Record Review: Coco Columbia, When the Birds Begin to Walk
The musician embarks on her own wild-eyed trajectory. by Robert Ham WHENEVER JAZZ ARTISTS attempt to meld their sound with other genres, or vice versa, the results tend to be a mixed bag. The music...
View ArticleSam Coomes’ Cubist Pop Freakout
The Portland musician’s first solo record goes black and white. by Ryan J. Prado “I NEVER have been interested in doing a solo album, or having a solo career,” says Sam Coomes at a sidewalk picnic...
View ArticleRecord Review: Federale, All the Colours of the Dark
On their new album, Federale isn’t just an Ennio Morricone cover band. by Ciara Dolan FEDERALE ISN’T SHY about their influences—it’s pretty obvious that the Portland band longs to make snow angels in...
View ArticleAll-Ages Action!
This week’s all-ages shows. by Emma Burke WED AUG 17The Castaway Kidsw/Amber Moon, Pedestrian Street Gang; Holocene, 1001 SE MorrisonPortland is a great incubator for teen indie rock projects, and the...
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Things to Do Film
This Week: Grindhouse Eastwood, Clashing Titans, and Penelope Spheeris' Punk Rock Summer Bummer by Mercury Staff Anthropoid A fantastically paced, impeccably accurate historical thriller nestled...
View ArticlePain and Motherhood in Viktoria
Post-Soviet, postnatal. by Kjerstin Johnson IT’S 1979 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Boryana (Irmena Chichikova) lives with her husband and mother in a cramped apartment, consumed by her desire to leave the...
View ArticleKubo and the Two Strings Is as Good as It Looks
Laika’s newest stop-motion feature is sooooo pretty. by Courtney Ferguson THERE WAS a bit of a lull after Laika’s 2009 feature debut Coraline, but the local animation studio has once again nailed it...
View ArticleThe General Still Delights, 90 Years Later
The Hollywood Theatre celebrates the film’s birthday with a live score. by Robert Ham THIS YEAR, two Oregon-born landmarks of cinema are sharing a 90th birthday. It was in 1926 that the Hollywood...
View ArticleHubris, Cocaine, and the Bad Boys of War Dogs
Watch Jonah Hill get punched in the face! by Ben Coleman LIKE BLACK LICORICE or the PT Cruiser, Jonah Hill is divisive. I have friends who can’t get enough of his potty-mouthed braggadocio, and others...
View ArticleLo and Behold: The Internet of Herzog
Histories, prophecies, and Reveries of the Connected World. by Erik Henriksen “ANY SUFFICIENTLY ADVANCED technology is indistinguishable from magic,” Arthur C. Clarke wrote in 1973. Four decades...
View ArticleThings to Do Music
Noteworthy shows for the week of August 17-23. by Mercury Music Staff WEDNESDAY 8/17COCO COLUMBIA, SAMA DAMS, MOOREA MASA (Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Read our review of Coco Columbia’s When the Birds...
View ArticlePro Wrestling for the People
A look at Portland’s underground pro wrestling scene. by Morgan Troper You never forget your first DOA match. Or your second. Or your third.I’m spending my Saturday evening in a gymnasium at the...
View ArticleMeet Buddy and Friday Hangs
The weird and wonderful Magic Society move to Portland. by Kathleen Marie THE CREATIVE FORCES behind Magic Society, Buddy and Friday Hangs make music and surrealistic video and visual art. They just...
View ArticleThe New Ben-Hur: Same Chariot Race, Way More Jesus!
The new remake tightens up the bloat of the 1959 classic, but to no avail. by Andrew Wright THE TREND towards perpetual remakes and reboots is a growing pox upon Hollywood. Okay, now that that’s out...
View ArticleGood Morning, News: Trump Hires Breitbart, Parking by Phone, and Julian...
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey GOOD MORNING, BLOGTOWN! It never really mattered too much to me that you were just too damned old for me. All that really mattered was you were my boyfriend, and baby, that's...
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Hey Parents! Check Out the New Issue of True Parent!
by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey HEY PARENTS!Get psyched, because the new issue of True Parent—the magazine for diverse, working class parents who are busy as shit, and keeping it real—is on the streets NOW....
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Confused About the Proposed Corporate Tax Hike Everyone's Talking About?...
by Dirk VanderHart Measure 97 is confusing. But the monster tax measure that'll be on your November ballot, which the Merc hasn't taken a position on no matter what you've heard, is also spurring...
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Costco and Affordable Housing Were Among Offers to Buy Terminal 1
by Dirk VanderHart Leave it to Costco to try to sneak away with a bargain. Earlier this month, the Washington-based retailer wanted to plop one of its enormous members-only outlets at Terminal 1, the...
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Curtis Cook Takes His Sharp, Smart Comedy to LA
by Megan Burbank “Nothing really makes me nervous here anymore," says Curtis Cook of why he's moving to Los Angeles. "I kind of miss it.”Danny Felts“I'm so sorry,” says Curtis Cook. We’ve just met up...
View ArticleShut the Hell Up, Neighbors
by Anonymous I live in St. Johns and have some neighbors (not right next to me, but close enough) that love to hang out late into the night singing, talking, or just being loud and yelling (I heard...
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