![]() The second encounter with Portland was fortunately more determinant and came much later through the first Defiance Lp, which incidentally made me aware that Poison Idea were also from there. I won't be talking about the first time I heard about Portland but if you need to know (in case anyone wants to write my biography some day), it was through the Bulls vs Blazers video game, from 1992, that I had on Genesis, and having watched a video of it today, I sadly realize that it looked much uglier than I remembered. ![]() ![]() By no means am I an expert in US punk but there does seem to be something special and alluring about the city that has given birth to so many great punk bands in every known subgenres (with the apparent exception of ska-punk but it is really all for the best) and it is no coincidence that so many people want to move there (I mean, it cannot be weather-related, right?). I hate, but also love, to say it: PDX punk is often synonymous with quality. But then, my directionless mumbles about PDX bands regardless, I couldn't help liking a lot of the bands that the punk scene has produced over there and I certainly was not the last one to buy those cool records from cool bands. Although I will be the first to admit that the PDX mania is more indicative of the obsessiveness of punx outside of the fantasized PDX scene than anything else, it still seemed that, no matter what, PDX bands were inherently cooler (the "Had they been from Portland" theorem derives from this) and to this day, the mere mention "from Portland" on a gig flyer is often enough to make sure you will attract enough people (granted, some of them will be hipsters, but at least they seldom scrounge to get in). To an extent, I felt that the never-ending hype surrounding the city was overbearing and tended to overshadow other worthy bands. Not unlike Japanese punk, my relationship with Portland punk has always been a tormented one. I had originally not planned to start a PDX series for my comeback but after giving some super deep thoughts to it, I figured it could be a wonderfully geeky way to get back on tracks. But anyway, enough with the turpitude of life, let's get to it. But let's get real, I have just been lazy really and besides, it is pretty sunny here, in Paris, and I did have other important things to do, like exhibit obscure punk shirts to the world. I would love to tell you that I have returned wiser, smarter and sharper than ever, that I was waiting for the right time to write again and that my resurrection will reveal Terminal Sound Nuisance's unfading glory to the eyes of the unconverted.
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