Arts: Page 364

Northwest Nuance

Mink River author Doyle at downtown library

Books

The first person who waxed eloquent over Oregon author Brian Doyle’s Mink River (Oregon State University Press, $18.95) was a sportswriter for the Salt Lake Tribune. The second was a lovely woman I met at recent Planned Parenthood fundraiser who had read it with her book club. Doyle’s lovely Pacific Northwest tale with drops of magical realism appeals to people from all walks of life. The author of this novel, which The Oregonian called “shimmering” when it came out in 2010, will be at the downtown Eugene Public Library 2 pm Sunday, Sept. Continue reading →

A Whale of a Tale

Film

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist and/or work at a marine park. As you can see, I did nothing of the sort. But one thing lingers from those younger days: a whopper of a sense of awe at the sight of whales, seals, even sea lions, those goofy things — and orcas.  Continue reading →

Be Still Their Heart

Music

The members of Seattle’s alt-folk The Head and the Heart are growing up. According to drummer Tyler Williams, their approach to music is too. “When we first started out, music was our passion and it was a hope, a goal, that we would get to do this for a living,” he says. “And then when you start to travel around and tour it does become your job in a way, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. We’re just more responsible people at this stage in our lives.” Continue reading →

Simply Halie

Music

Over the past half decade or so, singer-songwriter Halie Loren has built an international reputation as a top-notch jazz chanteuse — an expert vocalist who is as comfortable sinking into the sultry croon of a classic like “My Funny Valentine” as she is reinterpreting a ’60s pop ditty like “Happy Together.” The Eugene native’s new album, Simply Love, released Sept. 10 in the U.S., has already pegged the top of the Billboard jazz charts in Japan and Asia. Continue reading →

One Chill Panda

Music

When Gold Panda’s down-tempo electronica seeps into your ears, it can resurrect the feelings of being a small child sitting in the backseat during a road trip where your only possessions are a pair of headphones and the window-framed view of the world as it passes by in a whirl. The British producer, also known as Derwin, has distinguished himself from the hyper-amped electronic dance music crowd by producing mellow yet stimulating sample-based grooves — entrancing without the trance. Continue reading →

Creating a Culture of Critique

One year in, Eugene Contemporary Art pushes past local art scene’s status quo

Arts

Down by the railroad tracks that carve through the Whiteaker, graffiti art colors the walls of buildings. A large piece spray painted in white advises its audience to “Read up!” but it’s the paint drippings below that inspired local artist Josh Sands. “I saw the paint under the graffiti and thought, ‘Can I take graffiti paint and make something out of it?” he says. Continue reading →

The Teens Are All Right

Film

Maybe the most bittersweetly delightful thing about James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now is the way it captures the feeling of a drawn-out ending. For Aimee (Shailene Woodley), Sutter (Miles Teller) and their classmates, it’s the end of high school, a time when everything is bitingly vital and yet nothing matters much, since it’s all going to change in a few weeks anyway. What happens next is of the utmost importance, but no one really knows what that next thing will be, least of all Sutter, who has yet to get around to applying to college. Continue reading →