// Category Archive for: Issues

If Money Talks Then He’s a Mime: Dick Valentine

Towne Lounge, Portland OR
April 5, 2008

By Christian Lipski

Dick’s band, Electric Six, is known for its loud-rocking electronic dance style, so when I heard that the lead singer was going to be appearing as a secret special guest in a solo acoustic show, I had to go. Plus the show was five dollars for four bands.
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Top Five Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Programs

By Nicole V.

One of Canada’s national treasures is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, or the CBC. Since an early age, I’ve understood its reach across the country as a public broadcaster and have even referred to it as the lifeblood of the nation, a proclamation that is perhaps a bit dramatic (not to mention very nerdy), but for as long as I can remember the CBC has been both a television and radio staple in my life. Why so beloved?
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The Kids In The Hall: Live As They’ll Ever Be

By Jemiah Jefferson

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland OR
May 11, 2008

“What? Are they still around?”
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For Your Consideration: An Interview with Trztn of Services

Interviewed by Julie Finley

Trztn (AKA Tristan Bechet) may not be a household name, but you may have heard of him in a variety of instances, since he’s been circulating in NYC’s underbelly of musicians since the late 90s. Unlike many others in that circle, he’s not an unimaginative fashion plate riding the horribly coined “Now Wave” scene (I won’t mention names to protect the not-so-innocent). . . in other words, you’re probably not going to find him schmoozing with phonies like Sofia Coppola anytime soon, although he’s pretty tight with those that probably do.

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Looking For A Visionary: Redd Kross on YouTube

By Less Lee Moore

Although Redd Kross recently reformed with its finest line-up to date (Jeff McDonald, Steve McDonald, Roy “No Relation” McDonald, Robert Hecker) and although they have been playing shows all over the world for the past few years (UK, Spain, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago. . . to name a few) I’ve chosen to focus on ten older videos (plus one honorable mention).
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Popshifter‘s Secret Garden of Crushes

By Less Lee Moore

Pizzazz of The Misfits

WFMU’s Beware of the Blog is a fabulous resource for discovering music, movies, and art that I would likely never know about if left to my own devices. Sometimes, however, my favorite blog entries are the first-hand accounts of the often-perverting effects of pop culture.
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When You’re Not Excited, You’re Not a Fan: An Interview with Nardwuar the Human Serviette

Interviewed by Less Lee Moore

Because the United States tends to dominate the entertainment industry, frequently one will hear entertainers referred to as another “version” of a well-known American pop culture icon. That’s what makes Vancouver’s Nardwuar the Human Serviette so special. There is no American equivalent. He is unabashedly Canadian.
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Sex, Death, and Philip Michael Thomas: The Five Most Incomprehensible Music Videos of the 1980s (In No Particular Order)

By Emily Carney

You are getting verrrry sleepy. . .

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Tans Are Okay and Love Is The Best: Q & A with Castanets

By J Howell

Over the last couple of years, Castanets has likely seen more time in my CD player than any other single band. I was fortunate enough to meet them in Brighton, England a while back, and then a few months later I hosted them (along with tour mates Shapes & Sizes) when they were in my town. Aside from making some beautiful music, Ray Raposa and the ever-changing cast of Castanets are also great people. This spring, I conducted the following interview via email, in bits and pieces over a few weeks, as time allowed while Ray was traveling.
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The Days of Future-Past

“He had been a tool in their hands, his childhood image had been used as bait to condition him, he had lived up to their expectations, he had played his part. Now he only waited to be liquidated with, somewhere inside him, the memory of a twice-lived fragment of time.”
—From La Jetée, written and directed by Chris Marker, 1962

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