AltWeeklies Wire
The Thermals Write An Olympic Anthemnew
Well, isn’t this good timing. Just three days before the Winter Olympics start in Vancouver, BC, everyone’s favorite punk band the Thermals have penned an ode to the land of hockey, poutine, and mounties.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
02-10-2010 |
Reviews
Watch Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Music Documentarynew
Anytime you make a documentary on the Portland music scene, a few common topics are brought up. Portland is cheap. Portland has lots of basements. Portland is creative. And, of course, the biggie: it rains ALL THE TIME. But there are a lot of stories that haven’t been told.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-09-2009 |
Music
How Brent Knopf Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Songnew
Under the moniker Ramona Falls, Knopf has created an eclectic collection of avant-pop songs that, on the surface, sound similar to his work with Menomena.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-26-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mudhoney Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With a Pub Crawlnew
While grunge died in the ’90s, Mudhoney lives on, adding subtle melodic elements to its arsenal but never gunning for a more commercially viable sound.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
02-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Cajun Gems' Ben Whitesides Has a Long History of Bright Futuresnew
Amid false rumors of the Joggers' breakup, Whitesides recently began focusing on the Cajun Gems for the first time in years. Armed with a huge batch of songs, built from "days' worth of riffs and rifflettes" on his computer, Whitesides is now readying tracks for both the Joggers and the Cajun Gems.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Blue Horns' Attention Span is Short; Its Songs are Even Shorternew
The band's self-titled debut, out this week, is full of catchy, throwback rock; at eight songs and just over 30 minutes, it's sequenced like the vintage LPs the band reveres.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
11-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Portland, Blue Horns
Soundtracking Change This Election Daynew
As the world awaits the results of the most important presidential election in, oh, 40 years, we've put together a playlist with song selections from some of Portland's finest musicians of tracks to listen to on Election Tuesday.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
10-29-2008 |
Music
The Shaky Hands Want You to Reconsider 'Rock'new
The Shaky Hands happen to be Portland's best rock band, a reputation cemented with their jubilant new record Lunglight—a joint release between Holocene Music and Kill Rock Stars.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
09-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Doubledutch Aims for Psychedelic Soulnew
While things never get too creepy, the mostly slow- to mid-tempo pace of the songs and warmth of the recordings definitely take Alicia Keys' catalog to heart.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Bark Hide and Horn Debuts With Sprawling Sing-along Diary 'National Road'new
Inspired by singer Andy Fergeson's large collection of vintage National Geographic magazines, the record narrates the supposed adventures of Melville Bell Grosvenor, editor of the mag from 1957 to 1967 and grandson of Alexander Graham Bell.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-13-2008 |
Reviews
If You Were Toussaint Perrault's Homegirl, You'd Be Home By Now, Girlnew
Perrault recorded the songs for his first-ever album using analog equipment, and he always knew he wanted to release it in the most pure way possible--on thick, black vinyl.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
07-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Indecision -- and Resulting Pop Genius -- of Dykeritz's Jordan Blumnew
Blum is the sonic architect behind local electro-pop group Dykeritz, which, after two years of limited activity, returns this summer with a fantastic new record called Rearrangerologyistics.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
07-02-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Verbs' Shows Off Au's Compositionsnew
Beautiful and restrained instrumental passages lead into maniacal, choral group chants; vaudevillian theatrics nestle against almost-classical backdrops; accordions operate in waltz time.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
06-18-2008 |
Reviews
Point Juncture, WA Creates Weird Tapes Projectnew
Instead of releasing normal full-length records on cassette, what if they used tapes as a creative jump -- off for their friends' home experiments -- those that, otherwise, would never escape the bedroom?
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
05-28-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Pacific UV Flexes Its Growth on Sophomore Effortnew
The band isn't bashful of its myriad influences (Radiohead, Lamb, the Smiths, Spiritualized) when touted in interviews, but Longplay 2 not only mines rock touchstones, it does so damn well.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
04-23-2008 |
Reviews
