Behind all those bangs, flannel skirts, and plastic glasses, these PowellsBooks.Blog babes are intense. I like it.
In fact, besides Powell's, Portland has a lot of pretty amazing things going. There is, of course, Menomena. Mines, their new record (out on Barsuk), is a real gem. Don't miss it because you're spending all of your time listening to some Decemberists album. You locals should catch their show at the Crystal Ballroom on September 11th. If you're there, come by and say hi to me. I'll be the tall, dark, creepy bearded guy swarmed by 23-year-old book-blog fanatics.
Now, if you want to dig a bit deeper, and get heavier, you could get into the band Om (Emil Amos, also from the band Grails, is from Portland). They get called stoner doom metal, experimental rock, or even heavy-metal Tibetan-chant rock. But they're a hypnotic bass-and-drum duo, and you'll love them. You can read about Om online here, and if you dig that, you might want to check out a book I edited called Art is Life, Life is Art. They're on the cover, and their thoughts on life, music, and art are inspirational. Maybe not as inspirational as those black tights these book babes wear under their jean shorts, but still pretty good.