Last night Ned and I bailed on the Builders and the Butchers show at the Wonder, after I proved unable to contain my irritation at the band's old-timey schtick. (Three times I've seen them! I've tried. I could see getting excited about them in a smaller venue, but I've only seen them in big rooms where it's way too easy to stand in the back and think about how much I dislike their lyrics.) We wandered next door to the Secret Society Lounge, a tiny little bar tucked in next to the Secret Society Ballroom above Toro Bravo.

Open for about a month, the bar features some really well-mixed old-fashioned cocktails, including a few made with now-legal absinthe. The Chrysanthemum Cocktail, with Italian vermouth, benedictine, absinthe, and an orange garnish was floral and subtle, really very good, though thanks to its name, ordering the drink effectively functions as a sobriety test that I barely passed. They make their Sazerac with an absinthe rinse (I think I've only ever had them with Pernod before) and I really liked the woodsy flavor the absinthe lent to the drink, though Ned thought it tasted "mentholated." He was happier with Moscow Mule--the pretty unfuckwithable combo of vodka, lime, and ginger beer is served over ice in a copper mug.

The bar is tiny, decorated in red, and feels very fancy and exclusive--an impression thankfully countered by extremely friendly bartenders and completely reasonable drink prices (I paid $6.50 for my Sazerac, a mere $2.50 than the tallboys of PBR I would later consume at the Wonder. Don't mix those, BTW*.) There's also a $7 panini menu with both vegetarian options (the "number thirty-three" has fennel, artichoke, and fontina) and meaty ones (coppa and mortadella).

Secret Society Lounge, 116 NE Russell, open Fri-Sat 5 pm-1 am, Sun-Thurs 5 pm-midnight. Closed today, because, you know. Explosions. Happy fourth of July!

(*Update this blog, please, it is a comfort.)

Another week, another Mercury music section to read while you save your pennies for a very special special potato.

The Chromatics change their lineup, their sound, but not their name. Now that everyone loves the band, they go and change their name. I am so confused right now.
LISTEN:

The Chromatics - "Running Up That Hill" (Kate Bush cover)

Oh great, first hippies adopt the didgeridoo and now the hipsters in Ratatat discover the zarb. Well, at least I still have my precious Pipa Chinese Lute.
LISTEN:

Ratatat - "Mirando"

You like your pop music with a heavy dose of vintage charm? Yeah, so do the Morning Benders. Too bad they don't need any more members, because they would have totally let you audition for them.
LISTEN:

The Morning Benders - "Boarded Doors"

Big trouble in little Doomtown (for a band called Trouble). New lead singer, no new record, lots of t-shirts... sounds like the work of Lo Pan, if you ask me. "I'm a reasonable guy. But, I've just experienced some very unreasonable things." - Jack Burton (truck driver)
LISTEN:

Trouble - "Tales of Brave Ulysses"

JonnyX and the Groadies celebrate 12 years of grind-bliss, lasers, and basement shows. Boys, I am giving you the very same Sega Genesis console I received on my 12th birthday. Good luck getting past the 3rd level of Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master.
LISTEN:

JonnyX and the Groadies - "Castle/Face"

End Hits: I also had this game as well. Hooray for corporate cross-branding!

Everyone's favorite non-Mercury sponsored music festival is bringing out the big guns this year. MusicFest NW--which runs September 3-6 at various Portland venues--has (partially) spilled the beans on this year's stellar lineup.

So far, here's what we know...
TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Mogwai, the Murder City Devils, Menomena, Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, M. Ward, Polvo, the Cool Kids, the Night Marchers, Mirah, Del the Funky Homosapien, Blitzen Trapper, Oxford Collapse, Old Time Relijun, Jedi Mind Tricks, School of Seven Bells, Monotonix, Matt & Kim, Port O'Brien, Old 97's, Centro-Matic, John Vanderslice, Poison Idea, Crooked Fingers, Bodies of Water, the Joggers, Throw Me the Statue, the Shaky Hands, These Arms Are Snakes, U.S.E., Starfucker, Calvin Johnson, the Muslims, Pwrfl Power, Fucked Up, Death Vessel, Witchcraft, Trans Am, Walter Meego, Totimoshi, the Helio Sequence, and more to come...

Holy fuck*.

Once word on the rest of the lineup--and an on-sale date for those uncomfortable festival wristbands--becomes available we'll pass it on to you.

* That was just my reaction. The band Holy Fuck will not be there. Sorry for any confusion that might have caused.

End Hits: Why did we blog about this before WW did?

After years in our cozy down town studio, the PRA is about to upgrade back to the east side. By September we'll be in our new space in the Left Bank (formerly Multicraft Plastics) building that we will be building custom to our needs.

I am so jealous right now. That building is purty. Hit the PRA's website to donate money, supplies, or your precious time to help with the move.

In honor of the newest member of the Red & Black, Jerryd Bayless (aka, Jerry D. Bayless), here are some more Blazers tunes from the vault.

Way back when (pre-Oden) I wrote about the Blazers' rapping skills on their promotional "No One's Ready To Deal With Us" single. At the time the emcee skills of Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace left much to be desired, but after being gifted a copy of the "Can I Get A Headband?" single (thanks Rob!), I take it all back.

"Can I Get A Headband?" is an incredibly dated (the "oh" sample owes a lot to EMF) pro-Blazers jam that features various members of the 1999-2000 team--they are credited as "Da Blazers" but judging by the photos, contributors include Brian Grant, Damon Stoudamire, and headband enthusiast Bonzi Wells--alongside the folks at Z100. Peep that godawful rhyming: "Can I get a headband, one for my peeps/One for the fans in the really cheap seats/One for my mama and one for the mayor".

Vera Katz needed a headband?

LISTEN:
Portland Trailblazers and Z100 - "Can I Get A Headband?"

Oh, but wait, there's more. "It Ain't Easy" is the b-side (the CD also features two extended mixes and something called a "Fan's Mix" which I will spare you the horror of listening to) and a bit more hoops related than the lead track. The lyrics touch on the players various skills ("How did Scottie shoot that 3? Believe me, it ain't easy") and feature the very bizarre line: "Rasheed Wallace gets a slam. Believe me, it ain't easy. Now he's selling hot dogs in the stands." Huh? Did he get demoted to concessions? He did get a slam, right?

LISTEN:
Portland Trailblazers and Z100 - "It Ain't Easy"

Oh, the CD is a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club of America, so now I feel like a jerk for making fun of it. Sorry kids.

Another week, another Mercury music section to read while you ponder the case of the mysterious bones of Multnomah Falls.

See that Constantines photo up there? Now see that clown dressed in green who is just standing there bored, arms crossed, while the rest of the crowd is losing their shit ? I hate that guy soooo much right now. What kind of soulless monster could be bored in the presence of the mighty Constantines? Green shirt dude, you show up on Monday, I will turn your bones to dust.
MP3:
The Constantines - I Will Not Sing A Hateful Song

You can keep your Salt and your Pepa, I'll take the one and only Spinderella any day.
VIDEO:
Salt-n-Pepa - Push It

The Jet Age wrote a record about a man who "becomes so disillusioned with the state of America that he joins an underground movement and becomes a suicide bomber." Wow, it's like everything Fox News has ever warned us about, but in song form. I hope they write a song about Obama being a secret muslim.
MP3:
The Jet Age - O, Calendar

Those troublemakers in Pure Country Gold chat about their love of vinyl and how chocolate records just don't cut it.
MP3:
Pure Country Gold - The Boss

Plus, a look at the open-minded Sluts and Squares dance night, and a local music news roundup by Cary Clarke.

End Hits: All killer, no filler. Okay, just a wee dollop of filler.

The Shaky Hands have released some information and artwork (If you can decipher that rorschach-esque cover art—you win a prize!) on their upcoming full-length Lunglight, which will be released on Holocene Music and Kill Rock Stars. A band so big that they need two labels.

Supposedly "slightly darker" than the stoner summertime pop of their self-titled debut, Lunglight will hit the streets on September 9th. Full press release (my favorite line: "Mayhaw Hoons’ wildly swinging curly red hair") and track listing are below. Can't wait...

End Hits: Oh, I think I see what the image is, it's a spider with a parachute, right? What do I win?

FAKIN' IT--What can you say about an organization that allows eccentrics with names like Björn Türoque ("born to rock," get it?) to get on stage and play the invisible axe to Motörhead's "Ace of Spades"? It's the US Air Guitar Championships, and after tonight's regional competition, the winners head to San Francisco to compete for a chance to represent the Stars 'n' Stripes in Finland, where they take this shit very, very seriously. PATRICK ALAN COLEMAN

Because of the Hello Kitty breastplate, I'm almost tempted to post this under the "Cats" tag... but I won't. But somehow, the "Music" tag doesn't seem right either.

Dante's, 1 SW 3rd, 9 pm, $12-15

WASN'T THAT AWESOME?!? Okay, here's something else that's great, too. Who remembers Showbiz Pizza? If you went there as a kid, you'll certainly remember the Rock-afire Explosion—the super creepy animatronic animal band that could be programmed to play a myriad of crappy kid's songs. Well, now there's a bunch of collectors out there who purchased these robots, set them up in their basement and then programmed them to sing current songs. AND HERE'S THE BEST ONE I'VE SEEN YET!

Ladies and gentlemen, The Rock-afire Explosion presents Usher's "Love in this Club."

The good people at Radiolab, my and Ira Glass' favorite show on public radio, have compiled some possible ways to relieve yourself of those blasted earworms. My favorite solution is to inflict it on others by singing it out loud. My roomate and I used to do that with "Una Noche" by 98 Degrees and "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. We kept passing them to and fro like a bad case of Chlamydia.

To read what Radiolab has to say and listen to their podcast on the subject (for free!)...click here.

Attention all indie rockers with lots of paid vacation days:
Why go to Hawaii on vacation? Their local bands suck.
Instead, why not come to Portland?

That's more or less the concept behind the Travel Portland (a non-profit tourism board paid for by hotel taxes that encourages Portland travel) "Portland Rocks" offer. This tourism package has hotel discounts (at the Ace or Jupiter, definitely not at the Unicorn Inn on 82nd) and includes an "exclusive Stumptown Rock compilation CD and MP3 album download."

The CD (titled Stumptown Rock, Vol. 1) was curated by Dave Allen and features the likes of Blitzen Trapper, Another Cynthia, Au, Loch Lomond, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Panther, and more. Since we live here, and don't stay in hotels, we don't have a copy of it. Damn tourists.

This idea—that our indie music culture is now a viable selling point for tourism—is pretty appealing, just so long no indie rockers from Germany come here. If they do, it's on. Jets versus Sharks style, right in the middle of East Burnside.

I will so stab a Kraut outside Bombshell Vintage.

End Hits: The only music blog that can't go one goddamn day without threatening to stab someone.

Now. I'm not saying this cover is the greatest (see her version of "River Deep-Mountain High" if you want to see the awesomest cover of all time), however, if nothing else it's pretty freaking hilarious and I smiled all the way through it. Check it out below, and list your choices for worst covers in the comments!

More fun (and less Celine) over at End Hits!

I haven't played any sort of musical instrument since I was forced to haltingly learn the rudiments of the recorder in like fourth grade, and I am resolutely, pathetically tone deaf--which means if you probably shoudn't ever invite me somewhere if you plan on having a jam session, or even if you're just planning on singing "Happy Birthday" to somebody you don't loathe. All the same, I ended up at Weezer's "Hootenanny" last night, at the Oaks Park Dance Pavilion of all places--an event that was more or less a combination between a secret show and what I imagine it felt like to be a marching band nerd in high school.

Elementary school is probably the better comparison, actually, as long as you imagine your favorite music teacher is Mr. Cuomo. 94.7 sponsored the show--one of a series of such hootenannies that Weezer's traveling around and putting on to mark the release of their latest album--and the basic idea is this: A local radio station invites like 200 people out, who are told to bring whatever instrument(s) they play, and, beforehand, to learn the basics of the songs that make up the setlist. In Portland's case: The 200 or so people were invited by 94.7, and they brought instruments that ranged from plastic kazoos to a drum that was the approximate size and shape of semi-truck's wheel. Also: trombones, guitars, trumpets, violins, cellos, tambourines, maracas, clarinets, those drums hippies like, tubas, and those egg-shaped shaker things that don't even really count as instruments. And then Weezer played six songs, and everybody played and sang and hummed along, and it was one of the most fun shows I've been to in a really long time.

Another week, another Mercury music section to read while you curse Japan for having the world's greatest vending machines.

Au goes pop. Well, sort of. It's experimental pop music and it is quite excellent. Way better than that experimental funk-metal record I made that no one bought.
MP3:
Au - rr vs. d

Journey to the land of Blue Giant. And unlike a certain other colored giant, this supergroup (with members of Viva Voce, Golden Bears, and Swords Project) doesn't care if you eat your damn veggies or not.
MP3:
Blue Giant - Blue Sunshine

You like your Scots depressed? Hey, who doesn't? Well then Frightened Rabbits are for you. Besides, if you had to eat haggis all day and listen to the Bay City Rollers every S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night, you'd be bummed too.
MP3:
Frightened Rabbit - Good Arms vs. Bad Arms

Be Your Own Pet will cure all your neurotic ways. So that means you can now sell me all your unused medication. Oh, do you have any Demerol? I love those.
MP3:
Be Your Own Pet - Becky

End Hits: We love music, and pills. But mostly just pills.

Another week, another Mercury music section to read while you curse Japan for having the world's greatest vending machines.

Au goes pop. Well, sort of. It's experimental pop music and it is quite excellent. Way better than that experimental funk-metal record I made that no one bought.
MP3:
Au - rr vs. d

Journey to the land of Blue Giant. And unlike a certain other colored giant, this supergroup (with members of Viva Voce, Golden Bears, and Swords Project) doesn't care if you eat your damn veggies or not.
MP3:
Blue Giant - Blue Sunshine

You like your Scots depressed? Hey, who doesn't? Well then Frightened Rabbits are for you. Besides, if you had to eat haggis all day and listen to the Bay City Rollers every S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night, you'd be bummed too.
MP3:
Frightened Rabbit - Good Arms vs. Bad Arms

Be Your Own Pet will cure all your neurotic ways. So that means you can now sell me all your unused medication. Oh, do you have any Demerol? I love those.
MP3:
Be Your Own Pet - Becky

End Hits: We love music, and pills. But mostly just pills.

Mercury favorite—and not-so-favorite—Girl Talk has just unleashed his new album Feed the Animals under the pay-whatever-you-want system made popular by Radiohead.

You can download it for free (320 kbps MP3s), pay $5 for the fancy FLAC files, and if your pockets are deep you can drop $13 (this includes shipping) for the bigger files and a copy of the disc that will be shipped to you when its "properly" released in September.

I spent $13. Even if I am not totally sold on his live show, Night Ripper has given me years of quality entertainment and I'm anxious to hear if he can capture that magic once again. If you downloaded it, let us know how much you paid (if anything), and why.

End Hits: $13 poorer.

When I hear about "German Love," I immediately think about Hasselhoff fetishes, those sexy scenes in Das Boot, and my German safe word ("Uwe Ochsenknecht").

But when local band Starfucker—posing above with a Celtics-colored basketball in loving tribute to the long struggle of NBA champion Brian Scalabrine—sings about "German Love," things are far less creepy. In fact, this breezy little song (the first preview from their upcoming self-titled full-length due out in September from the good folks at Bad Man) nicely captures why this band is all the rage these days.

MP3:
Starfucker - German Love

Photo by Ingrid Renan

End Hits: We'll stop sexualizing Germany now.

As it so happens, misfortune has struck The Explorers Club. Just outside of Forsyth Montana (which is in the middle of nowhere) our big green monster of a van came head to head with a 250 pound deer... We are now stranded in Forsyth, waiting to hear from the mechanic tomorrow on what the damage is going to be. Needless to say this puts us in quite a hole. We're not going to be able to make the Seattle or Portland shows, but will do our best to catch back up in San Francisco if we can get repaired in time... A Paypal Donate button has been added to our page as well... Love you all, we'll hopefully be back on the road soon!

MP3:
The Explorers Club - Do You Love Me?

As you can hear above, the Explorers Club make sunny, vocal-harmony-drenched pop songs that sound very much like another band... whose name I can't place right now... you know, one of the quintessential American bands of the '60s... the Surf Kids? or something? The Sand Lads? At any rate, thankfully it takes more than a deer to the radiator to keep the Explorers Club down, but after mechanics' expenses and hotel rooms, they could still use any extra cash. They've set up a Paypal donate button on their MySpace page, so if you're feeling generous, you can click to help them out. OR you can go to the show tonight and buy lots of merch!

The Explorers Club open for Lightspeed Champion and Flowers Forever tonight at the Doug Fir; 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12

End Hits: The music blog that smashes your radiator.

The latest issue of Paste (which you can read online via this handy magazine-style web format thingy) has named Portland's Music Millennium as one of "America's Finest" record stores. Hot damn!

Well, that's not news to us. It's also not news that they call MM owner Terry Currier a "Weird Al doppleganger," which I assume they meant as a compliment. Anyway, MM joins the ranks of Amoeba, the unfortunately-named Electric Fetus, and a few more select stores, as the best-of-the-best record shops around. Congrats.

End Hits: Ray Stevens doppleganger.

The PCPA has just unveiled year number three of their Music on Main Street series—where they block off Main Street, between SW Broadway and Park, for an evening of free local music—and the lineup looks pretty promising.

Highlights include Fernando, All Girl Summer Fun Band (although the press release referred to the band as the "All Girl Summer Fund Band," which makes them seem wealthier, yet less fun), Dirty Mittens, Lions of Batucada, and tons more. Also, this all-age concert series is at a friendly time (5-7pm), so you breeders can bring your 'lil ones. Full lineup after the jump.

End Hits: All Girl Summer Phone Band.

Yeeeee-to-the-HAW! End Hits: Now that dog can hunt.

Listen up, kids! And, yes, I do mean kids. Not only is tonight the PDX Pop Now! CD release party at Holocene, but the event is all ages! Thanks to the OLCC's recently reformed minor postings rule, the 'Cene will be open to everyone. It's true, I even saw the floor plan. It was exciting.

Yeah, I get excited about floorplans, what's it to you?

Anyway, the show's $10 cover includes a copy of the new PDX Pop Now! CD compilation, before you can buy it in stores, plus the all-local lineup (YACHT, Fist Fite, Southern Belle, White Fang, DJ Manny Lennox) is guaranteed to be pretty stellar as well. See you there.