HANNAH TURNER-HARTS [Happy Halloween! All week long the Mercury has been publishing classic tales of local Halloween horror from our archives, as well as brand spankin’ new (and creeeeepy) pieces… in this one from 2019, writer Ciara Dolan inspects Portland’s first water cremation machine.—eds] In Oregon, there are five legal ways to lay the dead […]
CK Dolan
Formerly a senior editor and the music editor at the Mercury, CK Dolan writes about music, movies, TV, the death industry, and pickles.
Posted inMusic
The Four Best Concerts to See This Weekend
Chromatics Tobias Gruber FRI JUNE 7 Farnell NewtonEvery first and third Friday of the month, local trumpeter Farnell Newton and friends bring the sweet, life-affirming sounds of swing, soul, and booty-shaking funk to the intimate stage of the 1905, a casual Boise haunt. Without question, this brilliant horn god and composer is a premium example […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Portland Horror Film Fest Returns with Killer Emojis and Exploding Brains
The horror genre is dominated by clichés: abandoned houses, flickering lights, creaking floorboards, jump scares, cell phones with no reception, cars that won’t start, invincible killers, ghost children, and final girls. Many of the movies included in this year’s Portland Horror Film Festival either completely invert these tropes or use them as stepping stones to […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Best Movies at the Portland Horror Film Fest Contort Clichés Like Disfigured Balloon Animals
Creaker The horror genre is dominated by clichés: abandoned houses, flickering lights, creaking floorboards, jump scares, cell phones with no reception, cars that won’t start, invincible killers, ghost children, and final girls. Many of the movies included in this year’s Portland Horror Film Festival either completely invert these tropes or use them as stepping stones […]
Posted inFeature
Ciara Dolan’s Top 10 Scariest Things About Summer
DOMINIC DEVENUTA Not to brag, but I could come up with hundreds—nay, thousands—of reasons to be afraid during this wretched season. But since we’re “low on space” and “need to save room for the ice cream reviews,” I’ve whittled the list down to a cool 10. 1. The sunThe sun distracts humans with pretty flowers […]
Posted inMusic
These 9 Songs by Portland Artists Should Already Be On Your Sunny-Day Playlist
Amy Liss Although we’ve yet to see what summer ’19 will bring in terms of Portland-made tunes, here’s some great summer-vibed songs that should already be on your sunny-day playlist. Reptaliens, “Venetian Blinds”“Easy, breezy, beautiful” is the slogan of a popular cosmetics brand, but also the vibe of Reptaliens’ new record, Valis. Standout track “Venetian […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Westerns with Noodles, Dinosaurs, and Mount Hood: Check Out the Mercury’s June Video Picks at Movie Madness!
Underrated westerns with noodles, dinosaurs, and Mount Hood.
Posted inMusic
These 9 Songs by Portland Artists Should Already Be On Your Sunny-Day Playlist
Although we’ve yet to see what summer ’19 will bring in terms of Portland-made tunes, here’s some great summer-vibed songs that should already be on your sunny-day playlist. Reptaliens, “Venetian Blinds” “Easy, breezy, beautiful” is the slogan of a popular cosmetics brand, but also the vibe of Reptaliens’ new record, Valis. Standout track “Venetian Blinds” is […]
Posted inFeature
Ciara Dolan’s Top 10 Scariest Things About Summer
Not to brag, but I could come up with hundreds—nay, thousands—of reasons to be afraid during this wretched season. But since we’re “low on space” and “need to save room for the ice cream reviews,” I’ve whittled the list down to a cool 10. 1. The sun The sun distracts humans with pretty flowers while […]
Posted inFeature
Aqua Cremation: Why Burn Your Dead Body When You Can Dissolve It?
The Aqua Cremation Machine Hannah Turner-Harts In Oregon, there are five legal ways to lay the dead to rest. Bodies can be embalmed and shipped out of state; donated to scientific research facilities; cremated; buried; or dissolved. Yes, you read that correctly: When you die, the flesh can literally be dissolved from your bones. The […]
Posted inMusic
Searching for Something to Believe with Weyes Blood
WEYES BLOOD Sat 5/18 Doug Fir BRETT STANLEY As Weyes Blood, Natalie Mering’s music has evolved from medieval psychedelia (2011’s The Outside Room) to disenfranchised Americana (2014’s The Innocents) to doomsday folk (2016’s Front Row Seat to Earth). Her latest and best record yet, Titanic Rising—which she has described as “the Kinks meet WWII or […]
Posted inFeature
Dissolving the Dead: A Look Inside Portland’s First Aqua Cremation Machine
In Oregon, there are five legal ways to lay the dead to rest. Bodies can be embalmed and shipped out of state; donated to scientific research facilities; cremated; buried; or dissolved. Yes, you read that correctly: When you die, the flesh can literally be dissolved from your bones. The scientific name of the process is […]