I can't really explain why I think Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is so damn funny, but it just is. In this second installment, I really love the "oh god, I can smell his face" part - and the explanation of where he sleeps when in a hotel. (part 1 here)

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There's absolutely no correlation between the two: the photo above is what's outside my window in Ballard, and the song below is what I woke up with in my head this morning:

You know. Because who doesn't wake up on a snow day and think, "remember that nonsensical time-warp video by Kajagoogoo with the really tan cocktail waitress?"

In actual music news, the Weekly has been doing a great job rounding up all the updates for which shows are still happening and which are getting canceled / rescheduled. You can keep an eye on the list here.

Nothing says "home for the holidays" like those end-of-year spreadsheets at the day job, right? Really though, if you're stuck at a desk for the duration of the week, it really does help to have a little extra jingle in your cube. So, on the heels of Liz's post yesterday, here's a handful of internet-corners that will help to get the jolly in your ho-ho-ho!

An absolute classic, and easy to run in the background while you work, A Charlie Brown Christmas is about as key to the holidays as whatever time of year it was when they used to run The Wizard of Oz on television, commercial-free, and all the kids would watch it in the rec room while the adults smoked cigarettes and drank in the kitchen upstairs and played Pinochole. It's nostalgia-inducing, sweetly familiar, and won't cause one bit of offense to the old dude in accounting across the hall if you happen to turn it up a little bit at your favorite parts!

And in case you missed it earlier this month, Damien Jurado put out a totally killer version of ACBC's signature song, "Christmastime is Here", that you can read all about {and get a download link for} over at the Secretly Canadian site.

Cue super-adorbs kid's choir in the making-of video above. <3!

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I've found the best way to solidify my holiday cheer is with holiday mix tapes and eggnog. This year I've yet to have a cup of the 'nog (which I hope to remedy at the holiday party for the dayjob tonight), but I  have found myself watching a handful of holiday song videos on repeat and repeat and repeat. I thought I'd share them with you in case you haven't connected with your inner jolly yet.

What's your favorite holiday video? Please share below!
(you can post videos at 500 pixel-width in the comments!!!)

I am so in love with this new holiday album by Tim Wheeler (of Ash) and his girlfriend Emmy the Great.  The album is chock full of classics, like "Zombie Christmas," "Sleigh Me" and "Jesus the Reindeer," that make for a slick, infectious indie-rock holiday soundtrack. This video captures that vibe of the whole album, This Is Christmas and illustrates just how stunningly cute this couple is.

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Here I am, just sitting here at work stressing out about end of year deadlines and I decide to click on a link to watch the brand-new Princess Superstar video, for her sure-to-be-a-holiday-classic song, "XMAS SWAGGER."  I've long enjoyed PS for her kooky, white girl rap that lives up to her moniker since her debut album, Strictly Platinum (specifically "Blue Beretta"). She's like the Trucks if they were a blonde rapper who lived in NYC and was obsessed with Grand Royal Records.

Anyway... I'm just sitting here, revving my ho ho ho engines with a holiday-themed video and THERE IT IS!!! A PHOTO OF OUR AMAZING INDIE ROCK SANTA IN A PRINCESS SUPERSTAR VIDEO!!!

See it for yourself:  The above photo {taken by the lovely and talented Laura Musselman} is in the below video at the 14 second mark. 

It's quick and all, and I'm sure the Princess Superstar machine is such a lo-fi operation that they didn't know who or how to get proper rights to use it {sorry John and Laura}; but in case there's anyone out there who's wondering, we can give you the hook-up to the folks who made this amazing photo happen!  Email us, or just meet them at tomorrow night's Imaginary Holiday Party!

Remember those cute Croation cellists who had a musical duel with Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal"? They're back at it again, busting out their adaptation of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by our beloved Nirvana. I gotta say, I really, really, really love these guys. I wonder what's next...

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It takes a lot of coordination to properly release a record these days. After you spend all that time writing and recording songs, there are shows and tours followed by buckets of time needed to coordinate with blogs, radio, friends, random contacts, twitter, and facebook to let everyone know you've got a record coming out. It's a lot and is the reason that I've always thought (and feared) that the best bands rarely get to see the light of day in the avalanche of media.

Last week, Bar None released a record that did more than just the usual. Emperor X's new album, Western Teleport, is a full album release with 40 b-sides (called nodes) that are being released on the internet via a GPS scavenger hunt.  I'm not sure if it's been discovered yet, but apparently a Western Teleport operative has hidden a node in Seattle and someone needs to find it to release it to the world.  The full explanation is on the Western Teleport website, which you'll need to read for yourself because this concept is so intense that I'm not sure I actually understand all the components that make it so cool.

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Happy Monday morning!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and was able to make the most of what the experts have claimed to be the warmest day of the year.  My weekend was packed with some mundane blah stuff which was thankfully overshadowed by one hellava Saturday night in Columbia City.  After an amazing dinner at my new favorite restaurant (Island Soul, do not leave without trying one of their coconut corn muffins!), my friends and I headed over to the Fishboy / BOAT / Aqueduct show at the Columbia City Theater.

All the bands went above and beyond, but the highlight of the night was a surprise super special guest appearance. Mr. John Roderick joined BOAT on stage to chime in on "Landlocked," and then stayed on stage for a super-rock rendition of the Long Winters classic, "New Girl." {!!!}   To say it was jaw-dropping would be an understatement. It's been a while since I've heard the Long Winters rock-style, and boy oh boy, I hope this is a sign for things to come (next album, more shows). 

My favorite part of the story? The part in which I found out that BOAT and John hadn't actually ever practiced "New Girl" together.  The band just sprung it on John when he arrived to the show that night {sprung = asked really nicely}. This just furthers my claim that BOAT (with J. Rod on lead vocals now and again) would make a great house band for the next late night talk show. Watch out Roots! 

How was your weekend? What were your highlights?

Huge thanks to Button Dave for capturing the magic and posting to youtube:

(videos after the jump)

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If you're new, you might not know that OK Go is not only a rockin' band, but they've been creating completely insane and creative videos that people fall all over themselves to watch because they are so totally awesome.

Their latest for "All Is Not Lost" was released this morning, and they've stepped it up by making it a "Google Chrome experiment" which means that a) you can enter a message that will be integrated into the video (if you can't tell, those are FEET spelling out that message), and b) the video frame itself moves around and changes to accomodate the action. what. It also means that the next one is going to have to be filmed in space or something. Anyway, the way it works doesn't really allow for embedding, so go here, enter your message, and watch. It's pretty f'ing amazing, you guys.

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I love, love, LOVE discovering new bands that rock my socks off - I just wish I had known about Portland band Blue Skies for Black Hearts MUCH earlier, since it seems they've been around for awhile, based on all the CDs they have out already. But I digress. When I went to the Tennis Pro show a few weeks back at Chop Suey, these boys took the stage and positively blew me away with their tight, retro-pop tunes, bouncy attitude, and adorable faces. I fell for them straight away, marched over to the merch table after their set to buy some tunes, and tipsily stumbled over telling the bass player how AWESOME they were (a patented Amie move).

The above video for "Siouxsie (!!!) Please Come Home" helps illustrate their fantasticness - and the fact that our Seattle "Summer" could be worse - but I urge you to check out more of their songs, and fortheloveofallthatisholy see them live next time they're in town (9/22 at The High Dive) or you find yourself in PDX.

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