Music Blog

One of the strength's of Portland's music scene is that there is no one particular "Portland sound" that our bands have. The same can be said of the music videos our directors create, which these three are a great example of.

Artist and musician Rachel Blumberg is a Portland native, who just recently left our fair city to live in Providence, Rhode Island. About a year ago, she made her first music video, using stop-motion animation, for Tom Hagerman (known for his work as a member of DeVotchKa). She has now created her second, for New York's Nada Surf, which she began in Portland and finished in her new home. She's still working in, as she puts it, the "herky-jerky style" of her favorite Eastern European animators, but already her technique has refined. "Jules and Jim" alludes to the 1962 French film of the same name.

Matthew Thomas Ross has been a constant collaborator with Typhoon for a few years. Now that the band is preparing to release their album White Lighter next year, Ross gives us an album trailer, and the chills. It leaves the imagination a lot to ruminate on, and just teases the beginning of the song " Common Sentiments", an advance single available digitally and on 7" vinyl. (You can stream it here, just below the video.)

In contrast to Typhoon's 14 members and epic anthems, new Portland three-piece The No Tomorrow Boys offer a two-minute romp through the garage. Director Timothy Clark has added the pitch-perfect visuals of a 1950s-style movie trailer for the kind of teenage film your parents wouldn't have wanted you to see. He's nailed everything-—the film grain, the titles and typography, lighting, wardrobe, sets, props and more. Let it serve you not only as an indication of why the Boys are garnering so many fans so quickly, but also as a reminder to stay on the right side of the tracks.

Tagged: video