Music WW examines Portland orchestral pop act Pink Martini—by the numbers.

by Ben Waterhouse
While Portlanders are quick to gloat over the indie successes of bands like the Decemberists, the Thermals and Menomena, we sometimes forget that Portland’s most ubiquitous band, Pink Martini, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of indie music. The band&r...   More

Music Supergroups aren’t always so super.
by Casey Jarman and Michael Mannheimer
Being a member of a supergroup isn’t easy. First, you’ve gotta share the songwriting credit and acclaim with other dudes. Then comes the inevitable lukewarm review of your first album. The truth is, these starpower-heavy outfits rarely live up to the sum of their parts: too many egos and too ...   More

Music Portland’s many excellent taquerias have been omitted, as everyone there already has their favorites.El Buen Sabor (Mission District, San Francisco)
Best chile relleno burrito.Taco Zone Truck (Echo Park, Los Angeles)
Anything on wheels just tastes better.La Especial Norte (Leucadia, Calif.)
Great sit-down place right by Leucadia beach—good combo plates and...   More

Music Panther’s now a ’70s soft-rock hero. What’re you going to do about it?

by Rebecca RaberFor such an affable guy, Charlie Salas-Humara sure gets off on alienating people. The Panther frontman is always subverting his audience’s expectations, and last year he drew ire from fans who felt his second album, 14 Kt. God, went too far afield from the blown-out ...   More

Music Mattress Low Blows
(Malt Duck Records)

[DAMAGED CROON] It’s hard to avoid the dreaded second-album slump, especially when many of the faults often associated with it—added band members, an expanded instrumental palette—are in play. And on Low Blows, Rex Marshall’s sequel of sorts to 2008’s bleak, beat-centric Heavy Duty, t...   More

Music Over two decades into its career in hard rock, Living Colour releases its best album yet.

[CULT OF PERSONALITY] It’s been more than 20 years since the release of Vivid, Living Colour’s debut. The album introduced the world to the all-black band at a time when metal was considered the domain of white rockers with long hair. But since then, the band has released onl...   More

Music Jerkin With JHawk
Jhawk is a 17-year-old L.A. producer making some of the best jerkin’ music (jerkin’/skinny-jeans movement).Various MP3s from Lil’ B, a.k.a. The BasedGod
Dude from Bay Area rap group the Pack—solo stuff, lo-fi stream-of-consciousness. Totally fucked up and weird. Rawest ever? One hundred and twenty-five MySpace music accounts with...   More

Music Today's diaries come from (in no particular order) AP "Chinatown" Kryza, David "I'm such an asshole" Robinson, Mark "Eagle Eye" Stock (MS), Matthew "Laker Fan" Singer (MSR), Justin "Kickenbaque" Kent (videos), Jenny "British Intern" Booth, Michael "What Year is it?" Mannheimer, Matthew "Carnage" ...   More

Music What more can we say? Who needs much of an intro when you've got 5,000 words on day 3 of MFNW, complete with Sunny Day Real Estate, Bad Brains, the LC showcase and drunken antics at the afterparty. Contributors include Mark Stock, Matthew Singer, Jenny Booth, Aaron Mesh, Kelly Cl...   More

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