Music The project: The Portland SessionsWho's behind it? A stalwart collective of volunteer videographers, sound engineers, and code geeks who have been filming intimate performances by bands from all over the world. To date, they've captured Joe Henry, Elliott Brood, Deleted Scenes, and J...   More

Music Stories [SINGER-SONGWRITER] Mike Scheidt looks glassy-eyed and a little wobbly, desperate for his first coffee of the day, as he searches for a seat at the downtown Stumptown. Twelve hours ago, he stepp   More

Music The fact that the Chicago label Thrill Jockey has been inking deals with many of Portland's experimental and avant artists should come as little surprise to fans here at home. The musicians they've hooked up with -- Eternal Tapestry and its offshoots Tunnels and Plankton Wat, Mike Scheidt, Jason Urick -- have, over the last few years, hit their creative strides. The albums that all the above have ...   More

Music  Let's start off this Video Roundup with a weird but surprisingly affecting clip from Sean Flinn & The Royal We. It involves a beating heart found in a field and a storeroom dummy brought to "life" with it. I'll leave the rest of the tale for you to enjoy. 
IAME was kind enough to hip us to this month old clip for his song "Bell Toll", and it's artfully directed black & white ...   More

Music Support Force and Last Empire couldn't be more diametrically opposed in terms of their sound—the former a guitar pop band awash in reverb and lucid dreams; the latter a long-running group bravely holding aloft the torch for traditional/power metal. Bu...   More

Music Stories [FUNKY DARK JAZZ] In 2010, the Performing Right Society for Music in the U.K. proclaimed Bristol the most musical town in England. Its sole criterion was the number of musicians born and raised    More

Music  Here's something I'll never understand about The Know's booking policies: their #1 rule of any show is this: all the live music has to be over by 11pm, no exceptions. Knowing that, the folks in charge over there still book three and four act bills that start at 8:30 or later, expecting the bands to police themselves as far as the schedule goes. The unfortunate truth is that some bands h...   More

Movies & Television Adam Sandler Week at wweek.com concludes with a review of the comic, uh, genius's latest, That's My Boy—though really, if you're looking to critical opinion to decide whether or not to see an Adam Sandler movie, well, that's funnier than anything that'll happen onscreen. 
WW's Critics Grade: D
There's a running gag through That's...   More

Music  The project: Blood Beach Euro tour 7" and Keep Portland Normal CassetteWho's behind the project? The surf/garage by way of proggy psychedelics quartet Blood BeachWhy do they want your money? These crazy kids are heading out on a tour of Europe in Septe...   More

Music  By the time you read this, the news will have already been around the world and back. Such is the speed of our connected age. But this announcement is big enough to warrant us jumping in the fray and exulting with spasms of joy: A NEW MENOMENA ALBUM IS FORTHCOMING!!Admit it, already: you were a little concerned that with the departure of Brent Knopf, the band would dissolve into vario...   More