Attention, aging hipsters: The Posies are old, and so are you. Reagan was still president when Bellingham native Jon Auer and UW student Ken Stringfellow bonded musically, finding common ground in their Big Star fixations and love of ?60s British pop. Naturally gifted songwriters who personify the push-and-pull of the creative process, they?ve been the core of, and lone constants in, a band that never realized its commercial potential, but has left parts of four decades strewn with three-minute gems of joyously bittersweet power pop. Auer and Stringfellow?s harmonies have been described as Beatlesque, but a better comparison would be the crystalline, timeless vocals of the Hollies? Graham Nash and Allan Clarke. The Posies have broken up once and gone through seven sidemen (four bassists, three drummers) in 26 tumultuous years, staying busy with numerous solo and side projects?helping Alex Chilton resurrect Big Star in 1993, as well as Stringfellow?s dalliances with R.E.M. and the Minus 5, among others. Last year, they delivered an aural slap upside the head to any doubters with their seventh studio release, Blood/Candy, featuring some of their strongest songwriting since their ?90s heyday. MICHAEL MAHONEY