Taiwan loves Sub Pop — and plain pop

The musical tastes of Taipei are not too different from Seattle. A recent visit to a record shop there revealed that six out of their Top 10 indie rock titles were from Seattle — and many of those albums were from Sub Pop. Listeners in Taipei must love Band of Horses and the Shins just as much as we do.

As for their tastes in pop, it mirrors ours, too — with sounds echoing the Britney of old, Jonas Brothers and Justin Timberlake. Have a listen to these hot Asian acts.

Lollipop: A boy band with six members paralleling the pop lite of the Jonas Brothers.

Here's a slower song:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrezCtvW5BQ

And here's one of their more popular songs called "YES!":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwu3c4h7PEQ

Jay Chou: He's the most popular singer in Asia. Though he usually delivers emo rock/pop, his latest album features some country. There's even line dancing and yipping.

"Cowboy On The Run":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYJshFdcGlI

"Rainbow": more of his usual romantic vibe:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW5R25QH7_s

Jolin: She's a powerhouse pop singer.

"Agent J": This is reminiscent of Britney's "Toxic" secret-agent video. Jolin even dances on a stripper pole:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEtZPQUg6QA

S.H.E.: While on the topic of Britney, girl group S.H.E. covered Spears' song "Everytime." Here's the video with images from the soap opera "Silence":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGj_KN7QCU

Here's another one of their songs:

"Just be yourself":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpFn25XLWg&feature=related

3 films with local ties are Sundance-bound

The Sundance Film Festival will showcase three movies with Northwest connections.

They are: Former Seattleite Sara St. Onge's short film "The Funeral," about a young woman in her 30s confronting her own mortality; Northwest native Calvin Reeder's filmed-in-Washington short "The Rambler," about a traveling guitarist; and Carlos Brooks' feature-length "Quid Pro Quo," about a paraplegic reporter. "Quid Pro Quo" was partially shot in the La Conner tulip fields; it will be screened as part of Sundance's Spectrum series, a noncompetitive category designed to introduce new and creative voices in film.

For more information on St. Onge, check out www.awesomology.com. And to find out more about "The Rambler," click on www.theramblermovie.com.

The festival takes place Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah. For more information on the festival, check out: www.sundance.org/festival.

Coming to Seattle: MySpace announces spring electronica tour Social networking site MySpace has announced its second music tour. This time — instead of alternative rock — the tour features electronica; it will swing through Seattle on March 24 at the Showbox SoDo.

The lineup includes French rock-driven electronica duo Justice (www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous) and Philadelphia DJ and producer Diplo (www.myspace.com/diplo). Justice's single "D.A.N.C.E." was nominated for two Grammy awards — best dance recording and best short-form music video.

Diplo is best known for producing tracks for hip-hop-dancehall-electronica star M.I.A., also for starting out as one-half of club duo Hollertronix, for his record label Mad Decent and for the nonprofit Heaps Decent, which links artists with underprivileged communities.

MySpace's first tour kicked off last fall and included hellogoodbye, Say Anything and Polysics.

Two deaths in the world of Northwest rock

It's a sad week for Northwest rock with the death of two artists.

Remembering the Monks' guitarist

Guitarist for punk band the Monks, Renton resident Dave Havlicek (known as "Dave Day"), passed away Thursday.

Fans have been leaving notes of appreciation on the Monks' message board: www.voy.com/21556/.

The Monks were founded in the early '60s by American GIs in Germany and played a curious fusion of garage rock and polka. They dressed like monks, complete with shaved heads. Many say that their music was before their time.

Here are some videos that highlight the Monks, live in 1966 on German TV:

The monks videos:

• youtube.com/watch?v=FYsyC2PFVBs• youtube.com/watch?v=nXKQSxsEAEQ

Punk-band violinist Michael Griffin

Michael Griffin, violinist for Bellingham hard-core punk band Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live, passed away Monday.

Griffin also played for the improv noise groups Noggin and artie smudges trio. "Michael's style of playing in Noggin (often times) and especially Behead the Prophet could be described as frantic, noisy and cathartic... It would be easy to say that Michael never played the same violin line twice in the history of the band," said the Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live MySpace page.

Behead the Prophet drummer Jordan Rain added on the site, "His contribution to music was very significant as a huge proponent of Improvised Noise. Michael encouraged anyone curious about music regardless of talent and got a lot of people started on a path to true creative expression."

Check out music by Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live on www.myspace.com/beheadtheprophetnolordshalllive. To hear Noggin tracks, go to endsound.com/noggin/audio.html, and for the artie smudges trio, go to www.myspace.com/artiesmudgestrio.

Check it out: Del the Funky Homosapien

Chew on some audio candy with the new track "Bubble Pop," by Bay Area MC Del the Funky Homosapien. Here's the link: http://dev.theorchard.com/jaclyn/mp3/del_the_funky_homosapien_bubblepop.mp3

The single is a whimsical take on the classic Run-D.M.C. "Peter Piper" break from Bob James' "Take Me to the Mardi Gras." It's a silly in-yo-face-type rap, whose chorus taunts, "Why do you think you are all that, cause you ain't." In no time, you'll find yourself slamming along.

"Bubble Pop" also reflects Del's way with words. Just try saying this line from the song: "It's just me commentating on helium hands who be hating on deflating."

The veteran rapper leaked the single off his upcoming album, "Eleventh Hour," due out March 11. Del rose to fame after writing and rapping the Gorillaz's mega hit, "Clint Eastwood." Founder of the well-respected hip-hop trio Hieroglyphics and cousin to Ice Cube, Del has also collaborated with the likes of producer Dan the Automator, turntablist Kid Koala and Blu frontman Damon Albarn.

Crocodile cafe shows rescheduled

When the Crocodile Cafe closed suddenly, there were still shows scheduled, so these artists had to quickly move elsewhere. A lot of shows moved to the High Dive in Fremont, a few to others; here are details.

The Believers, The Smile Ease, Slow Skate. 9 p.m. Jan. 12. Café Venus/Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle. $6. 21+. 206-624-4516. www.cafevenus.com.

Ingrid Michaelson. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., Seattle. $12 advance. All ages. 206-632-2020. www.brownpapertickets.com.

The Decemberists. 8 p.m. Jan. 30-31. The Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle. $28. 206-467-5510. www.ticketmaster.com.

Pela, Liam Finn. 8 p.m. March 4. High Dive, 513 N. 36th St. #G, Seattle. $8 advance. $10 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter), White Rainbow, Valet. 8 p.m. March 6. High Dive. $10 advance. $12 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

Born Ruffians, Cadence Weapon. 9 p.m. March 22. High Dive. $10 advance. $12 at door. 21+. 206-632-0212. www.brownpapertickets.com

New owner for Comet Tavern

This item just in from Seattle Times nightlife reporter Tom Scanlon:

The new owner of the Comet Tavern is Brian Balodis, a banker by day who said he does not plan any major changes at the legendary Capitol Hill dive bar and rock venue.

"I'm going to have the same booking agent [Mamma Casserole], the same staff — I just want to continue pretty much building upon the success of the place," said Balodis, a first-time bar owner.

Balodis said he was not a regular at the Comet before getting interested in buying it. "I've gone out up on Capitol Hill, and I was aware of the Comet, but quite honestly it was not a place I visited on a regular basis — but I have friends who do. When I started looking for a bar [to purchase] and I heard that one was available, I got some feedback from my friends that it's a great scene, and it's a prime location."

Tom Scanlon: 206-464-3891 or tscanlon@seattletimes.com

Seattle band wins MTV2 Contest

MTV2 has named Seattle indie rock band the Myriad the "Dew Circuit Breakout '07" winner.

Four thousand bands tried out. Previous winners include such popular alternative-rock bands as hellogoodbye, Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights.

The Myriad battled two other finalists at the MTV Times Square studios in front of a live audience on Dec. 15 and a panel that included Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and Ultragrrrl of Stolen Transmission. Fans then voted online for the winner.

In addition to owning the title, a video from their finale performance will air on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU. One of their songs will also be available to download sometime next year on the Rock Band video game.

Kirkland Arts Center appoints new executive director

Christopher Shainin has been appointed the new executive director of the Kirkland Arts Center, one of the Eastside's oldest arts organizations.

Shainin starts mid-January, when previous director Quinn Elliott leaves after five years. Elliott will be the project director for Monroe Madison.

As the new executive director, Shainin will be overseeing the center's gallery and arts-education program and raising funds for the center.

Previously, he was the managing director of Bainbridge Performing Arts. Shainin was also a co-founder of the Seattle Creative Orchestra.

Marian Liu: mliu@seattletimes.com