Three Imaginary Girls - ballboy

imaginary liz's favorite albums of the last decade

imaginary liz — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Yesterday I divulged my favorite albums of the year. Today I am ready to let go of my latest obsession: My album recap of how I spent my 00's.

The below listage rant is my own little time capsule to remind myself why 2000-2009 musically ruled. As with my other list posts, I'm certain I totally forgot to add something really important to my end-all-be-all-recap. It's up to you to remind me by posting your favs of the 00's below.

San Francisco Popfest: Day 2 {Friday}

imaginary keenan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:28:24 +0000

22 May 2009

sanfranpopfest09.jpg

Day 2 started off with a bang, featuring Springfactory, Bunnygrunt, The Orange Peels, ballboy, The Tartans, The Hot Toddies, and a bit of indie pop karaoke. And, Friday was the day our own imaginary liz popped in!

Keenan Dowers: Friday night started out with Springfactory, which was essentially just Suburban Kids with Biblical Names rotated, but much more in the loud, fast indie pop vein. I'd seen them in New York as well, and was very excited to see them again. Crazy fast and weird indie pop is pretty much my favorite thing ever, and they hit just the spot. The Swedes have a way with melody and song structure that no one else has seemed to figure out.

Steve Louie: All the festival shows start way early and I think I was late for each except the last night. Six bands on this bill - yep - six bands. Doors at 7:30PM. I ran in and saw Springfactory and I was taken aback that they were all members of Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - only the lead singer and keyboardist switching places. The sound was more raw and less pop than Suburban Kids but still all that is Swedish awesome.

KD: Here's a video of their song "Swedish Folk Highschool".

KD: Up next were Bunnygrunt a complete favorite of mine, who were incredible. They played lots of songs from their upcoming record, and by the end of their set, I looked at my friend, and we both agreed that Bunnygrunt's new record, which will be out on Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records this summer, will be their best ever record, and probably one of the best records of the year. Their boy/girl vocals, killer guitar solos, and punk rock "ba ba"s are insanely infectious and danceable. I can't wait to own the record. Here's a video of one of their older songs (I didn't quite recognize it, and was hoping it was on the new record) called "Acres of Fakers".

KD: After the 'grunt were The Orange Peels, a band I was really excited to see, featuring indie pop legend Alan Clapp. I'd been a fan of Clapp's music for a while now, and somehow didn't even find out about the Orange Peels until a friend's band said they were playing with them in San Francisco. On the drive down, my travel companion had made a Popfest playlist, which featured 10 Orange Peels songs, all in a style of very lush and beautiful power pop with excellent songwriting, which happens of be one of my favorite genres of music. They did not disappoint. Clapp's voice sounded beautiful over three guitars, bass, and drums with beautiful backup harmonies. Here's a video of their song "Something Strange Happened To Me Last Night".

KD: ballboy played next, and as a typical popfest went, I ended up missing them due to hanging out with friends. But, I did hear that "she only works in a record store" song, which I quite like. But, it wouldn't be a popfest if I hadn't missed at least one band I wanted to see because I was talking shit about pop music with friends.

KD: Following ballboy was LA's The Tartans, a band that I'd already seen and made friends with at NYC Popfest, and I was really excited to see them again. They have a sound that's a bit like a more groovier Orange Juice with a saxophone player, and despite the fact that their singer/guitar player had just had hand surgery, and their other singer had bronchitis and an ear infection, they played wonderfully, and to what I hear, impressed a lot of people. I can't wait until they come up to Seattle. Here's them playing their song "Your Favorite Song" (which may become my favorite song in the near future).

SL: I was all indie pop tired out by the time the Hot Toddies came on which was just after 1AM. Most of the crowd had scattered about and in wandering around I was in the back karaoke room where some of the bands were doing a karaoke off. I switched back and forth to see this and the Hot Toddies who were too cute to pass up.

KD: Closing out the night were the Hot Toddies, who, I know Steve watched, but right before they started, a little birdie popped over to me to warn me that all the Swede's were doing karaoke in the other room. I walked in just in time to hear one of the guitar players from SKWBN singing "Lola" (which was extra funny, considering I knew that he barely spoke English). Following that was back to back GnR with Karen from Bunnygrunt and Jenny from Tullycraft. It went on like that for the rest of the night and was well worth missing what was probably a very good band.

igLiz: Thanks to airline mayhem and luggage, I didn't arrive until just about this time. As the Virgin America employees were cluelessly running around looking for missing luggage, I could feel the ballboy set time slip through my fingers. Trying to salvage what we could of our first night at the Popfest, we dropped off our bags and the hotel and RAN to Annie's. Thank goodness we did. Any disappointment I had for missing ballboy and Springfactory was made alright by seeing members of my favorite indie-poppers take to the karaoke stage in the back of the venue (which is one of the most brilliant club ideas btw). This is what Popfests are all about: seeing and being a part of an indie popper Summer camp of sorts -- where anything can happen. I knew the rest of the weekend is going to be rad.

Check out the rest of Steve Louie's photos of Day 2 of the San Francisco Popfest.

Day 2 of SF Popfest coverage featuring Springfactory, Bunnygrunt, The Orange Peels, ballboy, The Tartans, The Hot Toddies, and a bit of karaoke mischief.

Harry Potter movie makes me want to go record shopping in London

imaginary liz — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:05:17 +0000

Besides tuckering me out, last night's Harry Potter IMAX movie made me long for the days of wandering of past holidays spent wandering Britain's streets from record store to striking monument to historical Britpop landmark. It's got me feeling sentimental... and look what I found!

You-Tube-i-licious!

imaginary liz — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:52:00 +0000

Let's make a deal that every post for the next 24-hours is going to have a YouTube video... imaginary friends - submit your nominees now! We can't find all the great videos on our own.

Holy NYC POPFEST Batman!

imaginary liz — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:59:15 +0000

The NYC Popfest folks have announced their 2007 line-up and HOLY COW is it fantabulous! IT MAKES ME WANT TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS!
Behold - I'll post the line-up now and comment more once I gather myself.

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...

Imaginary '02 Recap!

three imaginary girls — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 08:00:00 +0000

{And yes, we have included shameless promotion links to our affliated Insound and Amazon affiliate programs, where you can listen or buy. So sue us. Or buy something, and help us support our excessive web page habits...}

Best Releases:

Ooh ooh! I know! Dana's favorite three releases of the year are:

Pretty Girls Make Graves Good Health

Carissa's Wierd Songs About Leaving

The Long Winters The Worst You Can Do is Harm

Hey! I didn't say that! How did you know that?

Anyone who has been in your car knows. Hell, anyone who has ever read the site knows.

Oh god, am I *that* predictable? {don't answer that}. Geesh. She's right though, of course.

How about you, Liz?

OK. My favorite 2002 local releases are:

Tullycraft Beat, Surf, Fun

Carissa's Wierd Songs About Leaving

tHe drop Iceland

And my favorite 2002 Brit releases are:

Clinic Walking with Thee

South From Here On In

ballboy Club Anthems

Ooh yeah, I second the Clinic and South (and further nominate Clinic for the distinguished "Shortest show of the year" award, coming in under 40 minutes at their I-Spy show back in March.) And Doves The Last Broadcast. Mmmm, Doves.

Right. Back to me. My favorite 2002 New Yorker releases are:

Mooney Suzuki Electric Sweat

The Walkmen Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone

The Liars They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On To (ok, so it was released in 2001 but re-issued this year... )

...and my favorite 2002 Scandanavian releases are:

Sondre Lerche Faces Down

Division of Laura Lee Black City

Cato Salsa Experience A Good Tip for a Good Time

...and my favorite 2002 Welsh releases are:

mclusky mclusky do dallas

Super Furry Animals Rings Around the World

um... Cinerama "Torino"

- ok... they aren't Welsh, but the Lostprophets (who ARE Welsh) opened up for Cinerama when saw them in July

Oh! And my favorite 2002 Nebraskan releases are:

Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Desaparecidos Read Music/Speak Spanish

Bright Eyes A Christmas Album

You are out of control...

Most Extraordinary Live Shows:

My favorites...

Robyn Hitchcock Sunday night at the Croc followed by the omigod-fucken-amazing Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Paramount Monday night. Hot damn. Back in April (pre-TIG)

Pretty Girls Make Graves CD Release Party (w/ 764-HERO) at Chop Suey 6.13.02 (also pre-TIG)

Peter Paker & Aveo / The Malinks & Tullycraft — all in the same day — all free — all at the EMP.

Hmmm... my favorite live performances... this is so hard... can I break it down to local and non-local? I'll say it really quickly before igDana has a chance to stop me... first... local:

Scottish Men of Science / The Malinks / Yeek Yak Airforce , 11.14.02 at the Sit 'n Spin.

Hypatia Lake 8.17.02 at the Sit 'n Spin

The Long Winters / Carissa's Wierd 6.15.02 at the Paradox Theatre

And my favorite 2002 non-seattle-ite band music moments are:

Hives / Mooney Suzuki show on 5.31.02

Idlewild at T in the Park on 7.13.02

Bright Eyes at the Capitol Theatre, Portland on 10.17.02

Most Imaginary Moments:

Imaginary in Tablet!
Opening Tablet newspaper and finding that local artist – no, amazing local artist – Randy Wood had immortalized us, in comic form. I think we collectively took an entire trees worth of newspapers to send home to our Moms.

Imaginary on the Radio:
So I returned from my Spain trip and was spending a week with my folks in Florida, when I got an email from Marlene, telling me she had just heard (the ever-awesome) Sean Nelson talking about Three Imaginary Girls with (the ever-cutie) Drew Victor during his Audioasis. Sigh and pitter patter. What a thrill (and what a great welcome back into the country!)

Death Cab for Snooty
As you might recall, one of our pre-Death Cab for Cutie Bumbershoot performance activities was to approach a couple of guys in the beer garden who we mistook for two members of DCFC. Two months later a co-worker mentioned that he saw my picture on his friend's website. He sent me the link and low and behold, there we were, with the caption: These girls approached me in the beer garden. They thought--no shit--that I was "Ben" from "Seattle Indie Legends" Death Cab for Cutie. I always suspected I looked like a rock star. See, I told you they were snooty!

Best Live Cover Song:

Goddamnit I love it when bands throw in a good live cover! I am sure that now, while I'm trying to recall my favorite, I am inadvertently overlooking some really, really good ones. But this is what I remember at this point, in no particular order...

Saeta covering the Magnetic Fields' "Grand Canyon"

The Malinks covering Bell Biv Divoe's "Poison"

Loveless covering Dramarama's "Anything, Anything"

Robyn Hitchcock covering the Psychdelic Furs' "The Ghost in You"

Beck covering the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize?"

Carissa's Wierd covering Morrissey's "Suedehead"

Sleater Kinney covering The Doors "Hello I Love You"

OK, so I had a hard time sticking with the limit of three...

OK I choose...

Earlimart covering Wire's "Strange"

Ryan Adams covering Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" {hee hee} - sidenote: that Ryan Adams is out of control. First he's picking a fight with Rhett Miller, now with Jack White (White Stripes). I don't like this Noel/Liam Gallagher thing he's doing one bit.

M. Ward covering David Bowie's "Let's Dance"

Best to watch for in 03

OK, so at the risk of sounding incredibly predictable (again), can I just insert my vote again for:

Hypatia Lake, please? Thank you.

And as ever, Drew Victor and Passing Friends

... and Visqueen.

And thanks to a special imaginary friend, I have a an advance copy of this amazing up-coming on Sub Pop release called Postal Service. It's Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello) and Death Cab cutie Ben Hibbard on vocals. electronica CD (due out on Sub Pop this spring). It's dreeaamy good. As our representative of the indie-elektro community, Imaginary Boy Jason explained, "Jimmy and Ben worked on a track on Dntel's last album ("Life is full of Possibilites") and it appears they got along well enough to write an album together."

There, that's three (and then some). Liz, the rest is on you.

I second those, and wish to add:

Terror Sheets (first full length due out on Sad Robot, coming soon!)

Also, I know they're already signed and released, but I'm looking forward to hearing more from Okkervil River. Their 2002 release was on my top 10 list (but I was only able to list three here... the horror)

And another signed and released group, LA's Earlimart (who just rocked my little world opening for Rhett Miller this month).

Best Already Released International Album To Be Released in the US (and Immediately Purchased) in 03:

Ahh, this is easy...

Idlewild The Remote Part

Hoggboy Or8

Beth Gibbons Out of Season

Right. What she said. As I always say, never take an Imaginary Liz recommendation lightly...

2002 Sensations that We Don't Get

You know how sometimes there can be a band and everyone just loves it and you listen and are just like... um. Hmm. Now the Girls don't usually like to complain... but I have just two words to say. Coldplay. Yes, Coldplay. I don't get it. I didn't like "Yellow" and I haven't really liked anything since. I don't hate them... I just don't get it. I must be missing an essential chromosome on my Britpop gene helix. Oh well.

This might earn me a whole buncha indie-wrath... but I'm going to have to fess up to Ugly Casanova. Don't like 'em. I know, I know. Next thing you know I will confess my dislike for Sleater-Kinney and then it will all be over.

Best Three New Things Around Seattle We Wouldn't Want to Enter '03 Without

How many ways do we love this great city? But a few noteworthy mentionables...

Wireless internet access at the newly reopened Green Cat Cafe and Top Pot donuts.

Chop Suey, for great shows in our hood (read as: no need to park downtown)

Randy Wood sponsored One Night Only.

For awesome arty original clothes, Damsel Collective and Dumb Clothing

Karaoke at the Comet and Twilight Exit with Steve

Half price after 11pm Wasabi Bistro sushi.

And of course and most importantly, all of the readers, supporters, and contributors to Three Imaginary Girls. Ya'll better stick around for 03; it's gonna be the year to be imaginary...

Hey kids! It's the end of '02, so welcome to the first ever Imaginary Recap. Hold onto your seats kids, it's gonna be a bumpy year-long ride of favorite, in triplicate. Because the best things always happen in threes (ho ho ho...)

{And yes, we have included shameless promotion links to our affliated Insound and Amazon affiliate programs, where you can listen or buy. So sue us. Or buy something, and help us support our excessive web page habits...}

ballboy

Bob Vitrarius — Sat, 05 Oct 2002 07:00:00 +0000

1 Oct 2002

As a card-carrying curmudgeon and a 'been there/done that,' jaundiced music fan, it is rare that I am taken in by the star-making machinery. I am happy to report one of those occasions. I have been enjoying ballboy's debut album, Club Anthems, with its absurdly brilliant "I Hate Scotland" and their import-only EP, All The Records On The Radio Are Shite, for some time. Nevertheless, it requires something a little special to get me out midweek to a smoky club for a show. But there I was at ballboy's Seattle debut and thoroughly enjoying it. A fourpiece from Edinburgh, fronted by a weedy schoolteacher, they played a splendid fifty-minute set of alternately wistful and splenetic gems accompanied by a dense well-rehearsed Joy Division style backwash. Gordon McIntyre, (a name that evokes all the ghastly people I have been trying to avoid since Primary 7) who I suspect is ballboy, has the stage presence and limited but effective guitar stylings of David Byrne. (American readers have probably chosen to forget that David had the misfortune to be born Scottish, too.) His vocal style owes a lot to Aidan of Arab Strap but perhaps also a little to the pioneers of undiluted jock accented singing, The Proclaimers. Hopefully this only adds to the beautifully crafted little tales and musings about all sorts. There was the one about the record store clerk who'd pissed him off by suggesting they weren't "Avant-garde-enough" and the poignant "I Lost You But I Found Country Music." The highpoint of the set and McIntyre's most committed performance were during "I Hate Scotland" which I suspect could touch the hearts of grown men born just about anywhere.

Looking forward to their new album on their site, I can hardly wait to hear "You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Around With Arseholes" and "I Wonder If You're Drunk Enough To Sleep With Me Tonight."

As a card-carrying curmudgeon and a 'been there/done that,' jaundiced music fan, it is rare that I am taken in by the star-making machinery.

Cinerama, with ballboy

imaginary liz — Thu, 03 Oct 2002 07:00:00 +0000