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Garage Days

Portland’s Woolen Men graduate from tapes to vinyl. Is world domination next?


Music Stories
Stuffed into a booth at My Father’s Place, the three men who make up the Woolen Men wear serious expressions as they talk about touring and their place in the continuum of Portland’s punk- and   More
 
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Revving its Engine: Holy Motors Reviewed

French filmmaker Leos Carax crafts a visionary piece of art.

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Movies & Television
Holy Motors snuck into theaters this weekend, skipping the usual tread of press releases and press screenings. Critic Robert Ham deems it the best film of 2012.
Critic's Grade: A
The end of the year is the time when studios truck out their most prestigious fare: films with fat ideas, big directorial talent, scenery-chewing acting and screen-filling spectacle. Yet with litt...   More
 
Monday, December 10, 2012 by ROBERT HAM

Outer Worlds #4: Creative Music Guild's Rising Profile

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Music
 If the fact that the Creative Music Guild has been in action for 21 years comes as a surprise to you, don't feel bad. Even though I have been familiar with the CMG as a group that supports experimental and avant garde music in the city, my best guess was that they were, at the most, eight years old. The truth is that    More
 
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 by ROBERT HAM

Striking a Balance

Bringing a taste of Hollywood­—new and old—to Vancouver.


Movie Reviews & Stories
The huge sign and marquee brightly announcing the Kiggins Theatre and its filmic fare (this week: Looper and Frankenweenie) to the drivers and pedestrians on Vancouver’s Main Street already look remarkably out of place. The    More
 
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Northern Exposure

A tour through the Vancouver music scene.


Music Stories
Compared to spending a Friday night circling the streets of downtown Portland looking for a free parking spot, venturing 15 minutes north on I-5 and slipping into Vancouver’s city center at nigh   More
 
Wednesday, December 5, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Live Review: Death Grips at Star Theater, Dec. 1

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Music
The timing was almost too perfect. The dust was still lingering in the air from the hype tornado that recently surrounded Death Grips, the thorny, aggressive hip-hop duo from Northern California. And just as the buzz had reached critical mass with the recent announcement that    More
 
Monday, December 3, 2012 by ROBERT HAM

Primer: John Cale


Music Stories
Born: In 1942 in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales Sounds like: Pop music filtered through classical training and imbued with a confrontational spirit.  For fans of: Patti Smith, David Bowie, Bri   More
 
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Outer Worlds #3: The Resurrection of Arthur Magazine

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Music
 News of any import is quick to spread on the web. But even knowing that, the number of outlets reporting on the return of Arthur Magazine was pretty surprising, especially for a print publication that focused on various strains of the counterculture: music, drugs, magic, underground comics, and organic gardening. Yet everyone from The W...   More
 
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 by ROBERT HAM

Ancient Heat: Friday, Nov. 23

Portland’s hottest dance band is just getting warmed up.


Music Stories
[NEW DISCO] For a band that has released only one 12-inch single, the sizzling Oh...You Bad EP, Ancient Heat does not lack fans in its hometown of Portland.  “I can’t really say how it ha   More
 
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Cut of the Day: "Hollow," Thanks

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Music

The injection of pure, uncut soul music into indie rock has been the one thing that has revived that genre's greying body of late. You can hear it in the gospel throwdowns of Magic Mouth, the African swing of Brainstorm, and now, the growling R&B attack of    More
 
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 by ROBERT HAM
 

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