"Music Scene is Crazy..."

Music Guide Staff

(... AND THEIR EVIL AIMS)

Mark Baumgarten (to make you read!!!)

Anne Reeser, Jason Landis (to photoshop you out of existence!!!)

Martin Thiel (to steal your soul with his image machine!!!)

Paul Solevad (to draw you into hell!!!)

Matt Buckingham, Ian Gillingham & Margaret Seiler (to fix your copy good!!!)

Alex Valdivieso (to assist in making you read!!!)

Joshua Heineman (to fact-check your lies!!!)

Tom Humphrey, Matt Wong, Thomas Cobb, Frank Zurbano, Samantha Gardner, Sarah Boden & Kendon Gray (to make your text too small to read!!!)

Mark Baylis, Mari L. Brookshire, John Graham, Jay Horton & Matt Wright (to write the words you must read!!!)

Here's where you are, Portland.

Where are you going?

a cut above: WW 2004 MusicGuide

Ah, yes. Stephen Malkmus was never more right on, or honest for that matter, than when he sang, on Pavement's "Cut Your Hair," that the "Music scene is crazy/ Bands start up each and every day/ I saw another one just the other day/ A special new band."

Of course, when Malkmus says "a special new band" he really means "another obnoxious group of twentysomethings who think they matter but don't." But we would like to take the former Pavement frontman's words at face value and say that new bands are special--especially in Portland, where musical talent flourishes.

To prove this, we've created WW's Music Guide 2004, a pocket map of the music scene as it now stands and your compass to the next year in local sounds. Here we take stock of the current crop of young bands with a brand-new poll called "A Cut Above": We asked writers, bookers, club owners, record producers and label owners to vote on their favorite new local bands. Then we counted up the votes and compiled a Top 10, headed by quirky experimental pop trio Menomena. (Read about the top band--and other favorites--on pages 5-9.)

Also in this section, you'll find our report after spending 24 hours on the streets and in the clubs, listening to the sounds of the city, taking a record of what's influencing our town's musicians. Looking ahead, we analyzed the economy of the local scene and found a few bright ideas for clubs working to attract the attention of music lovers. Plus, you'll find sources of other music information: listings of venues, gear shops, record stores and online resources for anyone wanting to dive into Portland music as a fan or a player.

Who knows? Maybe we'll be crowning your band in next year's poll.

Mark Baumgarten