With apologies to Bono, Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith and Joe Pernice, no one writes pop melodies the way Aimee Mann writes pop melodies. I don’t know how she does it. She belongs in a class with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Those are strong words, I know. Forgotten Arm is the follow-up to her disappointing...

Since Ariele Gentiles, a native Texan, got to write the review of The Decemberists’ Picaresque, I thought I’d take a stab at her neck of the woods. Namely, the new album from Austin, Texas’s Spoon. Gimme Fiction is the follow-up to 2002′s critically-acclaimed release, Kill the...

Murder in a small town Damien Jurado is an accomplished artist who paints with broad, intimate strokes. Yet when the witness steps back, the realization sets in that Jurado is delicately painting a murder in the act. What is unsettling about this is that we, as witnesses, cannot peel our eyes away from...

By Sam Albertson Blip Begone!! The Books have done well to create a beautiful mess of folktronica that is absolutely their own. However, Lost and Safe has deviated by its gradual conform to simplicity. I appreciate The Books wanting to expand their musical dimensions, and it is ironic that they do so...

Around the summer of 2003, I was working as an overnight security guard at some office towers near downtown Portland. That summer was extremely formative for me. The 8 hours I spent awake while everyone else slept allowed me to read and write. I read Blue Like Jazz that summer at my security desk. I...

Our second installment of Burnside Mixes hinges on our love affair with Portland (are you surprised?). Portland has been a hotbed of music for a while now, right up there with Austin, Nashville and New York. We will now offer you a wide cross sampling of songs about and from Portland. Most of these...

In the world of music, high-minded concepts go a long way towards affording the people involved at least a little bit of recognition. There’s the string quartet versions of Metallica songs, lounge versions of popular songs, muzak version of grunge hits, etc. etc. Needless to say, it puts us music...

David Dark’s The Gospel According to America kicks off the way nearly all of my discussions about politics begin; referring to his father. Like me, Dark’s father obviously had a heavy sway in the way Dark looks at the world, and it’s appropriate that he should begin with his roots....

Jonathan Safran Foer recently released Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a follow-up to his debut, Everything Is Illuminated. We will post a review of the new book as soon as I finish it and am able to write a review. In the meantime, Everything Is Illuminated needs to be mentioned on this site. Now,...

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” – Philip K. Dick “…it is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” – Philip K. Dick Imagine: One morning you wake up in an unfamiliar place. You know who you are,...