2013 Press
“Still run entirely by volunteers, PDX Pop nevertheless has grown from the ecstatic chaos of its inaugural weekend into a potent and polished nonprofit. Besides offering one of the only venues where people under 21 can see the city’s bands, the organizers are taking their all-access mission one step further by bringing those bands and music education into the area’s more impoverished schools. As Portland’s only nonprofit with a board almost entirely under 35, it has also become an incubator for young arts leaders.” Portland Monthly
“Another PDX Pop Now! festival is in the books, the latest edition playing out over three days this past weekend at the Eastbank Lot in inner SE Portland. This year’s 10th annual festival featured much of what we’ve come to expect over those years: pleasant surprises, overdue reintroductions, game efforts and, all in all, non-stop artistry we could all take pride in.” opbmusic
“THE LINEUP for this year’s PDX Pop Now! festival is almost too good. We wanted to whip together a quick highlights reel of the very best Portland bands that are playing the two stages of this year’s fest. But the hardworking volunteers who put together the all-ages, all-local, all-free weekend of music haven’t made it easy for us. There are really no weaknesses in the bill, no dry spots to be found in the spectacular lineup. Running the full gamut of the Portland music scene, from pure pop to fiery rock to hiphop to avant-garde and beyond—and sometimes several of these things at once—it’s clear that Portland music is fertile to the point of sprawling.” The Portland Mercury
2012 Press
7/24/2012: opbmusic.org: Photo Review: PDX Pop Now! 2012 – Day 1
7/24/2012: SSG Music: PDX Pop Now! Summer Festival Recap: Day 1
7/24/2012: BridgeTown Sound: Review: PDX Pop Now! Festival
7/24/2012: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! 2012 Day 3
7/24/2012: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! 2012 Day 2
7/24/2012: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! 2012 Day 1
7/26/2012: Portland Monthly: PDX Pop Now: Photos and Album
7/20/2012: opbmusic.org: Top of the Pops!
7/19/2012: The Oregonian: PDX Pop Now: A quick and easy guide to this weekend’s bash
7/18/2012: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop: Now and Forever – Bands You Shouldn’t Miss at This Year’s PDX Pop Now!
7/18/2012: ElevenPDX: What’s Going On: 07/18 – 07/25
7/13/2012: OMN: OMN’s top 5 acts at PDX Pop Now! 2012
7/2/2012: Pitchfork: Festivals In Brief: Village Voice 4Knots, PDX Pop Now!, Secret Garden Party, Tramlines
6/20/2012: Willamette Week: Summer Guide 2012: It’s Not a Portland Summer Until You’ve…
6/19/2012: Willamette Week: The It List: The Top 10 Things in Portland and the World
6/19/2012: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! Unveils All-Ages Festival Line Up
6/18/2012: Yahoo! Voices: Portland Summer Events Guide
6/18/2012: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Announces This Year’s Lineup and Schedule
6/8/2012: bePortland: PDX Pop Now! Release Party
6/7/2012: intothewoods.tv: PDX Pop Now! 2012
6/7/2012: Portland Mercury: Sweet Release
6/7/2012: opbmusic.org: Needle Drop: PDX Pop Now! 2012
6/5/2012: Oregonian: PDX Pop Now compilation release Thursday at Holocene
5/21/2012: Portland Monthly: PDX Pop Now! Announces Its 2012 Compilation Album Lineup and Release Show
5/18/2012: opbmusic.org: PDX Pop Now! Reveals Annual Comp Tracklist
5/18/2012: Portland Mercury: The 2012 PDX Pop Now! Compilation Album
5/18/2012: SPIN: Hear 15-Year-Old MC Rose’s Track Off PDX Pop Now! Comp
5/18/2012: Oregonlive: 2012 Summer Events Guide: Music events top picks
4/20/2012: Portland Mercury: This Year’s Make It Pop! Fundraiser for PDX Pop Now!
1/19/2012: IFC Portlandia Blog: Scenes from School of Rock’s Best of Portland Concert
1/6/2012: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Seeks Submissions For 2012 Comp. + Who We Want To Be On It
1/6/2012: Oregon Music News: School of Rock and PDX Pop Now! bring the ‘Best of Portland’
1/6/2012: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Opens Submissions and Gets Growly
1/5/2012: The Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! is looking for music, volunteers
2011 Press
10/18/2011: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now Announces Next Year’s Dates and Venue
10/18/2011: Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! sets 2012 dates, location
7/28/2011: Portland Mercury: Photos of 2011 PDX Pop Now!
7/27/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Brainstorm and Guidance Counselor shut it down in style
7/27/2011: Words Cut Open: PDX Pop Now! Photos!
7/27/2011: My Old Kentucky Blog: Report : PDX Pop Now! 2011 Round Up
7/27/2011: Rose City Live: PDX Pop Now! 2011 – Refuge PDX
7/27/2011: Willamette Week: Top Five Acts I Caught at PDX Pop Now!
7/27/2011: Willamette Week: Gossip That Should Have Gone to Rehab – PDX Popped
7/26/2011: Portland Monthly: Slideshow: PDX Pop Now! 2011
7/26/2011: intothewoods.tv: PDX Pop Now! 2011
7/25/2011: opbmusic.org: PDX Pop Wrap
7/24/2011: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! Day 3
7/24/2011: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! Day 2
7/24/2011: BePortland: PDX Pop Now! Day 1
7/24/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Notes from Sunday
7/23/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Notes from Saturday
7/23/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Saturday, 4:10pm — Loch Lomond, Wild Ones
7/23/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Saturday, 2:05pm — Palo Verde gets a leg up
7/22/2011: opbmusic.org: PDX Pop Nigh!
7/22/2011: Words Cut Open: PDX Pop Now!
7/22/2011: Redefine Magazine: festival coverage // pdx pop now! 2011
7/22/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Friday’s inside sets — Weinland, The Reservations, Lovers
7/22/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011: Friday, 6pm — Jared Mees & The Grown Children and STLS
7/22/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Starts Today
7/21/2011: Portland Monthly: 7 PDX Pop Picks
7/20/2011: Portland Mercury: Our Illustrated Look at PDX Pop Now!
7/20/2011: Oregonlive: PDX Pop Now! Everything you need to know about this year’s festival
7/20/2011: PDX Pipeline: 2011 PDX Pop Now | Interview w/ Joshua Spacek of Monarques
7/20/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Yearbook 2011
7/19/2011: Sound on the Sound: Another Reason To Road Trip To Portland: PDX Pop Now Is This Weekend
7/7/2011: Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! The Schedule
6/30/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Announces Schedule
6/30/2011: Portland Mercury: Here Is Your PDX Pop Now! Schedule
6/22/2011: Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! lineup, from And And And to Yeah Great Fine
6/15/2011: Basement Of Our Brain: PDX Pop Now! Announces the 2011 Festival Lineup with Animated Video
6/15/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! 2011 line up announced
6/15/2011: Willamette Week: Check Out The 2011 PDX Pop Now! Fest Lineup
6/15/2011: opbmusic.org: PDX Pop Now! Unveils Festival Lineup
6/15/2011: Portland Mercury: Here is Your 2011 PDX Pop Now! Lineup
6/15/2011: Willamette Week: Summer Guide 2011: Summer Events Calendar
6/2/2011: Pitchforkmedia: News in Brief: Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Matias Aguayo, PDX Pop Now!, Mountain Jam Festival
6/2/2011: intothewoods.tv: Double Take: PDX Pop Now Compilation
6/2/2011: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Comp Release: O Bruxo, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Swahili, Lost Lander, DJ Papi, DJ Gigante
6/1/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now Compilation Release: O Bruxo, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Swahili, Lost Lander, DJ Papi, DJ Gigante
5/27/2011: Pitchforkmedia: Pitchfork Guide to Summer Festivals
5/20/2011: The Oregonian: Summer events: Edgefield, Oregon Zoo, Blues Festival and more summer music
5/18/2011: opbmusic.org: PDX Pop Now! Unveils Tracklist
5/18/2011: My Old Kentucky Blog: New Music : 2011 PDX Pop Now! CD Compilation
5/17/2011: PC-PDX: PDX Pop Now! Unveils Compilation Track List And Release Show
5/17/2011: Basement of Our Brain: PDX Pop Now! Unveils Compilation Track List And Release Show
5/17/2011: The Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! unwraps track listing, and CD release benefit
5/17/2011: Willamette Week: Cut of the Day: The Minders, “Needle Doll,” PDX Pop Now! Compilation 2011
5/17/2011: Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! reveals track listing for 2011 comp
5/17/2011: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Announces 2011 Compilation
4/28/2011: The Oregonian: PDX Pop Now! Fundraiser Is Tonight at Ace Hotel
4/27/2011: Willamette Week: Make It Pop 2011: Laura Veirs, Eric Earley, Laura Gibson, Israel Nebecker, DJ Jeremy Petersen
4/22/2011: opbmusic.org: Makin’ It Pop!
3/23/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Announces Make It Pop Lineup
3/23/2011: Oregonlive: PDX Pop Now! benefit with Laura Veirs, Eric Early, Israel Nebeker and Laura Gibson
3/22/2011: Oregon Arts Commission: Awards Eleven Arts Recognition Grants
3/21/2011: Oregonlive: SXSW: Typhoon, Cool Nutz, Yoko Ono, Brainstorm bring it home
3/16/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Is For The Kids
2/14/2011: Billboard: Talking Arts: Q&A With Decemberists-Loving, Pro-Arts Portland Mayor Sam Adams
2/11/2011: Portland Mercury: Even More Information About PDX Pop Now! 2011
2/10/2011: Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! 2011 Details
2/10/2011: Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Announces 2011 Dates and New Venue
2/10/2011: Oregonlive: 80s Video Dance Attack attacks PDX Pop Now’s bottom line
1/24/2011: Oregonlive: Reminder: PDX Pop Now! is looking for songs
1/3/2011: Oregonlive: PDX Pop Now! compilation submissions, get them in
2010 Press
11/13/2010: Portland Mercury: Tonight in Music: PDX Pop Now Benefit, Built to Spill, Mighty Ghosts, and more
8/27/2010: Oregonlive: Blue Cranes adds variety to PDX Pop Now! festival’s indie rock and hip hop scene
8/3/2010 Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now 2010 Liveblog Coverage
8/2/2010 Endhits: Your PDX Pop Now! Photo Diary
8/2/2010 Photo Review: PDX Pop Now!
8/2/2010 Outsider Music Press: PDX POP NOW FIND #2: Parenthetical Girls
8/2/2010 Outsider Music Press: KUSIKIA Live at PDX POP NOW
8/1/2010 Outsider Music Press: PDX POP FIND #1: ASSS
8/1/2010 Outsider Music Press: PDX POP NOW PICK #3: Typhoon
8/1/2010 Thomas Boyd Photography: PDX Pop Now!
8/1/2010 Oregonlive: Review: PDX Pop Now! a good showcase for the most popular to the most absurd
7/31/2010 Outsider Music Press: PDX POP NOW PICK OF THE DAY: BLUE CRANES
7/30/2010 Outsider Music Press: PDX POP NOW PICK OF THE DAY: Kusikia
7/30/2010 OMN’s 2010 PDX Pop Now! picks: 3 days of free, local, all-ages indie music
7/30/2010 Oregonlive: PDX Pop Now!: Plenty of Pop for everyone
7/30/2010 Redefine Magazine festival coverage: PDX POP NOW! 2010
7/29/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Witch Mountain, Ylang Ylang
7/29/2010 Oregonian: PDX Pop Now!: Plenty of Pop for everyone
7/28/2010 Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Yearbook, 2010
7/28/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Wampire, Why I Must Be Careful
7/27/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: The Tumblers, Typhoon
7/26/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Tiny Knives, Tu Fawning
7/25/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Skeletron, Soup Purse
7/24/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Rollerball, Shoeshine Blue
7/23/2010 Endhits PDX Pop Now Primer: Please Step Out of the Vehicle, Reporter
7/23/2010 Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! live at City Hall
7/22/2010 Oregon Music News: It takes a village: PDX Pop Now!
7/22/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Operative, Parenthetical Girls
7/21/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Michael the Blind, O Bruxo
7/20/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Lewi Longmire, Luck One
7/19/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Krebsic Orkestar, Kusikia
7/18/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Joey Casio, Joggers
7/17/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, Jackie-O Motherfucker
7/16/2010 Oregonlive: PDX Pop Now! Pops into City Hall
7/16/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Hockey, Hosannas
7/15/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Grey Anne, Guantanamo Baywatch
7/14/2010
7/13/2010 Portland Monthly: Cary Clarke’s First Official Summer. Former PDX Popper makes local music a municipal matter.
7/12/2010 Endhits: PDX Pop Now Primer: Cloudy October, Da’rel Junior
7/12/2010 Endhits.com: PDX Pop Now! Heads to City Hall
7/11/2010 Endhits.com: PDX Pop Now Primer: Blue Horns, Brainstorm
7/10/2010 Endhits.com: PDX Pop Now Primer: Billygoat, Blue Cranes
7/9/2010 Endhits.com: PDX Pop Now Primer: Autistic Youth, Ben Darwish
7/8/2010 Endhits.com: PDX Pop Now Primer: Atriarch, AU
6/17/2010 KEXP: Thursday Meltdown"
6/15/2010 Sound on the Sound: Start Planning Your Road Trip(S) South: PDX Pop Now! And Musicfest NW Line-Ups
6/15/2010 Music for Robots
6/14/2010 The Deli NYC: PDX Pop Now! Announces Lineup
6/14/2010 Three Imaginary Girls: PDX POP NOW! 2010 lineup announced
6/11/2010 Pitchforkmedia: Portland Festivals MusicfestNW and PDX Pop Now! Announce Lineups
6/11/2010 Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! Lineup announced
6/11/2010 Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Announces Lineup For 2010 Festival
6/11/2010 Oregonian: Lineup/schedule news for PDX Pop Now!/Pickathon
6/11/2010 Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Announce Lineup
6/9/2010 Brooklyn Vegan: New Menomena album, MP3, Tour Dates, PDX Pop Now! comp
6/3/2010 Consequence of Sound: Check Out: A Weather – “Giant Stairs” (CoS Premiere)& PDX Pop Now! comp
6/2/2010 Portland Mercury: My, What a Busy Week
5/21/2010 Oregonlive: Summer events guide: Five pop music events not to miss
5/11/2010 Pitchfork.com:News in Brief: PDX Pop Now!, Six Organs of Admittance, Tender Trap, Joshua Light Show
5/6/2010 Oregon Music News: Willamette Valley Music Fest takes over UO campus
5/6/2010 OPBMusic:PDX Pop Now! Unveils 2010 Comp
5/4/2010 PC PDX: PDX Pop Now! 2010 Compilation Track Listing
5/4/2010 Oregonlive.com: What your PDX Pop Now! 2010 compilation CD looks like
5/4/2010 End Hits: Everything You Need to Know About This Year’s PDX Pop Now! Festival
5/4/2010 localcut.com: PDX Pop Now! Compilation Tracklist, CD Release Info and More
5/4/2010 Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! reveals 2010 complition track listing
4/30/2010 Stereogum: Colin Meloy Plays New Decemberists Tunes, Inks Book Deal
4/30/2010 Portland Mercury: Colin Meloy Debuts New Material at PDX Pop Now! Benefit
4/30/2010 OPBmusic: Colin Meloy Debuts New Decemberists Songs at PDX Pop Now! benefit
4/29/2010 Oregonlive.com: Introducing Colin Meloy, novelist (You’ve already met Carson Ellis, artist)
4/27/2010 Willamette Week: Tickets Still Available For PDX Pop Now! Benefit
4/22/2010 Oregonlive: April 23-29: Music, Movies & More
4/1/2010 Pitchforkmedia: Colin Meloy to play benefit for PDX Pop Now!
3/25/2010 Oregon Music News: PDX Pop Now! announces outreach program at Parkrose Middle School
3/9/2010 Portland Mercury: Farewell, Cary Clarke
3/9/2010 Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! Founder Cary Clarke is Portland’s New Arts & Culture Policy Coordinator
2/25/2010 Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! Announces Fundraiser and Gets a Pretty New Logo
2/24/2010 Oregonlive: There IS something familiar about the new PDX Pop Now! logo
2/24/2010 Willamette Week: PDX Pop Now! 2010 Details, Fundraiser Announced
2/22/2010 Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now! and Burgerville
1/28/2010 Portland Mercury: My What a Busy Week – Sing Song
1/8/2010 OregonLive.com: The week that was: PDX Pop Now Submissions
1/5/2010 Portland Mercury: PDX Pop Now Submissions
2009 Press
11/11/2009 Popwreckoning: Britt Daniel @ PDX Pop Now Benefit
10/19/2009 OregonLive.com: PDX Pop Now! fundraiser
10/29/2009 Portland Mercury: A Conversation with Britt Daniel
7/29/2009 OPBMusic
7/28/2009 OPBMusic
7/28/2009 Local Cut
7/28/2009 PDX Pipeline
7/26/2009 OregonLive.com
7/25/2009 End Hits
7/25/2009 OPBMusic.org
7/25/2009 OregonLive.com
7/24/2009 Portland Monthly
7/23/2009 thefmly.com
7/23/2009 The Culture of Me
7/23/2009 Pampelmoose
7/23/2009 Local Cut-These Are the Days Blog
7/23/2009 OregonLive.com
7/23/2009 Portland Mercury
7/22/2009 KEXP 90.3 Blog
7/22/2009 Willamette Week
7/21/2009 Pitchfork.com
7/20/2009 PDX Pipeline
7/18/2009 OPBMusic.org
7/16/2009 End Hits
7/14/2009 PDX Pipeline
7/14/2009 Oregonlive.com
7/13/2009 Local Cut
5/21/2009 Basement Of Our Brain
5/21/2009 Willamette Week
5/21/2009 Portland Mercury
4/30/2009 Portland Mercury
4/29/2009 Portland Mercury
4/22/2009 Pitchforkmedia
4/20/2009 Basement Of Our Brain
4/20/2009 Portland Mercury
4/20/2009 Willamette Week
2008 Press
7/11/2008 Portland Octopus
7/11/2008 Indie Music Portland
7/11/2008 Oregon Live Blog/Pampelmoose
7/13/2008 Seattle Sound
7/14/2008 Delusions of Adequacy
7/15/2008 Oregon Live
7/15/2008 Portland Mercury
7/15/2008 Blurt
7/16/2008 CMJ
7/18/2008 MTV News
7/25/2008 Paste Magazine
9/11/2008 Portland Mercury Festival Announcement
2008 Videos
8/5/2008 Panther – Spin.com
8/12/2008 Dykeritz – Blurt
8/12/2008 White Fang, A Weather and Tu Fawning – Mercury Music Blog
2007 Press
08/06/2007 Oregonian Festival Review
08/06/2007 Local Cut: PDX Pop Now! Day 3
08/05/2007 OPB
08/05/2007 Local Cut: PDX Pop Now! Day 2
08/04/2007 Local Cut: PDX Pop Now! Day 1
08/03/2007 Oregonian Feature
08/03/2007 Portland Tribune Feature
08/02/2007 Portland Mercury Festival Feature
08/01/2007 Willamette Week Festival Preview
08/01/2007 Daily Vanguard
07/27/2007 LC Podcast: These Are the Days: PDX Pop Now! edition
07/27/2007 Local Cut on City Hall Show Pt. 2
07/16/2007 Local Cut on City Hall Show Pt. 1
07/15/2007 Well Rounded Radio Interview
07/09/2007 Audiversity
07/03/2007 Fresh Sides
06/27/2007
06/26/2007 Sound on the Sound
06/21/2007 KEXP (scroll down)
06/21/2007 Northwest Noise
06/20/2007 Treble Zine
06/20/2007 NewNowNext (LOGO TV Blog)
06/19/2007 Pitchfork
06/19/2007 Side One: Track One
06/19/2007 Pop Music (Oregonian) on Initial Festival Lineup
06/19/2007 Local Cut on Initial Festival Lineup
06/19/2007 Portland Mercury Blogtown on Initial Festival Lineup
06/18/2007 I Guess I’m Floating
06/16/2007 songs: illinois
06/08/2007 Oregonian Album Review
06/08/2007 Portland Tribune on CD Release (scroll down)
06/07/2007 Portland Mercury on CD Release (scroll down)
05/24/2007 KellyWatchTheStars
05/23/2007 Local Cut on Comp Tracklisting
05/09/2007
Local Cut Parkrose Show Review
05/05/2007 Portland Mercury Blogtown on Parkrose
05/02/2007 CMJ on Parkrose Middle School
04/26/2007 Local Cut on Parkrose Middle School
Community Coverage
As is hardly surprsing, the public does a better job of documenting the PDX Pop Now! festivals than we could ever do. That being the case, we hope you enjoy the podcasts, photos, videos and bloggage that other people have made available to any and all. Thanks for making things with us!
Podcasts courtesy of Tables Turned
Blog coverage on Urban Honking
2006 Festival Press
07/31/06 Oregonian Review
07/31/06 Willamette Week Local Cut Review
07/28/06 Portland Tribune Feature
07/27/06 Portland Mercury Feature
07/26/06 Tiny Mix Tapes Story (scroll down)
07/24/06 Villains Always Blink
07/21/06 WW Local Cut on City Hall Concert
07/20/06 WW Local Cut on Festival Schedule
07/17/06 WW Local Cut on Lineup
07/13/06 Fluxblog
07/06/06 CMJ Story
07/05/06 Pitchfork Story
06/30/06 Stereogum
06/30/06 Gorilla vs. Bear
06/30/06 Largehearted Boy
05/09/06 Portland Mercury Interview
2005 Festival Press
08/15/05 Tiny Mix Tapes Recap (scroll down)
08/12/05 Oregonian Recap
08/10/05 Willamette Week Recap
08/05/05 Oregonian Mention (scroll down)
08/04/05 Portland Mercury Feature and Band-by-Band Guide
08/03/05 Oregonian Feature and Picks
08/03/05 Willamette Week 2004 Recap and 2005 Preview
07/28/05 Tiny Mix Tapes
06/23/05 Portland Mercury
05/06/05 Pitchfork
03/17/05 Portland Mercury
CD Press
CORTNEY HARDING, Portland Tribune
Several recent compilations have attempted to showcase the local music scene. While none of them fully encompasses all the styles of Portland music, the second PDX Pop compilation does a great job demonstrating that the city has a vibrant pop scene.
With two CDs and 41 songs, there is something for every taste. The first CD kicks off with Sleater-Kinney’s aptly titled “Rollercoaster,” and demonstrates that the band is on top of the world for a reason. Mirah slows things down a few tracks later with a home-recorded version of “While We Have the Sun,” while Nice Nice speeds things up with “Uh-Oh.”
Other CD-1 highlights include Glass Candy’s sexy, spastic dance track “Lovin Machine,” the glitchy “Just Expect” by Copy and Talkdemonic’s beautiful “Mountaintops in Caves.” The CD closes with “Chemical Reaction,” by the Spooky Dance Band, and reminds us again what great talents were lost in a bike accident in 2003.
The second CD features more big name acts, among them the Decemberists, the Gossip and M Ward. While all provide stellar tracks, it’s the farm-league contenders who’ll really blow listeners away. The Snuggle Ups bounce around the room, while the Cajun Gems sit on the porch and twang. Die Monitr Batss create chaos. Norfolk and Western soothe.
This compilation is by no means a definitive guide to Portland music, but it’s a good starting place for curious listeners. Give it a spin and find a new favorite band — many of which will perform at the PDX Pop Now! Festival this weekend.
KIP BERMAN, Portland Mercury
Compilations are, by their very nature, uneven affairs – meant more to showcase a variety of artists than offer a cohesive listen. That said, PDX Pop Now!‘s sophomore offering is just as much a success as last year’s debut. Sure, hiphop and Klezmer are equally represented (one track a piece), and yes (surprise!), there’s an overabundance of whiny dudes with four tracks in their bedroom. But hey—that’s Portland. The good folks who put out this comp and organize the PDX Pop Now! festival have their hearts and ears in the right place. Listening to the standout contributions from such diverse artists as Dolorean, The Gossip, Glass Candy (Miami Pop Now!?), Point Line Plane, Viva Voce, The Snuggle Ups, M. Ward, Wet Confetti, and The Helio Sequence remind me what a fantastically creative and vibrant music scene we are lucky enough to have in our own backyard.
MARK BAUMGARTEN, Willamette Week
Served on two discs, this collection offers a snapshot of a music scene that’s about more than just “pop,” that percussive palindrome that points to music meant to be consumed en masse. The compilation leaves out much of Portland’s music community: mostly, the musicians working within the boundaries of genres like country, jazz, gospel, old time, metal and, save one song, hip-hop. Instead, the collection focuses on the city’s forward-looking musicians, artists who are interested in reforming the templates of popular music, using new and old tools to create something fiercely original. These are many of the artists who are creating the framework for a scene that is uniquely Portland in both its geography and its form. But what is that form?
Well, it includes women, as the PDX Pop Now! compilation features a dozen female-fronted bands, from the angry (the Gossip, Sleater-Kinney) to the kind (Mirah) to the undeniably rad (the Blow, LKN). It also has an isolationist streak, as nearly half the acts included here opt to work the one- or two-person-band route while making music that reinvents the sound palette (Nice Nice, Talkdemonic, Y.A.C.H.T.) or reimagines tradition (Dolorean, Alan Singley, Jessica Jones).
And I have no idea what that means for the scene, except that it sounds great and, jokes aside, sounds like Portland-a sweeping geographical generalization that I’m willing to claim.
