Ringo Starr Is Basically My Surrogate Uncle
Ringo Starr is basically my surrogate uncle, and ragging on him does not make you look cool or smart. by Morgan Troper SOMETIMES I THINK I’m the biggest Beatles fan in the world, which is probably how...
View ArticleRecord Review: Point Juncture, WA, Me or the Party
Point Juncture, WA’s Me or the Party was well worth the wait. by Morgan Troper “THE DOUBLE ALBUM”—considered by many to be a vestige of rock’s masturbatory past—is an affront to the modern music fan’s...
View ArticleMy Body’s Fragmented Identities
Portland duo My Body’s forthcoming EP, Seven Wives, is classical pop. by Morgan Troper BEING CLASSICALLY trained has never exactly been a badge of honor in the world of popular music (unless you’re in...
View ArticleThese Hallowed Walls: Celebrating Two Decades of Jackpot!
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Jackpot!, Portland’s premiere recording studio. by Morgan Troper {{image:1, align:right, width:250}} Like countless studios past and present, Portland’s...
View ArticleGet Off David Crosby’s Lawn
The legendary 75-year-old songwriter found Twitter (and we are all in his crosshairs). by Morgan Troper David Crosby has one of the best voices in rock ’n’ roll. Along with Roger McGuinn’s jangling...
View ArticleFake News for Punks
The Hard Times skewers the local scene. by Morgan Troper When Bill Conway and brothers Matt and Ed Saincome started The Hard Times—a fake, Portland/Bay Area-based punk news site heavily inspired by the...
View ArticleDreamdecay’s Noisy Punk Is Strangely Catchy
Dreamdecay’s Yú is one of the most accessible heavy records in years. by Morgan Troper The first thing you’ll notice about Seattle punks Dreamdecay is that they are very loud.This was fully put into...
View ArticleBilly Joel Is Rock’s Tragic Antagonist
Here are Billy Joel’s five best songs you won’t hear at the dentist. by Morgan Troper Billy Joel is one of the most successful and accomplished songwriters of all time. He’s also unanimously loathed...
View ArticleSpecial Explosion’s Teenage Rock Star Dreams Are Over
On To Infinity, the indie rock prodigies of Special Explosion grapple with adulthood. by Morgan Troper When Special Explosion dropped its debut EP in 2012, the Seattle band seemed poised to become...
View ArticleFernando Celebrates 20 Years of Pacoima
Two decades after its release, Fernando’s Pacoima remains one of the most varied and vital rock records in the history of Portland music. by Morgan Troper Fernando Viciconte is an “old Portland”...
View ArticleThe Pillows Aim to Please
Japan’s pop-rock legends tour America to coincide with FLCL’s new season. by Morgan Troper In 2007, Julian Cope brought classic Japanese rock ’n’ roll to the indie literati’s attention with...
View ArticleWild Ones Calls It Quits
The Portland synth-pop band leaves behind a lasting legacy. by Morgan Troper After being together for nearly eight years, Portland synth-pop fixtures Wild Ones are calling it quits, and the band’s...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper THURS APRIL 14Arlo Guthriew/Sarah Lee Guthrie; Revolution Hall, 1300 SE StarkArlo Guthrie's work may lack the astringent socio-political connotations of...
View ArticleHow to Say "Nah" Without Being a Buzzkill
People who don't smoke weed can have fun, too! by Morgan Troper THERE ARE NO PSAs to prepare kids for the reality that all of their friends will be smoking weed by the time they're 14. It only took...
View ArticleSheer Mag Sounds Like Taylor Hanson Fronting Thin Lizzy
The modern rock of Philadelphia's Sheer Mag. by Morgan Troper FIVE YEARS AGO, punk came in only three shades of cool: hardcore, screamo, and math rock (or some sexless composite of these). The '90s...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper FRI APRIL 22Anamanaguchi w/Lindsay Lowend; Bossanova Ballroom,722 E BurnsideChiptune is a style of electronic music made using the same audio hardware...
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Don't Believe the Bad Reviews: Star Fox Zero Is a Love Letter to the Nintendo...
by Morgan Troper The Star Fox series is Nintendo’s guinea pig: Following 1997's Star Fox 64, every entry in the series is totally distinct. 2002’s Star Fox Adventures exchanged the first two games’...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper THURS APRIL 28Beach Housew/Skyler Skjelset; Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W BurnsideFollowing the release of Beach House's 2012 record, Bloom, singer/keyboardist...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper THURS MAY 5Motion City Soundtrackw/the Spill Canvas, Microwave; Roseland,8 NW 6thOut of all the second-wave emo bands that rose to prominence in the early-...
View ArticleA Commentary on Dream Theater's Magnum Opus
The Astonishing is two hours and 10 minutes of sci-fi proggery. by Aris Hunter Wales ON TUESDAY, MAY 10, Long Island, New York's most ridiculous progressive metal band, Dream Theater, brings its latest...
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Death of the Mall Rat
Portland is changing—can the Lloyd Center Mall keep up? by Morgan Troper I BELONG to the last generation of mall rat. My experiences at the Lloyd Center Mall as a kid transcended commerce—it was where...
View ArticleThe "Real" Tim Heidecker
The new sincerity of the comedian's In Glendale. by Morgan Troper WHETHER IT'S the jingoist sendup "Our Values Are Under Attack" from web series Decker or the bizarre and indelible Cinco jingles from...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper THURS MAY 26Macklemore and Ryan Lewisw/Raz Simone; Rose Quarter Memorial Coliseum, 300 Winning WayFor a brief moment, Seattleites Macklemore and Ryan Lewis...
View ArticleModern Baseball's Graduation
Modern Baseball's new album Holy Ghost is mature emo. by Morgan Troper MODERN BASEBALL really want you to believe they're just four ordinary kids. This is a band that made a name for itself by writing...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper THURS 6/23Hemingwayw/Blowout, Sioux Falls, Drunken Palms; Black Water Bar, 835 NE Broadway Tonight marks the tour kickoff for power pop band Hemingway—one...
View ArticleLegend of Tarzan: Tarzans Gonna Tarzan
Yep, that's definitely Tarzan. by Morgan Troper THE SOURCE MATERIAL might be more than a century old, but for many people my age, The Legend of Tarzan will feel like a live-action sequel to Disney's...
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“Get ‘Em Out By Friday” by Genesis Is the Best Song About Getting Kicked Out...
by Morgan Troper Peter Gabriel as "The Flower."Last week my house was served a 90-day, no-cause eviction notice, meaning I’m one more Portlander who has been fucked by the city’s cabal of evil...
View ArticleGrowing Up With Harry Potter
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child is like a letter from an old friend. by Morgan Troper EVERYONE loves Harry Potter. The series’ generation- and globe-spanning appeal is rivaled only by that of Star...
View ArticleWhitney Channels Pop’s Golden Days
The Chicago band’s debut sounds like the kids found the ’70s. by Morgan Troper THE INDIE ROCK WORLD is still subconsciously taking cues from humorless dorks like Thom Yorke and Win Butler—masters of...
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Pro Wrestling for the People
A look at Portland’s underground pro wrestling scene. by Morgan Troper You never forget your first DOA match. Or your second. Or your third.I’m spending my Saturday evening in a gymnasium at the...
View ArticleJoyce Manor’s Pop-Punk for Grownups
On Cody, Joyce Manor breaks free from punk’s adolescent trappings. by Morgan Troper AT THE BEGINNING of the decade, “mid-tempo” was still a faux pas by pop-punk standards; people still considered...
View ArticleCasey Jarman Stares Down Death
Death: An Oral History Prepares You for the Inevitable by Morgan Troper NOTHING PROVES human consciousness is an evolutionary blunder more effectively than our innate fear of death. It’s inescapable...
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The Business of Nostalgia
As digital downloads reshape video games, Portland’s indie game stores strive to satisfy retro tastes. by Morgan Troper In the age of Gamer Gate—when the word “gamer” often goes hand in hand with...
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First Impressions of Final Fantasy XV (Without Any Spoilers) (But With a Lot...
by Morgan Troper Samantha SutcliffeIt took slightly longer to build Rome than develop Final Fantasy XV. The game was first unveiled over a decade ago, as a spinoff that was then titled Final Fantasy...
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Jay Som's Sterling, Personal Guitar-Pop
by Morgan Troper JAY SOM Mon 4/10 Doug FirCARA ROBBINSIt’s wise to be wary of buzz bands. These days it hardly matters how much time you spend honing your craft—a quick ascent to internet renown...
View ArticleYousef Hatlani Reworks Classic Video Game Music
Bit by Bit painstakingly reinvents retro game sounds. by Morgan Troper For the better half of the past decade, Yousef Hatlani has been one of those everywhere-at-once scene notables; he worked at the...
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Sonic Mania Is Great—Because It Was Made by a Fan
by Morgan Troper SegaFew, if any, video game icons have fallen from grace as dramatically as Sonic the Hedgehog.Sonic went from being one of the most recognizable game characters in existence—and the...
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The Domestics PR Disaster Makes Me Feel Bad About the Music Industry
by Morgan Troper The DomesticsJason QuigleyNearly a month ago, news broke that Portland indie rock darlings the Domestics had launched a bizarre viral marketing campaign to promote their new album,...
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Song of the Red States
Diving into the mouth of country music—and red-state America—at the Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival. by Morgan Troper I am not wanted at the Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival.For...
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Live Review: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at Revolution Hall, Mon Nov 6
by Morgan Troper Ted Leo at Revolution Hall Mon 11/7Morgan TroperHalfway through Ted Leo’s set last night at Revolution Hall, his band, the Pharmacists—which in its current incarnation consists of two...
View ArticleRecord Review: Various Artists, Transference
Marmoset’s 10-song compilation interprets century-old songs. by Morgan Troper In a 2006 radio interview, Jon Brion—the producer, songwriter, and all-around musical genius—explains his thoughts on the...
View ArticleAfter 15 Years, the Groundbreaking Anime FLCL Is Back
Adult Swim revives the insane, mile-a-minute show. by Morgan Troper As an adolescent, I would stay up to watch Cartoon Network’s late-night, “big kid” block, Adult Swim. In a streaming era, admitting...
View ArticleWith On Cinema Live!, Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington Make Cinema Great Again
How a goofy web series became one of our sharpest cultural satires. by Morgan Troper When On Cinema began in 2011, it was a simple, innocent parody of podcasting. Episodes were typically under two...
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So You Are a Star? Okay.
Why hasn’t the Portland music scene embraced its original hitmakers? by Morgan Troper If one is to believe the “Music in Oregon” Wikipedia page, there was little to no music produced around here...
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Bohemian Rhapsody Review: Rami Malek Is Legendary as Freddie Mercury...
by Morgan Troper There’s a poignant and hilarious scene about a third of the way through Bohemian Rhapsody when pull-quotes from early reviews of Queen's titular 1975 single flash across a black...
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Kero Kero Bonito's Time ’n’ Place Is a Near-Perfect Pop Record
by Morgan Troper POWERLINE AGENCYOne of the more surprising (and glorious) musical reinventions of 2018 arrived in the form of Kero Kero Bonito’s sophomore album, Time ’n’ Place. The British indie-pop...
View ArticlePokémon Detective Pikachu Review: It’s the Best Video Game Movie Ever! That...
by Morgan Troper Pokémon Detective Pikachu wears multiple hats over the course of its 104-minute runtime. Sometimes the film is a wholesome, Spielbergian coming-of-age adventure. At other points, it’s...
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Rocketman Review: Sex, Drugs, and Very Little Rock ’n’ Roll
by Morgan Troper Rocketman opens with a shot of Elton John (Taron Egerton) dressed in full stage regalia bursting unannounced into an AA meeting. “My name is Elton Hercules John,” he says flatly, “and...
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Tim Heidecker’s Mister America Is Funny (If You’ve Also Seen Everything Else...
by Morgan Troper Magnolia PicturesAt the end of 2017, Tim Heidecker’s On Cinema—a web series lampooning film criticism that the comedian co-hosts with Gregg Turkington—apexed with a five-hour long,...
View ArticleTell Your Friends About See My Friends Records
The label's Secret City Volume 1 documents the secret kingdom of Portland pop. by Morgan Troper VINCE SKELLY and Stevie Pohlman belong to some kind of alternate reality where the internet never sucked...
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