Skip to main contentSongs Of The Year
WW's Local Cut team picks the five best local songs of 2006.
D. Yellow Swans, "I Woke Up," from Psychic Secession: At 11 minutes in length, this is about as concise as DYS gets. The opening minutes sound like an overloaded PGE substation, but a machinelike beat fights its way out, and that mangled industrial alchemy burns away into one of the best introductions to noise you could hope for. "I Woke Up" lies just outside inscrutable—a knot of indecipherable screaming, heartbeat bass, live and programmed beats, and swells and squalls of evil electronics. It's also the only noise track I know of to feature live hand claps. MICHAEL BYRNE.
Kind of Like Spitting, "If the Shoe Fits, Cut the Foot Off," from The Thrill of the Hunt: "We went to see the country," Ben Barnett sings over gentle, finger-picked guitar in his best don't-wake-the-neighbors voice. "All we saw were bars. We went to see America...We didn't get that far." Then, just when the self-deprecating songwriter seems as if he's about to make sense of love's most puzzling moments, he admits, "I can't remember when it wasn't a mess/ So I guess it's time to abandon ship." Barnett refuses to tie up loose ends, save his implication that noticing your imprisonment won't win you freedom, and not even true love cleans up the shit in your cell. CASEY JARMAN.
Alan Singley & Pants Machine, "Watersong," from Lovingkindness: From the echoing piano and slipping-along-the-strings acoustic guitar squeaks of the intro to the heartbreakingly beautiful chorus ("I would rather be dead/ Than have you think/ You were anything less/ Than the strongest thing/ That has ever lifted me up"), Singley's "Watersong" is simply one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard. And the counterintuitive way he changes up the melody of that refrain is so interesting I once used it (by singing it over and over again to myself) to stay awake during a really challenging road trip. AMY MCCULLOUGH.
PRF, "Days of Davey Jones," from Days of Davey Jones: "Days" is more than a quick hardcore punk song played by teenagers and delivered with low, spastic, JFA-style vocals: This ode to Southeast Portland venue Davey Jones' Locker—an all-ages club that closed two years ago—is a symbol of the history of a scene populated by kids so young it's hard to believe it has a history. For bands like PRF and fellow youthful punk group Autistic Youth—who both launched their first tours and full-lengths this year—the DJL days represent exciting, simpler times. JASON SIMMS.
The Meat Sweats, "Ich on My Back," from 30 Seconds Over Portland: You might as well leave this stomping, garage trash gem—written and performed by local high-school kids the Meat Sweats—to the lore-infatuated music geeks of the future. They will hear this as godhead. You, almost assuredly, will not. The super-dumb vocal refrain tells the whole story: "I got, an itch on mah back/ And I've gotta find a bitch, to itch mah back." In essence, a tender song of longing. SAM SOULE.
Visit LocalCut.com to listen to MP3s of each of these tracks.
Labels Of The Year
WW's Local Cut team picks the five best local labels of 2006.
Community Library: This small, vinyl-centric operation—named for a performance night of the same name—is Paul Dickow (Strategy, Nudge) and David Chandler's (Solenoid, DJ Brokenwindow) baby of closely curated electronic and experimental gems. Artists on the CL roster may have nothing to do with each other in crude genre categorization, but they either connect on an ideological level, share a "raw sonic sensibility" or meet in other categories yet to be described. It's one of the only labels I know of that can itself be labeled experimental. MICHAEL BYRNE.
Expunged Records: How can a label that put out only one album all year be my label of the year? Well, that album, To: Elliott From: Portland, was a pretty special release. There are three or four different boring/heartless Smith tribute discs (including Christopher O'Riley's latest moneymaker) now on the market, but this locally released love fest is different. The Thermals, Swords, Amelia and (surprise!) Lifesavas put together memorable cover versions that ooze with respect for the shy Portland legend. Expunged also went so far as to donate 10 percent of all the album's proceeds to Free Arts for Abused Children, and that's pretty cool. CASEY JARMAN.
Hush Records: This year, Hush Records founder Chad Crouch took his devotion to Portland folk-pop to a new level. Besides releasing Laura Gibson's lovely, wintry debut and fantastic follow-ups by noise-folkers Norfolk & Western, the jazz-pop Graves and lullaby crafters Super XX Man, Crouch's band, Blanket Music, released a hit-and-miss (but undoubtedly admirable) double album that's a sonic love letter to Portland. The second disc of BM's The Love/Love Translation features all covers, or "interpretations," of love songs originally recorded by such awesome Hush-related peeps as M. Ward, Corrina Repp, Kind of Like Spitting and more. Pretty, sweet. AMY MCCULLOUGH.
Holocene Music: Alela Diane's gorgeous debut, The Pirate's Gospel, was available only in very limited CDR form (with hand-sewn packaging) until Holocene Music came together in the latter half of '06 and did exactly what a local label should do: Find the best local artists, spread their music beyond the Willamette Valley and get them on the road. With Gossip tourmates Swan Island's debut in the national press and the Shaky Hands' upcoming release on deck, Holocene Music is bringing Portland's underground to the small portion of music fans that hasn't moved here yet. JASON SIMMS.
Felony Fidelity: Joe Mustache of the Night Slaves is trotting around a simple and manageable record deal that's got a number of Portland rock 'n' roll bands in a hot sweat: His label, Felony Fidelity, records bands for free and provides record distribution; in turn, the bands take on the bulk of manufacturing costs. With two singles out in '06 (the Neins and Howie and the Hot Knives) and the garage-rock SLiP iTS, Moneychangers and Pure Country Gold queuing up, it appears his magic is working. SAM SOULE.
Shows Of The Year
WW's Local Cut team picks the five best performances by local bands in 2006.
White Rainbow, E*Rock, March 23 at Towne Lounge: Every stretched and bent guitar or vocal layer White Rainbow's Adam Forkner packed into this half-hour psych meltdown was met with pure anxiety. In every corner, a member of Forkner's phantom band lurked, cutting and shoving strands of anti-song into our heads. My companion visibly melted down, saying, "It's just too much." I replied, "Never." She ducked out of the room two songs into E*Rock's set of techno-noise—which was accompanied by a screen showing 8-bit epileptic candy. Never, indeed. MICHAEL BYRNE.
The Shaky Hands, July 29 at Loveland: The Shaky Hands' performance at this year's PDX Pop Now! festival made these guys my new favorite Portland rock band. The crowd seemed pretty worn out as it headed to Loveland's downstairs stage; then the Shaky Hands played the most invigorating rock show I'd seen in a long time. Soon enough, everyone was clapping and bouncing and, like the band, sweating all over each other. It felt great—and this band hasn't disappointed me since. CASEY JARMAN.
"The December Brides," Sept. 20 at Acme: It's not that this secret Decemberists show (billed under an early incarnation of the band's name) was necessarily good the whole time—the band got pretty inebriated—but it was most certainly a one-of-a-kind experience. Drunken re-creations of Jefferson Airplane's "Wooden Ships" and the Outfield's "Your Love" occurred; super fans were treated to then-unreleased material from this year's The Crane Wife; and ex-WW music editor Mark Baumgarten's post-show impression of how excited I was to hear "The Perfect Crime No. 2" was priceless. AMY MCCULLOUGH.
Euromotion, The Mathematicians, April 1 at Wonder Ballroom: It wasn't just wires that ostensibly accidentally lifted Euromotion guitarist Fritz by his guitar—it was the spirit of Andy Kaufman, too. A faulty balloon drop and unbelievably embarrassing audience "dance lessons" helped these year 3012 transplants set a new standard for elaborate gimmickry by a local band. Members of stellar opening act the Mathematicians—New York's theme-dance kings—were as in awe as the rest of the 400-member audience at this magical and intelligent, goofy and intoxicating show. JASON SIMMS.
The Super Destroyers, The Spits, The SLiP iTS, Oct. 6 at Tonic Lounge: This show marks the night when Dave Gaysunas debuted as Tonic's new booker, and the kids showed up in force to catch the deservedly popular Spits and some SLiP iTS on the rise. But it was the "big debut" of the Super Destroyers that made the night for me. Featuring former Triggers and current EEgos, Reptilian Civilians and Silver Kings, this punk-rock powerhouse proved they were willing to mine moody themes while hammering away with an early '80s pre-hardcore drive. Something of a watershed show in the Portland rocker scene. SAM SOULE.
Venues Of The Year
WW's Local Cut team picks the five best local venues of 2006.
Holocene: "Hollow scene." Have you heard that before? Yeah, the place is a bit slicked-up, the drinks a bit steep, and I've been caught in more than my fair share of "ick" crowds there, but these things are barely considerations. Not only is the 3-year-old Holocene ground zero for experimental and electronic music, it has one of the most exciting music calendars in the city across the board, whether it be a local folkstress like Alela Diane or electronic touring awesomeness like Audion or Superpitcher. Add that to its recently revamped sound system, which provides probably the best sound in town, and Holocene's an easy "best." MICHAEL BYRNE.
Berbati's Pan: Berbati's Pan has remained—through staffing changes and a couple of dry spells—a really great place to see a show. It's clean but not too clean, serves stiff enough drinks and has pinball. While most of my audiophile fans rave about Doug Fir's sound system (which is admittedly really good), I actually prefer the sound at Berbati's. The speakers are so loud and low that they feel like fans if you stand up front. The club's support of local hip-hop is unwavering, and they brought some of my favorite rockers through town this year, too. Perhaps best of all, it's next door to Voodoo Doughnut. CASEY JARMAN.
Towne Lounge: The Towne Lounge reminds me of home. Like the best Chicago bar/venues, it's dark, dingy even, and you can simultaneously smoke and rock out. And, thanks to booker Chantelle Hylton, it's keeping the Westside cool: You can walk down to the TL most nights and catch something interesting, whether it be sweet local acts like the Minders, just-small-time-enough touring acts like +/- or Ladyhawk or (pause for shameless self-promotion) Local Cut's own like-VH1 Storytellers-but-way-better monthly event, the Portland Lounge Series. AMY MCCULLOUGH.
Ground Kontrol/Tube: "Black" Sundays (a noise/metal/nerd-chic blowout) at old-school arcade Ground Kontrol and Monday nights at Tube have developed the vibe of a single venue thanks to Nanotear Booking's Nathan "DJ Nate C" Carson, a man brilliant enough to put local Klingon death-metal band Stovokor in the same room as Star Trek pinball. He's also to thank for bringing the prog insanity of Tokyo's Green Milk from the Planet Orange to Old Town's aptly named cylindrical bar multiple times over the past year (not to mention booking Thrones at Tube on Christmas!). JASON SIMMS.
Tonic Lounge: This kinda slick, full-service music club out on Northeast Sandy Boulevard always wanted better—always deserved better—than the weak, colorless booking it had been saddled with for years before the fall of '06. Dave Gaysunas, the guy who made the Twilight Cafe stand up and rock from 2002 to 2004, took over the Tonic's calendar in October, and it's been host to plenty of reliable, high-caliber rock 'n' roll ever since. SAM SOULE.
Surprises Of The Year
WW's Local Cut team picks the five biggest local music surprises of 2006.
Copy Wins WW's "Best New Band" Poll: Maybe you'd call it a fluke that a dude with a laptop, a fancy suit and a keytar won this annual title by a near 2-1 ratio. I call it PDX opening its eyes to the awesomeness of our local electronic scene. Last spring, a member of that scene—which was once largely confined to a small tiki bar called the Jasmine Tree—took center stage for a capacity crowd at Berbati's during WW's Best New Band showcase. Portland realized something great was happening here, and it didn't have anything to do with rock. MICHAEL BYRNE.
Bosko Producing Tracks for K-Fed: "I'm not a guy who's glued to US Weekly," Portland/Los Angeles producer Bosko told me recently. Before their meeting, Bosko didn't even know that Kevin Federline was Britney Spears' husband, or that he was a magnet for bad publicity. Unfortunately for Bosko, K-Fed's rap album, Playing with Fire, was doomed from its inception. The album was a financial and critical bomb (though Bosko's production was rarely a target of critics' pen-lashings). "If you ask 10 people what the Kevin Federline album sounds like," Bosko says, "nine or probably 10 of them will say it sucks. But I bet not one of them could name a title of any song...everyone jumped on the I-hate-Kevin-Federline bandwagon." CASEY JARMAN.
The Decemberists Get Weird on Major-Label Debut: It might seem like small change compared to some of the year's music surprises (was anyone really that suprised when Sleater-Kinney broke up, though?), but I was simply blown away upon discovering that the second track on the Decemberists' Capitol Records debut, The Crane Wife, is a freaky, 12-plus-minute prog-rock jam. It's one thing to say you've negotiated a contract that allows for complete creative freedom; it's quite another to deliver a three-part, keyboard-laden '70s-ish epic ("The Island") on your "big-break" record before even offering up a single. AMY MCCULLOUGH.
Dead Moon Retires: A living link to the founding of the Crystal Ballroom, the heyday of the old Satyricon and, in a way, even further back to pioneers who—like Dead Moon's Fred and Toody Cole—built their homes by hand, Dead Moon is truly one of the Northwest's treasures, musical and otherwise. The band's last-minute cancellation of a Dec. 7 show at Dante's, followed by Fred Cole's announcement a week later that, after 20 years, the band was "retiring" came as a shock: The trio's members claimed they would play till they died, and, since Dead Moon nearly played to its death at every show, fans believed them. JASON SIMMS.
Centaur Guitar Parking Lot Shows: Wow. Portland's coolest guitar shop also hosted a string of free Saturday-afternoon rock shows this summer right in its parking lot. Bands like Lowball, Dirty Harriet, and SK & the Punk Ass Bitches turned Sandy Boulevard into their own open-air coliseum, and the sound was HUGE. Now that's customer appreciation. SAM SOULE.
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