People use genetics to explain away a lot of things: genius, addiction, and even obesity. Well, why not rock ‘n’ roll then? Throughout the history of rock music there are a few—let’s call them “the chosen ones”—who seem to be blessed with a startling sort of invulnerability, with years of drugs, sex, adrenaline, and tinnitus […]
Josh Blanchard
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DIY Africa
Konono No.1 Gets Global
Out of all the uselessly broad genre labels like “alternative” or “electronic,” the “world music” tag is the by far the most distasteful. The idea essentially being: “Let’s just toss all indigenous sounds that don’t try to emulate American culture together, and repackage the music for over-privileged white yuppies.” Well, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s […]
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Solitary Man
Up Close and Personal with Dosh
IT’S AMAZING HOW the technological surge of the past decade has immeasurably changed the way people create and digest music. These days, even the broke ass and computer illiterate can engineer their own albums on their PC, carry their entire record collection in a coat pocket, or instantly send a favorite song to a buddy […]
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We, Anonymous
The Secret History of Dead Air Fresheners
WHETHER THEY’RE GRACING the cover of Spin or simply getting name-dropped on a friend’s blog, even haughty “outsider artists” secretly crave all the accolades they can gobble up. The Dead Air Fresheners, however, are a notable exception to this rule. For 10 years this fluctuating experimental society has performed under the cover of anonymity, sporting […]
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Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin’
And So Does Odetta
I HAVE TO ADMIT IT—like many others, I was first exposed to the music of Odetta through Martin Scorsese’s stellar Bob Dylan flick, No Direction Home. It you haven’t seen it yet, put down this rag immediately and rent a copy, as anyone who can watch the guttural version of her song “The Waterboy” without […]
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Thank You, Dark Lord!
The Melvins’ Confusing Juggernaut
THE NAME OF WHICHEVER dark lord touched his hand to the earth in 1987 to create the Melvins may forever remain a mystery, but the destiny of its malignant brood is still abundantly clear—to confuse the hell out of everybody. Despite a rapidly snowballing college rock scene, the late ’80s were far from a musical […]
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Norfolk and Western
Falling in Love with Great Musicians
OUT OF ALL THE musical communities in Portland, few seem as tight knit or amiable as our flourishing indiefolk circle. And if there’s one band that keeps this circle unbroken it’s Norfolk and Western, a fluidic batch of players that serves as a meeting ground for members of like-minded groups such as Loch Lomond, Horse […]
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Last Band Standing
Rollerball’s Family Affair
Bands love to throw the term “family” around when referring to their close-knit musical kinfolk. Still, it’s a hell of a lot easier to escape the clutches of a dysfunctional band than your screwed-up biological family, and 90 percent of musical collaborators have a few good years, tops, before they’re chomping at the bit to […]
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The Man Behind the Curtain
Adrian Belew, the World’s Sneakiest Guitarist
OUTSIDE OF GEEKY progressive rock forums, Kentucky-born guitarist Adrian Belew is far from a household name. Still, his highly stylized electric sorcery helped define the best musical moments of the ’70s and ’80s. I can recall connecting the dots between some of my favorite records of the early ’80s and realizing that most of the […]
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Gray Areas
Nudge, Thriving Here in Limbo
WITH SOME MUSICIANS you know exactly what you’re getting into when you pick up a CD or head down to a concert. Then there are folks like Nudge, who thrive in the limbo between classifications. Is it a solo project or a group effort? Is it electronic music or an organic jam band? When you […]
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God Bless America!
The History of the Electric Guitar
Pullout: “Gods of Guitar” Music Issue
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Comets on Fire
Cooling Down on Reentry
I HAVE TO COME CLEAN with you guys, I fucking love me some classic rock. The first thing I did sliding into the car as a pimply teenager was flip on KGON, hoping for that killer “rock block” of Boston. Fifteen years later, perhaps sadly, very little has changed. With that off my chest, I […]