i AM Trying to Hear That

I get on iLike to find similar artists, but discover that I own them all. I research the band on last.fm and learn that Wolf Parade's singer/keyboardist, Spencer Krug, has a side project, Sunset Rubdown. It's not one of the bands that's related to Wolf Parade, and it's too obscure to come up on the iLike sidebar at all; you have to know what you're looking for. One of Sunset Rubdown's top listeners on iLike, Ray Y from New York, may very well be my taste soulmate—our libraries are nearly identical. I see what else he has, and find Animal Collective—my umpteenth such recommendation of the day. And Beirut, which I've heard plenty about but have never listened to, is one of his favorites. Why has no one made me listen to these bands before?

Even though it's still squarely in hipster haven, I have a list: Beirut! Animal Collective! Sunset Rubdown! I head to Sonic Boom on 15th, and find Ruben Mendez behind the counter, listening to country music and ringing up customers, all well-groomed men in their 30s buying Modest Mouse. I'd been e-mailing Mendez for weeks to get his opinion of iLike. He sneezes into his sleeve and explains that he's still recovering from South by Southwest.

Photo by Nick Vlcek

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"I think that might be the last time I go. It was just too much—too many bands, too much drinking," he says, shaking his head. What have I been listening to? he asks. I tell him, and notice how much more aware I am of what I've been listening to, and how it's related to what I own. More important, I know what I want. But I don't tell him. I ask him what's good. He leans over the counter and folds his hands.

"You know what's really great that just came out yesterday? The new Panda Bear—it's from that guy from Animal Collective." Animal Collective! How did he know? But no Web site mentioned Panda Bear.

I listen to the song that Mendez recommends and spend the next 12 minutes in bliss. I ask about Sunset Rubdown and Beirut, and am directed to their new releases. Mendez and I have highly compatible taste in music, I decide. He could have told me about Panda Bear on iLike, but so many of the Ruben Mendezes of the world are not on iLike.

"I'm sorry I never got a chance to go to that Web site," he says, cashing me out. "I've just been too busy."

kstarr@seattleweekly.com