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!

more...

Dearest Imaginaries - I can't tell you how excited I am that the SIFF event I have been waiting for is FINALLY almost here! Our beloved Damien Jurado is taking the stage at The Triple Door on Wednesday night (6/8) for a special peformance: he'll be providing a live musical soundtrack to Russian filmmaker Dimitri Kirsanof's avant-garde shorts!

The Damien Jurado and the Russian Avant-Garde show starts at 7pm and is all-ages. So to recap, you get to listen to Damien peform while watching gorgeous vintage short films made from the 20s-50s. At $15 a ticket, this qualifies as a total steal.

When an album exists independently as a great piece of art -- in this case, we're referring to Damien Jurado's 2010 release, Saint Bartlett -- it really doesn't need anything 'extra' to make it better than it already is. Some bands need promotion, some records need catchy packaging, but a true work of art stands alone on it's own merit -- and such is the case with SB. As fans and fellow artists, as a community at large we've recognized this, achieving a state of admiration and inspiration for what Damien saw fit to put forth. We've emulated in the most well-intentioned ways. Pieces of his songs have become tiny ornaments as they've folded themselves into our minds and respective processes. We revisit these songs for better and for worse, in moments of lifting up and moments of letting down. These pieces tie into the threads that pull us out of bed in the middle of the night, or hold us back in the morning for a few moments more on the greyest of days. And vice-versa.

more...

{Photo courtesy of Sarah Jurado, all-around gorgeous human.}

A few thoughts on why you should find yourself at the Crocodile this Saturday, March 5th:

1. Damien Jurado is a king amongst men. He is a beautiful person who makes music so personal, it's hard not to shed copious tears upon hearing the opening notes of a song, or when he opens his mouth to sing. Saint Bartlett is his newest release, and has been called everything from "an achievement" (Pitchfork) to a "welcome fork in the road" (PopMatters) in terms of sound, which may have a lot to do with his collaboration with Richard Swift for this album.

He'll be headlining the evening, the frosting on top of a delicious indie rock cake of awesome.

{Photo courtesy of Laura Musselman, expert kitten wrangler.}

2. There is a rumor floating around that Viva Voce will be playing the show on Saturday as a two-piece. Not that the Viva Voce extended family is a bad thing, because it's quite the opposite -- however, there is something soul-affirming and lift-you-to-the-risers exciting about the core duo performing. There's less people to watch, more time to spend on marveling at how G-D amazing Anita Robinson is as a guitar player. The shredding she unleashes is unstoppable. And there is nothing like watching Kevin Robinson play drums, keyboards and guitar at the same time, without missing a beat. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT miss their set.

more...

We're sad to report that by the time you read this post, this show will probably be sold out.

Somewhere in the depths of Tacoma this Wednesday night, a few dozen die-hards will be crowding the space of a stranger's living room to hear the sweet sounds of two imaginary favorites: none other than the esteemed Damien Jurado and John Vanderslice will be gracing us with their respective presence, in one room, at the same show. (We know. Seriously.) With the recent work these two gentlemen have seen fit to bestow upon the masses -- Jurado's St. Bartlett making a slew of top ten lists of 2010, and Vanderslice's White Wilderness (out earlier this month) starting the 2011 off right -- we can only surmise that this will be one hell of an evening.

more...

Our friends over at Sound on the Sound are presenting their first show of 2011, and it's sure a doozy: none other than one of our imaginary favorites, Damien Jurado, will be headlining on a bill that includes Widower and Tony Kevin Jr. tonight at Columbia City Theater.

In case you haven't seen all the exclamation points flying around the site over the last few months, let us refresh your memories: we simply just Can't. Get. Enough of Damien Jurado's 2010 release here in the imaginary offices. Saint Bartlett is nothing short of an indie triumph, with a start-to-finish one-take sound that begs to be heard on vinyl. It's at once simple and adventurous, and as many a critic have stated, a gorgeous and well-charted departure from anything he's done over the last few years -- while managing to maintain his signature sound down in the underpinnings, much to our delight.

Here's a little taste, in the event that Saint Bartlett hasn't made it's way into your colection yet:

If that's not enough to get you out to Columbia City in the drizzle tonight, I don't know what is. Tickets are going fast, and we strongly recommend that you pick one (or four) up in advance over at Brown Paper Tickets before you head to the show. We'll see there!

{21+ / $14 / 9p}

more...

It's safe to say here at Three Imaginary Girls that we go to a lot of shows. Sometimes, two (or three) in one night, if there's more than one must-see happening going on about town. And so it's no surprise that in 2010 alone, just on my own, I managed to go to shoot at least two shows a week on average, attended another two dozen-ish (or so) sans camera, plus several festivals, house parties and a handful of KEXP in-studios. We're talking everything from nights at the Sunset and Neumos to four days in Portland for MFNW, out locally for long weekends at Bumbershoot and Sasquatch, and down to SXSW and back again.

On any given night there are plenty of shows taking place, in rooms across Seattle and across the country, where boys and girls and instruments and fans all convene inside four walls to make, appreciate, and experience live music -- but not all of them are Shows. When I reference shows in this post, I'm talking about the nights that we collectively See A Show, the nights that remind me us why we live in Seattle in the first place. Seeing A Show has the ability to alter the fabric of our respective existence, to leave us forever changed -- full of those everything-I've-ever-done-led-to-this-exact-right-now kinds of moments.

With a history timeline at the ready via flickr sets and hastily scrawled notes from stage right, I give you some of my greatest moments of 2010 as an appendix to the ever-popular top albums of the year lists that have been popping up all over our radars.

First place:
Neil Young (solo) at the Paramount

This might be construed as an easy out for a list-topper, but it was by far the most stupidly amazing few hours I spent in a venue all year. Not only was I among the lucky few that got to hang and shoot from the soundboard, but I also had the privilege of being allowed to watch the set after shooting (sans camera gear) from the third-level mezzanine. It may as well have been a live reel of Young in his prime, for how good he sounded -- without a doubt one of the top ten shows of my life, probably in the history of Ever.

more...

I know, I know. Writing best of 2010 lists is so three-weeks-ago. But with such a good year in music having just passed, it would be remiss of me to not to let the imaginary-sphere know about a few of my favorite close-of-the-oughts things. I've never been a big subscriber to "this is better than that" -- it's not easy to put so much different stuff on one plane and deem some of them better, some of them worse -- so instead of file and rank, I've compiled a few chunks of albums, shows, and random happenings that made it to 'awesome' status for me over the last twelve months, with commentary, in no strict order.

That said, this best-of is meant to be enjoyed. Maybe your life was altered at the same show mine was, or maybe the same album had you trapped in the car for an hour listening tracks on repeat. Whichever is the case, remember one thing above all else: as John Roderick so eloquently stated earlier this week, "If you are too busy to discover new albums for yourself, the last thing you need is a list of more albums to buy. You should take a hot bath instead."

Agreed.

That said, let's start with the releases. I was seriously impressed with the amount of great EPs and LPs that came out this year, and this is coming from someone who's held fast to the belief that there hasn't been a 'great' year for new music since about 2005 or so. (Obviously, with a few onesie exceptions here and there.) Maybe it has to do with where I'm at and what I'm capable of absorbing at any given point, but seriously -- I'm able to look back at what made it into my itunes from January until now, and can state with confidence that some honest-to-goodness talented shit rose to the surface above the onslaught of mediocre that is now deemed 'indie' and/or 'indie rock' these days. (PS: in most cases, there's very little new music that can truly be deemed 'indie rock.' I'm just saying. When the next Wrens album comes out, we'll talk.)

Tied for First Place:
* Lovesick Empire / The Grind EP - I simply can not get enough of this EP. It's a sound that invokes a proper nod to grunge (which is seemingly inherent, rather than purposeful), laden with powerful big-guitar ache and smart lyrics to match. Catch them in the third-of-five spot at Neumos next Friday, January 7th before you head out to Columbia City (see below). {listen / free download}{tickets}
* Damien Jurado / Saint Bartlett - This ambitously-recorded album is a bold departure from Jurado's previous work, with a layered, throwback, one-take sound that begs to be heard on vinyl. Wielding the CD in my car on the way home from the West Seattle Easy Street pre-release show, I found myself pulled over on John Street, listening to "Beacon Hill" about twenty times in a row -- if you didn't pick this up yet, you can grab a copy at his upcoming show on Friday, January 7th at Columbia City Theater. {buy album}{tickets}
* The Head and the Heart / (s/t) - Unless you've lived under a rock since about April or so, you know why this band made my best-ofs. There's hardly enough adjective left that hasn't already been used since this band hit my radar over the summer, and they've gone from the stages of Conor Byrne and Sonic Boom to opening sets for Dave and Tim's most recent run of shows -- and with good cause. If you're lucky enough to have picked up tickets to the January 15th show at Neumos later this month (we're including the link in case any get released between now and then), I'll see you there! {buy album}{tickets}

more...

{Head and the Heart photo by Victoria VanBruinnisse from the Imaginary Flickr Photo Pool}

I love this time of year. Besides the {sometimes forced} joyous disposition of folks and my annual fancy birthday breakfast {on December 24 for those keeping track}, we all get to ruminate on the best albums and songs of the year for hours on end.

more...

{Shabazz Palaces photo from the Three Imaginary Girls Flickr Pool by Jason Tang}

Through sheer quirk of fate and possibly my own fatally quirky tastes, the top spots for my four favorite records of the year were given to two separate EPs by two different bands. I'm going to start my Top 20 of 2011 list with a cheat; combining two albums for placement at #1 and #2. Just to obnoxiously make you utterly vigilant of it: the first two spots are taken up by two separate releases, but they're EPs that if combined with each other, tie with/become one release.

Oh, and I'm keeping all hype to 20 words to mirror the Top 20 list. And then I cheat again by having the first two releases described in 40 words, a combination of two 20 word reviews. (No, I haven't been studying Kabbalah with the Wu-Tang Clan.) Also: Mostly in order, but ask me again tomorrow. (The Damien Jurado could be anywhere on this list, for example.) And regional preference takes precedence (call that "fanzine love").

1. Shabazz Palaces, Shabazz Palaces & Of Light EPs
Cracked, uncanny hip-hop collages of unsettling mind-movies, Clockers meets Company Flow. "Juxtapositions of the digital and analog, hard drum-machine beats set against softer bongos or the resonant sweetness of an mbira." -- Jon Caramanica, The New York Times

more...