Bimstagram, Jan. 18

See Portland through the eyes of local music's biggest fan.

Music Bim Ditson goes to more shows than you. Don't feel bad: He goes to more shows than just about anyone. And sometimes, he takes pictures with his cell phone. In this new column, we're letting Bim—who you might know as the drummer for garage-pop misfits And And And—show you where he's been and who he's seen this week, and tell you where to go and who to see in the week ahead. You s...   More

 

Friday, January 18, 2013 by MATTHEW SINGER

The Many Bands of Papi Fimbres

How culture shock created Portland’s busiest musician.

Music Stories When David “Papi” Fimbres’ mother was pregnant with him, she knew her child was special. A shaman told her so. She already had two children, but this one, she was told, would be born with pr   More

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

Primer: Quicksand

Reunion

Music Stories Years active: 1990-95, 1997-99, 2012-present Sounds like: Hardcore at the dawn of the alternative era, when the production got bigger, the riffs beefier and the melodies hookier. Original members: A   More

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

Top Five Papi Fimbres Projects

Top 5 Sun Angle Initially sounding like “a sped-up Can,” Fimbres describes the material on the band’s upcoming debut—recorded in a cabin in Zigzag, Ore., under certain, um, mycological influenc   More

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

Live Video: Floater at Crystal Ballroom, 1/11

Music Floater is Portland's most polarizing band. Beloved and hated in equal measure—though, as this 2010 Willamette Week cover story backs up, I'd argue the group is loved enough outside the city that it fully eclipses the hate—the band's been around f...   More

 

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 by MATTHEW SINGER

Gangster Squad

Firing wild and missing the mark.

Movie Reviews & Stories Talk about a misfire. Gangster Squad talks about it a few times. “Don’t aim for where it is,” one character, a quick shot with a Sam Elliott mustache, instructs another after he misses a m   More

 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

Diamond Minds

Dropping Gems gives electronic music a human pulse.

Music Stories When Aaron Meola moved to Portland in 2009, electronic music in America was still the province of chin-scratching Anglophiles and molly-whopped rave kids. Dubstep’s infernal wub had not yet in   More

 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

Top Five Dropping Gems Releases

Top 5 Various Artists, Gem Drops I-II Featuring tracks from crew members, affiliates and like-minded fellow travelers, either of these interchangeable compilations makes an ideal entry point for wading   More

 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER

PDX Charts

PDX Charts: Top selling albums and songs in Portland, Dec. 31-Jan. 6

Music Every Tuesday, we list the top selling albums from local record stores Music Millennium, Jackpot Records and Everyday Music, and the top streamed tracks in Portland on Rhapsody, for the previous week. The week's in-store appearance guide in below.
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Tuesday, January 8, 2013 by MATTHEW SINGER

Top Five Local Albums to Get Excited About in Early 2013

Top 5 Unknown Mortal Orchestra, II (2/5, Jagjaguwar) The mystery is gone, but Ruban Nielson’s once-enigmatic post-Mint Chicks project is still one of Portland’s singular bands. Based on the new alb   More

 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013 MATTHEW SINGER