So you’re sitting at home, Spotify open, trying to make an awesome PDX playlist to dance around to (or depending on what you’re into, brood in your basement to) until Orientation. Problem is, you have no idea which artists call Portland home. You know that Seattle boasts grunge rock legends like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains and everyone’s favorite thrift store shopper, Macklemore. You’ve long since associated Los Angeles and the Bay Area with everyone from Tupac to Lil B to MC Hammer to Devendra Banhart to The Mars Volta to N.W.A to Skrillex to AFI to Third Eye Blind to Trapt to Onigo Boingo to Fiona Apple to Lana Del Ray to…you get the idea. But here you are, staring at your computer screen, drawing a blank. Never fear! We’ve done all the hard work for you.
● Courtney Love
Though not born in Portland, the lead vocalist of the grunge band Hole and widow of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love spent the latter part of her teenage years living in Northwest Portland and taking classes at Portland State University. Though she left and went south to LA to found Hole, Portlanders enjoy being able to claim her as their own. Listen: “Awful” by Hole.
● Elliott Smith
Prolific and tragic singer songwriter, Elliott Smith rose to prominence in the early nineties and remained popular until his death in 2003. In the span of his too short career, Smith was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for his song “Miss Misery” (which can be found on the soundtracks for Good Will Hunting) and his albums XO and Either/Or were both met with widespread critical acclaim. Listen: “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Elliott Smith.
● Dharma Bums
Named after the Kerouac novel of the same name, Dharma Bums was formed in 1987. Full of brooding, grungy goodness, Nirvana opened many a show for the Bums and it is said that Kurt and Courtney first met at one of their gigs. Listen: “The Light In You” by Dharma Bums.
● The Thermals
Formed in 2002, The Thermals are self described as a “post pop punk trio”. Their Wikipedia article lists indie rock, lo-fi, power pop, rock, and punk as their genres. Wherever their music falls, The Thermals are known for their political and religious imagery, slightly radical ideology, and their chords and bass lines. Listen: “Not Like Any Other Feeling” by The Thermals.
● Esperanza Spalding
Winner of Best New Artist at the 2011 Grammy Awards, jazz artist Esperanza Spalding was born and raised in Northeast Portland. Having gained international acclaim for her bass playing skills, at age 20 Spalding became one of the youngest instructors at the Berklee College of Music. If that wasn’t enough, she has also performed at the White House (multiple times!) and at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremonies in Oslo. She has released four albums to date with songs sung in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Listen: “Precious” by Esperanza Spalding.
● The Portland Cello Project
I know what you’re thinking. Cellos? Really? Not cool. No. Really cool. The Portland Cello Project brings the cello to where no cello has ever gone before. Formed in 2006, PCP is a cello collective that is known for their unconventional cello covers of everything from Beck to Kanye. They describe their mission as such: “1: To bring the cello to places you wouldn’t normally hear it. (Everywhere from nightclubs to symphony halls, from sports bars to loading docks, from libraries to halftime at Portland Trailblazers games…); 2: To play music on the cello you wouldn’t normally hear played on the instrument. (Everything from Bach to Kanye to Pantera…); 3: To build bridges across all musical communities by bringing a diverse assortment of musical collaborators on stage with them. (Everyone from the Dandy Warhols to Peter Yarrow to Ben Sollee to Mirah to Garrison Keillor…)” (https://portlandcelloproject.com/) What you’re left with is one of the greatest and strangest musical crossovers that you’ve ever heard. Listen: “All of the Lights” (Kanye West Cover) by the Portland Cello Project.
● Yung Mil
Yung Mil is one of the best new rappers that you’ve probably never heard of. Portland raised, the young rapper won Russell Simmons’ Def Jam Rapster Get Schooled Contest and went on the perform on BET’s 106 & Park. Cool? Definitely. Listen: : “Left 2 Blow” by Yung Mil.
● And last, but not least… Hausu
Hausu was formed by Reedies, at Reed (3 of the 4 can still be found walking up and down the campus sidewalks). Signed to Sub-Pop, Hausu is spending this summer on a national tour and is due to release their first album, Total, on June 25th. Listen: “Leaning Mess” by Hausu.
And there you have it! Plenty of Portland musical fodder to fill your summer days. Happy dancing! (or brooding)
