It appears as though the idea with Stars was essentially to avoid over-thinking: seventh track "Looking Through", for example, was recorded the day after it was written. The result is an album that immediately sounds familiar, not because it's a retread but because Nada Surf have so aptly captured the shimmering, lovely essence of what makes them so enchanting in the first place. Opener "Clear Eye Clouded Mind" bursts with punchy, high energy guitars and (of course) flawless harmonies. I suspect it will be a highlight of live shows on their current tour and beyond. "When I Was Young" is no less than an indie-riffic masterpiece, slowly building into a heart-wrenching instant classic.

Though I didn't really need further convincing, Stars reaffirms Caws' place as perhaps the greatest writer of pop tunes in America (all due respect to Adam Schlesinger!). With Nada Surf, what you see hear is what you get. And in this instance, that's a beautiful thing.

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Craving some cover action? This new video from Nada Surf was filmed during their 2010 European tour in Nuremberg, Munich and Dresden and features their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" from the If I Had a Hi-Fi album. Since I'm kind of a Depeche Mode purist, it took awhile to grow on me - but I now appreciate the re-styling...I'm just wondering how many people in that audience have heard the original. :)

But hey! Speaking of Depeche Mode covers, we'll be on hand at this year's Dancing on the Valentine: Strangelove benefit show on Friday, 2/11 at the Crocodile. Join the Facebook page and stay tuned for updates here on TIG.

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We kinda don't know where to begin on this one as it combines so many things we love, our hearts are on the cusp of exploding. A couple more watches and we could be toast (albeit tasty brioche french toast like served at Odd Fellows).

Our dearest man about town and Long Winter, John Roderick, offers a tour of Seattle that exposes his favorite nooks and crannies of our fine city with stops at Odd Fellows, Pretty Parlor, The Crocodile (including a chat with photographer great Charles Peterson), Earthwise Salvage, The Showbox (the night of the Telekinesis show), Shelby Earl recording with Eric Corson, and Le Pichet.

Behold the latest in Rhapsody's Rock Star Guide to the Galaxy -- Destination Seattle - featuring at least four eyewear change ups, three curse word bleeps, a kitty and a Barsuk hoodie (watch it).

What would have been mentioned on your rockstar tour of Seattle?

I like J. Rod's choices, but I'd make sure to show off Remedy Tea, Bimbos (predictable, I know, but you can't deny the power of the no-meato burrito and their happy hour margaritas), Gainsbourg (absinthe cocktails), Molly Moon's Ice Cream, and Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon. Ok, so my tour would basically be a food and drink tour of the city. I'd also include a stop at Velouria and Sonic Boom/Easy Street Records for proper fashion accessories.

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By now, you're heard the reports on Ben Gibbard's show at the Crocodile on Wednesday night: it was pretty much an epic event. The set list killed. The room was packed. Some people liked the hat, some people didn't. Yes, Zooey Deschanel made an appearance at the end. (And yes, it was basically the most adorable thing ever.) Since you've likely already seen the unauthorized video content -- the first three rows aren't texting in this photo, they're all taping the night for posterity on their iPhones -- and thus heard the details on the new songs (the one about the Smith Tower brought a tear to our respective eye -- we can't wait to see if it shows up on the new album!) as well as the Zooey-duets, we'd like to talk to you a little more about the benefit details, and what an amazing success it was.

If you'll notice there in the background, you'll see the Teen Feed banner -- that's the organization that Ben's performance was a benefit for, and at last count, the ticket and merch sales brought in over ten thousand dollars that went directly to the organization. Ten thousand dollars! To put that into scale, the Noise for the Needy benefits that ran for Teen Feed earlier this year wound up netting them twenty-five thousand dollars -- and with that amount of money, Teen Feed was able to go from feeding youth six nights a week to seven nights a week, meaning they could literally function three hundred and sixty-five nights a year. So, on the scale of operating an organization, while ten thousand dollars might seem like a drop in the bucket, the folks over at Teen Feed are able to take funding in that amount and basically turn it into absolute above-and-beyond amazingness. In fact, we're convinced that Megan Gibbard is made out of magic.

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Odds are, if you're here at Three Imaginary Girls poking around, you've heard of Ben Gibbard. And if you're in the greater Seattle area, you've definitely heard about the sold-out show coming up this Wednesday at the Crocodile. (And if you're like us, you might be acting half your age and figuring out just how early you have to get to the venue to secure a spot up front.) But what you may not be as familiar with is the beneficiary of the night, Teen Feed -- so, we thought we'd sit right down with their Executive Director and find out all about it for you.

Imaginary Victoria: So, let's have a little background on the who-what-and-where...

Megan Gibbard: Of course.  Teen Feed is a 7-night-a-week meal program for homeless youth ages 13 – 25.  Every single night, from 7-8pm, we serve up to 70 youth a healthy and safe meal – it very well may be the first time that day they’ve been safe.  Teen Feed is more than just this meal, however. Present at every Teen Feed meal are our Case Managers (we call them Support Coordinators) to build relationships with youth, share a meal, and help with resources and encouragement.  Our Street Talk Outreach Program (STOP) meets youth directly on the streets, in their environment, before they're even ready to ask for help.

Teen Feed works with the community to offer basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with homeless youth as they met their future off the streets. We achieve our mission through three main initiatives: meals, outreach, and case management. It is difficult to go to school when you’re hungry. It is difficult to succeed at work when you aren’t sure where your next meal will come from. So, the food always comes first at Teen Feed – then, we get down to the business of working alongside youth as they find that path from the streets.

I recently spoke with a woman who was homeless on the Ave in the early 1990’s at the age of 13.  She said that she had a moment, a watershed, when she realized that she needed to get off the streets and start pursuing college.  Teen Feed was right there to help her when she needed it.  Teen Feed is important because all people need to be fed – and every youth on the streets needs safe adults right there with they’re ready to ask for help.

This same woman spoke in front of 150 Teen Feed volunteers recently and said:

“I look at my husband, and he’s a lot like his parents.  I look at my children, and they’re a lot like him and I. I look at myself, and I’m a lot like all of you.”

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It goes without saying, but we're going to say it anyway:

Choosing to be anywhere other than John Roderick's show on Thursday night would be absolutely ridiculous of you.

John will be taking the stage with fellow Long Winter Eric Corson for an intimate night of songs, storytelling, and commentary on the joie de vivre as only he can describe it. We've been clamoring for a repeat performance ever since the first of this series of shows back in July, moreso still since last month's show got cancelled due to an unfortunate plumbing mishap at the venue.

Seems as though the rest of Seattle's on their tiptoes about it too -- and if you don't believe us, take a mosey on over to the Triple Door site and see for yourself. Word on the 'nets is that it's just about sold out. As it should be.

While we're 'saying it anyway', there's another nosh of goodness to hit our collective ears lately -- last week, Mt. Fuji records relased a limited edition split single of John Roderick / the Long Winters' latest release "Connections in Nashville," and Spiral Stairs cut "Dreams They Guide Us." The first pressing was only 500 deep, and rumor has it that this imaginary's very own personal copy is en route as we speak type. (Full photoessay to follow upon arrival.) Spiral Stairs put on a killer performance opening up for Pavement at the Paramount earlier this month, and the bliss of a new LW track -- well, yeah. It's gonna be good.

It kind of goes without saying.

We'll keep an eye out for the mailman, and you can click on over to get your tickets for Thursday's show. In the meantime, here's the pre-rewrite, mega-rad con-video version of "Not Moving To Portland" to tide you over.

We'll see you at the show!

{Mega-gorgeous photo courtesy of our friend and magic photogress Laura Musselman.}

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It is sheer madness that there are so many great live performers appearing at Bumbershoot 2010 this year. This is my personal schedule to see a cross-section of irascible indie-ness (be it indie pop-friendly Pac NW hip-hop, indie rock, Brooklyn funk, etc.) but mostly focusing on those TIG-sparking artists who either put out a great record recently (and may or may not have gotten the deserved acclaim) or have one coming right up.

So let's begin the plan, and bear in mind if you haven't heard the music that may already be available from these performers, we would recommend checking the releases hyped below out before you attend Bumbershoot 2010. This is not because you would be in any way disappointed with what you will see and hear when you hit the full-genre full-on phenomenon that is the festival this year; just the opposite, we want you to already have some of these songs down to sing/chant/rap along when they pop during the sets. All are recommended and approved.

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Just in time for a sunny, heat-filled weekend: another installment of cool, dark, lushness at the Triple Door with our favorite frontman, John Roderick. We're extra-excited about the goodness this round, as Kathleen Edwards will be joining the lineup alongside John, with openers El May starting off the night.

The source says it best -- here's a snippet from the Long Winters website:

As a last-minute reminder for those rapscallions who haven't reserved their tickets to all of John Roderick's residency shows at the Triple Door in Seattle, the second of three shows is coming up quickly! Next Saturday [...] should already be circled, starred, and crossed out on your calendar to make sure you have no superceding engagements, but just in case you haven't yet -- do so now. Tickets are [still] available, but going fast.

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(Three Imaginary Girls is hosting a crafting and listening party featuring this album on Sunday, August 8, 2010 from 1 to 3 pm at Neptune Coffee in Greenwood, which has some of the very best coffee in Seattle. You can also hear "Five Little Rooms" from this album on the August 2010 edition of the Imaginary Mixtape podcast.)

Danny Seim, Justin Harris, and Brent Knopf are collectively known as Menomena, a Portland, OR group enjoyed by many for its mindful artistry in their opaque yet luminously layered songs, excellent live performances, and superb packaging. Mines is their first album after a three and a half years hiatus, after astonishing the national press and fans with the Pitchfork-awarded "Best New Music" title for the 8.5-awarded Friend and Foe.

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{Menomena photo by Ben Moon. The Darren Hanlon photo is by someone equally as talented, but unknown to me}

It's time to get out your basket of needles and thread and join us for some quality crafty times! This month we'll be gather at Neptune Coffee (in Greenwood) on Sunday, August 8 from 1pm-3pm and hear brand new albums by Menomena (7/27 release on Barsuk) and Darren Hanlon (9/21 release on Yep Roc).  We'll have a raffle with Menomena and Darren Hanlon -themed prizes, a Neptune beverage special, and a stitching tutorial!

Stitch n B!tch class:
Bring your own craft or join in our first imaginary craft tutorial led by Shrie of Lo and Behold (see flickr / website for crafty portfolio). Shrie is going to show those of us interested how to embroider. If you want to join in, we'll have imaginary-themed stitching kits available so you don't even have to guess what supplies you'll need to get started (but make sure to bring your own scissors - those things are expensive!). Shrie will bring everything we need to learn to stitch and leave the Imaginary Crafty Listening Party with a finished and beautifully stitched craft.

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