Pop music is prone to patterns. Like it or not, we as attendees of the genre are more disposed to accept that which is familiar rather than following some warped experimentalist out on a knobby limb of his own design. As a result, most bands who become lauded for their ingenuity are–despite an undeniable talent for their craft–actually sticking pretty close to a pre-set group of rules that govern the music we hear.
For the past year Daniel Hukill has been crisscrossing the United States via plane, car and whatever other means have been available, playing his music to anyone who would listen. “I feel gritty in my daily life,” said Hukill–and not for an instant would you think to doubt him.
The past decade has been rough for musicians. A business model which carried the music industry for half a century is collapsing, and in the hastily re-imagined marketplace, no one is quite sure what will be rising from the ashes of a fading system of pop superstars and blockbuster record releases.
For all the talk about a global culture waiting to be born from the “Internet age,” the American pop zeitgeist has remained stubbornly insular, looking to its own artistic past for guidance rather than utilizing unprecedented access to foreign cultures as a stepping stone toward global artistry.
To say that Anne Adams has a penchant for the theatrical is a severe understatement. The Per Se auteur is currently working in the film industry, entertaining a pending engagement at Portland Center Stage, and has been known to perform while wearing a set of full-blown wings.
The tentative cover art for Point Juncture, WA’s upcoming album, Heart to Elk, is a graphic of an elk’s head surrounded by a heart. Though consistent with the homegrown style of Point Juncture’s visual aesthetic, this particular image boasts a somewhat stranger source.
If Adam Selzer worked exclusively in his capacity as a producer at his Type Foundry studio, he would still be a central figure in the Portland music community. As things are, however, he also lends his talents to several bands.
On The Maybe Happening’s MySpace page there are a series of poems about New York City, penned by the band’s lyricist and violinist Nathan Langston. “For every city I go to on tour, I try to write a poem about it,” Langston explains, “There’s 16 or 17 that I’ve done so far but I want to do one for every city in America, kind of a map.”
With Portland currently weathering a deluge of jangley guitar-pop, distinguishing oneself from the masses of emerging talent in the field can prove an imposing task. While a majority of Portland’s musicians labor to develop a sound that will set them apart from their peers, Swim Swam Swum’s Matt Taylor has already latched onto a songwriting ideal that has propelled recognition of his band’s music.
It’s a well-documented fact that New Year’s Eve is the greatest of all American holidays. Not only does it provide an excellent excuse for me to validate my alcoholism, but it also encourages such time honored activities as dressing “pretty,” making out with interesting people and dancing like an asshole.
Forces of magnetism are at play between Portland and the frostbitten plains of Alaska. And apparently they are related to the strength of both regions’ collective sonic endeavors.