Three Imaginary Girls - Belle & Sebastian

Belle & Sebastian Holiday Spectacular webcast

imaginary liz — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:45:01 +0000

Tomorrow {Tuesday, December 21} at 1p PST we can listen in as Belle & Sebastian perform live in the band's hometown of Glasgow from the legendary Barrowland. The entire performance will be webcast live (as it is happening!) and promises to include long-lost fan favorites, songs from this year’s Write About Love, and some holiday-themed funtimes.

The concert can be viewed at www.npr.org/BelleHoliday and www.theguardian.co.uk.

Let's make it a very twee Christmas!

This weekend's picks for City Arts Fest, version 1.0

imaginary victoria — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:19:44 +0000

Now that summer's officially 86'd, it's time for the inaugural (hereafter annual?) City Arts Fest, which takes over our fair city this upcoming Wednesday - Saturday {Oct. 20th - 23rd}. Laden with an impressive lineup at venues far and wide, CAF is catering to more of the mini-SXSW feel that makes these 'festivals' enjoyable -- think along the lines of MusicFest NW's style -- and for this, we applaud and squee! with joy. There's something about cramming too many people into too small of a space, even with a homerun lineup, that can make a gathering of the proverbial vibes inherently less fun.

And so -- with sneakers laced up and schedules in hand -- away we go with the music! Click the links below for more info on each particular show, including the where & what on how to get yourself some tickets:

The BBC Sessions

Andrew Boe — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:18:50 +0000

7.5

http://www.amazon.com/BBC-Sessions-Belle-Sebastian/dp/B001FZ0AAO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234137470&sr=8-3

belle.jpg

I have always loved Peel sessions and other BBC radio sessions where (often up and coming) bands are encouraged to come into the studio and record two to four tracks that are essentially committed to tape live. The noteworthy thing is that these sessions almost always run neck and neck with the proper album versions. The production is usually pretty much perfect, being sharp, but not at all overproduced.

Most groups tend to record a few songs that end up on their albums and then other tracks that end up as B-sides or other ones that may not turn up anywhere else ever again. Being a huge fan of British radio sessions, I am always excited to hear these crisp versions of songs that I am familiar with, but the other thing that I look forward to is hearing the rarely heard songs that once again often leave me wondering why they were abandoned after being recorded for the radio session. Belle and Sebastian’s BBC sessions fit right in line with my general thoughts on this subject.

This new collection features radio sessions from the band’s early days that were recorded between 1997 and 2001, many of the songs ended up on their first three studio albums. Of these, there is a slightly less dreamy sounding, but fantastically performed version of “The State I Am In,” from their debut, Tigermilk, that opens up this release. There is also a compelling version of “Like Dylan In The Movies,” from the critically acclaimed If You’re Feeling Sinister. This rendition sounds rawer. The bareness adds a bleaker aspect to the song that isn’t as apparent in the original.

The Boy With The Arab Strap’s “Seymour Stein” sounds different in this setting as well. Murdoch’s vocals are lower and sound more relaxed than the studio version. The music is a bit more muted as well, adding more focus to the vocals. From the same album, there is a less buoyant sounding “Sleep The Clock Around.” This recording also sounds more direct with less reverb and psychedelic effects enhancing the instruments.

There are also four unreleased songs on The BBC Sessions. The intriguingly titled “Shoot The Sexual Athlete” is one of the standouts in this collection. It opens with a low, punchy bass line and the first lines of the lyrics are “Now I’m in a band/People try to make me do things/Kiss arses and pay tribute/But I’m inclined today to do those things anyway/And I don’t care who hears it.” After this Murdoch delves into a few verses about his admiration for The Go-Betweens. This tribute is augmented by violin that is awfully reminiscent of Amanda Brown’s style from the inspiring band. It is a short song that captures the sardonic and whimsical side of Belle and Sebastian's songwriting.

The BBC Sessions should hold enough charm to both satisfy die hard fans and work as a welcome introduction to those who are unfamiliar with the work of Belle and Sebastian. Their first three records are arguably their best. They showcase a group that embraced melancholy retro pop music at a time when they were completely out of place with what was going on in music on both sides of the Atlantic. And for those who are not fans of Belle and Sebastian, it’s time to track down BBC sessions by your favorite artists. You will rarely be disappointed.

The BBC Sessions should hold enough charm to both satisfy die hard fans and work as a welcome introduction to those who are unfamiliar with the work of Belle and Sebastian.

"Song for Sunshine" by Belle & Sebastian

Imaginary Shrie — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:42:35 +0000

When I think of Belle & Sebastian I don't necessarily think of disco grooves, but this song makes a foray into sleazy synth moves. They glide around this track, bringing sunshine with their choral pop vocals, the essence of breezy elation. The Life Pursuit is a first-rate album, and "Song for Sunshine" proves that in its sublime perfection. Even if you don't like the cutesy, and sometimes somber, approach of Belle & Sebastian, this song will prove to be hard to resist. With revelatory lyrics like...

Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone else pays the real price of my cheap flight life

...how can you deny the charm of Belle & Sebastian?

belle-and-sebastian-480.jpg

The essence of breezy elation

The Life Pursuit

Erik Gonzalez — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:00:00 +0000

7.1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E11568

belleandsebastian06mar.jpg

Belle & Sebastian are a one trick pony. There, I said it. I've been listening to them since the beginning, since Tigermilk got everyone's attention. I've always liked Belle & Sebastian. They're cute, they're fuzzy, they're like muppets but, you know, Scottish and human. There's nothing empirically wrong with them or their music. Then why is it that I've never loved a Belle & Sebastian album? I mean really LOVED one. Is it me? Or maybe Belle & Sebastian have perfected creating the "pleasant but not remarkable" album. That being said, their new album, The Life Pursuit, is still a fun listen, full of more energy and mirth than you might expect from the Stuart and the gang.

Let's get it straight: The Life Pursuit can be rollicking, an oddity for Belle & Sebastian. The best tracks share more with "Your Cover's Blown" than with downers such as "Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying." It is still heavily steeped in 1960's and 1970's pop music, but more like the Kinks and the Zombies than Nick Drake or Simon & Garfunkel. This theme is set early with "Another Sunny Day" that sounds like the name implies: light and carefree filled wall to wall with vocal harmonies, charming guitar solos and witty lyrics. This is just the tip of the funloving-ice berg. "White Collar Boy" is a toe-tapping gem that borders of New Pornographers territory. "The Blues are Still Blue" has so much swagger for Belle & Sebastian you wonder where its coming from as Stuart sings you can put some money on it/you can place a little bet/that when I see my washing/the black will be grey/the white will be grey/but the blue will be blue. At times you can almost fool yourself into thinking this is a lost Matthew Sweet song. It just gets stranger from here. "Sukie in the Graveyard" is the standout track on the album - filled with organ hooks, rapid-fire lyrics and arena-rock guitar and bass solos. Honestly, I didn't even know Stuart had it in him, taking it up that notch to make a pure-pop dance song that would make the Monkees proud. "For the Price of a Cup of Tea" is an infectious number with rollicking organ that mingles with a cheerful guitar line and playful falsetto vocals that ends with a blast of horns. It is this kind of expansion of the Belle & Sebastian sound that makes The Life Pursuit appealing, you're not just left feeling that everything is so restrained as most of the band's oeuvre has been on albums past.

Sometimes they get a wee bit carried away, as in "We are the Sleepyheads" and "Funny Little Fron" which are be a little too cute for their own good. They both sounds like it might be comfortable on Sesame Street right down to Stuart forced rhyme on "Funny Little Frog": you are my girl and you don't even know/I am living out the life of a poet/I am the jester in the ancient court/and you are the funny little frog in the throat (pronounced, for some reason "throw-et"). "Song for Sunshine" channels 70's Stevie Wonder with a thick organ line that just never gets going fast enough to be hooky and the vocal harmonies feel empty next to contemporaries like the Earlies.

A few songs revert back to more of a typical Belle & Sebastian sound. "Dress Up in You" is a quiet song that is backed up by a gentle horn section which dances behind Stuart and ladies' vocals in a Burt Bacharach style. The album opens with "Act of the Apostle" whose gentle sound and somber tone sound out of place once you get farther into the album, however the bridge for "Act of the Apostle" begins to hint at the more carefree tenor of the disc. It's sequel, "Act of the Apostle II," changes the style a little more, reminiscent of a gentler version of Roger Miller's "King of the Road." The closing song, "Morning Crescent" again takes a page out of the power-pop bible, with gentle drums mixed with rolling bass and gentle plunking of piano. It is suggestive of Camper Van Beethoven songs like "Sweethearts" or "All Her Favorite Fruit" right down to the slow, southern style guitar solo.

The Life Pursuit is an uneven album for Belle & Sebastian standards. That is not to say its bad - it's actually quite a good album, but for every star like "Sukie in the Graveyard," you also get bogged down by filler like "To Be Myself Completely". However, the mere fact that Belle & Sebastian are taking a stand to expand their sound beyond the merely "cute" that dogs many of their releases, but it makes A Life Pursuit an album worth at least an initial examination. It doesn't particularly stand out in the already well-regarded Belle & Sebastian discography, but neither does it dull the luster of the trophy case.

...their new album, The Life Pursuit, is still a fun listen, full of more energy and mirth than you might expect from the Stuart and the gang.

Belle & Sebastian, live in Paris

Joseph Riippi — Thu, 18 Mar 2004 08:00:00 +0000

17 Mar 2004

belle.jpg

"I think they're ugly." Lindsay, the ex-editor of my college paper, is looking at the people on the cover of Belle and Sebastian's single "Step into my Office, Baby."

I ask her to elaborate, but she just rubs her forehead with a pink-sleeved hand. Sitting across from me in a Barnes and Noble Starbucks, she studying and myself trying to write a review, I ask her again for some help. "No...I hate you Joe." Then she laughs and turns back to her modern art textbook.

Despite Lindsay's hating me, I sip my coffee and try to remember that night in Paris when that same Lindsay now sitting across the table was also there on spring break, but decided to stand me up. As she apparently found something else to do, I went to see the most lovable of indie rock collectives, Belle and Sebastian.

I'm a Belle and Sebastian nut, and due to said nuttiness, I could not wait to see them for the first time. I missed them in their brief US tour last year when they played a sold-out show in DC with Sleater-Kinney (sniff, tear). The clerk at our neighborhood record store, who went, said it was probably the only time you would see members of Fugazi at a Belle and Sebastian show.

But anyways, Paris. Because Lindsay didn't call me I assumed she didn't want to go. Alone on only my third night in Paris, not to mention my first full day of being 21, I was resolved to go to the show by myself. I mean hey, I waited four hours in the cold outside the Moore Theatre to see Sigur Ros; waiting somewhere in Paris shouldn't be a problem. I doubt I'll meet the same entertaining Evergreen State students, but maybe there's a French equivalent to majoring in punk rock.

As luck would have it, I met a girl named Lisa from Berkeley who was also planning on going to the concert alone. Bonding over our love of kicking the crutches out from under crippled friends, we decided to go together. (By the end of the night Lisa was my favorite person in the world; not just because she sold me a ticket to see Air three days later, but because she was the only person I had met in a long time who believes The Bends to be far and away the best Radiohead album, while maintaining at the same time that OK Computer and Kid A are still stellar.)*

The concert was in the city's second quarter, right before halftime... HAHAHA! ... errrr....ahem!... When we got to the venue, the line was epic length. French people, apparently, like to get there early. No matter, we just pretended it was a Pearl Jam show on election night.

It was in line that we met Mona, a twenty-something British girl with good teeth (seriously!) who heard us speaking English and asked if she could cut in "the bloody long queue of idiot frenchies." Because she was there by herself, and because of her good oral hygiene, we let her cut.

After some waiting and talking about the best way to get work visas in Europe, we were inside, seated in extremely comfortable leather recliners. The entire theatre had some of the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in, and apparently this is the norm in France. After an opening act, which rivaled only puppy torture as my least favorite thing of the moment, Belle and Sebastian were up.

What an awesome show! Expectedly, most of the songs played were off of their newest record, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, but beyond that they drew primarily from their first two full-lengths, Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister. And the between song banter, all in English and coming mostly from bandleader Stuart Murdoch - although he encouraged his French-speaking bandmates to talk - was just as witty and funny as the music.

At one point, for the performance of the title track to their new album, Stuart brought a table and chair onstage while donning a jacket and 1920's era hat, making him look not entirely unlike Jude Law in "The Talented Mr. Ripley", (before the whole rowboat thing.) Seated at the table, he began to sing, while the catastrophe waitress herself ran on and off stage, doing various catastrophic things such as spilling coffee and tripping over herself. This little bit of dinner theatre eccentricity was not unlike Belle and Sebastian's show as a whole: A little surprising, a little unnerving, a little cuter than you'd expect a band who tours with two semi-trucks in tow to be.

The twelve members on stage, (four of whom comprising a string quartet) serenaded the comfortably seated audience with impressively precise renditions of songs like "Step into my Office, Baby" and "I'm a Cuckoo," especially considering the obvious loose nature of the band members as displayed in the hectic running around and changing of instruments that occurred between songs.

At one point, angry with his bandmates for not speaking to the audience in French when he knows that they are completely capable of doing so, Stuart claimed that given two months, he'd speak better French than anyone in the audience. As if to prove himself, he recited his favorite French phrase: "Quel du neuf, coquette?" (What's new, chick?). After the French lesson and the laughs which followed it, Stuart said it was time to get "grâve" (serious) and launched into the song I was waiting to hear all night, "Tigermilk's" "The State I am In."

It was also a moment of Belle and Sebastian history, or so Stuart told us. For the first time ever, the band played a second encore. The first encore, a beautiful rendition of "Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying" from their second album, was hard to top, and in all honesty, I thought it better than the history-making performance of "Baby Girl." But it was cool to be there nonetheless.

After the show, Mona, Lisa and I parted ways, and I took the metro back to my bed in Montparnasse - dreaming of horses, foxes in the snow, pocket novels, and Mike Piazza.

*Some of the names were changed for reasons of humor and as shout-outs to dead artists.

Joe got to see Belle & Sebastian, live in Paris. Lucky, lucky Joe.

Best of 2003: Your #1 Album Picks of the Year

three imaginary girls — Sat, 03 Jan 2004 08:00:00 +0000

Although some folks couldn't rank their lists {igChar}... which is fine... you know... if you just can't bear to proclaim to the world, "THIS WAS THE BEST FUCKING ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!!" but some of us could. And albums that have such an exclamation bestowed on them deserve a special note. So here they are... the albums that our voters deemed "THE BEST FUCKING ALBUM OF THE YEAR!"

These albums all received at least one #1 vote:

Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" *
The Postal Service, "Give Up" *
Radiohead, "Hail To The Thief" *
The Strokes, "Room On Fire" *
The White Stripes, "Elephant" *
Wonderful, "God Bless Our Pad" *
Audioslave, "Audioslave"
The Bad Plus "These are the Vistas"
Belle & Sebastian, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
British Sea Power, "Decline of British Sea Power"
Broadcast "Haha Sound"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
Coil, "The Key to Joy is Disobedience (limited box set)"
Crooked Fingers, "Red Devil Dawn"
Dead Meadow, "Shivering King and Others"
The Dears, "No Cities Left"
The Decemberists, "Castaways and Cutouts"
The Delgados, "Hate"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight"
The Drive-By Truckers, "Decoration Day"
Eddie Izzard, "Circle (live)"
The Flaming Lips, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"
Four Tet, "Rounds"
Holopaw, "Holopaw"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
Kaito, "Band-Red"
Led Zeppelin, DVD {This voter explains, "No album release came close to the monumental Zeppelin DVD package"}
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall"
The Malinks, "Can't Shake Last Night"
The Mars Volta, "De-Loused in the Comatorium"
Martina Topley-Bird, Quixotic"
Mogwai, "Happy Songs for Happy People"
Mojave 3, "Spoon & Rafter"
Nada Surf , "Let Go"
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, "Nocturama"
The Primate Five, "1234567APE"
The Rapture, "Echoes"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
Sleepy Jackson, "Lovers"
Sloan, "Action Pact"
Smog, "Supper"
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
Triple R, "Friends"
Twilight Singers, "Blackberry Belle"
Visqueen, "King Me"
The Wrens, "The Meadowlands"

* Denotes more than one #1 rating received.

return to the full 2003 recap

Best of 2003: Top 100 Imaginary Albums of the Year

three imaginary girls — Sat, 03 Jan 2004 08:00:00 +0000

You voted, and we tabulated. Now you can print and clip the top 100 imaginary albums of the year list for your post-holiday-gift-certificate shopping pleasure...

The Postal Service, "Give Up"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
Radiohead, "Hail To The Thief"
Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
The White Stripes, "Elephant"
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Fever to Tell"
The New Pornographers, "Electric Version"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, the Decemberists"
The Strokes, "Room On Fire"
The Wrens, "The Meadowlands"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight"
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak"
Nada Surf, "Let Go"
Visqueen, "King Me"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
Junior Senior, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
Belle & Sebastian, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
The Rapture, "Echoes"
The Darkness, "Permission to Land"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
The Dandy Warhols, "Welcome To The Monkey House"
The Lights, "Beautiful Bird"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"
Various Artists, "Lost in Translation" Soundtrack
Massive Attack, "100th Window"
The Mars Volta, "De-Loused in the Comatorium"
Wonderful, "God Bless Our Pad"
British Sea Power, "Decline of British Sea Power"
The Delgados, "Hate"
Jayhawks, "Rainy Day Music"
Los Halos, "Leaving Va."
Mogwai, "Happy Songs for Happy People"
My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves"
The Aislers Set, "How I Learned to Write Backwards"
The Thrills, "So Much for the City"
Kaito, "Band-Red"
Basement Jaxx, "Kish Kash"
Gillian Welch, "Soul Journey"
Grandaddy, "Sumday"
The Decemberists, "Castaways and Cutouts"
Twilight Singers, "Blackberry Belle"
Sun Kil Moon, "Ghosts of the Great Highway"
American Analog Set, "Promise of Love"
Damien Jurado, "Where Shall You Take Me?"
The Hidden Cameras,"The Smell Of Their Own"
Cursive, "The Ugly Organ"
Clearlake, "Cedars"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Take Them On, On Your Own"
Mojave 3, "Spoon & Rafter"
Rufus Wainwright, "Want One"
Calexico, "Feast of Wire"
Crooked Fingers, "Red Devil Dawn"
Sleepy Jackson, "Lovers"
Fountains Of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers"
Manitoba, "Up in Flames"
Pretty Girls Make Graves, "New Romance"
Andrew Bird, "Weather Systems"
Johnny Cash, "Unearthed"
The Libertines, "Up the Bracket"
The Paybacks, "Knock Loud"
Broadcast "Haha Sound"
Deerhoof, "Apple 'O"
Menomena, "I Am the Fun Blame Monster!"
Fanny Pack,"So Stylistic"
Jet, "Get Born"
Kinky, "Atlas"
The Notwist, "Neon Golden"
Broken Social Scene, "You Forgot It In People"
Ed Harcourt, "From Every Sphere"
Exploding Hearts, "Guitar Romantic"
The Kills, "Keep On Your Mean Side"
Blur, "Think Tank"
Four Tet, "Rounds"
Kings of Leon, "Youth & Young Manhood"
The Drive-By Truckers, "Decoration Day"
The Minus 5, "Down With Wilco"
The Orb, "Bicycles and Tricycles"
Downpilot, "Leaving Not Arriving"
Longwave, "The Strangest Things"
Okkervil River, "Down the River of Golden Dreams"
The Malinks, "Can't Shake Last Night"
The Stills, "Logic Will Break Your Heart"
United State of Electronica, "Demo"
Guided By Voices, "Earthquake Glue"
Anna Oxygen, "All Your Faded Things"
Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man "Out of Season"
Dead Meadow, "Shivering King and Others"
Martina Topley-Bird, Quixotic"
Rachel's, "Systems/Layers"
The Fitness,"Call Me for Together"
The Primate Five, "1234567APE"
Triple R, "Friends"
Holopaw, "Holopaw"
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, "Nocturama"
Smog, "Supper"
The Bad Plus, "These are the Vistas"
The Gossip,"Movement"

A list of the top 100 records of 2003 as voted on by you, our fabulous imaginary readers.

AstroPOP! for October-November 2003

three imaginary girls — Thu, 30 Oct 2003 08:00:00 +0000

Libra {September 23-October 22}
Death Cab for Cutie truly are indie rock's Hall and Oates: not only do DCfC possess both rock and soul, vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard's dreamy tenor is so unabashedly romantic that it literally spells out the M-E-T-H-O-D of modern love. Please listen closely, Libra: your usual balance is upset by love troubles this month, so having Death Cab spell it out for you can only help. On just-released Transatlanticism (Barsuk), the band understands your dilemma. The spaciousness of the songs betrays a hyper-awareness of the forces that keep lovers apart: time, distance, and longing—"where disappointment and regret collide/lying awake at night." Still, the music is heartening, not hopeless, and the instinctive, eye-for-detail charm of "Lightness" proves that Gibbard knows how to create the mood for a little one-on-one. And that's exactly what would make Daryl and John proud.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Attach half a blonde wig to half a curly brown one. Tape on half a moustache. You are simultaneously Hall AND Oates!

Scorpio {October 23-November 21}
You keep catching something out of the corner of your eye but you can never see it straight on. Your ears prick up at strange, disembodied sounds but when you turn your head toward the noises, there's nothing there. Your sixth sense is acting all crazy, Scorpio, and it's got you spooked. Give the otherworldly spirits a taste of their own medicine this month. Blast It Still Moves (ATOP), the new cd by My Morning Jacket to stop the haunting. The Louisville, Kentucky five-piece spikes its high-lonesome alt-country with a not-of-this-earth creepiness: guitars drip with reverb, ghostly vocals are multi-tracked to oblivion. When singer Jim James wails, "none of this is physical/at least not to me," he'll not only call out your demons—he'll send them packing. So don't be afraid, Scorpio... but do keep an eye on your liquor cabinet: the members of My Morning Jacket are so good at driving away spirits that they might also exorcise your bottles!
Your astrological Halloween costume: Take an old white bed sheet. Cut two eye-holes. Boo!

Sagittarius {November 22-December 21}
Your imminent career change might temporarily set you back in terms of status and income, but in the long run you're going to be a lot happier following your heart instead of doing what's expected of you. Indie darlings Belle & Sebastian sympathize with your job woes, Sag. Having taken chamber-pop as far as it can go, B&S confounds fan expectations on new release Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade). Veteran producer Trevor Horn (ABC, the Pet Shop Boys) seasons each song with a generous helping of 80's kitsch (check those handclaps and processed vocals on "Stay Loose"), and on occasion the new sounds prove hard to balance—the record teeters like a tray full of Denver Omelets in the hands of a knock-kneed newcomer at Applebee's. But B&S never drop that heavy platter: "Asleep on a Sunbeam" recalls the band's early co-op days, and in fact the vocal melody on "Stay Loose" is one of the strongest on the album. This month, Sag, let your heart lead the way, and soon enough your new employer will be telling you, "I want to give you the job/a chance of better pay/can you start today?"
Your astrological Halloween costume: Orange jumpsuit. Strap-on keyboard. Reflector sunglasses. Sure, video killed the radio star, but your Buggles get-up will kill the competition at the costume party.

Capricorn {December 22-January 19}
Your friend who refers to every fleeting fling as a "potential soul-mate." That co-worker who's constantly repeating "that does not compute." Your roommate's humorless analysis of "Newlyweds." Why is it that everyone—everyone!—is bugging the crap out of you this month, Capricorn? It's time for you to get some perspective so you can simmer down. Listen to the reissue of Trust (Rhino) by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. By the time this watershed 5th album was released in 1981, no one had bugged, bitter, and bothered nailed more than Elvis. Everyone—everyone!—from posh suburbanites to jealous lovers to Margaret Thatcher was skewered mercilessly on "Trust"—Elvis took bile to a level of professionalism never before seen in postpunk. Cutting lines like, "you'll never be a man/no matter how many foreign bodies you can take" kinda makes your aggravation at your roommate's Hilary Duff obsession seem like child's play, hmm? Doesn't it? Cap? Doesn't it though? Oh, wait. Am I bugging you now? You better give "Trust" another spin, Capricorn.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear a gray wig. Walk with a cane. Shake your fist at anyone having fun. Use your anger to release the "grumpy old man" within. "Get off my lawn, you no-good kids!"

Aquarius {January 20-February 18}
Fall is here, Aquarius, and your autumnal wish-list sure makes a whole lot of sense: spend evenings indoors, drink hot cocoa overflowing with marshmallows, curl up with a good book and a great cd. That cd? Newborn Driving, the self-released debut from Seattle four-piece Spanish For 100. With a sound that blends Built To Spill's twin guitar fireworks (as well as their Idaho fixation) with Crosby, Stills & Nash's vocal harmonies, the chiming guitars and soaring vocals here are both intelligent and emotionally expressive. With its heartland-rock outlook and countryish twang, "Newborn Driving" is as autumn as pumpkin pie and the reemergence of sweaters. Plus, the cd is versatile: turn it up while you're staring out the window at the leaves swirling in the wind. Turn down the volume to background-music levels when you want to finish the last chapter in your book before bed. Either way, "Newborn Driving" has got you covered like your favorite thick wool blanket.
Your astrological Halloween costume Wear green and brown clothes, then cover yourself liberally in multi-colored leaves. You're either: a) the physical manifestation of the Harvest Spirit of Autumn or b) Marjorie the Trash Heap from "Fraggle Rock." Take your pick.

Pisces {February 19-March 20}
I'm an astrologer, Pisces. People come to me for advice, guidance, and my ability—as an outside observer—to see what can't always be seen from within. I'm recapping, in all honesty, because I'm not sure why you're here. Look at you: last month's problems resolved, next month's problems already assessed and averted—it's clear that you have no use for astrology in the trouble-free microcosm you've constructed for yourself. That said, can I still make a prediction? I'll bet your life would be even easier if you were listening to It Was High Time To Escape (54-40 Or Fight), the impressive debut from Portland, OR trio 31 Knots. Showy but not overly dramatic, complicated but somehow effortless, 31 Knots manage to mesh arty prog rock and catchy pop choruses so successfully that "wow, this sounds exactly like "Fragile"-era Yes without the fruity keyboards" becomes both a high-order compliment and a pale assessment of 31 Knots' achievements. Listen for yourself, Pisces—you're not the only one getting things right.
Your astrological Halloween costume: You're riding high this month just being you, Pisces. What's hiding behind a costume going to do for you? Wear your favorite t-shirt and go to the costume party 'as yourself.' No one would dare challenge you. How could they?

Aries {March 21-April 19}
Earnestness gets you laughed at. Cynicism makes you depressed. Instead of diving back and forth between the two extremes, Aries, try a new approach this month: walk that line. For guidance, steady yourself on the balance beam right behind Seattle four-piece Sushirobo. Overlaying Spoon-style minor-key indie pop with bubbly, organ-engineered surf-noir loops, the band has concocted a slick, spry sound that sustains itself throughout the 12 taut songs on The Light-Fingered Feeling Of Sushirobo (Pattern 25). Neither overly earnest nor deathly cynical, the band's secret is that they're in on the joke. Listen to singer Arthur Roberts' sneer over the Primus-flecked office fable "Zuckerman's Favorite Joke," or the lyrical jabs at the "milquetoast hipster" in "Heart, Lungs, Etc." The all-too-real details make it clear that the band is not above including itself among its targets, and their touch of self-effacement keeps the band buoyant. With two deep mood-chasms threatening you on either side, Aries, it really helps to have that light-fingered feeling.
Your astrological Halloween costume: What was your worst job ever? Dress up as your boss from that employment disaster, and spare no detail. Tell everyone that if they don't give you candy, you're going to eat their soul instead. You are going to have FUN tonight!

Taurus {April 20-May 20}
Despite your bullish, smarty-pants exterior, Taurus, you're a softy at heart. After all, when you're moved by the sad beauty of the first drops of rain on a Sunday morning, is it your brain that makes you want to cry? Hell no! It's your heart: your big, swollen, always-just-about-to-break valve of love. Quit ignoring it: your heart has important things to say. Touchdown Eagle, a lovelorn quartet from Seattle (by way of Iowa and Utah) definitely listens to their hearts. Their homemade debut ep Redesign Your Living Room, Redesign Your Life, is in fact all heart: lo-fi Beat Happening strum and Yo La Tengo sleepy drone create lonely, lovesick moods. The lyrics reveal a knack for the particulars of heartbreak. In "Stumblingly," a guy falls asleep with his glasses on, then he wakes up and can't quite see straight. The female narrator of "No Good Love" describes getting out of a difficult relationship, then wonders whether the person she left behind is actually happy now that she's gone. Heed your sentimental side this month, Taurus. Even if you don't find the love you've been searching for, the crying will be cathartic.
Your astrological Halloween costume: What's more sentimental than the Mom from "E.T."—a single mom struggling with three kids and hiding an alien from the U.S. government? Dress as Dee Wallace, and run like hell from anyone dressed as Peter Coyote.

Gemini {May 21-June 21}
I'll admit that I keep my counsel a little close to the chest and dole it out only sparingly. But I still tell you what you need to know, and the fact is, I really have so much advice that I'd overwhelm you if I let you know EVERYTHING that the stars tell me. And I'm not alone. Listen to Iron & Wine's new ep The Sea & The Rhythm (Sub Pop). Sam Beam surely knows much, much more than he lets on: his world-weary tenor and old-soul lyrics run circles around my constellation shop-talk. Beam chooses his words carefully, painting a careful picture that leaves out as much as it takes in. "Jesus the Mexican Boy" has more plot than a Faulkner novel—the song describes a child's birth, a carnival crashing, an elopement, and a lost wager—but it never sags with detail. Instead, Beam's clear, double-tracked harmonies and lonesome-strummed guitar tell as much of the story as the lyrics do. So while we may never find out what happens to Jesus' sister after the Vegas wedding, Iron & Wine never make us feel like something's been left out. And if you've been listening carefully to what I've been telling you, then I trust that you understand my advice for you this month, Gemini.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Your literary bent this month makes Faulkner a natural starting point for your costume: Caddy Compson in her later years? The simple Vardaman Bundren? The luckless Temple Drake? Come on, Gemini, go crazy!

Cancer {June 22-July 22}
Sometimes it's not so bad to be the type that can be brought home to mom and dad, Cancer. First of all, it shows that your sweetie thinks you have staying power. Second, it means the two of you can borrow the old man's car for ski trips—no questions asked. Third, better presents this holiday season. Just look at Plum St.. They've got that 'cross-generational appeal' working in their favor as well: you like them because they kinda sound like Elliott Smith or Michael Penn; your mom likes them because they kinda sound like the Beatles. But this is not a band of bland squares: the Seattle trio has the melody, smarts, and chops to validate these lofty comparisons. And singer/guitarist Reed Hutchinson even sings about family! Ok, it's a dysfunctional one—an older aunt leaves her husband, a helpful uncle delivers advice but brandishes a gun—but like yourself, Cancer, Plum St. realizes that playing to the family is important. So when your honey brings you home to mom and dad this month, Cancer, bring the Plum St. cd along. When everybody is in agreement over the gorgeous chorus to "Beauty and Dreams," you'll at least be getting a break from marriage talk.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear the most garishly colored sweater you can find, and you're all set to appear as everybody's favorite tv dad, Cliff Huxtable. Then, wrap up the sweater and give it to your sweetheart's dad this holiday season. He'll love you for it.

Leo {July 23-August 22}
It's the dilemma of every rising star, Leo. Everyone wants a stalker until they actually get one. The loss of privacy, the feeling of invasion, the constant changing of phone numbers: stalkers are scary and tiresome, and should hardly be the concern of a superstar-in-training who's got a collection of trucker hats to build and a Friendster network to grow. Then again, listen to new sensations the Fitness. First single "Gianni V" actually implores "I wish that you were stalking me"--and makes a convincing case that having an obsessive fan is, in fact, part of the package: an actual accessory that complements the trucker hats and the Friendster hits. Ok. I'm with you so far. Sonically, the Fitness' cd debut Call Me For Together (The Control Group) picks up where "The Metro" by Berlin left off: analog synths, gated drums, and robotically-intoned boy-girl vocals. I heart the 80's, so I'm still with you. The kicker? Instead of talking down, Diana Ross-style, to the hired help, closing song "Chauffeur" exalts its titular hero for knowing where to go and where to score the best drugs. It sounds like the Fitness really does have the whole package. Now, if we started sleeping outside their bedroom windows, Leo, how long do you think it'll take before they notice us?
Your astrological Halloween costume: Who are you kidding, Leo? The skinny ties, the jagged bangs, the jet-black eyeliner, the silvery shirts, the Seven jeans... you already wear a costume every day. If you really want to frighten people, show up at the party in a UW sweatshirt and khakis. Now that's scary!

Virgo {August 23-September 22}
On the left side of the chalkboard, we have the 'problem:' a dense, multi-factored scramble of terms, conditionals, and assumptions. On the right side, we have the 'answer:' a single digit, solved, reduced, exposed. My question to you: which side of the board has more power? Your urge to figure everything out can cause you to miss out on the brain-busting complexities of reality. It's like trying to determine what makes the songs on the Senate Arcade's new ep Vitamins Taste Like Dying (Chocho) sound so good. Yah, we can trot out 'answers:' the swirling math-rock intricacies; the pulverizing rhythm section; bassist/singer Todd Schlosser's powerful, MTV2-ready vocal bellow. But when that stuff gets written down on paper, it doesn't seem like it could really add up to the visceral intensity that these five songs deliver. In other words, when there's a guy lying fetal desperately shouting "I'm on the floor/I'm on the floor," the application of logic can only get you so far. This month, don't search for the answers, Virgo. See the unsolved expressions for what they are: expressions. Turn the volume up, and just listen.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear a button-down shirt, smear chalk dust on your hands, and find a pair of coke-bottle glasses. Oh, and carry a carving knife. You're a high school algebra teacher—out for blood!

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Your rock and roll astrological forecast for Fall 2003, featuring reviews of Belle & Sebastian, My Morning Jacket, Touchdown Eagle, Spanish for 100, The Fitness, and more.