This might be the creepiest two minutes you’ll spend all day. We might as well spend it here. Together. I promise not to squeeze your hand too tight. Pharmacy drummer Brendhan Bowers made this video on the cheap on 16mm film. The song the vid’s attached to—”Dig Your Grave”—is just as fuz

Today is Dolly Parton’s birthday. And this is a lovely duet by two of TDoL’s favorites. Enjoy. Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fthedaysoflore.com%2Fhappy-happy-birthday-dolly%2F'; addthis_title = 'Happy%2C+happy+birthday%2C+Dolly'; addthis_pub

On Wednesday, Jan. 11, The Days of Lore Presents a night at The Know in Portland with our noisy friends Nucular Aminals, Koko and the Sweetmeats and Still Caves. Not only is the show a doozy that’s sure to get out of hand (in a very polite, indie-rock sort of way), it also marks the third [...]

Well, hello there. Remember when we used to hang out? Right here? I would tell you about the music I liked. And you’d get me up to speed on everything going on in your life—that new job, your new love interest, or that new zany electro-twee trio from Brooklyn—in the comments section. I miss that. It’

LIVE: Wild Flag and Drew Grow & the Pastor’s Wives at Doug Fir, 11.9.11 Supergroups are never super. Therefore, Wild Flag can’t be considered a supergroup. The former Sleater-Kinney/Minders/Helium members have formed a great American rock band—incredibly fun songs, endless energy—I almost forgot

I can’t say I’ve actively followed Battles … more like remained aware of their presence through my peripheral (I think they’re after me), and that came more from my love for drummer John Stanier. But, I’m liking this new(ish) release Gloss Drop. Battles trudges on minus the zany vocal stylings

There’s a pretty darn good chance you’ve never heard of The Zoltars, but they’re starting to make a little noise (sort of a lo-fi rumble). The Austin trio just made an appearance on Matador honcho Gerald Cosloy’s Casual Victim Pile II comp, and they’re mere days away from getting a turn over at

I’m not going to go into my love affair with San Francisco (and its inhabitants, restaurants, bands). I’m not. But when the lights go down in the city, and the sun shines on the bay … do I wanna be there in my city? Oh ooh whoa. Whoa ohhh oh ooh whoa. I’m slightly convinced that [...]

I’ve had my eyes (and ears) on these gringos for some time. Now I’ve got my poison quill on them. Don’t let Atlanta quartet Gringo Star’s name frighten you—the joke will be on you. These guys write some damn fine pop songs, and they’re getting a little polish on their forthcoming platter

I was recently asked by Spin Magazine to hang out at Stephen Malkmus’ house and talk to him about random objects that were ineteresting or held some sort of significance to him. I closed the e-mail, changed my underwear and schemed how I would call in sick to my day job in two weeks. “There’s [...]

It’s officially been a couple of months since my last post—the longest drought in TDoL history. ”What gives?” so say you three avid readers. Well, among the many things keeping me away from this blog (including a hack), I got hitched, and kickass, rock ‘n’ roll weddings on CaliforniaR

It’s no easy task to take the Ghosts of Music Past and turn them into something new. But Unknown Mortal Orchestra have cobbled together a mass of junky sounds (and flesh and bone), and have created a true Frankenstein’s monster (or The Modern Prometheus if you wanna get all snooty about it). Unknown Mortal Orche

I’ve had my head buried in the sand for the past two months. Between a full-time job that sucks my will to live (boo!) and planning a wedding (yay!), I have had little time to scope out new music. Not such a bad thing—it’s been nice listening to music from my past with slightly wiser [...]

Here’s a little teaser from Viva Voce’s forthcoming long-player The Future Will Destroy You, out June 21 on Vanguard Records. The title track is lush and noisy. And the clip (filmed by Aubree Bernier-Clarke) shows the Robinsons in their home studio—Kevin taking the lead with a sassy beat, and Anita handlin

You’d have a hard time pinning down Psychedelic Horseshit … though the band’s name kinda says it all. The Columbus, Ohio two-piece coined the term “shitgaze” to describe their music, thus giving music scribes something to cling on to (Does this count as a pun? Maybe a really bad pun?). Their la

I have a great idea! Instead of releasing new music Weezer should, from here on out, only record unexpected and wacky covers. In Vegas. Dressed as the Village People. Weezer recently covered Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” in the studio (they’ve also done Gaga and MGMT in the past), and I must say the

A friend mine said this would make his “top 20 songs ever list.” I’d have to agree with him. Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fthedaysoflore.com%2Fwho-wants-a-huggy-bear%2F'; addthis_title = 'Who+wants+a+Huggy+Bear%3F'; addthis_pub = '';

Paul McCartney has always been the most polarizing member of that one band from Liverpool for several reasons: a) He’s had the most prolific post-Beatle career, b) Lennon didn’t live long enough to become cheesy, and c) because he’s the cute one. When McCartney released his second solo record, Ram, in 1971

Dallas trio True Widow makes huge racket. Not nearly as huge as the title of their latest long player—As High As the Mountains and From the Center to the Circumference of Earth—but big (and sllooooww), nonetheless. I guess it makes sense considering everything is bigger in Texas—including opening bass line

How do you categorize Portland’s Red Fang? Four 30-somethings who wield mammoth rock riffs like young’ns and apparently have little regard for metal’s conventions. They’ve been called metal, stoner rock, neo-grunge—all of which is just music critic-speak for “I don’t know what the f

I know you’re excited ecstatic about those Kinks reissues, but this pair of reissues from Durango, Mexico psych, avant-garage band—and TDoL faves—Los Dug Dug’s is something to truly get enthused about (I’m also kind of thrilled to have just written a sentence containing the words “psych,&

It’s been nearly three years since The Days of Lore has checked in with Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts. In fact, my interview with guitarist JB Townsend waaay back on Nov. 7, 2008 was the first Q&A to appear on this here blog. Ah, memories truly are made of this. Good news: Crystal Stilts are still around, and [.

It’s no secret that TDoL is an unabashed New Zealandophile. Give me meat pies, the 3Ds and Lemon & Paeroa and I’m a happy camper (more car camper than roughing-it camper). Give me Barbara Manning’s In New Zealand and I’m an even happier car camper. So when I receive e-mails with the subject line

Record Store Day. The name alone is enough to get music nerds, geeks, audiophiles, crate diggers, what have you, all hot and bothered. When I first wrote about RSD back in its first year (what feels like many, many, many moons ago), I thought, “All right, a day to show appreciation for the independent [...]

I read that Xray Eyeballs frontman O.J. San Felipe includes lullabies as some of the inspiration for his music. Sounds kinda weird, but when you sit down and really absorb the themes of “Rock-a-Bye Baby” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” you realize that whoever wrote those was—if I may be so direct̵

If you haven’t heard Severance Package, it’s about time you did. Now. The trio from Chico, Cali just released the video for “All Down Hill” from their 7-inch of the same name. The clip—directed by the band’s bassist/voxist Robin Indar—tosses a rapid succession of images that all see

Alela Diane knows her way around a pop song. And on her new album—which introduces Diane’s new band Wild Divine—the Portland singer-songwriter balances the dark folk found on 2009’s excellent To Be Still with sunnier pop melodies and sleeker production courtesy of Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana). Callin

Neil Diamond. Horribly out of place in The Last Waltz. Spoofed brilliantly later by Will Ferrell. Forever associated with two decades of Vegas-style glitz, adult-contemporary pap and unfortunate hair and blouses (the cover of 1972’s Hot August Night sorta says it all). Somewhere along the way he was dubbed “the

Sometimes a simple pop song is all you need. No “post-[blah, blah, blah],” no “electro-[blech],” just pretty, no-frills pop. Shai Halperin is all about it. The former Capitol Years (that’s Daniel Johnston backing band The Capitol Years) guitarist returns to a simpler time with his new one-man o

Coming straight outta the London is the sexy Sex Beet. I’ve been eyeballing—and eardrumming—these lads for about a year now, and they keep getting noisier (noisier = better). The trio just birthed an otherworldly little monster called “Alone” for a split 7-inch with Detroit’s Human Eye (v