AltWeeklies Wire
Cutting the Excess: Scout Niblett Raises the Temperaturenew
Scout Niblett recorded 100 different versions of The Calcination of Scout Niblett, the title track of her new album on Drag City. Not because she was looking for the perfect take—very near the opposite, in fact.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-25-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Califone's Multimedia Funeralnew
There's always been something cinematic about Califone, but not in the traditional Hollywood widescreen sense.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Girls is the Sound of a Rock Redemption of a Cult Upbringingnew
Thanks to the money he raised by playing songs he'd secretly learned off the radio, Christopher Owens was able to escape the insular Christian religious cult Children of God.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
11-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Globe-Straddling Music of South Africa's BLK JKS Transcends Racenew
When a quartet of black South Africans reclaims that whitest of white genres -- progressive rock, long the bastion of pimply tech-heads and doughy shut-ins -- the predominately Caucasian world of indie rock sits up and takes notice.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
10-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: After Robots, BLK JKS
Langhorne Slim Comes to Portland and Makes an Excellent Recordnew
Be Set Free is an intoxicating listen, one that frames Langhorne Slim in a brand-new light and plainly makes the case for Scolnick as one of the best American songwriters currently active.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
09-18-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Be Set Free, Langhorne Slim
Legendary Brazilian Psychedelic Group Os Mutantes Return With a New Albumnew
Haih or Amortecedor, the band's first new album in 35 years, is willfully weird, and one wouldn't expect anything less from Os Mutantes. But the youthful, wide-eyed psychedelia of the group's classic work has given way to a wiser -- if not older -- outlook.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
08-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Haih or Amortecedor, Os Mutantes
Pissed Jeans Sound Hardcore but Have a Gooey Centernew
It's the sound of '80s hardcore punk all grown up, with a halfway decent job and maybe a kid or two; the anger is gone, but Pissed Jeans are still in love with hardcore's sound and energy, so instead of concocting rage for its own sake, the band sings about regular life without turning down any of the volume.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
08-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: King of Jeans, Pissed Jeans
Japandroids Escape Vancouver and Invade Americanew
It's easy to pin their heavy style as garage rock, but despite the abbreviated guitar-and-drums lineup, Japandroids' sound is anything but minimalist.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-24-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Japandroids, Post-Nothing
'G-Force' is Less Fun Than a Gerbil Up the Heinienew
It's probably not surprising to learn that G-Force, the new 3D half-animated/half-real-life kids movie from Disney and über-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, isn't very good. It's noisy, crude, and nonsensical -- none of which is bad in and of itself -- but it's also insultingly stupid and not nearly funny enough.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-24-2009 |
Reviews
'Year One' Tries (and Fails) to be a Monty Python Movienew
Harold Ramis has had a hand in some seriously great comedies -- Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day -- but, lest we forget, he was also responsible for Club Paradise and Stuart Saves His Family. Year One might be better than either of those movies, but not by much.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
Music's Biggest Party Reflects a Shifting Music Industrynew
The music industry is shrinking, but there are more bands than ever before, and more ways to hear them. A report from the frontlines of SXSW.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-26-2009 |
Music
Tags: music industry, SXSW
The Green Card of Doom: 'Crossing Over'new
Crossing Over tries to make us feel bad about the unfair difficulties of becoming a US citizen, and also to make us remember how everybody in the world wants to become an American because, by golly, we're terrific! But if this movie is any indication, we're actually self-righteous, pompous bores.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-26-2009 |
Reviews
Jessica Lea Mayfield Has a Lifetime of Experiencenew
Jessica Lea Mayfield can sound as old as the earth, bearing the wisdom of generations in her placid voice. But like the very best pop music, Mayfield's songs are motored by the hopes and desperation of adolescence, which stands to reason: She's only 19.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Cash Documentary Says Nothing Newnew
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is not especially penetrating; it's more of a puff piece using archival photographs and current-day interviews.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Reading Is Magical!: Too Bad 'Inkheart' Is a Movienew
Inkheart is intent on letting you know that books are magically wonderful, and thusly shoots itself in the foot—you'll wish it would hurry up and end so you can go home and read.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
01-22-2009 |
Reviews
