Barsuk

BOOKED: Chris Walla - Aaron Stewart-Ahn, director

Chris Walla is set to singlehandedly destroy the myth of indie rockers as slackers: Not only is he the guitarist/producer for Death Cab For Cutie, he's also the proprietor of the Seattle recording studio Hall Of Justice and has produced albums for Tegan & Sara, Hot Hot Heat and The Decemberists, just to name a few. He's now about to take the spotlight for a little bit as he bows his forthcoming solo album Field Manual with this video for "Sing Again."

SHOT: Nada Surf - Jonathan Krisel, director

There are no coincidences in mystery novels and music videos. Consider the "Whose Authority" video shot last week in NYC for Nada Surf. It stars actor Michal Maronna — aka one of the Petes from the Nickelodeon cult hit The Adventures Of Pete & Pete — as a crazed bike messenger. Pete & Pete was shot at Bayonne High School in NJ. Nada Surf first shot to fame with the hit "Popular," which had a fittingly Popular video lampooning the typical suburban high school and was shot at... wait for it... that's right, Bayonne High School.

1,2,3 with Director Brent Chesanek on John Vanderslice

As absurd as most genre tags are, nothing comes close to the term "singer/songwriter." It can be applied to almost anything, yet is usually a synonym for "dude with an acoustic guitar." So, it's really a disservice to apply it to John Vanderslice, since his music is much bigger than that. He writes songs about small things and specific incidents that resonate on a universal level. The music is often dark and foreboding, but never cold, nor off-putting. Take his new song "White Dove," for example (and by take, I also literally mean take: John and his label Barsuk have it up as a free MP3) .