The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love

For most established artists, a concept album can make or break your career. Luckily, The Decemberists have met the challenge head-on and crafted a beautifully cohesive and emotionally diverse album. The Hazards of Love, the fifth studio album from the Portland, Oregon based indie rockers, weaves an intricate story of forbidden love, forest dwelling creatures, [...]

A Note On Monk

Thelonious Monk is one of those names that most people have heard, yet about 90% of those people probably have no idea what it is he did, aside from possibly being a jazz musician. Of course, for those involved in jazz, saying Monk is like saying Domino’s Pizza (weird analogy, but I am IMPROVISING this [...]

Where The Wild Things Are trailer released! Looks good to me!

If you have a soul and was once a child, you probably read Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It’s a classic picture book about a mischevious child in a creature suit who gets grounded and in rebellion, dreams up a fantasy island world where these giant, scary monsters rule the land. He [...]

Hip-Hop Throwback: “I Used to Love H.E.R”

So in keeping with our hip-hop posts that we’ve been posting lately, I thought I would keep the momentum going with a little post of my own, because dang it, that’s how I roll. For the past week or so, after posting about up-and-coming duo Unladylike, I’ve actually been going back in hip-hop and listening [...]

Asher Roth: much more than “I Love College”

If you have found yourself drunk, crunk, blazed, baked or stoned on a recent weekend night, there’s a good chance that Asher Roth’s hit “I Love College” was playing somewhere in the background. This anthemic ode to the drunken daze that many would call college life has party song written all over it. Complete with [...]

Kid Cudi is NOT Retiring

If you read my post last week about Kid Cudi’s possible retirement, I am glad to tell you that he will continue his career. According to AllHipHop.com, Kid Cudi announced at the SXSW Festival that he will stay in the game. His announcement was pretty comical, so here is an unedited version of what he [...]

One of Portland’s hidden gems: Chriss Sutherland

Last night I saw Chriss Sutherland perform at SPACE Gallery on the opening of his tour with Americana group Brown Bird (Maine/Rhode Island). Owen and Kegan joined me for the show, and by the end of Chriss’s set, we all agreed that he put on an amazing show. He mainly plays a folk-Americana style but [...]

Check ‘Em Out: Unladylike

As someone who listens to rap/hip-hop on a regular basis, sometimes I wonder where all the female rappers went.  Sure we still have a few them out there doing their thing, but like most of hip-hop today, it’s hard to decipher between the good and the absolute shiitake mushrooms. Enter Unladylike: The Def Jam signed [...]

Andy Samberg is hosting the MTV Movie Awards!

According to MTV.com, Andy Samberg will be hosting the MTV Movie Awards on May 18. It should be awesome because Andy Samberg is the man. In the MTV article he was, “super excited.” I guess I am too now. -Kegan

Is Kid Cudi leaving the game before his big break?

Kid Cudi, an up and coming hip-hop artist is apparently retiring after his first full-length album releases this summer. Cudi, who has been building up buzz with his hit single “Day ‘N’ Nite” and winning the approval of artists like Kanye West, wrote a lengthy entry on his blog entitled “I am sorry.” In the [...]