Chris Walla
Photo: Barsuk Records

Beyond Senator Barack Obama's decisive win, the big news about Tuesday's Oregon primary — a mail-in-only election, our first— was the sheer number of voters who participated. But something disheartening happened too: By my calculations, about 13-15 percent of the Democrats who participated voted for a presidential candidate without weighing in on the slew of statewide and local races also being decided.

It's hardly a surprise that some of the races deep down on the ballot were ignored. To a degree, that's always the case. Besides, there's been much noise made here (as everywhere) about the presidential race, especially after Obama's little town-hall gathering (75,000 sun-soaked Portlanders, plus the Decemberists) over the weekend. But the Oregon Democrats are running a high-octane race for the senate seat of incumbent Republican Gordon Smith, and that has been pretty noisy as well. Contenders Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley have jabbed and jeered at one another for months now in the sorts of squabbling matches usually reserved for a general election.

Novick alone got a lot of attention, even nationally, for his uncompromising straight talk, his righteous bombast (pegging Bono as "the most hypocritical human on the face of the Earth" is one in a line of Novick rants, each requiring a few minutes of context to be understood fully) and his physical attributes (he stands 4 feet 9 inches and has a hook for a left hand). He's a rousing and committed public speaker, a fearless firebrand. But yesterday, Novick lost, narrowly, to Merkley. Both candidates lost a few votes to the spoiler, Candy Neville, who walked away with 7 percent.

In any other election year, Merkley would have crushed Novick in a landslide: Merkley has years of public service under his belt, and a spotless record. He's a genial, likable fellow and a policy wonk of the highest order. But the spread between him and his rival was reasonably small: 47 percent to 41 percent. The Democratic voters who came out for either Hillary Clinton or Obama in the presidential primary, but who opted out of every other race, could have held the key to Novick's fate. But he was unable to reach them through the static of the presidential race.

In a way, Novick's candidacy was a lot like Obama's is. Both are underdogs, running against respected, well-established opponents. Conventional wisdom doesn't give either a win; they're lucky to place or show. But Obama's ground campaign in Oregon is awesome, and not in the superlative sense: It's simply worthy of awe. His team has remarkable presence, organization and clarity of purpose, especially given the fact that he's barely even been to Portland.

Novick, on the other hand, lives here. He owes some of the nearness of his near miss to the Clinton/Obama struggle, but he couldn't capitalize on that momentum. If my math is correct, 15 out of every 100 Democratic voters didn't even register that Novick's name (or Merkley's) was on their ballot. Why? And more important: Can we convince those 15 voters to open their voter information pamphlets in November?

(Death Cab for Cutie's new LP, Narrow Stairs, will debut at #1 on the Billboard albums chart next week.)

• Death Cab For Cutie
• Chris Walla

Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla
Photo: MTV News

Chris Walla looks like he's about to make his first Communion. Or go to a job interview. And that's somewhat fitting, because in a way, he's doing both.

He's in New York doing publicity for his first proper solo album, Field Manual, and he's decided to wear a pinstripe three-piece suit for the occasion. And why not? After all, he was never quite sure he'd finish the album, which he recorded for more than a decade in off-and-on sessions between work with his primary band, Death Cab for Cutie, and the myriad of production he does on the side (including Tegan and Sara's The Con and the Decemberists' Picaresque and The Crane Wife). Not to mention the fact that for a brief period last year, the album was the property of the Department of Homeland Security.

So, yeah, he's sort of earned the right to dress up. This is a big step for him.

"Oh, man, I don't know about the suit. I mean, it's February, it's New York, it's a wool suit. I guess it's also a solo-record suit, 'cause I wore it in one of the publicity photos too," he laughed. "I delivered the Death Cab record to Atlantic yesterday, and I wore it yesterday because it seemed like the right thing to do. And it's so warm and comfortable, I decided to wear it again."

He also looks strangely like a guy on his way to an Iowa caucus location, which is sort of fitting, considering the strong political themes that surge through Field Manual. The war in Iraq, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a call to organize, an imagined conversation between a Seattle librarian and a U.S. senator about federal budget cuts: It's all there, albeit buried beneath a DCFC-like layer of indie sheen.

"I wanted to make sure this album reads as good as it sounds," he said. "You can listen to it and then open up the lyric sheet, and it reads like a little story, like some weird piece of prose.

"The whole goal with this record was not to beat people over the head with the political stuff," he continued. "But at the same time, it's all there, because it's totally stuff I talk about all the time. I'm not playing some 'formal character of myself' or something like that. I mean, it's a carefully considered record, but it's all me."

Those political leanings are nothing new — in 2004, Death Cab took part in the Vote for Change Tour, alongside acts like Bruce Springsteen and Bright Eyes. But now, Walla is taking it one step further and coming out in support of a candidate: Democratic Senator Barack Obama.

"I certainly don't remember an election like this," he said. "I was motivated in 2004, but I was motivated from a place of disgust and fear. Whereas this time, I really feel motivated from a place of possibility. And all of those terms, Obama has sort of picked them out of the dictionary and put them out there — possibility and optimism and change. It's so refreshing, even though it's turned into a bandwagon for the other candidates to jump on. Like, what an awesome bandwagon for everyone to jump on!

"It's been sad for me, but I've had a real problem being able to get behind Senator [Hillary] Clinton in any real way, particularly over the last couple months," he continued. "Six months ago, I would've told you I would've been thrilled to cast my vote for her, but the way her campaign has unfolded is so wrong to me. The mailers that have gone out in a couple of the primaries calling into question Obama's record on choice are particularly phony, and for her to try to attack him over that is counterproductive for politics; it's counterproductive to the cause. In policy terms, she's an excellent leader, but I feel that the way she's playing this game is so old, and the rulebook she's drawing from is so outdated, that it isn't translating to me, it's alienating to me."

While Walla realizes that his power to sway people's minds might be limited, he has been encouraged by what he's seen in voter turnout so far. Whether voters cast ballots for Obama, Clinton or the Republicans, Senator John McCain or former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, he's just happy they're participating. After all, it's what he wrote the song "Sing Again" (which just so happens to be the first single from Field Manual) about.

"Stephen Colbert coined the term 'solitarity' at one point, which is the new solo activism, where you sit in front of your computer and you're super-angry about whatever and you blog about it and that's all you do. And there's no community in that. There's only so much collective power that you can get out of connecting to someone through your laptop," Walla said. "And this whole idea of caucusing, where people are caucusing in record numbers that we've never seen before, is so exciting. It's citizens interacting with other citizens and other voters, maybe for the first time ever. 'Sing Again' is about just getting connected with people, whether they value the same things you do or not. That's what's important."

• Barack Obama Fires Up Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla

• Death Cab For Cutie
• Chris Walla

<i>Hannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Party</i>
Photo: Disney

Hannah Montana and Beck top this week's releases, but fans of either shouldn't get too psyched just yet — they're not delivering new studio material per se. Also on tap are country superstars young and old, some hard-rockers and more indie-rock acts than you can shake a pair of Converse kicks at. Let's get the party started.

Going the Extra Miley: Miley Cyrus fans are going to be doing some serious damage to their piggy banks this week. Just check out what the pop tart has in store: Her "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" flick, which she recently spoke with MTV News about, hits theaters Friday; while Tuesday (January 29) sees the release of "One in a Million," a DVD with four episodes from her show, and her Hannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Party CD. The last disc is a whole lot like the "High School Musical 2": Non-Stop Dance Party" set Disney put out in December — each reworked LP presents the original release as a continuous remix. Tucked inside the CD is a music video, a slide show and, best of all, printable party invitations!

An Ode to Odelay: Beck is also back this week, with his watershed '90s album Odelay getting the deluxe-edition treatment. The new edition of the nearly 12-year-old LP — the one with the shaggy-haired dog on the cover — has more than twice as many tracks as the original, including unreleased session tunes produced by the Dust Brothers; rare remixes by UNKLE, Aphex Twin and Mickey P.; and B-sides galore, including a Spanish-language version of "Jackass" recorded with a mariachi band. The deluxe reissue is a cause for celebration indeed.

Walla World: Death Cab for Cutie actually formed the year after Odelay came out, and this week guitarist/producer Chris Walla cranks out his much-talked-about second solo album, Field Manual. The project caused a bit of a stir last year, after the Department of Homeland Security seized files containing the album for still-unclear reasons. "It's a crazy, weird, heavy-rock record," Walla told MTV News while putting together the album. Giving fans an extra reason to buy the physical version of the effort, the limited edition comes in a cloth-bound hardcover, but those who went the digital route and pre-ordered the disc on label Barsuk's site got three non-album MP3 bonus tracks.

Good Mojo?: Walla's got a bit of a story behind his new one, but it's nothing compared to the trials and tribulations involving spirits, nervous breakdowns and love triangles that led up to the release of the Mars Volta's The Bedlam in Goliath. With Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante, new drummer Thomas Pridgen and a boatload of returning members in tow, the band's fourth album includes such typically head-scratching Volta titles as "Aberinkula," "Cavalettas" and "Conjugal Burns." Tech-savvy fans might want to hold off for a week until a different edition of the album drops. That version will come with a USB stick featuring the album, a video and artwork, and will be encased in a wooden Ouija board, which ties in with the album's kooky theme. Monthly content updates will also grant fans B-sides, more videos, a video game and beyond.

An Early Valentine: If you think the Mars Volta's USB stick approach is cool, check out what Bullet for My Valentine have in store for their new one, Scream Aim Fire. The deluxe iTunes version of the metalcore band's release comes with a PDF booklet featuring three- to five-page comic books for three of the album's 11 songs. A comic book for each song will eventually be made and located on SafTheComics.com. The band has also made 15-second animated trailers hyping the comics.

Voices of Protest: As far as sophomore metal releases go, Bullet are up against Protest the Hero this week. The Whitby, Ontario, quintet divided their Fortress into two movements, "On Conquest and Capture" and "Isosceles" — try to wrap your head around that while you're headbanging. "It's really a look at past, present and future, through the battles that have been fought and are being fought and supposedly will be fought," singer Rody Walker told Metal File last week.

Vintage Country: Lost Highway Records has a big week, with the release of Shelby Lynne's Just a Little Lovin' and Willie Nelson's Moment of Forever. Curiously, the veteran Nelson is going for younger appeal — Kenny Chesney produced the effort and sings with the Red-Headed Stranger on one track ("Worry B Gone"), and Nelson covers Dave Matthews' "Gravedigger" to boot. On the flipside, Lynne has her eyes set on the past — her effort mostly consists of songs the late Dusty Springfield had in her repertoire.

Song Title of the Week:

"Funishment" from Dub Trio's Another Sound Is Dying

Album Cover of the Week:

Quinn Walker's Laughter's an A--hole/ Lion Land

Other Notables:

Xiu Xiu's Women as Lovers
Fans of the experimental indie-rock band that currently resides in San Fran, keep your heads up for two special versions of the group's new release. The first 2,000 copies of Women as Lovers will have a bonus DVD housing 16 music videos, four tour films and 100 photos. Xiu Xiu have also littered the iTunes version of the album with five unreleased songs, but all editions will contain songs like "In Lust You Can Hear the Axe Fall" and "Master of the Bump (Kurt Stumbaugh, I Can Feel the Soil Falling Over My Head)."

Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend
Along with MGMT, these unlikely New York indie-rockers have somehow managed to propel themselves onto mainstream-rock radio in the matter of weeks — and Vampire Weekend haven't even needed major-label support to pull it off. The four guys met while going to school at Columbia University and less than two years ago formed the band, which fuses indie-rock and pop with African sounds. Don't miss "Mansard Roof," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance."

Jeffrey Lewis' 12 Crass Songs
You might not know this other New York up-and-comer, anti-folk troubadour Lewis, but there's probably an even greater chance you're even less familiar with Crass, the anarchic punk band around which his new album revolves. For the project, Lewis updated the band's lyrics to reflect modern times and reimagined the crusty punk music as lush folk.

New Releases:

· Airbourne - Runnin' Wild (Roadrunner)
· Austins Bridge - Austins Bridge (Daywind)
· Ayreon - 01011001 (special edition has bonus DVD; limited edition has two CDs and bonus DVD; Inside Out)
· Beat Circus - Dreamland (Cuneiform)
· Ron Blake - Shayari (Mack Avenue)
· The Blind Boys of Alabama - Down in New Orleans (Time Life)
· Sarah Brightman - Symphony (Manhattan)
· Bullet for My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire (Jive)
· Course of Nature - Damaged (Silent Majority)
· Dailey & Vincent - Dailey & Vincent (Rounder)
· Danger Radio - Punch Your Lights Out (EP; Photo Finish)
· Dispatch - Zimbabwe: Live at Madison Square Garden (two CDs; Republic) [Buy Now]
· Dub Trio - Another Sound Is Dying (Ipecac)
· Emigrate - Emigrate (limited "premium" version also available; Pilgrim/ Motor Music)
· Able Baker Fox - Voices (Second Nature)
· Future of the Left - Curses (Too Pure)
· The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Sub Pop)
· Human Bell - Human Bell (Thrill Jockey)
· Ida - Lovers Prayers (Polyvinyl)
· Joe Jackson - Rain (with DVD; Rykodisc)
· Jorn - The Gathering (Locomotive)
· Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs (Rough Trade)
· The Lion's Share - Emotional Coma (Locomotive)
· Louis XIV - Slick Dogs and Ponies (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
· Shelby Lynne - Just a Little Lovin' (Lost Highway)
· The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath (Universal) [Buy Now]
Read: "Mars Volta To Release 'The Record That Did Not Want To Be Born' "
· Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath - Eclipse at Dawn (Cuneiform)
· Idina Menzel - I Stand (Warner Bros.)
· Pat Metheny with Christian McBride & Antonio Sanchez - Day Trip (Nonesuch)
· Willie Nelson - Moment of Forever (Lost Highway)
· Németh - Film (Thrill Jockey)
· Thao - We Brave Bee Stings and All (Kill Rock Stars)
· Ghislain Poirier - No Ground Under (Ninja Tune)
· Popa Chubby - Deliveries After Dark (Blind Pig)
· Primal Fear - New Religion (Locomotive)
· Protest the Hero - Fortress (Vagrant) [Buy Now]
· Radar Bros. - Auditorium (Merge)
· Robyn - The Rakamonie EP (Cherry Tree/ Interscope)
· Adam Rudolph & Moving Pictures - Dream Garden (Justin Time)
· Saba - Jidka: The Line (Riverboat)
· The Shackeltons - The Shackeltons (Loveless)
· Sons and Daughters - This Gift (Domino)
· Stone Rider - Three Legs of Trouble (Trustkill)
· Bill Strickland - Music to Make the Impossible Possible (Concord)
· Tab the Band - Pulling Out Just Enough to Win (North Street)
· Tiles - Fly Paper (Inside Out)
· Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (XL Recordings) [Buy Now]
· The Vandermark 5 - Beat Reader (first 1,000 copies come with bonus CD; Atavistic)
· Quinn Walker - Laughter's an A--hole/ Lion Land (Voodoo-Eros)
· Chris Walla - Field Manual (digipak; limited edition comes in cloth-bound hardcover; Barsuk) [Buy Now]
Read: "Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla Plans Band's Next Move After Homeland Security Debacle"
· Kate Walsh - Tim's House (Verve Forecast)
· Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks- Born to Be Wilder (live; Blind Pig)
· The Wrights - The Wrights (Alan's Country)
· Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers (Kill Rock Stars)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Beck - Odelay - Deluxe Edition (two CDs; Geffen/UMe) [Buy Now]
· Big Daddy Kane - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Big Daddy Kane (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Jim Carroll - Praying Mantis (Noble Rot)
· Billy Ray Cyrus - Love Songs (Mercury Nashville)
· Das EFX - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Das EFX (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Celine Dion - A New Day Has Come - Collector's Edition (with DVD; Columbia/Legacy) and A New Day Has Come/ Falling into You/ Let's Talk About Love (three-CD box set; Epic) [Buy Now]
· The Doors - The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Linda Eder - Greatest Hits (Rhino)
· Fourplay - Greatest Hits: The Best of Fourplay (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Hannah Montana - Hannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Party (Disney) [Buy Now]
· John Lee Hooker - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of John Lee Hooker (Rhino)
· T.D. Jakes - Praise & Worship (Integrity Music/ Epic/ Legacy)
· Elmore James - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Elmore James (Rhino)
· Al Jarreau - Love Songs (Rhino)
· Lungfish - Rainbows From Atoms (Dischord)
· MC Lyte - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of MC Lyte (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Charles Mingus - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Charles Mingus (Rhino)
· Van Morrison - A Sense of Wonder; Avalon Sunset; Back on Top; It's Too Late to Stop Now (two-CD live album); Tupelo Honey; and Wavelength (Polydor/Ume)
· Obituary - The Best of Obituary (Roadrunner)
· Lee "Scratch" Perry - Chicken Scratch - Deluxe Edition (Heartbeat)
· Jean-Luc Ponty - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Jean-Luc Ponty (Rhino)
· Spineshank - The Best of Spineshank (Rhino)
· Chris Stills - Chris Stills (KCJ)
· Suffocation - The Best of Suffocation (Roadrunner)
· Sugar Ray - Greatest Hits: The Best of Sugar Ray (Rhino) [Buy Now]
· Sun Ra & His Artkestra - Some Blues but Not the Kind Thats Blue (Atavistic)
· Al B. Sure - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Al B. Sure (Rhino)
· Randy Thompson - Further On (Jackpot)
· Ben Vaughn Combo - Beautiful Thing (Noble Rot)
· Vickie Winans - Praise & Worship (Verity/Legacy)
· Various artists - Classic African American Gospel (Smithsonian Folkways)
· Various artists - Grammy Nominees 2008 (Hip-O)

Music DVDs:

· Louis Armstrong - "The Portrait Collection" (Hip-O)
· Andrea Bocelli - "Vivere: Live in Tuscany" (with CD; Decca)
· Dispatch - "Zimbabwe: Live at Madison Square Garden" (HD; Bomber/ AEG Network Live/ VDI Entertainment)
· The Ex - "The Ex in New York: Building a Broken Mousetrap" (Touch and Go)
· Bill Gottlieb - "Riffs" (Kultur)
· The Mamas & the Papas - "Straight Shooter" (Standing Room Only)
· Barry Manilow - "Songs From the Seventies" (two DVDs; Rhino)
· Nickelback - "The Ultimate Video Collection" (Roadrunner)
· Various artists - "Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song" (Kultur)
· Various artists - "Play Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in Europe" (EuroArts)
· Various artists - "The Very Best of Praise & Worship" (Verity/Legacy)

Digital Releases:

· Dean & Britta - Variations (EP; Zoë/Rounder)

Coming Attractions:

February 5:
· Christina Aguilera - "Back to Basics: Live and Down Under" (two DVDs; RCA) [Preorder]
· Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static (Brushfire) [Preorder]
· Lenny Kravitz - It Is Time For A Revolution (Virgin) [Preorder]

February 12:
· Michael Jackson - Thriller 25 (with DVD; Epic/Legacy) [Preorder]
Read: "Michael Jackson, Akon Are 'Startin' Somethin' ' On Thriller 25 Track -- Listen To It Here!"
· Metric - "Live at Metropolis" DVD (Last Gang) [Preorder]
· Simple Plan - Simple Plan (Lava/Atlantic) [Preorder]

February 19:
· Foxy Brown - Brooklyn's Don Diva (Black Rose Entertainment/ Koch) [Preorder]
· Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious (ATO) [Preorder]
· Various artists - Kidz Bop 13 (enhanced; Razor & Tie)

• Vampire Weekend Ready To Prove Online Demo Wasn't A Fluke

• Beck
• Miley Cyrus
• Chris Walla
• The Mars Volta
• Vampire Weekend