opened in Seattle on Friday, July 14 and is playing at the Majestic Bay, the Pacific Science Center IMAX®, the Cinerama, and other area theaters}

THE END of Harry Potter is here. And as I’ve said before, I’m not a huge fan. But Amie! You’re nerdy. And you love supernatural things. And you heart the crap out of reading. All this is true, but the first 5 HP books (won from a work contest many years ago) sit dust-covered and untouched on my bookshelf.

See, Harry Potter is one of those things where every single person and their brother’s brother said some variation of this to me, “OMFG they are so amazing you will totally love them read them all right now whatiswrongwithyou?” - which is the best way to make sure I NEVER do something. So instead of reading, I just went ahead and cheated by seeing all the films. And while there were a few moments I appreciated, they kind of all blended together and I just wasn’t that impressed.

So I wasn’t really expecting to be blown away by this, but I joined in the hype just because it was fun. And on the day of the press screening for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I had to go ahead and post this smartass tweet:

Which naturally totally screwed me, because I ended up pouring out some serious waterworks over the course of 2 hours and 5 minutes. So I’ll just say it: this movie surprised me.

 

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{Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened in Seattle on Friday, 5/20, and is playing at the Majestic Bay, the Metro, the Meridian, and the Cinerama}

Well thank god Disney for a swashbuckling return to form after the last two abysmally long and confusing PotC movies. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has cast off the dead weight of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly's complicated romance in favor of focusing solely on the star of the show: the scruffy, drunken, and hilariously awesome Captain Jack Sparrow (obvs. played by Johnny Depp).

After seriously botching an attempt to break first mate Gibbs out of jail, Sparrow discovers the nefarious Barbossa (Geoffery Rush - now one-legged) has joined sides with the royal guard, and is now seeking legendary Fountain of Youth--which only Sparrow knows the way to.

What follows is a kick-ass adventure involving a very sultry Penélope Cruz as Angelica, the former scorned lover of Sparrow, and the recently reunited daughter of the evil and ruthless Blackbeard--played by Deadwood's Ian McShane with heaps of Al Swearengen swagger, if Swearengen had a foofier outfit, a magic sword, voodoo dolls, and the power to raise the dead that is.

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There's one word that comes to mind above all others in regards to Monday night's Fleet Foxes / Cave Singers show at the Moore -- and that word is simply stunning. The impeccable sound, lighting, and setup of the Moore made for a veritable breeding ground of amazing, as two of the Pacific Northwest's best alt.beardcore bands brought their respective brands of greatness to the stage. The Cave Singers let loose with a tight, polished, best-of catalog-spanning set that washed over us like the force of nature they are -- followed by this imaginary's inaugural live Fleet Foxes set.

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{Heartbeats screens 3/18-3/24 at the Northwest Film Forum}

I brought earplugs to this screening, just in case, because Montreal wunderkind Xavier Dolan's first film, I Killed My Mother, was an absolute screechfest. Dolan, who was 17 when he wrote it and 20 when he directed it, played a rude teen son in a corrosive relationship with his tacky single mom. He screamed and hollered through the whole damn thing, and it's a wonder his lungs (or my inner ears) ever recovered.

Happily, I ended up not needing protective gear at all for his latest effort -- Dolan's one lone shriek was actually welcome, and dare I say pleasant -- and I left the theater quite enamored with Heartbeats. It's a madly stylish achievement, a delightfully vivid pop pastiche, and one of the best cinema surprises of 2011 so far.

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{Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune opens Friday, 3/14 at the NWFF and plays through Sunday, 3/16}

Phil Ochs was a protest singer in the early 60s folk scene that also spawned Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and others. But I rarely listen to his early stuff; even though it enervates with left-wing patriotic spirit and lacerates society's bullies (the anti-union wealthy, racists, religious bigots) with vicious satire.

This opening segment of the new music movie playing at the NWFF, There But For Fortune (screening Friday, March 11-13) does an inspiring job of getting you involved at the beginning of his career. These were the years Ochs hung out with Stephin Merritt's heroine, art-pop chanteuse Judy Henske; sparred conversationally and artistically with Dylan over the meaning of politics and aesthetics; partied in his NYC apartment with those two and everyone from writers to activists to those in the middle like The Fugs' Ed Sanders (if you think you're a punk and that doesn't ring any bells, take back your Green Day CDs to Everyday Music, kiddo).

Ochs was singing songs like "Here's To The State of Mississippi," in which he threatens to beat down the state personally for flagrantly murdering blacks and white civil rights activists; "Love Me I'm A Liberal" where he makes fun of weak-bellied Democrats for fearing Malcolm X; and "Cops Of The World," the folk song equivalent of throwing water balloons full of piss at the riot troops in downtown Seattle during the WTO riots (though it's more about Vietnam than cop-riling).

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As most semi-popular music fans know, the two oldest stories in the history of the rock album as "art" is actually the same one from different ends. The grand, ornate, rococo resurrection - and the stripped down, for serious or fun reinvention. Dylan invented all this with his trilogy of amphetamine-fueled apocalypse pop in the mid-60s, and then followed it with LPs where he wore cowboy hats on the cover and tenderly rasped about throwing it all away.

As you may have heard, The Decemberists have kind of done that, too, on recent release The King Is Dead, after one or two double-LP length leviathans of noodly odysseys and noisy oracles, now coming down with some sunny, bittersweet folk-pop, but without leader Colin Meloy having to get all mashed up on a motorbike to do it.

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Us Imaginaries are getting SUPER EXCITED for this year's Dancing on the Valentine benefit show next Friday, February 11! Host and organizer miss Jenny George has outdone herself; putting together a Depeche Mode cover night entitled Strangelove to satisfy our nostalgic Goth hearts. Photographer extraordinaire Ben Haley will once again be manning the fun photo booth.

Here's a preview of what to expect using photos from DOTV 2010: the David Bowie tribute. (psst: you should totally buy your tix now at Sonic Boom or The Croc!!! $12/$10 of which goes to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.)

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Save the date - The Naked And Famous (NZ's breakthrough band of 2010) has just announced a looooooong list of shows, and they're playing Showbox at the Market April 11th!

It's no secret that I'm stoked - TNAF was astoundingly successful last year and it's been amazing to see their hard work pay off.  To bring you up to speed, in June their single "Young Blood" was the first kiwi single to debut at number one on the NZ charts in sixteen years, and then in September went on to win the coveted APRA Silver Scroll, awarded to the "best-written song on commercial release". Their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You was certified gold, and as if that wasn't enough of a success story, the band moved to London at the end of the year, having secured a record deal with Fiction Records, home to such bands as White Lies, Elbow, Crystal Castles, Snow Patrol and The Cure. Whew!

This innovative five-piece has a lot to prove, and you bet they're going to bring a pounding, synth-and-distortion filled show. In the meantime, you can score a free download of their cover of The Mint Chicks' "Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!" here, and watch the gorgeous video for "Punching in a Dream" on Vimeo.

 

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