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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

(Continued from page 1)

So what's luring them here? The rockers themselves have somewhat confusingly praised Portland as a city "entrenched in juvenilia" (Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein), a place with a sense of "calm longevity" (chief Decemberist Colin Meloy), and a home of "really great public transportation" (the Shins' Mercer, who, it's safe to assume, didn't come here for the bus routes). If there's any alluring indie mystique to Portland, it's most likely due to the late Elliott Smith, who attended high school on the west side of town and recorded his most-loved work here. (Mercer even owns Smith's old house.) Before Smith, Portland's primary musical contribution to the universe was the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie." But Smith, on albums like Roman Candle and Either/Or, sketched a virtual map of the city with his whispery voice, and he went so far as to adopt a local street name, Elliott Street, as his first name—his birth name was Steven. For fans like myself, Smith's music made Portland seem infinitely more romantic than it ever could be in real life. (Case in point: 45 consecutive days of rain = not actually romantic.)

After Smith came the deluge: first Sleater-Kinney and Malkmus in the late '90s, then Meloy, Mercer, et al. For a long time, my working theory on the indie influx was that these people wanted to live in a place where they could walk like gods among mortals. The city overflows with hipsters, artists, and independent-minded do-it-yourselfers, to whom someone like Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker is nothing less than a living legend. When I saw Spoon's Daniel at a local club with his girlfriend recently, people in the same room were playing it cool—but the next room over, the tightly jeaned scenesters were clearly psyched about the star in their midst. Would that happen in New York or Los Angeles? Probably not. I mean, Stephen Malkmus lives in a house that looks—quite literally—like a castle, complete with a crenellated tower. What kind of message is that supposed to send?

One could easily view the walrus mustache, short-shorts, and calf-high socks Malkmus was sporting last summer as evidence for such decadent, regal motivations—"I'm Stephen Malkmus, and I lengthen my shorts for no one"—but really, it's probably just proof that musicians like him moved to Portland for the same reason as the rest of us: It's easy to live here. In the words of a friend of mine who used to be the music editor at the local alt-weekly, Portland is like a resort community for indie rockers who spend half the year working themselves ragged on tour. You can venture into public dressed like a convicted sex offender or a homeless person, and no one looks at you askew. It's lush and green. Housing is affordable, especially compared with Seattle or San Francisco. The people are nice. The food is good. Creativity is the highest law. For young, hip Portlanders, financial success is a barista job that subsidizes your Romanian-space-folk band or your collages of cartoon unicorns.

And, crucially, indie groups always have good experiences here, because the city produces very enthusiastic rock crowds. Ask a musician why they relocated to Portland and, from Britt Daniel on down, the most common response is: "We came through on tour and I thought it was awesome." It might not be enough to lure the glitterati, but Portland's combination of affordability, natural beauty, and laid-back weirdness is an independent artist's dream.

Plus, I hear the public transportation is incredible.

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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

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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

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(9/14)

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