{Anjulie plays at Showbox Sodo on Monday, November 16 with Raphael Saadiq and Melanie Fiona.}

Fans of pop music know this: the first time you hear a great and catchy song, one that has a big hook, it will grab you immediately and stick and you’ll want to hear it again and again. When you hear a song like that, you’ll be thanking whoever invented the repeat buttons on CD players or iPods. Such was the case the first time I heard a song called “Boom”.

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I met up Sean Woods of The Spits at Grey Gallery after he had spent three days partying in Portland before, during and after the Scion Garage Festival. Somewhere in between him spinning me a yarn about having met the Queen of England in ’95 and a glass of wine we got down to talking about the intense rock his band delivers, their new album, out after a long period silence from this very loud and outspoken band, and how the festival delivered what has come to be considered garage music - something he doesn’t feel The Spits fit under the heading of.

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During the Scion Garage Festival in Portland over this weekend I caught up with front man Tim Cohen and Guitarist Wymond Miles of San Francisco's Fresh and Onlys to chat about their prolific output (they started playing together in 2008 and have two albums, two 7 inch releases and two limited release cassettes released already, with another album to come out early next year), Tim Cohen's solo project, and what makes their combination of Calvin Johnson-esque vocals and 60's-infused riffs so dynamic.

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{Kid Sister plays at Neumos on Tuesday, October 20 with Flosstradamus and Four Color Zack.}

Naturally, things move very fast in cyberspace; a few months could feel like an eternity - so it might have seemed a little hyperbolic for the music website Pitchfork to ask Kid Sister herself if her anticipated first album was a “Chinese Democracy-type situation,” referring to the Guns N Roses album that was released almost eighteen years after its predecessor, but the point remained: a lot of people are waiting for Kid Sister’s first album to drop.

The first time most people (myself included) heard of the now-twenty-nine year old Chicago MC Kid Sister born Melisa Young, was when the remix to her single “Pro Nails” was making its way across the blogosphere in 2007 and was aided by a couple of verses added by Kanye West. The song was produced by West’s DJ and Kid Sister’s boyfriend, A-Trak and is an addictive pop song with a big hook in the chorus and Kid Sister’s smooth delivery. It is the type of hit that would be at home in both a dance club and on urban pop radio stations. West’s star power didn’t hurt either and the song found itself flirting with the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts (peaking eventually at number twenty-one).

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It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the Nashville punk band Be Your Own Pet was the only band I listened to in 2008 – the log from iTunes for what’s played on my iPod confirm they were certainly the band I listened to the most last year. Their album, Get Awkward, was a blast of youthful energy from a band that sounded like they were getting in trouble when they weren’t rocking. The best part of the band, though, was their lead singer Jemina Pearl, who is every bit the badass Avril Lavigne pretends to be.

Be Your Own Pet broke up in the summer of 2008 and Pearl and BYOP guitarist John Eatherly moved to New York and recorded a fantastic and edgy pop record called Break it Up, which was just released last week. The album boasts an impressive roster of artists with appearances by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (who has long been a supporter of BYOP) and Iggy Pop and was produced by Dave Sitek, an in-demand producer and member of TV on the Radio.

Jemina Pearl is currently touring the US while opening for Canadian indie rock band Islands. This tour includes a stop at Chop Suey on Monday, October 19. I spoke with Pearl by phone about a week into the tour and thought she was very friendly and easy to talk to.

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One of my favorite local releases this year, and one of the most pleasant surprises, has been Memory Matches the latest album from indie rock trio The Sea Navy. It’s a fast-paced rock credit with catchy verses, introspective lyrics and focused instrumentation to play those parts.

The constant factor in The Sea Navy has been guitarist/singer Jay Cox, who recorded the first Sea Navy album in Boston before moving to Seattle. He since has found a great rhythm section with drummer Jordan Cumming and bassist Stuart Fletcher. Since moving to Seattle, The Sea Navy has played a lot of high-profile shows, with the next one sharing the stage with David Bazan and Say Hi at Neumo’s on Saturday, November 7.

I met with Cox for drinks at a Belltown bar to discuss The Sea Navy, it’s excellent new album, the best way for bands to use social networking and the paintings from legendary artist Steve Keene that we are giving away to a couple of lucky readers on TIG at the end of this week.

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Meiko is a lovely, young singer-songwriter from Los Angeles who has quickly built a following over the past few years, mostly on the strength of her excellent self-titled album – but being really good at Twitter hasn’t hurt, either. She has a gorgeous voice that fits well over her sparse instrumentation, mostly from her acoustic guitar.

Her last show in the Pacific Northwest had her wowing the large crowd at the Mountain Acoustic Music Festival at Marymoor Park in Redmond, which she said was the largest crowd she’s played to date. This winter, she’ll begin recording her highly-anticipated follow-up record. Next month, she’ll begin a tour of the east coast, opening on Jewel’s next tour.

I spoke with Meiko by phone about songwriting, touring, and the benefits of social networking.

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After only a few months of being together as a full band, The Redwood Plan has become one of the most buzzed-about bands in Seattle. Led by frontwoman Lesli Wood, whose previous band, Ms. Led, was a much-beloved neo-riot grrrl band that had played its last show in January. The Redwood Plan is a synth-heavy dance punk band whose shows are always tightly-wrought dance parties.

The Redwood Plan is playing two big shows on Saturday, September 19, playing at Fremont Oktoberfest at 9:10pm and then playing the first night of Vs., a queer dance party at the Rebar around midnight. The band is also recording the debut album this week and will be playing the Seattle Weekly’s local music festival, Reverbfest, on October 3. They had also just released an EP last month called Movers, Shakers, Makers.

I met up with Lesli Wood, who I have known as a friend for many years, over drinks at a Belltown tavern to discuss similarities and differences between The Redwood Plan and Ms. Led and what the future holds for The Redwood Plan.

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A Girl Talk show is a unique and unforgettable experience. It’s a chaotic dance party where the DJ is mobbed by fans desperate to dance on stage. All of this is welcomed by Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk), who has become one of the most discussed artists in music over the past several years.

Gillis crafts songs that are compiled with samples of (often) recognizable songs, maybe a vocal hook here or a bassline there or a drum fill from somewhere else. Somehow it sounds chaotic and random but also flows together cohesively. His most recent album, Feed the Animals found itself on a lot of critics’ top ten lists last year (including placing fifteenth overall in the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll). It was offered online for fans to download in June of 2008 for whatever price they wanted to pay, followed by a subsequent CD release in November.

Girl Talk has two upcoming Seattle shows, the first is on Friday, September 18 at the Showbox Sodo and sold out quickly and a second show was added on Monday, September 21 at the Showbox at the Market. In advance of those shows, I spoke with Gregg Gillis by phone about how he finds inspiration for sampling, his chaotic live shows and what he’s working on next.

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Matt and Kim are an adorable dance-rock duo from Brooklyn who weave together banging drum beats and amped up keyboards with chant a long lyrics. I caught up with them at Bumbershoot 2009 shortly before their set to discuss their life on the road, Beyonce, their last album, Grand, and future plans to record.

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