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 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 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...
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 ArticleSo 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...
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...
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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 ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week's all-ages shows. by Morgan Troper SAT APRIL 9Steel Chainsw/Sweats, Heavy Hands, Macho Boys; Black Water Bar,835 NE BroadwaySteel Chains is one of Portland's best new punk bands, although...
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...
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