​2011, like however many years before it, had no shortage of party rock anthems in pop music--big, wonderfully dumb champagne popping songs practically designed for the New Year's Eve party pictured to the right (or for the real NYE parties listed here). Songs so ubiquitous I don't even really need to list them here, although you can find a few of them in Maura Johnson's excellent Village Voice rundown of the 11 Most Infuriating Songs of 2011 . But there aren't really that many songs out there explicitly about New Year's Eve itself--certainly not as many as you might have seen unloaded on Facebook around Christmas last week. There's Death Cab For Cutie's wide-eyed yet deflated "The New Year," and the Walkmen's bleary but resolute "In the New Year"--and these are fine, even touching songs about unrealistic expectations dashed, about holding onto hope anyway.

But every year, no matter how many party songs come out, there's only one thing I really want to hear at midnight on NYE*:

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​I saw longtime Seattle DJ Marco Collins this week for the first time since I wrote a lengthy profile of him in the Weekly last year. The occasion was the recording of a year-in-music special with KIRO 97.3 producer/reporter/music man Josh Kerns. The special is running today at 9 p.m. and tomorrow at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The three of us tacking the most CRITICAL questions of the year: Why is Adele killing it, who's the most significant band in Seattle right now, and what does Marco's Neil Diamond impression sound like?

If you're not going to be gathering 'round the radio during any of the above-mentioned times, KIRO's got the special streaming at MyNorthwest.com now.

Snark on, folks. And Happy New Year!

​When my rap conversations are confined to my usual group of friends for a time, I tend to forget that there is a school of people who don't like Avatar Young Blaze. To me, his calm yet forceful delivery, and harsh storytelling, make for some of the best hip hop the Town has to offer. For the most part, when I've issued criticism, it's been aimed at his logistical approach to releasing music, rather than his lyricism. Stylistically, it's difficult to name a more captivating MC.

For some reason, the negative responses I found on internet message boards stuck out this time around, so I gave his new single/video (from next month's The Humble Villain) a closer listen/viewing. Even when I put the track under a microscope though, I found that it carried the same weight. The comments that dismissed Av's material as "cookie cutter baller rap" (as one suggested) seemed even more misguided: his perspective is fresh, and his persona has had time to come around and act as it's own badass point of reference. Sure, there are a few moments when his cadence breaks the flow of the song, but, for the most part, he cuts into the beat at just the right angle, and at the same, patient pace that he's learned to use so well. It also doesn't hurt that he's procured a glossy AraabMuzik instrumental, and contracted local film-pro Jon Augustavo for the occasion.

But what do I know? On to the video!

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The release party for "Take Cover" is Jan. 13 at King Cat Theater

​Out Like Pluto
Take Cover
January 13

For the sake of clearing the air: Yes, Out Like Pluto is a pop-punk band fronted by a female with orange hair. It's unfortunate that any band photos depicting the Seattle five-piece might get confused with Paramore, because Take Cover is a fun, poppy, and energetic record that deserves to stand on its own accord.

There's an immediate sense of '90s attitude on songs like "Where to Begin" and "Bridge," with inklings of No Doubt and Garbage present. But it's the tweaked sense of pop and attitude that plays more like Taylor Swift if she wore Converse and listened to Simple Plan in middle school. But that's not a bad thing. The lyrics are believable and genuine, unlike the emo-pop mouthful typical of competing girl bands.

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Duff McKagan's column runs every Thursday on Reverb. His memoir, It's So Easy (Simon & Schuster) is out now.

​Sometimes, if you are lucky enough, you are in a place where you can learn from a particular event in your life. Sometimes those lessons are hard-won, or learned at a high expense to your own ego. Those seem to be the best ones for me.

Other times, pleasantly surprising things happen when you least expect it. Of course, those things are always welcome.

So here are just a few of those "things" and lessons I have gleaned from this past year.

1. If you write a book about yourself, just remember; a LOT of people will now know those things about you that you have shared.

Yes, that may sound like a no-brainer, right? But, I was so caught up in the literary process of writing, that I didn't think much BEYOND that process. I thought maybe it might be the same as when I share a bit about my personal stuff here at the Weekly. Turns out that there was much more in the book that my 1000 words.

2. The Seattle band The Chasers are KILLER! How can you lose when you have a bare-chested, white leather coat wearing guitar player nicknamed, the Ice Wizard! Well, if you like Muse, Queen, Maiden, Death Cab, and Zeke, all mixed into one, check out The Chasers. They are an original....really.

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sargenthouse.tumblr.com

Treats!

​While wrapping your morning's seafood catch, you may have noticed that one of the pages from this week's print edition featured a list of a ton of songs I heard over KEXP's airwaves this year. You may have even marveled at the exquisite descriptions that accompanied each track. And naturally, after a certain amount of marveling, you probably wondered what some of those songs sounded like. Well, I got your back. Being the nice guy that I am, I've decided to do all the legwork for you, and supply you with links to (and more often than not, music videos for) all thirty-two songs on the list. So, if you're ready, meet me after the jump:

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Pardon my uncoordinated taste.

12. Austra, "Lose It"
For the glassy, fluting beats, a pulsing tempo, and Katie Stelmanis' uniquely aqueous vocals.

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Hill

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Followill

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intothestorm.bandcamp.com

​Seattle-by-way-of-Bellingham metal quartet Into The Storm have a new 12" out called Captains. Here are a few of the thoughts I thought when I listened to it:

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Local independent rap label Members Only just released a pair of singles from their upcoming January 2012 releases. Here's what I thought:

membersonly206.bandcamp.com

​"Turn It Up" is the new single from Hi-Life's sophomore full-length Langston Hugh Hefner: Love, Weed & Other Vices which will be out January 3rd. Producer Crispy provides a bassy, echoey, dark-alley funk backdrop, and resident Hi-Life MCs B-Flat and Khingz piece together a chorus-free conveyer-belt of rhymes along side guest rappers Helluvastate, A.K.A. Tay Sean and Thaddeus David. The mini-verses are slick, although, aside from a refrain of "Lose yourself in the beat; go crazy" toward the end of the three-minute vignette, there's not a whole lot to tie them to one another. It's more of a vocal exercise than a song, and perhaps better functions as an interlude-style track when heard within the context of the album than isolated as a single.

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