Where to Find Info/ Waste Time Online

Where Do You Get Your Music Info?

One of those wise music scribes opens his toolbox.

Name: Douglas Wolk

Credits: The WW contributor, who has written for The Village Voice, The New York Times and The Nation, runs the Dark Beloved Cloud label.

Picks: Fluxblog, S/FJ, Pause and Play, Pitchfork Media, Aquarius Records

Reasons: "It's not like there's a shortage of music writing on the Web; the problem is to find sites that are ahead of the curve. The best and most timely source of indie-music news is Pitchfork--love or hate their unceasingly snarky tone, they do tend to scoop everyone else. The two music sites I load up every day, though, are both totally personal. One is S/FJ, which belongs to New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones: supercondensed commentary on pop music, New York City, and the culture around them, as well as killer color photography, by a white-hot-blazing writer with wide-open ears and very strong opinions. The other one is Matthew Perpetua's Fluxblog, one of the earliest and greatest audioblogs--weblogs that post a couple of MP3s every day. Perpetua's always got amazing stuff (by the likes of LCD Soundsystem, the Fiery Furnaces and Four Tet) long before it's released officially."

LOCAL RESOURCES

KPRA: PORTLAND RADIO AUTHORITY

URL: praradio.com

What it is: Good radio.

Why do you care? While the Portland Radio Authority is currently a broadcast station (and an illegal one at that) beaming eclectic and inventive radio programs on the east side, its website provides info on upcoming shows, a schedule for the station and music reviews. There are also plans to begin streaming the station's broadcasts in real time for those out of range or squeamish about tapping into a pirate station.

MUSIC LIBERATION PROJECT

URL: musicliberationproject.com

What it is: Spirited local-music mag.

Why do you care? There can never be too much coverage of local music, and the folks at MLP know it. For the past year they have been filling the pages of their print magazine with reviews, Q&A's and odd columns that any serious Portland music fan should be reading. The online version features everything the print version does, minus the tree-killing guilt.

OEBASE

URL: oebase.com

What it is: Catalog/blog.

Why do you care? One of those wonderful hybrids made possible by the information superhighway, OEBase sells music online, provides streaming audio players local bands can put on their websites, and offers news and opinions on local and national music happenings. Former Gang of Four bassist Dave Allen, along with his sidekick and WW contributor Matt Wright, control a web log that provides live-show reviews and news, as well as links to thought-provoking articles. (They also provide radio players to a number of local bands and to WW.) The duo has even scooped the unscoopable Pitchfork Media a couple of times.

PDX POP

Sign up: Go to www.indiepop.com/pdx-pop.

What it is: The lifeblood of the Portland scene.

Why do you care? In the past few months, the PDX Pop list has become a hub for the Portland music scene, linking musicians with local fans, industry types and other musicians. Posters use the list to announce last-minute and underground shows, as well as opinions about the state of the local scene. Along with some good ol' fights, the list has successfully produced a movement to create the PDX POP NOW! music festival that will take place July 9-11 at Meow Meow.

PORTLAND'S LIST OF UPCOMING SHOWS

URL: yumanora.gq.nu/thelist.html

What it is: The concert calendar.

Why do you care? While not a complete list, this website covers "punk, noise, metal, rock, indie, art, jams, improv, words, text, readings" in Portland. It's a great place to find underground shows and to look months into the local gig future.

ROBOT EYE

Sign up: Send a blank email to roboteye-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

What it is: A weekly cultural reminder.

Why do you care? Inspired by the Squid List in San Francisco and Nonsense in New York City, Robot Eye is music critic and recent Portland transplant Douglas Wolk's weekly list of interesting events from around town--the focus is on music, but other oddball events always find their way in. Each listing is accompanied by a short writeup from the WW contributor.

OTHER RESOURCES

AQUARIUS RECORDS

URL: aquariusrecords.org

What it is: Place to go for release dates of weird stuff.

Why do you care? Well, you only care if you care about finding out when obscure independent releases are hitting the shelves. But if you care about that, this San Francisco record store has all the info you need.

FLUXBLOG

URL: newflux.blogspot.com

What it is: Daily MP3 blog.

Why do you care? There are a lot of blogs out there offering MP3s, but Matthew Perpetua's offers a fantastic mix of new singles and good old classics, along with his own take on each song.

KATE SULLIVAN'S ROCKBLOG

URL: katesullivan.blogspot.com

What it is: The most soulful music blog around.

Why do you care? This blog is the music writer's mind exposed. Kate Sullivan, regular contributor to Spin and L.A. Weekly, lives in a land where music, pop culture, politics and the wonderful, fantastical intricacies of everyday life intermingle, creating some of the most earnest, passionate, touching and hilarious blogging out there.

Excerpt: American Idol's "Fantasia gets grief because she talks black and she talks ghetto and she said she wants to work on her grammar. Fuck that. Grammar is a beautiful math but we don't need pop stars to talk white."

PAUSE AND PLAY'S "ON THE CD FRONT"

URL: www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm

What it is: The place for recent-release news.

Why do you care? You've got to get your upcoming-releases info somewhere, and that somewhere is not MTV News.

PITCHFORK MEDIA

URL: www.pitchforkmedia.com

What it is: Indie-music fan's gospel.

Why do you care? If you're a mean-spirited hipster prick, you care because you like to read record reviews written by people like you. If you're not, you care because Pitchfork is the essential site for news on independent music.

Excerpt: "Think about the signs GN'R fans had to ignore. Forget the bloated, overproduced Aerosmith knockoffs, the bandanas, elfin leggings and abject misogyny: Slash wore a fucking top hat, and humorlessly."

S/FJ

URL: www.sashafrerejones.com

What it is: Smart, endearing and necessary.

Why do you care? Sasha Frere-Jones is a music critic for The New Yorker, and he kicks ass. That's all you need to know.

Excerpt: "If I ever overthrow something, even if it's the bagel cart outside, I want Soundmurderer & SK1's 'Soundbwoy' to be playing from the windows. Wait, it just ended. Let me start it again."

USEFUL NOISE

URL: usefulnoise.blogspot.com

What it is: Funny and funky.

Why do you care? Whip-smart host Keith Harris is informed and irreverent, making for some entertaining swipes and insights into the pop world.

Excerpt: "Why is the Pixies' 'Allison' not every single human being's favorite song of all time? No, really, I want to know. Right now. Clocking in at 77 seconds, you could theoretically listen to it one thousand, one hundred and twenty-two times a day--and don't think that I'm above proving that."