Three Imaginary Girls - All Girl Summer Fun Band

Bring back the sun (??!!) with Imaginary Amie's Summer Mixtape

Imaginary Amie — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:56:19 +0000

Ahhh….summer. There's nothing quite like cranking up a bouncy, happy song on a sunny day - whether you're in a car with the top down, or taking a sunshiny sidewalk stroll with your earphones firmly in place. Sadly, once again this summer, the sunny days in Seattle have been few and far between (Hello, July?). Here's to hoping this beach and BBQ-ready virtual mixtape I put together will keep you feeling warm!

1. The Drums - "Let's Go Surfing" - Summertime EP (2:55)
{tig} {listen} {buy}

2. Bow Wow Wow - "I Want Candy (Kevin Shields Remix)" - Marie Antoinette Soundtrack (2:40)
{listen} {buy}

3. The Submarines - "You Me and the Bourgeoisie" - Honeysuckle Weeks (3:22)
{tig} {listen} {buy}

{more tracks after the jump}

Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 TIG Editorial Picks

three imaginary girls — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:10:11 +0000

TIG staffers are a lot like you -- coming up with our list of faves for the year is a fun and gripping process. After comparing/contrasting/debating our individual favorites, we figured the sum of our imaginary parts would make for an interesting list.

While ChrisB and Keenan, among other things, brought in the power-pop elements, Chris Estey stood by the smartie subtle elements of this year's Northwest offerings. Imaginary liz, as usual, loved the lo-fi and indie-pop songs, while imaginary dana spent much of the year obessed with Throw the the Statue and of course, the Fleet Foxes. And nearly all of us agreed that the Saturday Knights album was a force to be reckoned with. Here's our our staff votes tallied up...

Top Northwest Releases of 2008, TIG Editorial Picks:

25. The Nextdoor Neighbors - Magic Vs The Machine {live show review}
24. The Dead Science - Villanaire {album review}
23. H is for Hellgate - Come for the peaks stay for the valleys {info}
22. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround {live show review}
21. BOAT - Topps EP {live show review}
20. LoveLand - The Beautiful Truth {info}
19. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees {album review}
18. Common Market - Black Patch War {album review}
17. Chris Walla - Field Manual {album review}
16. Hey Marseilles - To Travels and Trunks {live show review}
15. Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alchohol, Sunshine, Money {album review}
14. Grand Archives - Grand Archives {album review}
13. Man Plus - Hungarian Suicide Songbook {album review}
12. Wallpaper - On The Chewing Gum Ground
11. (TIE) Young Sportsmen - If You Want It {album review}
11. (TIE) Doll Test - Mosque Alarm Clock
10. The Pica Beats - Beating Back the Claws of the Cold {info}
9. Team Gina - Products of the 80s {album review}
8. The Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind {info}
7. The Pharmacy - Choose Ur Own Adventure {info}
6. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams {album review}
5. Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke {live show review}
4. The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times {live show review}
3. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It {live show review}
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes {album review}
1. The Saturday Knights - Mingle {album review}

Peruse some of individual staffer favs:

Amelia Gydé
ChrisB
Chris Estey
Erik Gonzalez
keenan dowers
Kyle Johnson {his photos} {other's photos}
imaginary dana
imaginary liz
Shrie

skwinner.jpg

Magic Marker Records book a roadtrip-worthy anniversary show

imaginary keenan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:23:15 +0000

You better hope gas prices stay low until February! Portland's fantastic Magic Marker Records just announced their anniversary show! And it's amazing!

Summer fun returns to Seattle

Imaginary Kiku — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:32:05 +0000

8 Nov 2008

agsfb08nov.jpg

After a much too long week of work or school, made more unbearable by pouring rain and only grey skies, what more could a Seattleite ask for than an evening full of summer fun? I went to the VERA Project last Saturday looking for a break from the wintry monotony, and received not only some summer fun, but also peanut butter sandwiches and a healthy dosage of local pop too.

The first band up was a cute man and woman duo called Dimples. Their songs were built around drums, guitar, and their playfully blunt lyrics (“You’re being such a jerk!” being the chorus in one song).

I doubt that any song of theirs went over two minutes, and the high energy fun-filled delivery was reminiscent of a punk band (minus the anarchy and jean jackets). It was easy to tell Dimples enjoyed being on stage, and their playful banter with the small audience made the show fun, if short. compare them to some classic punk 45s.

The next band was the delightful local pop band Iji (pronounced ee-hee) including several members of former Seattle greats Patience Please. This band was all kinds of adorable, not only in their music but their execution. Their show featured what band-member Keenan Dowers called “performance art.” With only four out of a total seven members at the show, three of them sat around a card table topped with a woolen blanket and various keyboards and percussion instruments, making peanut butter and honey sandwiches as the lead singer played the first song. Afterwards, they placed the bread and accoutrements on the very edge of the stage asking “Does anyone want a sandwich? Anybody hungry?” Some people were, and they partook. Their sound is certainly reminiscent of Patience Please (who I’ve seen several times and always thoroughly enjoyed), with inventive sounds using creative methods of playing (hitting tambourines with maracas, etc.) and instruments I’ve never seen before. The lyrics are sweet and earnest, and if all their shows are as cleverly engaging as this one was, I look forward to seeing Iji again.

All Girl Summer Fun Band hadn’t played in Seattle since 2003, which means quite simply that there has been no summer fun of the all girl variety in our city for five years. Not that we’ve been especially snubbed -- AGSFB has been fairly inactive until this year, when they released their latest album “Looking Into It” and began touring again for the first time since 2005. Unfortunately it may have been a disappointing night for the girls: not only is the Crocodile Café still out of commission (where they played their last two Seattle shows), but the audience at VERA was not as numerous as it should have been (although there were a few very spirited attendees who may have made up for it).

It’s easy to tell AGSFB are veteran musicians. Their enthusiasm was evident and although there was a dearth of inter-song banter, it was very easy to fall in love with this band. The girls’ coy smiles when interacting with the more vivacious (and vocal) fans thoroughly won me over. They can rock it like nobody's business, but they also seem like very grounded and sweet people. The set was mostly comprised of songs from their last two albums, and unfortunately had none from their self-titled LP released in 2001 (the only one I own).

The end of the set was a little anticlimactic; it felt like a very abrupt conclusion to such an energetic show. AGSFB quietly said goodnight and started packing up. However it was in keeping with what I can only assume to be their modus operandi: keep it real, don’t ham it up, play rockin’ music. That’s exactly what they did.

Setlist:

Videogame Heart
Not the One for Me
Tour Heart Throb
Plastic Toy Dream
Everything I Need
This Will Never End
Oh No
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Troublemaker
Trajectory
Grizzly Bear
Becky

I went to the VERA Project last Saturday looking for a break from the wintry monotony, and received not only some summer fun, but peanut butter sandwiches and a healthy dosage of local pop too.

Stay out of the rain! Go see some pop shows!

imaginary keenan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:08:44 +0000

This is a fantastic weekend for indie pop in Seattle!

Short attention span songs

imaginary liz — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:48:42 +0000

Since the folks at Not Quite Rocket Science began their podcasting a couple months ago, I've been enjoying their comps. Last week's podcast is one of my favorites yet. It is group of their shortie/sweet songs.

Ltd Ed. Vinyl = Happy Happy Birthday To Me!!!

imaginary liz — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:34:07 +0000

The Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records 2007 Singles Club is limited to 450 copies. Finally - the perfect gift for your hard-to-buy-for vinyl loving friend (let me know if you need my mailing address).

A House Full of Friends

Joseph Riippi — Sun, 08 May 2005 07:00:00 +0000

yes

7.4

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002ZDWGW/wwwthreeimagi-20

housefulloffriends05may.jpg

The A House Full of Friends compilation pulls together two-discs worth of artists whom have performed at some point or another in a small SE Portland house where Mark Rothkopf and Curt Ketner, the founders of Magic Marker Records, lived from 1997-2004. Presumably, the house was usually full of their friends.

The liner notes call the record, "a historic document that tells the story of the beginnings of a record label and a start in a new city and a new house." In a time before all-ages clubs like the Meow Meow opened their doors, Portland was a tough place for up-and-coming bands to get a gig, so Mark and Curt opened up their house as a venue. The recent compilation includes a booklet of photos and a "How to Throw A House Show" instruction manual.

"These 34 songs," the liner notes continue, "represent almost all the bands that played at the Magic Marker house. Some have since broken up and others have gone on to immense popularity that would make a house show pretty much impossible."

The compilation is incredibly diverse, including unreleased tracks and alternative takes by bands like The Thermals, the Shins, Dear Nora, Tullycraft, and the Lucksmiths, and album tracks by the Decemberists, Mates of State, and the All Girl Summer Fun Band.

It plays like a really good mix-tape, and when played straight through it runs a huge gamut of soft acoustic pop (Dear Nora) to fast and hard rock (The Thermals) to sweetly ironic indie-ness (My Little Brother).

Overall, A House Full of Friends is an unexpected achievement in that it doesn't have the lopsided hit to miss-miss-miss ratio that a large majority of compilations (soundtracks included) fall victim to. If anything, standout tracks like Eux Autre's "Le Project Citron" or the Shins' alternate version of "Baby Boomerang" make the one or two misses irrelevant.

and The A House Full of Friends compilation pulls together two-discs worth of artists whom have performed at some point or another in a small SE Portland house where Mark RothkopfCurt Ketner, the founders of Magic Marker Records, lived from 1997-2004.

Best of 2003: Imaginary Staffers Top 10 Lists

three imaginary girls — Sun, 04 Jan 2004 08:00:00 +0000

Char, Imaginary Girl

All Girl Summer Fun Band, "2"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
Massive Attack, "100th Window"
Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"
The Dandy Warhols, "Welcome To The Monkey House"
The Fitness, "Call Me for Together"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
Various Artists, "Lost in Translation" Soundtrack
Visqueen, "King Me"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Fever To Tell"

Dana, Imaginary Girl

Nada Surf , "Let Go" &
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall" &
Visqueen, "King Me"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight" &
The Lights, "Beautiful Bird"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
Mogwai, "Happy Songs for Happy People"
Dear John Letters, "Stories of our Lives"
Heather Duby, "Come Across the River"
The Malinks, "Can't Shake Last Night" &
Downpilot, "Leaving Not Arriving"

Liz, Imaginary Girl

The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight" &
Ballboy, "Guide for the Daylight Hours"
Visqueen, "King Me" &
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall" &
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"
Clearlake, "Cedars" &
Okkervil River, "Down the River of Golden Dreams"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, the Decemberists"
The White Stripes, "Elephant"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
Caesars, "39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World)"

Chilly C, Imaginary Boy

The Primate Five, "1234567APE"
The New Pornographers, "Electric Version"
The Earaches, "Fist Fights, Hot Love"
Blur, "Think Tank"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
Belle & Sebastian, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
!!!, "Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard: True Story" (EP)
Sushirobo, "The Light Fingered Feeling of Sushirobo"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"

embracey, Imaginary Boy Film~Theatre Critic

Broadcast "Haha Sound"
Various Artists, "Lost in Translation" Soundtrack
Various Artists, "Morvern Callar" Soundtrack
Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man "Out of Season"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
The Dandy Warhols, "Welcome To The Monkey House"
Gillian Welch, "Soul Journey"
Tipper, "Surrounded"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
Lucinda Williams, "World Without Tears"

Imaginary Chapman Boy

The Strokes, "Room On Fire"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Fever To Tell"
The Libertines, "Up the Bracket"
Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
The Rapture, "Echoes"
Junior Senior, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat"
The Raveonettes, "Chain Gang of Love"
Broken Social Scene, "You Forgot It In People"

Imaginary Lorenzo

Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
Junior Senior, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat"
Menomena, "I Am the Fun Blame Monster!"
Rufus Wainwright, "Want One"
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
united state of electronica, "demos"
Various Artists, "Wig In a Box" Compilation
Visqueen, "King Me"

Jake Barnes, Fictional Lost Generation Character

Kaito, "Band-Red"
American Analog Set, "Promise of Love"
Rachel's, "Systems/Layers"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
British Sea Power, "Decline of British Sea Power"
Cinerama, "Cinerama Holiday"
Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man "Out of Season"
Longwave, "The Strangest Things"
Innocence Mission, "Befriended"

Michael X, Imaginary Boy

Dead Meadow, "Shivering King and Others"
Kinski, "Airs Above Your Station"
A Perfect Circle, "Thirteenth Step"
Massive Attack, "100th Window"
Radiohead, "Hail To The Thief"
Mogwai, "Happy Songs for Happy People"
American Analog Set, "Promise of Love"
Mono, "One Step More and You Die"
The Ruby Doe, "Dream Engine Blue"
Los Halos, "Leaving Va."

Ryan Schierling, Photographer

The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
The Weakerthans, "Reconstruction Site"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
Visqueen, "King Me"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, the Decemberists"
Nada Surf, "Let Go"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
Dischord (compilation), "20 Years Of Dischord"
An American Starlet, "3 Song EP"

sero(tone)in, Imaginary Boy Events Expert

Crooked Fingers, "Red Devil Dawn"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, the Decemberists"
Broken Social Scene, "You Forgot It In People"
The Wrens, "The Meadowlands"
The Pernice Brothers, "Yours Mine & Ours"
Kaito, "Band-Red"
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak"
Aereogramme, "Sleep and Release"
Songs: Ohia, "Magnolia Electric Co."

Trix, Imaginary Correspondent

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
The New Pornographers, "Electric Version"
The Wrens, "The Meadowlands"
The Notwist, "Neon Golden"
The Postal Service, "Give Up"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, The Decemberists"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"
Dirtbike Annie, "Show Us Your Demons"

return to the full 2003 recap

Best releases of 2003, in the opinions of the imaginary staff...

AstroPOP! for August 2003

chilly c — Sat, 02 Aug 2003 07:00:00 +0000

Imaginary rock and roll astrology CD reviews for August 2003

Leo {July 23-August 22}
Ah, summer! The long, hot days, the glare of the sun, the constant sweating. It's ok to admit it, Leo, you hate summer. You want to crawl into a hole dark and deep enough to beat the heat until we set the clocks back in the fall. Now I won't argue with you if you want to avoid the daylight (after all, I am an astrologer whose very job depends on waiting for nightfall when the stars come out) but at least take some artificial light with you: listening to Sounds of Summer - The Very Best of the Beach Boys (Capitol) is like spending a day at the beach without the greasy smear of sunblock and the grit of sand in your shorts. Like the hot season itself, a Beach Boys greatest hits reissue has become an annual ritual that you just can't escape. This year's model comes with some new stereo mixes including "California Girls," "Dance, Dance, Dance," and "Shut Down." The spooky "Heroes and Villains" is still the creepiest song ever recorded by the Beach Boys—and that includes their Charles Manson cover! "Heroes" helps balance out the wide-eyed naivety of longtime favorites like "Surfer Girl," "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Little Deuce Coupe." True, I suppose it's possible that 80 minutes of good-time sugary harmony might send you screaming from your hibernation cave, but look on the bright side, Leo—at least you'll be getting some fresh air!

Virgo {August 23-September 22}
You haven't gotten this far on your own, Virgo. This month you need to acknowledge those who have given you guidance along the way: your fourth grade art teacher, your first boss at your lawn-mowing service job, your grandmother. Like yourself, Sacramento/New York-based !!! knows where they come from. Without ever getting jokey, the eight-piece band pays homage to a record store's worth of forebears with an exuberant mix of funk/dance/punk, giving musical props to the Gap Band, James Chance, Gang of Four, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kool and the Gang, New Order, and, ok, even Kenny Loggins with their new 2-song ep single Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story) (Touch and Go). Both nine-minute songs squiggle and shimmy across the floor with such ease it makes you wonder why it's taken punks this long to want to dance (jumping up and down in one place notwithstanding). It just goes to show that it's never to late to tell someone that they've changed your life. Can you feel it intensify? Good, now go on and give grandma a call...

Libra {September 23-October 22}
Good luck is in the stars for you this month, Libra. You just got to believe, to paraphrase... I don't know, Lenny Kravitz—or Ravenna. It's obvious that Ravenna believe in something—cynics are never this passionate. Their debut cd Interruption (Broucek) spills over with emotional surges and lyrical appeals to "savor these times" and "try a different kind of breathing." The strong band is led by multi-pedaled guitarist Noel Paul, who clearly loves Radiohead so much that when he hears the National Anthem at baseball games I'll bet he says "th-they're playing the wrong song!" Vocalist Shelby Earl sings with crystalline, enunciated beauty, like Tori Amos without the anger. The songs rise, fall and rise again with a majestic sweep that belies the lo-fi basement recording. Libra, hang your good luck on Ravenna, because their star is only going to rise.

Scorpio {October 23 - November 21}
Your stubborn streak this month has its downside, Scorpio. Sure, when your mouth runs on autopilot you tend to speak more freely, but what about the feelings of others? And apologies are a bitch, aren't they? It's time to take it down a notch. Gently. First, get calm with the very mellow Britta "Jem" Phillips/Dean Wareham collaboration L'Avventura (Jetset). It definitely sounds like more than just 50% of Luna: languid, half-spoken melodies, "Pale Blue Eyes"-inspired guitar, impeccable rhythm. The kicker here is that half the record is covers: from Madonna ("I Deserve It") to the Silver Jews ("Random Rules") to a surprisingly tender take on the Doors' "Indian Summer." Luna's signature sound unifies what could have been disjointed mess; Wareham and Phillips sensitively handle the disparate range of material. Soak up that sensitivity, Scorpio. You've got some fences to mend, and you're going to need it. And if Wareham & Phillips can come clean with a Doors cover, then you certainly can manage an "I'm sorry."

Sagittarius {November 22-December 21}
So lately you just feel different, Sagittarius? Look up. See those stars up there? See how they form a little heart-shaped pattern? That means that love is, quite literally, in the air for you this month. Romance is about to blossom in all its fascinating, creepy glory—not unlike the way the new Eisley ep Laughing City (Record Collection) makes me both shiver and shine at the same time. Not since Bjork ran through that weird forest of bears and bunnies has the natural world been portrayed with such a compelling mixture of wonder, simplicity and terror: "On the mossy turf we'll dance 'til our feet shatter / our toes will splinter." Girls sprout wings, lightbulbs in pockets light up the woods, butter clouds drip into mouths. The Eisley sisters sing these lyrics with a starry-eyed other-worldliness that should serve as a caveat for you, Sag: love makes you feel many things, but most of all it makes you feel different.

Capricorn {December 22-January 19}
You don't just live your life, Capricorn. You "live" your "life." Yes, your entire month is in quotes—a densely-woven dookie chain of irony, self-awareness, and attitude. The best way to let everybody know about your new meta-lifestyle is to grab an old skool boom box and blast So Stylistic (Tommy Boy), the debut cd from Brooklyn's Fannypack, everywhere you go. A delicious mixture of Deee-Lite, Lil Kim and JJ Fad, Fannypack hides two old male DJ's behind three underage rapper girls. Cat, Belinda and Jessibel bring plenty of sass and surprising rhyming skills, and their voices-in-unison giggle with so much wink-winkin' that you'd swear the flutter of their heavily-shadowed eyelids never stops. Fannypack teases mega-stardom like it was the nerdy kid in the locker room. Sure it may be staged and calculated, but meta-lifers like yourself sleep through sincerity the way Jessibel sleeps through English class. C'mon Capricorn, let's get famous! Endquote.

Aquarius {January 20-February 18}
People can't always get a bead on you, Aquarius, and it frustrates you. This month you've got to make a choice: either enjoy your intrinsic inscrutableness, or speak up and tell us how you really feel. When you turn off your phone and stay shut in your room, are you truly depressed? Or are you "pulling a Mogwai?" Since their inception in 96, the Scottish five-piece has been writing songs that get labeled 'depressing' but really aren't depressing at all. Their title of their latest release, Happy Songs For Happy People (Matador), will probably get called 'ironic' a lot more than 'spot-on,' but to me the songs' churning guitars and dreamy melodies are cinematic and uplifting. Snappier than Sigur Ros, more traditionally tuneful than Massive Attack, Mogwai will be our clue—if we hear lead-off track "Hunted By A Freak" from your locked bedroom door, we'll know that you're feeling, well, happy.

Pisces {February 19-March 20}
You love the summer, Pisces, so much so that anyone can see the positive changes in you. The good weather makes the best parts about you get even better. You and the Oly, Wa quartet All Girl Summer Fun Band (K). Bolder and brighter than their 2002 debut, AGSFB's just-released 2 pogoes with abandon, cranks the amps, and displays more chutzpah and ambition than the last ten K Records releases combined. Sure, the band still shambles in places, but I'll wager that the eventual "3" will take out the Donnas by this time next summer. As it is, "Dear Mr. & Mrs. Troublemaker" is super-catchy and features the best use of a typewriter-as-percussion I've heard in a long time. As for you, Pisces, make sure you're storing up some of this good energy so that when the cold comes you won't be left out in it. Keep the All Girl Summer Fun Band close at hand, and you'll always have a great pop song and a sunny day in your heart.

Aries {March 21-April 19}
Aries, you're a team player, a social animal, part of the crowd. But sometimes you like to stand out on your own. Denver Dalley co-fronted Desaparecidos with Conor Oberst, but he didn't want to wait out yet another leg of the Bright Eyes tour before getting started on a new Desaparecidos cd. So Dalley formed Statistics and wrote and played everything himself (except some drums). For a one-man-show, Statistics' self-titled ep is a bit murky as a statement of purpose. The lead-off track "Another Day" adds keyboard loops to the Desa-style circular-riff guitar and repeats the existentialist's favorite lament "I wish I wasn't me." The rest of the ep plays out like a fast-paced, half-remembered dream that doesn't make a whole lot of sense—radio static and quiet guitar arpeggio interludes surround the loud standout track "Hours Seem Like Days," a nostalgic look back when art (including music and films) was created by hand, not computers. I'm not sure what Dalley has against, I don't know, "Finding Nemo" or Depeche Mode, especially considering his own ep contains liberal use of programmed samples, but I'm trying to take him at his word. Like yourself, Aries, Dalley likes to set himself apart from everybody else. Unlike yourself, maybe he needs to be part of a group in order to truly stand out.

Taurus {April 20-May 20}
Whether it's a dazzling sunset or the hottie at your favorite espresso stand, it's easy for you to get blinded by beauty, Taurus. It's enough to make your eyes sting and water sometimes, isn't it? Seattle four-piece the Glasses get blinded repeatedly on their debut ep, Sunbreaks—by wished-for girls who never arrive, by the anger in a lover's quarrel, or by the "orange eye in the sky" itself. With a jangly guitar sound that evokes early Built to Spill fronted by Quasi's Sam Coombes, the Glasses make pop music with a refreshing sweetness and confidence. In "Last Stand in the Final Scene," the Glasses assert that "you can't push the pushover this time," and it's clear that the band will stand up for itself. Hardly the shoegazing type, the Glasses aren't afraid to look up, stare straight ahead, and play their songs to the sun. And Taurus, if it makes your eyes tear up a bit, you can always blame it on the bright light.

Gemini {May 21-June 21}
Jealousy. You're above that sort of thing. Yah, your friends are moving into houses while you're still scraping by to pay your apartment rent, and they're driving back to the burbs (like Maple Leaf and West Seattle) while you're riding the bus home from work. How do you keep the bile at bay while the 8 lurches across Denny Way? Listen to Fist Fights, Hot Love the debut cd from Seattle's supercharged garage/punk quartet, the Earaches. Gifted purveyors of short-blast hi-energy rock, the Earaches profess their love for the Stooges, the MC5, the Oblivians, and Dead Moon (among others) in their blister-hot songs. From lead-off salvo "Bust Out!" to the last-call closer "Just Wanna Rock 'n' Roll," the cd grabs and throttles you like a drunk brawler in the Monkeypub. Every three-chord, lo-fi band knows that the industry is sick with the 'garage band craze' right now, but the Earaches are smart enough to realize that they don't need to get on superhero movie soundtracks in order to testify. Album highlight "I Used to be a Loser" sums up the Earaches' don't-give-a-fawk stance: "now I just relax and enjoy the ride." Long after the Vines and the Hives are forgotten and the White Stripes are shilling cell phones, the Earaches will still be bashing out the hits, content enough just to be making music. Oh, and you probably won't ever be able to afford to buy a house either, Gemini. So, just relax and enjoy the ride.

Cancer {June 22-July 22} You need a fashion makeover this month, Cancer—a clever one that you can pull off by mixing and matching stuff that's already in your closet. While you're playing dress-up, listen to "District Sleeps Alone Tonight" (Sub Pop), the latest ep single from the Postal Service, for mash-up-style epiphanies. With a melody that recalls Liz Phair's "Canary" and a bass line borrowed from the Human League, the album version of "District" almost seems too comforting and familiar to truly conjure the detached loneliness that the song's lyrics describe. Enter the remix. DJ Downfall melds a corkscrew Manchester-style bass line and a crazy sped-up hi-hat to give his version a jarring, intense new heartbeat. Meanwhile, ace DJ John Tejada down-twists "Such Great Heights" to a slo-mo drawl and layers some distorted synth washes for maximum cough syrup effect. A hushed, spacious cover of the Flaming Lips' "Suddenly Everything Has Changed" rounds out the ep—in the same way your 80's Winger pin works perfectly with your Fred Perry running jacket. You look great, Cancer, let's go out!

astropop.gif

Your rock and roll astrological forecast, featuring The Postal Service, All Girl Summer Fun Band, The Earaches, Statistics, and more.