Music Our favorite discs of the last year, in nonjudgmental alphabetical order.
by NATHAN CARSON, CASEY JARMAN, AP KRYZA, MICHAEL MANNHEIMER, REBECCA RABER & MATTHEW SINGER
Lists are stupid. Especially when applied to things you truly love. Would you rank your immediate family into a top five? How about your top five internal organs? We feel just as intensely about music—a...   More

Music Shows in 2010 that we’re already excited about.

Prefuse 73, Sunday, Jan. 31 @ Holocene
Twisted producer Guillermo Scott Heron is back as Prefuse 73, busting some of the most chopped ’n’ screwed instrumental hip-hop jams you’ve ever heard.Billy Joel and Elton John, Wednesday, Feb. 10 @ Rose Garden Arena
How will they do it? How will they se...   More

Music You want cheer? This week is full of it!

BY MICHAEL MANNHEIMER & CASEY JARMAN

There are two ways to approach the holidays: You can hide from the overwhelming commercialism of it all, avoiding the Christmas decorations that dot every drugstore even before Halloween, or you can buck up and get your yuletide on. So, in honor of our secret love of cheesy holiday songs...   More

Music Top 5 Holiday Variety Shows I’d Like To See

BY COURTENAY HAMEISTER
Perry Como’s “I’m Still Dead, But it’s Christmas, Dammit!” Special
Featuring a reanimated Perry, Angie Dickinson and a CGI version of Bing Crosby singing a duet with Marie Osmond’s hair circa 1978.

Bill O’Reilly’s War on the War ...   More

Music Superrad intern India Nicholas hit the Passion Pit show for us and came back excited. Then we took two days to get her post up. Whoops! And thanks, India.

Usually, my Monday nights are pretty boring. Maybe a jog, a little HBO if I'm feeling really crazy. But last night was diff...   More

Music Grub Dog and the Amazing Sweethearts
A rousing, snarly rock ’n’ roll band led by one of the most gifted and prolific singer-songwriters on the planet.Kepi Ghoulie
One of the hardest-working people in punk rock and the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s also a catchy and clever singer-songwriter and artist.Pressure Point
Honest, passionate and an...   More

Music Saudade Lookouts’ Journal
(Arena Rock)

[ATMOSPHERE] Arena Rock Records is on a roll. A string of solid-to-excellent releases means a trust has been built. Anything released on this label is worth a listen. But even Arena Rock’s diverse catalog didn’t prepare us for a new record from Saudade, a Portland duo known for moody, atmospheric soundscapes ...   More

Music Loved. Adored. Worshipped. Why is everything coming up Morrissey?

by Rebecca Raber.Here he comes. It’s been seven years since Morrissey played Portland, but now the Oscar Wilde-quoting, gladioli-throwing former Smiths frontman is returning to our town in support of his ninth solo album, last winter’s Years of Refusal, and recent B-sides collection Swords. W...   More

Music MarchFourth Marching Band Rise Up
(Self- Released)

[BRASS ’N’ BALLS] Some great live bands just can’t seem to capture their in-person energy on disc. “You have to see ’em live,” we tell friends, apologetically, when the CD doesn’t bring it. I was afraid that would happen with MarchFourth, whose joyous performances owe so muc...   More

Music The rise and fall of Everclear and The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.
by Michael Mannheimer and Casey Jarman
This week, as if by some strange cosmic alignment, two large-looming ghosts from Oregon music history return to Portland for encore performances. And it turns out, Everclear and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies have more in common than their disparate music would suggest...   More