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ISSUE #35.03 • SPECIAL SECTION •
Music and Movies
 44. PRE-GRUNGE PORTLAND PUNK: The Wipers' Is This Real and Youth of America |
BY CASEY JARMAN, MICHAEL MANNHEIMER & AARON MESH AND BEN WATERHOUSE | 503-243-2122
[November 26th, 2008]
42 It’s Full of Stars
S/T ($14.38. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926), Starfucker’s long-awaited, 11-song debut record of homemade, soft-focus anthems dials down the visceral dance anthems of the band’s live show in favor of exuberant, bright pop songs. Those late to the boat should check out the milky white vinyl, which includes a bonus track for LP collectors. (MM)
43 Juvenile Ward
Recently reissued by the good folks at Jealous Butcher Records, these two records, Transfiguration of Vincent and Duet for Guitars #2 ($14.38. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926), display M. Ward’s buoyant, rich folk-rock tunes minus the studio budget he spent on his 2006 breakout, Post-War. (MM)
44 Pre-Grunge Portland Punk
The Wipers were among the most influential bands in Portland’s history, and these slick, vinyl reissues of the band’s first two albums, Is This Real and Youth of America from Jackpot Records ($14.95. Jackpot Records, 203 SW 9th Ave., 222-0990) help us all remember why. Sounding as urgent and melodic as ever almost three decades after their original release, these albums are essential listening for any local-music fan. (CJ)
45 Seven Years of College Down the Drain
The University of Oregon is famous for many things (Phil Knight, having a mascot that looks suspiciously like a Disney character and…um…Kenny Wheaton?). But it was a Harold Ramis sex-and-anarchy comedy that put the campus on the national map. National Lampoon’s Animal House has returned with a 30th anniversary special edition ($34.98. Borders Books and Music, 708 SW 3rd Ave., 220-5911, and other locations). The two discs include a 98-minute “making of” documentary that explains how the Eugene dean approved the movie without reading the script; he was still recovering from nixing The Graduate. (AM)
46 Blue Christmas
When Willy Vlautin isn’t singing sad, sad songs as the frontman of Portland alt-country outfit Richmond Fontaine, he pens sad, sad stories about impoverished, dejected Nevadans who do very stupid things when drunk. A Jockey’s Christmas ($10. Cdbaby.com), a new spoken-word album on which Vlautin reads a sad, sad story about a jockey who comes home (to Reno, of course) for Christmas only to drink a lot of beer and lose a lot of money, while Richmond Fontaine compatriot Paul Brainard makes the pedal steel sing,merges both occupations, closing with a pair of new songs about horse racing. It’s a pretty great package, at turns beautiful, funny and, of course, sad. (BW)
47 Time for a Nice, Relaxing Shower
With each passing Saw sequel, it’s easy to think that the horror movies of Alfred Hitchcock have lost their power to shock. But all you have to do is watch them again. That task is made all the more pleasurable by Universal’s spruced-up release of three of his tightest, darkest pictures: Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho ($26.98 each. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926). Perfect for an evening at home with Mother. (AM)
48 Bow Beats
More than just mood music, Talkdemonic (2005 winner of WW’s annual Best New Bands poll) blasts listeners into the stratosphere on Eyes at Half Mast ($12. Sonic Recollections, 2701 SE Belmont St., 236-3050), which pairs Kevin O’Connor’s furious drumming and computer wizardry with Lisa Molinaro’s beautiful, layered strings. It’s rare to hear a release that’s simultaneously this accessible and adventurous. (CJ)
49 Au Au!
A dizzying collection of orchestrated, cacophonous pop songs, Au’s Verbs ($16. Aagoo.com and local record stores) is the most forward-thinking local record released this year. Band leader Luke Wyland is a sound purist, and the album—especially the joyous marching band on steroids stomp of “RR Vs. D”—sure sounds fantastic on 180 gram vinyl. (MM)
50 Dynamite, Pole Vaulting, Laughing Gas, Choppers
Before Owen Wilson got stuck in the tabloids and Wes Anderson got stuck in his own dream world, there was a little movie called Bottle Rocket ($39.95. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926). And finally there is a Criterion Collection edition of one of the two most-quotable movies of the ’90s. (The other one involves bowling.) For Anderson fans there’s no greater Christmas gift than knowing that Dignan is out there with 11 deleted scenes. (AM)
51 Just to Watch Him Die
Johnny Cash, timeless badass, loved playing prisons. This box set, At Folsom Prison ($35.98. Music Millennium, 3158 E Burnside St., 231-8926), presents the complete, legendary 1968 Folsom Prison concert on two discs, along with the excellent throw-in of a new DVD on the making of the album and a fat booklet of photos. There are lots of cheesy Johnny Cash collections out there, but this box is well worth the, ahem, cash. (CJ)
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Coming Dec. 10!
WW EDITORIAL STAFF | Gift Guide Vol. 2 brings even more present ideas for the next-to-last-minute shopper.
WW EDITORIAL STAFF | Gift Guide Vol. 2 brings even more present ideas for the next-to-last-minute shopper.
