A very necessary, but no less sincere happy birthday should be extended to Hannah Levin, author of the must-read "Rocket Queen" column in the Seattle Weekly every week, co-owner of Gainsbourg and host of KEXP's Audioasis program - and all-told, she was my favorite music writer in Seattle long before we ever met several years ago and, of course, still is. Tonight, Levin is celebrating her birthday with a kick-ass show at the Sunset. Rock writers' birthday shows are always a great time (see here and, uhh, here) and this one is certainly no exception. Levin has booked a great night that promises to be "ear-bruising" with loud rock bands Helms Alee, The Ruby Doe and The Keeper. My favorite local hip hop group Dyme Def was recently added to the lineup as well, which makes perfect sense because they always know where the party's at.

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Yesterday, I wrote about what I was sure would be an epic event: The Beard/Off at the Funhouse between Sir Thomas Gray of Champagne Champagne and Terry Radjaw of Mad Rad. By all accounts (my Twitter feed went crazy last night), it was a great game. Line Out has the most detailed recap I've read yet.

Tonight, Mad Rad is playing their first show with a beardless Radjaw. The press release that went out this morning said:

Our pals in Head Like A Kite are murdering it lately, gaining all sorts of much-deserved praise and attention.  The boys in Dyme Def will be returning to the stage, and we are still loving that EP they released a little while back.  And, Mad Rad?  Forget about it, we’ve got some big Northwest history taking place with them this August 14.

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On their Jay-Z sampling single "The Game Needs Me", Dyme Def made one of my very favorite boasts in hip hop: "I'm the future, wondering where the past went; I'm ahead of my time so the future is past tense."

Modesty isn't Dyme Def's most visible trait but it doesn't seem unfair. The young trio from Renton have been one of the biggest acts in Northwest hip hop for the past few years and they may have the most potential. Each album and EP and mixtape they release (and they're quite prolific) seems to be an advancement over the its predecessor with the beats (from hot-shit producer Bean One) growing more intricate when they need to or more subtle when the songs call for it. The rhymes are more assured and confident.

The most recent release from Dyme Def is their Panic EP, whose release party at the Crocodile marked the club's first hip hop show since it's reopening (and they were pretty rare before that) and by all accounts, the night was quite the event: a sold out affair with appearances by some of the biggest and most talented artists in the flourishing hip hop community. Such a party outdoors, in the mid-afternoon would make for one of Bumbershoot's obvious "can't miss" sets.

Here's a video they just released that was shot mostly on Pine Street with iPhones. It's to their song "I'm Gone":

Dyme Def plays Bumbershoot on the Fisher Green Stage at 2:15pm on Sunday, September 6.

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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This Saturday's show at The Sunset benefits Real Change Newspaper, with Weekend, Jason Dodson (of the Maldives), and slew of great bands!

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Here are the ten Northwest albums that made my iPod a happier place in 2008.

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As of today, we're officially in the second half of 2008. Welcome! To gear you up for another fabulous six months of local Northwest releases, we here at imaginary headquarters have brainstormed an imaginary mix for all of you, containing some of our favorite songs by Northwest artists released this year to date thus far.

No promises that each of these will make our Best of 2008 Reader's Poll final list, but at least this way you have the next six months to follow-up and listen to these releases before you have to decide. To paraphrase imaginary ChrisB, we feel like this list is pretty unfuckwithable. But that doesn't mean that we didn't inadvertently overlook something great. If you have additions for our list, please chime in with your comments below.

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at Neumo's

It was positively sublime to hear the sold-the-fuck-out crowd, not one you would assume to be politically active, sing along to the chorus of “Back Home." It was a moment I wish George Bush would have seen. Not that he’d care, but still.

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