Critics' Picks

Best Local Single

Sure, you've been going around humming THAT DAMN MODEST MOUSE SONG lately. (Actually, it's called "Float On," but nearly everyone we know refers to it as "that damn Modest Mouse song," and what is Best of Seattle if not for the people?) We've been doing it, too; how not to succumb to one of the year's most insidious musical memes? Because Lord, have we tried. Local boys made good, actual hit single on actual radio stations that aren't KEXP, ridiculous national exposure, embarrassing ass-kissing in the local press—all of this inspires even more auto-backlash than Isaac Brock's annoyingly smug vocal. But it's not about the singing—it's the guitars, as gorgeous as alt-rock gets without dissolving into ether. And by the time that chorus kicks back in again, even Brock's full-of-itself snarl is pretty difficult to resist—Michaelangelo Matos

Best Local Blog

Unless it fulfills an informative niche like gardening, politics, or music, what is the appeal of reading a perfect stranger's diary online? Most of the time they are forums for people to whine without borders. But there are those who can make observations about their everyday life universal: DEFECTIVE YETI, kept by Matthew Baldwin, is funny, eclectic, and completely engaging. Politics, movies, board games, his new baby, and general Seattle observations are some of the topics he regularly talks about with an energetic tone and wry wit (e.g., "Last week I went to Seattle's new Science Fiction Museum because, you know, paying 13 bucks to see Paul Allen's dog-eared copy of Starship Troopers seemed like a good idea at the time"). He updates a few times a week and is never boring.—Samantha Storey www.defectiveyeti.com.

Best New Look at an Old Dance

Several years ago, Bruno Bettelheim made a splash with his psychological analyses of fairy tales—now choreo­grapher Donald Byrd seems poised to do the same with the ballets based on those fables. After dissecting Giselle and reinventing The Nutcracker, he turned his attention to Sleeping Beauty. His SLEEPING BEAUTY NOTEBOOK back in April combined dead-on satire, academic bone picking, and sincere admiration in a roiling mix: Princess Aurora's christening is celebrated with a bawdy fest out of Brueghel, and her 16th birthday takes place in a high-class brothel. But amongst these changes there were quotations from the original choreography, like heirlooms from a distant past. In this radical vision of a classical work, Byrd questions our definitions of ballet, and of beauty, offering us multiple alternatives to both.—Sandra Kurtz

Best Bus Poem

Leaving some shell of yourself
covered in sheets, you catch
your bus, pull the cord ten blocks
early, walk into the store that sells magic.

When your boss asks where you've been
you say you wanted to learn
how a thing disappeared comes back
how a velvet-lined cape
feels against skin.

The poet, Marjorie Manwaring, is an experienced Seattle author, with an M.F.A. from the Bennington Writing Seminars and published works in such journals as Pontoon, The Raven Chronicles, and LitRag. Whereas many of this year's poets mention local mountains or particular bus lines in an obvious effort to get published, "LEAVING SOME SHELL OF YOURSELF" remains less specific, maintaining a sense of mystery while juxtaposing elements of everyday life (including, in fact, the act of catching the bus) with hints of the "magic" buried beneath them. Yet even implements of magic can be bought at a store, which leaves only its intangible attributes—"how a thing disappeared comes back" and the irrational, sensual pleasure of "how a velvet-lined cape/feels against skin"—for the speaker to contemplate.—Neal Schindler

Best Cheap Movie Night

The seats are a little out of the ordinary for the occasion (a couch and some fold-up chairs), the schedule is usually up for grabs, the lights stay on, and extraneous noise is an ongoing hazard, but twice a week, filmgoers can't beat the deal at the CAPITOL HILL INTERNET CAFE. Monday and Tuesday nights, the Broadway coffeehouse offers free screenings of an impressive range of movies alongside its dinerlike booths, terrific sandwiches, friendly staff, and decent Net prices. In the past few months, we've caught the Japanese cult action comedy Shaolin Soccer, Shallow Grave, Chinatown, and Party Girl (part of Parker Posey Month in March, along with The House of Yes, Best in Show, and Waiting for Guffman). And if you really need it, they even have popcorn—in bags, but still.—Michaelangelo Matos 216 Broadway E., 206-860-6858.

Best Band Name

In a city with 1,000 bands (at least), you're bound to turn up some good names. And we did—so much so, in fact, that this category cannot possibly go without listing the runners-up. We came very close to handing it to Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death, a recent project of ex– Murder City Devils vocalist Spencer Moody. We had a difficult time resisting We Wrote the Book on Connectors. And even if it isn't a joke, Vegas in Flames' moniker has an admirably brutal panache. But when it came time to voice our choice, there was no second-guessing—the honor had to go to MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE. What do they sound like? "Totally just wank noise improv," says a friend who caught them at a Beatles-covers gig where they cleared the room with a 30-minute version of Abbey Road's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." Still, they have the word bukkake in their name, and that, friends, forgives a multitude of shortcomings.—Michaelangelo Matos