Three Imaginary Girls - Videos

Imaginary Watch This: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Two

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:47:45 +0000

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)

In nonsensical segue news: snow day number two + Kajagoogoo!

imaginary victoria — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:51:28 +0000

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.

Stuck in a holiday rut? Need some jingle in your bells? Just press play!

imaginary victoria — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:57:11 +0000

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!

Getting into the holiday spirit by watching videos on repeat

imaginary liz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:39:18 +0000

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.

Princess Superstar loves Indie Rock Santa John Roderick {almost} as much as we do...

imaginary liz — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:47:14 +0000

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!

Imaginary Watch This: Cellos + Nirvana = Smells Like Classical Teen Spirit (what)

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:37:28 +0000

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...

Emperor X hid a secret b-side in Seattle. Has anyone found it yet?

imaginary liz — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:44:46 +0000

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.

Monday morning check-in: John Roderick and the warmest day of the year

imaginary liz — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:12:34 +0000

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)

Imaginary Watch This: New OK Go video with customizable messaging!

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:02:57 +0000

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.

New Favorite Band Alert: Blue Skies for Black Hearts

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:12:50 +0000

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.

This Forbidden Friends video reminds me things can be pretty rad

imaginary liz — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:14:05 +0000

Sometimes, like this week, things can look fairly bleak; Economy, politics, corruption, confusion, and dayjob deadlines can bring a girl down. But, the video for the Forbidden Friends song "Tiny Hands" reminds me/us all that we just gotta stay cool and persevere. Yes, that's the magic of crayon signs, and flying cats.

For the remainder of today (and likely tomorrow too), I'm going to practice my chair dance moves and imagine daydream backdrops behind me as I sing along to "Tiny Hands." And that makes it all so much better.

Every wind that blows is a summer breeze and I never felt a drop of rain!

What video have you found that picks you up and dusts you off?

Video: It's fun to be imaginary!

imaginary liz — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:42:11 +0000

{Yes, they are playing the song while riding a train!!! God bless IndieTracks!}

This morning my ipod shuffle brought up Moustache of Insanity's "Imagine" and reminded me of the duo's brilliance. Even though they didn't write this to be a Three Imaginary Girls theme song, I'm singing along with it today as if it was!

The track is from their eponymous 2009 album album (on WeePOP!) and has me even more stoked for their new album, Album of Death, set for a limited edition blood-red vinyl release on August 20, 2011 (on PYT Records / Fika Recordings).

It makes sense I've fallen for M of I's quirky lo-fi pop: One half of the band is Bill of Allo Darlin and Darren Hayman & the Secondary Modern fame and the other half is Nik whose @nikvestberg twitterings and photo/video stylings keep me in the loop of all things cool.

And in related moustache news: did you order your Allo Darlin' picture disc vinyl yet? It's double-sided-pretty with side a: Darren (about Darren Hayman), side b: Wu Tang Clan (a The French cover). It's a win win win win win.

Imaginary Watch This: Camp Out "Closer" (FINALLY!!!)

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:00:08 +0000

I've been a fan of the Camp Out ladies since I was lucky enough to catch them at a tiny club in San Diego a few years ago (unfortunately I missed their ONE Seattle appearance between now and then) - But! they finally, FINALLY have a video of "Closer" so I can share their poppy dance tunes and total adorableness with you.

If you're digging this tune, I highly recommend you seek out a copy of their one and only album (which would either require a trip down to SD, or that you buy it from iTunes...), also titled Closer, keep an eye out for any upcoming shows (pleasepleasepleaseohplease), and get ready for their now-in-progress new EP.

Imaginary Watch This: Tennis Pro is BIG in Japan

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:44:41 +0000

BIG IN JAPAN Teaser 06.13.11 from John Jeffcoat on Vimeo.

Kon'nichiwa! (sorry, that was cheesy). Hey! Does everyone have their Tennis Pro tix for tonight's CD Release at Chop Suey? Ok then. I thought y'all might also want to know that there's a movie about these guys in progress called Big in Japan, and the trailer was just released, and I just watched it and was all "Shuthefrontdoor. That looks AWESOME!!!" (yes, to myself). No seriously, it does look awesome. Right?

Imaginary Watch This: The Submarines frolic w/tinfoil planets and cardboard stars

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:17:47 +0000

It's no secret that I've been in love with cute-as-a-button pop duo The Submarines for awhile, but their newest album Love Notes/Letter Bombs has been taking over my iTunes for the past few days, stuck on repeat and filling me with indie-pop love. Naturally, the new video for their single "Fire" has the same effect on me, as John and Blake frolic amongst a solar system made from tin foil and cardboard, float on a paper moon, and dance around in tights all while singing one of their catchy, poppy tunes.

Watch and see if you fall for them too...

A video that explains why I love Matt & Kim

imaginary liz — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:06:35 +0000

It's no secret I heart Matt & Kim... so much so that sometimes it's hard to explain why. I usually end up rambling about how nice and wonderful and lovey they are to everyone (and each other) and how they inspire me to be a kinder and much more fun person.

Their new video for "Block After Block" kinda illustrates why they rule (and makes me want to go run around NYC with a bunch of friends).

As Matt explains on their blog:

Another video where Kim is terrified that she is going to get arrested and I (lie) and tell her there is no way that will happen. One day this is going to bite me in the ass but it hasn’t happened yet. Block After Block is our adventure throughout New York City playing impromptu shows wherever we could.

Matt & Kim are on tour with the Thermals right now... my heart explodes thinking about being front row for that bill (which sadly wont happen anytime soon since both bands played Sasquatch last month).

Imaginary Watch This: paint-tastic goodness from Centro-matic

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:21:04 +0000

My love affair with Centro-matic started one night at The (old) Croc, wherein I saw the first incarnation of their spin-off band, South San Gabriel, perform beautiful ballads that split my heart open and left it bleeding on the floor - and I mean that in the best way possible. In any case, I've never forgotten the impact this band had on me that night, and I've become a devoted fangirl every since to both CM and SSG.

This is a long-winded way of saying that I'm super excited for their NEW ALBUM (Candidate Waltz) to drop on June 21, and even more excited that we get to preview it with this paint-filled video for "Only in My Double Mind". oh, and - you can download this single for free on their website too. Viva la Centro-matic!

The Poison Control Center back in town this Thursday at the Sunset

imaginary keenan — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 23:51:08 +0000

Constant pavement pounders and Midwestern sweethearts the Poison Control Center are back on the road and will find themselves back in Seattle this Thursday, June 9th! I've expounded endlessly on my love for these boys, and have often referred to them as "Pavement with acrobatics", but their newest record Stranger Ballet, out today on Afternoon Records, finds them growing into their own brand of loud, fast and heartwarming indie rock. Come to the show to rock and leave with a grin, and possibly some bruises (but you know, happy bruises). Supporting are Seattle's own the Bismarck and Runt.

Ever Kings of the Summer Jam, PCC has done it again with the Cheap Trick playing the Who-like swingin' "Some Ordinary Vision". Check out a live version of it beyond the jump to get pumped for the show!

A cute new video from Fishboy that could double as a workout routine

imaginary liz — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:47:13 +0000

I've been remiss in my indie-pop duties. Apologies to all for the delay in recommending the newest Fishboy album, Classic Creeps. It reveals the lives of 10 unknowingly connected fictional characters across 10 wonderful pop songs {listen to it now}.

To mark its release last week {May 10 on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records}, Eric Edward Fishboy produced a cute video for "Alyson Revere," complete with TMBG Ana Ng style dance moves {which I have to link to after the jump because, it's "Ana Ng" and it's still utterly brilliant}.

Combine the both and you've got a great work out!

What other videos have dance moves that we could use as part of a workout routine?

Songs for a Sunny Wednesday

imaginary liz — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:57:04 +0000

(photo: Laura Musselman)

A new EP by Chadwick, "Seattle's hazy electronic pop producer," just arrived in the inbox and the track, "Sunrise Fire" feels like a perfect mid-morning soundtrack for the promises of sunshine bestowed on today. To speak in analogies, "Sunrise Fire" pulls from the camps of early Ride / The Charlatans UK, and sounds as if it was remixed by speckled sunbeams and fizzy beverages (not to sound cloyingly hippy). Other tracks on the EP might wander into dreamscapes territory, but this lead song on the EP has a foot firmly (and lovingly) in early 90s brit-shoegazer-pop. {listen!}

Of course, if we want to talk about songs that are perfect for sunny afternoon frolicking, my pick will always be Hello Seahorse! - "Won't Say Anything" (video below) or "Good Ol' Fashion Rump Shaker" by Hood Internet (mixing Matt & Kim and Beastie Boys).

What songs will be your soundtrack for a sunny Wednesday?