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The Indie CityWhy Portland is America's indie rock Mecca.

By Taylor Clark
Posted Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, at 12:57 PM ET
Stephen Malkmus. Click image to expand.

I never paid much attention to the band-rehearsal squawk that used to waft through the open windows of my house in the early evenings. The leafy, artsy neighborhood where I live on the east side of Portland, Ore., is home to many a band, after all, and this squawk—though unusually loud and yelpy—sounded like a typical Pabst- and angst-fueled racket. But one day, as I was running in a park adjacent to the squawk-producing home, I realized how mistaken I'd been: That noise actually belonged to Modest Mouse, the hugely popular indie rock group whose latest album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March. This was where band frontman Isaac Brock lived. I shrugged, and kept running—not because I dislike Modest Mouse, but because here in Portland, this sort of thing happens all the time. Our drizzly city is home to so many of these celebrated rockers that it's sometimes difficult to breathe, what with all of the indie cred saturating the air. Somehow, Portland has become America's indie rock theme park.

Allow me to illustrate. From Brock's house, drive—or bike, if you want to avoid hipster scorn—up Southeast Belmont Street for a bit and hang a left and you'll run into the residence of James Mercer, lead man of the Shins. Go about six blocks north of there and you'll see the palatial home of Stephen Malkmus, whose former band, Pavement, created today's incarnation of indie rock with 1992's Slanted and Enchanted. A few blocks west stands Beulahland, a bar where for years a team made up of Malkmus and the members of the all-girl punk group Sleater-Kinney thoroughly (and irritatingly) dominated the weekly trivia challenge. Follow East Burnside Street for a mile or so and you'll land at the Doug Fir, the club where newly minted Portlander Britt Daniel of Spoon recently unveiled his critically lauded new album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, at a secret show. Or, alternatively, you could follow Northeast 28th Avenue up toward the Alberta Arts District, where Death Cab for Cutie guitarist and producer Chris Walla lives. His place is just a few short blocks from the lovely home of singer-songwriter Laura Veirs, where I attended a party a few months back and met her boyfriend, Tucker Martine, who—aside from being responsible for the sound clip you hear every time you start up Windows Vista—produces records for Portland favorite sons the Decemberists.

And so on. This mini-tour doesn't even cover the entire highlight package. Portland also plays home to lesser-known acts like Viva Voce, the Thermals, Quasi, and M. Ward as well as more mainstream acts, such as Pink Martini, Everclear, and local punching bags the Dandy Warhols. What's more, the city may already be in danger of jumping the musical shark: There's been talk recently of bona fide rock stars relocating to town, like Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (recently spotted hunting real estate with his supermodel girlfriend and, according to scurrilous local gossip, driving a very un-Portland gold Hummer), and Gerard Way of the pop-goth group My Chemical Romance, who's been talking with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr about moving here. Marr, naturally, is another new Portland resident. (We're done listing the local rock heroes now, I promise.)

Why, you might ask, haven't you really noticed Portland's incredible concentration of musical talent before? Because unlike, say, Seattle's grunge boom in the '90s or the Bay Area's recent hyphy movement, Portland has neither a distinctive "sound" nor a "scene" to speak of. Sonically, there's not a whole lot that the twisty pop of the Shins has in common with the "hyper-literate prog-rock" (to borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert) of the Decemberists. And virtually none of these groups can be considered "Portland bands" since, with very few exceptions, they all moved to town after gaining some level of fame. (Generally speaking, it's rare to meet a young, creative Portlander who's from Portland.) You might see Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss parking her Volvo station wagon in front of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, for instance, but you seldom feel these luminaries exerting any influence on the local musical landscape. They all just kind of live here. Which is why it's often quipped that Portland is the place where hipsters go to retire.

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Taylor Clark is a writer based in Portland. His first book, Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture,was published in November.
Photograph of Stephen Malkmus by Karl Walter/Getty Images.
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Remarks from the Fray:

It's not surprising that folks want to live among their peers, I suppose. Quality of life is high in certain places. I just wonder how long good art can be produced in a place overrun with artists.

What I mean is, when you move into an artistic paradise--which for musicians must be Portland right at the moment--do you become detached from the working masses about whom the greatest artistic statements have been made? I remember Tom Waits once said the reason he preferred to stay in cheap hotels when he was on tour wasn't just because he could save money; lower-class neighborhoods had more stories. Luxury was an obstacle to getting to the root of things.

There are stories everywhere of course, including among the musically hip. But when I moved from Austin to Houston four years ago, I felt the old urge to write coming back. Houston is a city of working people, unpretentious and completely oblivious to popular opinion; if you don't like Houston, you can take your opinion and shove it. No big deal.

Something about the rusting industrial wasteland of the Ship Channel and the bland lack of character of the strip-mall suburbs makes you look past the gloss, ignore appearances, and get to really know what's going on. I'm sure a great story is waiting in Portland. But there are great stories in Houston and Bakersfield and Mobile and Atlanta, too.

--Anse

(To reply, click here.)

2 of the ladies of Sleater-Kinney were caught cheating by a friend of mine at Beulahland's trivia night several years ago. They were using a cell phone to call their other bandmate at home, who was sitting in front of her computer. In the interest of a good laugh, I reported this to the Willamette Week's music editor and he posted it online, though he didn't name names. One of the band responded to him at the paper that they weren't cheating - they were just smart enough to use outside help! And since there were no rules about this, they weren't actually cheating. Oh, the arrogance. That kind of terminated my mild enjoyment of their vastly overrated indie rock caterwauling.

Anyway, as someone who moved here to play music in 1995, I've been very aware of the influx of musicians - pro and amateur. I say, bring it on. The more, the merrier. Since Portland has no overriding scene or musical style like "grunge" or "jangle", I don't think the scene will get pigeonholed and destroyed like Seattle and Athens. I see it more as a general cool music town like Austin.

The thing is, there are all these big indie bands in town, but it's not like they are really part of the scene. I can't go down to my local watering hole every week and see the Shins play. My enjoyment of the Shins is just like anyone else in a big city. They play a show twice a year at a giant venue. Big deal. Living here means nothing. It's cool that they're here, but they are not part of the scene.

--Pete Best

(To reply, click here.)

Perhaps it is an indication of the vast vagueness of the "hipster" scene that every critique I read mentions the few similarities the people in this group have which each other. But seriously, do anti-hipsters have to mention Pabst EVERY SINGLE TIME??? And does it always have to come in the form of some lazy "joke"? What about those among us who think it is a good beer for the price? No wonder people drink it out of paper bags...

--darewreck

(To reply, click here.)

Another article on the supreme hipness of Portland, Oregon. It's funny to me that the floodgates have opened on the subject of who in the music world has moved to town. I'm guilty of being a band member (bass player for Gang of Four) who moved here in 2000 so I'll be careful to avoid the 'pot calling the kettle black' syndrome. While it's a healthy phenomenon I do worry that we'll get all Seattle-ized and the music scene will be way too trendy before collapsing around our collective, oh so cool, heads.

--Pampelmoose

(To reply, click here.)

(9/14)

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