matt stangel dot com

I write about art and books for the Portland Mercury. In the past, my work has appeared in Utne Reader, Oregon ArtsWatch, Into the Woods.TV, and Style Weekly. I have recent poems in Vol. 2 of And Review, Vol. 5.1 of Hoboeye, and Issue 57 of Sonora Review. Occasionally, I make music. Feel free to shoot me an email. Recent Merc Articles if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('087a6758-a34c-4384-9316-c430d42bb95a'); Get the Portland Mercury widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) Tweets if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('bef3b313-5fe7-4940-95ec-4e6b16f23841'); Get the Matt Stangel (mattstangel) on Twitter widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info) var sc_project=5887176; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_security="5dd36d24";

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LUCKY DRAW

FOUND OBJECT / READYMADE / TRASH / ETC. INSIDE ONE CIGARETTE BOX PHOTOS SHOW SAMPLES ONLY BE PREPARED TO BE PISSED OFF - OR DELIGHTED

Anytime I see people selling readymades, I question their sincerity. That’s because the art world is all about perceived legitimacy, and a quick way to make yourself look legit is to demonstrate a command of conceptual/theoretical traditions. Glue a pair of scissors to a sponge, string together some Art Words about it, and there you have your masterpiece. That said, I believe in supporting artists directly-- especially ones that make me laugh-- and for $5.68 you can do just that for someone named Lam Hoi Sin who lives in Hong Kong. Also, I love that this artist refers to their Etsy store as their “money factory“-- really spits in the face of ‘art as sanctity.‘

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I’ve been demoing out some new songs for No Phone's upcoming full-band sessions. Real excited about how things are sounding. Click on the horsey for a sample.

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Just realized that Coma Cinema and Elvis Depressedly are the same guy. Nice. Here's a song by Elvis Depressedly called "Daughter of a Cop."Classically great, CC-style lyrics in the first verse:

What's the cure/for eternity, I thought aloud/but nothin' came to me./I just want to make it stop/Satan's blood in the daughter of a cop.

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Sample of my new band, No Phone.

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We inaugurate the evening Just drumming up a little weirdness. It gets late so early now The waves come in in mountain phases Linked impossibilities, Branching possibilities.

I’d see fire where it's not supposed to be, In the empty library at suppertime By the respirating basement door. The dog eats out of an old tambourine on the floor. I’ve been told you can live a long, long time on the love of a dog And that things get bitter and bad When the people are wrong And sleep can be had for the price of a song, Late in the day when the options are gone.

When the seatbelt’s the only hug you’ve felt in weeks, When wrong numbers are the totality of your social life, The obscure strategies of wildlife Only flummox the hell out of you, kid. I first saw her in a megastore, The Day-Glo raven Born into a free fall Like plastic Easter basket grass Falling from an overpass, The fulfillment of a tenth grade prophecy, A motel masterpiece.

Blind to the branching possibilities, Blind to linked impossibilities, Teardrops were standing in my eyes Like deer before they bolt. It was like I was stretching my arm through the cat door to heaven. I was thinking, I could lick the frosting off these summer days if nights were half as sweet, Me like a banged-up dog walking half sideways. I adored the way she modified my mornings When I’d wake up in the calm shores of her bed, Somersaults and smoke in a universe of sleep, Before she slipped into her heritage and disappeared. Now every second thought is out of control.

I guess in a way I long to be rad. When I was with her it felt wrong to be sad. Did I tell you an angel finally came and shut my mouth? There was a smile and a tear in her voice too And she taught me to relight, Relight and relight again.

They tell me you can live a long, long time on the love of a dog. Things get bitter and bad And sleep can be had Late in the day when the options seem gone. Please let your eyes be a friend to me again. It’s just malfunctioning teardrops, Cowboy overflow of the heart.

-- "Cowboy Overflow of the Heart," David Berman w/ The Avalanches

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Haven't thought about CAN in years, then came across this documentary. So German.

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Daughn Gibson's "Tiffany Lou," from All Hell.

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"Sunshine Great Leader," a sample from the new import/import record, kinda muppets.

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"Confused Birds," from Jonti's Sine & Moon.

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Is Portland Oregon Weird? as asked in 2007.

From the same Youtube account: Get Rich in 2009 with eBooks, Audio and Video!

Choice quote: "Have you ever wanted to write a book or report that people could download? Sometimes we call that eBooks."

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Last Wednesday, June 6, an art show I curated at Common Grounds Coffeehouse-- Bim Ditson's Periodic Table of Social Observations-- opened with an amazing turnout and an intimate night of live music in the adjoining Back Door Theater. Above is a stripped-down set from Nate and Ryan of Portland favorites And And And. Thanks to Costa Gountanis for filming, Bim for making it happen, all the musicians for playing crazy-good sets, everyone who showed up for drinking the hell out of the free beer, the Portland Mercury for writing up the event, and Gus and Amber of Common Grounds for hosting us. Alright, watch that video! So good!

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"Loek Sura," by Sombat Methani and Rut Ronphop, from Wiwa Pha Fan (O.S.T.).

This soundtrack was produced back in 1971 when the cha cha cha had made its way to Thailand and was quickly being adapted for traditional Thai instrumentation.

By 1971, many records had been cut in the style, and it was only a matter of time before this new fusion music would make it to film.

There are some other great tracks from the soundtrack, but this one has these out-of-place pick slides that are kinda surreal and priceless. Couldn't resist pointing it out.

More details and a download of the full album here (click the "tracklist" link for the download).

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Davis Hooker's Unreleased Belfast Sessions. Here's a Phoning It In session he did for these songs a few years back. It's a special recording.

Enjoy.

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"rental car evergreen" from import/import's interface lakes.

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The above is a new tune I've been workin on called "The Rental Car Evergreen". Thanks to Dan Schuman for playing piano on this one. Download the 6-song EP over here.

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Saw these guys last night at Valentines for a tape release show. Good stuff.