It's hard to believe 2010 is already over (which is probably why this list is so late), as it was one of the biggest and craziest years of my lifetime. I quit working full time to start a business with my fiance, and, as some of you know, mid-way through last year I decided it was time to bid Seattle a temporary farewell, and by the end of the year, I was packed up and across the country, living small-town style in Athens, GA. I'm a life-long Seattleite, and will continue to think of myself that way, despite the distance, for at least the time being.

These songs of 2010 were the ones that counseled me through the tough decisions of leaving and provided respite in scream-alongs to remind me that everything was going to be OK. Some of these win brownie points for unbelievably adorable videos, and some of them the songs were just too great to not post something, so bear with the fake youtube videos that just have a photo and the album version of the song. Trust me, it's worth it.

1. Nana Grizol "Cynicism"

 

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It's been over three years since Apples In Stereo were last in town, touring their fabulous 2006 masterpiece New Magnetic Wonder. Now they're back with a new fantastic album Travelers In Space and Time.

You want to Go! see Apples In Stereo at the Crocodile October 26th (with crush band Fol Chen and local heroes BOAT!)? Plus win a signed copy of their new record Travelers In Space and Time on vinyl? You're screaming "Please! Tell me what to do!" Just e-mail tig@threeimaginarygirls.com by 9am on Friday October 22nd with the subject line "IWantToTravelInSpaceandTime", and please make sure to include your full name, especially if your e-mail address is something like ruby@elephant6.com.

Check out the unbelievably charming video for "Dance Floor" (which we featured on our latest Imaginary Mixtape, and is definitely one of my favorite jams of the year) featuring the ever adorable Elijah Wood and start prepping for the instant dance party on October 26th.

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{Orca Team / Elf Power photos from their MySpace pages}

This October is so full of amazing shows it's far from clever to simply call it rOctober (which has yet to prevent me one bit from doing so). We can't stop talking about the fact that our dreams are going to come true many times over during the course of the month with the likes of The Drums, Superchunk (featured in last month's podcast) / Teenage Fanclub / Telekinesis, James, Liz Phair, Belle & Sebastian, and The Vaselines are all coming to Seattle. You can imagine the hard time we had narrowing down what bands to feature in this month's Imaginary Mixtape to illustrate just how lucky we are going to be in the coming weeks. Have a listen to just a few of our recommendations for what to see this month in a wee concise sampler.

You can listen to a stream of the podcast below or download the MP3 version of the podcast on the imaginary bandcamp page. If you are the type that likes to listen to podcasts in itunes, download the .m4a file here {it's one single file with fancy chapter markers!} and then open it in your itunes {big thanks to Jigsaw Records for hosting the file!}.

 

Tracklisting: Imaginary Mixtape - October 2010:

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In all this hubub of getting ready to leave for popfest, I keep forgetting that one of my all time favorite bands, The Apples In Stereo, are playing! I've been so focused on learning about all of the bands that I didn't previously know about, just so I wouldn't miss something by accident, that it's hardly registered that Friday night will close out with the wonderful stylings of Elephant 6 legends. When everyone gushes about their undying love of Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control and all related projects of those bands, all I can think about is how much I love the Apples (OK, I've probably just lost friends for admitting that on the internet).

I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that rips off the Beatles and 60's psych-pop well, and Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo does it better than anyone. While his love songs are often about space (and sometimes time travel), it still feels incredibly heartfealt. While the new Apples stuff delves way more into an ELO territory, it's still completely amazing and his pop genius still shines through all the vocoder. I'll have to stretch beforehand to make sure I can dance my ass off all night.

There are too many Apples favorites to pick just one, but this clip of perrenial live favorite "Ruby", which generally features guest vocals by whatever friends are there (in this case, TIG favorites Poison Control Center and Fishboy), completely embodies the true spirit of Athens Popfest (though it was not recorded there): playing music with and for your friends and other like-minded folks. It envariably ends up in a crazy dance party.

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Today is like Christmas morning for indie pop nerds. Today, I am giddy as hell because THE ATHENS POPFEST LINEUP HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED! I've compared Athens Popfest before to indie pop summer camp, but basically, it's the best week out of the year for anyone who loves indie pop. And this year, I think they've really done it with the lineup:

The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, Apples In Stereo, Go Sailor, Circulatory System, Oh-OK (early Athens greatness), Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Nana Grizol, BOAT, Cars Can Be Blue, Poison Control Center, Gold-Bears, Dream Diary, Eux Autres, Afternoon Naps, World Atlas, Your Heart Breaks and more. Complete lineup after the jump. Commence freaking out and immediately buying plane tickets now. Check out complete band bios here.

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{Long Winters photo by Trickshot Photography}

Because I'm some kind of masochist and a total nerd, I've been slaving over this list, keeping it brief (harder than you'd think!) at my favorite 20 albums of the decade without duplicating a band (even harder). Side note: I've probably forgotten something I really, really love, so let's just call this how I feel right this minute. These are the albums I know every note and breath of by heart and I love as complete albums with all of my soul. These are albums that in my humble opinion have no skipable track and are works of beauty in their entirety. I'd also like to point out that these are my favorite albums, as I tend to shy away from calling them "the best", as really, it's just my opinion, and who am I to tell you that you're wrong for not liking these records? (Though, if you catch me in a potentially altered state, I may completely negate that and call any number of these THE GREATEST of all time and call you wrong to your face if you disagree.) I digress. Here they are!

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Merge has done it again! For their 20th anniversary, a part of the brilliant subscriber only compilation series SCORE, the Chapel Hill label (run by none other than members of my favorite indie rock band, Superchunk) is releasing a compilation of covers of Merge bands by a ton of non-Merge artists.

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On the off chances that 1) anyone cares what their friendly neighborhood imaginary film and theater critic thinks about the year's music releases, and 2) anyone is doing anything at all during the dead 'tween-holidays week, much less reading top-ten lists, here are my favorite albums of the year, alpha by artist:

• The Apples in Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder
• The Eames Era – Heroes + Sheroes
• Imperial Teen – The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band
• Just Jack – Overtones
• LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
• Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
• Menomena – Friend and Foe
• The New Pornographers – Challengers
• Radiohead – In Rainbows
• Tracey Thorn – Out of the Woods

My films-of-the-year feature (coming early '08) will be far more compelling. Promise.

at Bumbershoot 2007

Special bonus points if at least one band member is wearing a superhero-like outfit.

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at 40 Watt

I missed the day shows (Atlanta traffic sucks big time and it took 7 hours to pick up a friend at the airport!), but no mind, the night shows more than made up for it.

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