As Seattle heads into its soggy season of endless gray and dusk at 4:30 p.m., a miraculous thing happens: ART, which has been nourishing souls and curbing suicide rates since time began. Here for you are a multitude of events worth surviving autumn for. Attending these events will make you smarter, sexier, and less likely to become one of those people who relate primarily to cats and Law & Order reruns. Keep this guide in a safe place for future reference—autumn ain’t over till it’s over.
Decibel Festival
Beyond all the stuff that earned Decibel its place in the shortlist for the Stranger Genius Award for Music (page 29)—establishing our city as a happening and international electronic-music scene, connecting artists within that scene with each other and with the wider world, doing all of the above via volunteerism and personal financial risk—the annual festival, now in its seventh year, also just books some phenomenal talent. This year: Berlin bass-pushers Modeselektor (with their awesome visual/video crew Pfadfinderei), techno god Carl Craig, blissful minimalist Pantha Du Prince, disco funk updater Trus'me, noise scraper Ben Frost, L.A. laptop wizard Flying Lotus, and too many good acts from both here and abroad to list, from house to ambient to dubstep to its latest headphone-friendly descendants. Always the first feel-good hit of the fall. Sept 22—26. Various venues, www.dbfestival.com. ERIC GRANDY
'I Am Secretly an Important Man'
Directed by Peter Sillen (who will be at the October 6 screening), the documentary I Am Secretly an Important Man examines the life, drug addiction, provocative work, mental problems, and suicide of Seattle poet Steven Jesse Bernstein, who died in 1991 at age 40. An acolyte of William S. Burroughs, Bernstein delivered his acrid social observations and self-lacerating confessions (the autobiographical "Face" is particularly devastating) in a deadpan, declamatory style that's best heard on the posthumous Sub Pop album Prison, enhanced by producer supreme Steve Fisk's twilight-world electronic music. Sillen's film promises to resuscitate interest in Bernstein, who earned the respect of Kurt Cobain, Oliver Stone, and a host of Seattle's cultural elite during his turbulent tenure in the arts scene. Oct 6. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 467-5510. Oct 22—28, Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 329-2629. DAVE SEGAL
Big Boi, Belle & Sebastian
City Arts' new music festival has a few good-looking shows, but nothing as exciting as the two acts that form the polar opposites of its programming: Scottish pop ensemble Belle & Sebastian and OutKast MC Big Boi. Big Boi's outstanding recent solo album, Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty, is a sharp reminder that, while everyone was fawning over Andre 3000's golf apparel and genre experiments, Big Boi has always held it down to earth (by ATLien standards) on the rap side of things. Belle & Sebastian have unfortunately matured from the winning twee of their early years to a glossier '70s AM pop sound, but their rare live performances, which typically reach well into their back catalog, are still never to be missed. Oct 20—23. Various venues, www.cityartsfest.com. EG
Escalator Festival
The creative individuals behind the Portable Shrines collective sensed a void in the Seattle music scene and proceeded to fill it with the transcendentally kaleidoscopic sounds and visuals of psychedelia. Hence, the inaugural Escalator Festival manifested last year, providing a loaded, two-day banquet of out-there music and videos from some of the West Coast's finest purveyors of mind expansion. Escalator's sophomore extravaganza promises another potent dose of the same, with appearances by San Francisco's Moon Duo; Fullerton, California's Dahga Bloom; Portland's Edibles; and locals Climax Golden Twins, Midday Veil, This Blinding Light, Night Beats, the Curious Mystery, and Blood Red Dancers. Psych-savvy DJs will fill in the gaps between the sets, and retina-dazzling videos will augment the whole shebang. Oct 22—23. Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, 429 Eastlake Ave E, www.escalatorfest.com. D. SEGAL
Of Montreal, Janelle Monáe
Even if Of Montreal shows didn't come off like an experimental-theater workshop being infiltrated by a rival gang of psychedelically inclined revolutionaries, they would be worth seeing just for the music. Kevin Barnes's songs are lyrically dense and hyperspecific, from references to Greek myth to postmortems of his own domestic problems to psych-babble-heavy missives from his various alter egos. The music is stylistically all over the place, from fey psych pop to synthy indie rock to more recent adventures in roller boogie and oddball electro funk. But there's always a keen ear for hooks evident in Of Montreal's songs, and, all the flash and arty freakishness aside, they are an eminently enjoyable band both live and on record. Opening is R&B futurist Janelle Monáe, who appears on two of the best tracks on Of Montreal's latest album, False Priest. Oct 27. Paramount, 911 Pine St, 877-784-4849. EG
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Since helping lift Yellow Magic Orchestra to sublime electro-pop heights in the '70s and '80s, this Japanese keyboardist has gone on to record several eclectic, exotic solo albums (B-2 Unit and Left-Handed Dream are especially recommended) and preternaturally sensitive soundtracks, including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence; The Last Emperor; Little Buddha; and The Sheltering Sky. Also, Sakamoto's work with abstract-electronic producers Alva Noto and Christian Fennesz has broadened his appeal to IDM fans. For this tour, Sakamoto is playing solo piano, performing a mix of new classical pieces and beloved tracks from his vast, rich back catalog. No matter in which mode he's working (and he can flaunt a wide array of styles), Sakamoto's gentle, elegantly beautiful melodies delight. Oct 30. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 877-784-4849. D. SEGAL
Gorillaz, Little Dragon
The latest album from Damon Albarn's cartoon band Gorillaz, Plastic Beach, connects the dots between your ideal tropical vacation (you want it), the bottle of water you drink on the beach (you want it cheap and now), and the gyre of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean (you can't quite be bothered that it's doing you in). This all sounds like a massive drag, but Gorillaz' übercatchy electro pop and sun-dazed hiphop joints—aided by such guests as Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg, Mark E. Smith, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Paul Simonon and Mick Jones of the Clash, and more—make it feel like a warm breeze. Live, Albarn and band perform alongside the cartoon alter egos designed by Jamie Hewlett, and who knows who else might show up. Nov 2. KeyArena, 305 Harrison St, 684-7200. EG
Dean Wareham Plays Galaxie 500
Guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham led Galaxie 500 over three very good albums—Today (1988), On Fire (1989), and This Is Our Music (1990)—and built a substantial cult following in the process. With his fragile, woebegone voice, he eked out poignant lyrics over forlorn, solemn storms of third-album Velvet Underground guitar strumming while a superb rhythm section (bassist Naomi Yang and drummer Damon Krukowski) nudged things along with deft dexterity. Galaxie 500 mined a narrow seam of rock, but they wrung much intimate angst from their sensitive, slowcore mannerisms. Wareham's songs from 20-plus years ago have aged very well, and this show could be the most satisfying nostalgia wallow of the year for many. Nov 16. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave, 441-7416. D. SEGAL
The Books
The Books—arch postmodernist sonic collagists Nick Zammuto (also guitar) and Paul de Jong (also violin)—return with their first album in five years, The Way Out. Over the last half of the '00s, they've been busy moving to a mountainous region north of New York City, starting families, and finding a new label. With all these life changes, it's not surprising that the Books—who are, not surprisingly, hyperliterate—are hyping The Way Out as a "new beginning." But they've really not deviated much from their disjointed, quizzical, vocal-sample-laden folktronica. The rhythms hit with slightly more force here, but the beguiling melodies and gnomic advice, sincere confessions, and Gandhi quotations of past releases remain intact. Everything, though, seems somehow more vivid and assured. The Books are going in deeper and deeper, charming you into their idiosyncratic world. Dec 4. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 877-784-4849. D. SEGAL 
