Oh, Bryan Adams—your parents should have named you Randy, because that’s exactly what you are. Earlier this year, the Canadian-born pop-rocker and occasional goopy balladeer revealed that his beloved anthem “Summer of ‘69” is not a wholesome remembrance of youthful innocence but something much, much dirtier. It’s actually about…well, let’s put it this way: “sixty-nine” […]

Portland’s very own Badman Recording Co. is turning a dime. And they’re giving you free music to celebrate. This is my kind of party.
Badman has released a 12-track compilation, aptly titled Badman, Has It Really Been Ten Years?, which is available now as a free digital download on Amazon.com through Amazon.com’s “Fall/Winter seasons.”I don’t know […]

If Pancake Breakfast’s show at East Burn resembled a kindergarten assembly before the set began—attendees sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the knee-high stage, a coloring book being hawked at the merch table, the cutesy band name—by the time he reached the song where he howled like a coyote, it might as well […]

Surveying the characters of Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy.
When you think of the Decemberists, what adjectives come to mind? Rustic? Epic? Pretentious? Wordy must be toward the top. While Portland’s finest folk-rock act continues to branch out musically, its songs are still some of the most dense, bookish and elaborate narratives in pop music. After a […]

Their really is nothing I love more than listening to a new record on vinyl. Unlike older record collecting friends of mine, I’m totally a child of the CD era—in 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection—and spent a considerable portion of my teens perusing the used and scuffed aisles at Everyday Music with my […]

My love for Deerhunter is kind of personal.
I won’t get into it too much, except that I was a scared kid living in a foreign country. A very strange foreign country, one whose once-comfortable Socio-Capitalism has now become the upturned joke of the worldwide economic crisis: Iceland. Poor, bankrupt, canary-in-the-coal-mine Iceland. I was working […]

Got in a week early for the pre-tour. London. Snow on the ground. Frost on car windows. Crowds rushing past me in the underground all wrapped up for winter with packages under arm. First few days were quiet time in the big Crouch End flat shared by tourmate Al from Youthmovies, his brother […]

We’re a bit late posting these photos, but they are so awesome/trippy that we just had to get them up. Last Wednesday the Los Angeles electronic installation project Lucky Dragons played at Backspace with Pit Er Pat, and Ben Johnson caught the group in both black and white and color. Check ‘em out! -Ed.

Links:
Lucky […]

This week our ace freelancer Shane Danaher conducted an interview with Nick Caceres of Gratitillium, which should have been posted yesterday before the band’s debut show opening for Jared Mees and the Grown Children last night. It’s still a great read, and we’ll have to check out Caceres and gang the next time they venture […]

World’s Greatest Ghosts could well be Portland’s favorite house party band—or at least be in the race for second behind Starfucker. Not only does the frantic, melodic synth-punk outfit know how to put a damn fine song together, its live shows get the kids dancing and singing along like crazy. So we’re pleased to hear […]