Ordinarily, a primary election happening after presidential nominations are set would be a low-key affair. But that's not the case in North Carolina this year, thanks to Amendment 1 -- which would write into the state constitution that the only valid legal domestic union is marriage between one man and one woman.

While numerous business and political leaders have weighed in against it, Amendment 1 still appears headed for passage with a solid double-digit lead in most opinion polls. And in a move reminescent of past campaigns against the late Sen. Jesse A. Helms, North Carolina's music community has taken up the cause of trying to rally voters against it.

One such event is Thursday night at Durham's Motorco Music Hall, a benefit for Protect NC Families.  Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, Mountain Goats' John Darnielle and Reigning Sound's Greg Cartwright will all play, with comedian Tara Defrancisco serving as host. Cover is $20; but if you want to shell out for the $100 VIP ticket, you get to request a song they'll play.

On April 27, Stu McLamb from The Love Language, John Howie and others will play at Carrboro Town Hall from noon to 4 p.m. This one is to raise awareness about early voting (which begins Thursday).

The biggest local anti-Amendment 1 show so far is the Concert to Defeat Amendment One May 6 at Haw River Ballroom, with Bob Mould, David Cross, Stu McLamb, comedian Tig Notaro, Superchunk in acoustic-duo format (!) and Amber Tamblyn. Tickets are $80 and include a silkscreened event poster.

There's also been at least one very fine new song inspired by this, "Vote Against Amendment One." Composed by Greensboro's Laurelyn Dossett (of "The Gathering" fame), it features Molly McGinn, Carolina Chocolate Drop Rhiannon Giddens Laffan and others.

Read more about the campaigns for and against the amendment here.

AUSTIN, Texas -- At one point during his remarkable South By Southwest keynote speech on Thursday, Bruce Springsteen rattled off several-score different pop-music styles, from avant-garde metal to "Nintendo-core." He was making the point that there is no longer any unified center to popular music, and it's hard to argue with that.

For evidence, all you had to do was take a walk down Sixth Street, SXSW's main drag, which actually was no mean feat. SXSW has become such a huge party-destination spot that the crowds can be almost impossible to negotiate; like Franklin Street in Chapel Hill on Halloween, only a lot louder. And you heard everything down there -- scratchy swamp blues, collegiate drumlines, third-word talking-drum ensembles and every sort of acoustic jugband imaginable; I saw one young group on the street that even had a bassoonist.

The music landscape SXSW brings together is impossible to make sense of beyond marveling at what a chaotic, anything-goes scrum it is. The best thing to do is just drift around taking it all in.

And so I did, starting with North Carolina's own grand old men of power-pop the dB's. The original quartet is back together and has a new album coming in June -- that lineup's first in 30 (!) years. Showing off the new material was job one, but they also worked in somc choice oldies including "Happenstance" and the should've-been-a-hit-back-in-1984 "Love Is For Lovers." Afterward, a group of like-minded younger guns from the Triangle played, including Jeff Crawford, Django Haskins, Brett Harris and Matt Michaelson.

If you were to look up the phrase "withering deadpan" in an encyclopedia of onstage expressions (which doesn't exist, but it should), you'd see a picture of Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephin Merritt. He and bandmate Claudia Gonson weren't pleased with how chattery the crowd was, calling out the audience more than once. It's a shame the crowd wasn't more attentive, because the quintet's delicate acoustic chamber-pop was beautiful.

I don't know how, but local heroes The Love Language seem to grow somehow larger in presence every time I see them. It's not just because of massive volume, either; the group's  intense pop soundscapes grow ever grander, more epic and also scarier. Love hurts, you know.

Then there was Royal Teeth, a young and impossibly attractive New Orleans pop band with a sound so bright, it almost seemed to pulsate colors. They weren't doing anything new, in the grand scheme of things -- but it was new to them and the kids crowded in to watch in a Sixth Street bar, as the rest of SXSW raged on all around. And that was enough. The kids are all right.

Oliver Gant isn't even in kindergarten yet, but he sure does have friends in high places. Young Oliver has been battling sacrococcygeal teratoma for the past year, so the local music and arts communities have been pitching in with a series of benefit shows to help out his family. The latest is "Racing the Cure," featuring an upper-echelon slice of the regional music scene playing multiple venues in downtown Raleigh on March 23. This might be the only time you'll ever see the Avett Brothers in a club around here where they're not headlining.

Tickets are $25 and allow entrance to all three clubs. They go on sale at noon today (Wednesday) at etix.com.

Kings
8:15-8:45 -- Jack the Radio
9-9:40pm -- Schooner
10-10:40 -- Filthybird
11-11:40 -- The Old Ceremony
midnight-12:25am -- Avett Brothers
12:30am -- Ivan Rosebud & JYU

Tir Na Nog
8:15-8:45pm -- Hooking Up
9-9:45 -- Hammer No More the Fingers
10-10:45 -- Whatever Brains
11-11:45 -- Lonnie Walker
midnight -- Annuals

Pour House
8:15-8:45pm -- Gross Ghost
9-9:45 -- Spider Bags
10-10:45 -- Patty Hurst Shifter
11-11:45 -- Birds of Avalon
midnight -- The Love Language

The record industry is still dying, and yet very fine albums keep right on coming out. Here are my 10 favorites from 2010 -- that was the year that was.

(1) Arcade Fire, "The Suburbs" (Merge) -- Supposedly there aren't any "consensus" bands anymore, acts everyone can agree are worthy. Except for Arcade Fire, a Montreal band that's easy to love all the way around. Truly great.

(2) Laura Veirs, "July Flame" (Raven Marching Band) -- If you want someone's attention, whisper. Better still, murmur softly and set it to catchy, exquisitely crafted acoustic pop arrangements. Lovely.

(3) Doug Paisley, "Constant Companion" (No Quarter) -- Speaking of quiet, this is the sort of record that might have you holding your breath for fear of breaking the spell. It's sturdy enough to hold up, though.

(4) Robert Plant, "Band of Joy" (Rounder) -- Plant continues his Appalachian Mountain hop, this time with iconic Nashville country-blues guitarist Buddy Miller in charge of the proceedings, yielding wonderfully spooky results. Plant will bring this show to Raleigh in February. You'd be crazy to miss it.

(5) Titus Andronicus, "The Mointor" (XL) -- Screaming bloody murder also has much to recommend it, especially if one is obsessed with the Civil War and Bruce Springsteen in equal parts. Club-sized arena rock never had it so good.

(6) Kanye West, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (Roc-A-Fella) -- You have to give the guy credit for boundless ambition, as befits an ego of West's magnitude, and danged if he doesn't pull it off. West still ain't quite as good as he thinks he is, but he's getting closer.

(7) Carolina Chocolate Drops, "Genuine Negro Jig" (Nonesuch) -- In which the best new old-time stringband in America (not just the Triangle) graduates from cool novelty to serious contender. The aforementioned Buddy Miller is tentatively set to produce their next album, which should be fantastic.

(8) Sharon Van Etten, "Epic" (Ba Da Bing) -- It's only 32 minutes long, barely album-length nowadays. Nevertheless, the cheekily titled "Epic" packs a year's worth of obsession, single-minded determination and emotion into its seven songs.

(9) The Love Language, "Libraries" (Merge) -- Brian Wilson has nothing on Stuart McLamb, main man of The Love Language. "Libraries" is a sonic pop cathedral, both beautiful and terrifying, haunted by McLamb's dead-of-night howl.

(10) Alejandro Escovedo, "Street Songs of Love" (Fantasy) -- Love lost, found, squandered and thrown away is the overriding theme to Escovedo's rippin' new album, a great followup to 2008's equally stellar "Real Animal." Long may he roar.

If you're not otherwise occupied Friday night, you really should head for Cat's Cradle and night two of Big Star's "Third/Sister Lovers" live performances. Thursday's opening-night show was truly spectacular, a wonderful night of music and warm communal vibes. Chris Stamey showed his usual attention to detail in overseeing the proceedings, which saw scores of great singers and players coming and going to bring the cult-classic album to life.

Highlights included a seasonally appropriate "Jesus Christ," sung by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills; Stu McLamb from The Love Language on "Stroke It Noel"; Brett Harris singing a lovely and moving encore version of the Chris Bell classic "You and Your Sister"; and most of all "For You," sung by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and with a string part so beautiful it induced chills.

Go. Seriously.

One of this year's most striking local releases is "The Love Language" (Bladen County Records), the self-titled debut by the Raleigh band of the same name and an amazing set of torchy love songs sung to an unattainable woman. And you might think the woman in question is the one on the album cover. Not so, says Love Language frontman Stu McLamb.

"The front picture is actually my aunt, who I never met," McLamb says. "My mom's sister, she died in a car wreck before I was born. That picture was in my parents' photo album, this modeling thing in Clinton from the '60s, and it's a gorgeous photo. And the back picture is my grandma, my dad's mom. The family thing seemed kind of appropriate. Taking things full circle -- and also another way for me to be on the cover, kinda."

For more, see the interview in Friday's paper (or this Spin feature); and check out a bit of live performance here. The band plays an album-release show Saturday at Local 506 in Chapel Hill.

ADDENDUM (4/10/09): Pitchfork review.

SECOND ADDENDUM (10/2/09): Merge deal!