So long-time Seattle hip-hop demigod Barfly went south to Los Angeles a few months ago, thus putting The Saturday Knights on the shelf for good (are they really gone? Could the life force that spawned the mad art of he and DJ Spence and Tilson be frozen completely?).

Meanwhile, Barfly, who has always had a few joints blazing in different sectors, has resurrected one of his pre-TSK teams Candy .22, with their album A Girl And Her Gun set for soon in 2010. That release will be on Grimm Image, and this prelude video below for new track "Streetlights" from director Hazard Gibson (of Cinema Muerte) features music from Smoke of Pac NW rap kings Oldominion:

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Fresh off the presses from our inboxes comes this week's launch of GIVE -- 30 downloadable tracks from a variety of Seattle artists, who are donating their songs to benefit Arts Corps and local area foodbanks. The $7.00 (!) compilation, which was produced, curated, and funded by Caffe Vita, will be available online here. Physical compilations can be picked up at all Caffe Vita locations, Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom Records, University Book Store, The Crocodile, EMP, Neumo's, and Sorrento Hotel. The in-hand compilations will include a physical card with a redemption code for the download, and a prettied-up sleeve to make it a ready-to-give present.

Here's the full track listing -- nearly all of which are exclusive to the compilation:

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I agree with you, Amie, that Exhibitchin' sounds like a great event, where I'm sure I'll see you in a few hours, and my love of The Saturday Knights should surprise exactly no one.

I wanted to post this video to The Saturday Knight's "Count It Off" because it's on display at the EMP right now as part of the "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" exhibit. It's also getting ready to premiere on MTV2's show Subterranean this week, before added to the video rotation on MTV and its various channels.

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Do you like Muppets? And local bands? And $3 beers? Well then, I have the show for YOU. The EMP|SFM Exhibitchin' #01 is tonight! The deets:

Date: Saturday, August 1, 2009 - Sunday, August 2, 2009

Time: 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

Ticket Info: Tickets are $10 for EMP|SFM members and $12 for the general public in advance; and $15 for EMP|SFM members and general public at the door. Tickets are on sale now at brownpapertickets.com.
EMP|SFM’s new after hours dance party will feature live music, cheap drinks and super surprises throughout the evening and into the morning.

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Tonight, the Crocodile is hosting their first hip hop show, and it's going to be quite the party. It's the EP release for Dyme Def's newest album, Panic.

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The Saturday Knights premiered a new video to their single "Count it Off" last week at SXSW.

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We here at TIG are big fans of the Saturday Knights (they were our imaginary #1 in the TIG Editors' top picks of 2008 after all) so we're honored to have a pair of tickets to give away to the big show.

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Upset. The word of the our 2008 Best Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll is upset.

With the Fleet Foxes winning readers and critical polls alike, who would've thought they wouldn't get top honors in our humble little Northwest poll? But they didn't -- they placed a distant second to New Faces, another debut record from some very talented, very young Northwest fellas.

We had other surprises as well, with unsigned newcomers such as Hey Marseilles, the Kindness Kind, and Kaylee Cole cracking the top ten, beating out Northwest heavyweights such as Death Cab for Cutie. We did not expect that. And we love it when you surprise us, dear readers.

We imaginaries like to champion the up-and-comers from the Northwest, and our results indicate that you do as well. We think you all also have fabulous taste, as always. Thanks to everyone who participated in our poll. We couldn't be more proud or thrilled to present the top 50 winners on your behalf...

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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...

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I'm a chronic procrastinator, so here it is, January 5th, and I'm finally ready to make sense of the musical chaos and wonderment that was 2008 and compile a list of favorites.

Don't even try to make me rank these releases in order, or I'll never, ever finish my list. Let's just say these were some of the very best local bands in my iTunes list this year, presented alphabetically.

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