New for May

Zines

Last Night at the Casino #7- Dice number freestyles, big winners, love and hate lists, thoughts on luck, and a report from his mom about visiting him at the casino (so cute). ($3)

Let it Sink #6: Dreamtigers- Mini story essays about tigers, Henri Rousseau, Yelp as a personal blog, Jorge Luis Borges, freight elevator rides, landlords with enemies, and more. ($2)

Let it Sink #7- Cut pages, a touch of Choose Your Own Adventure, Pablo Neruda, drawings, the spirit world, and more. Like no other zine. ($2)

Punk- Surrealist comics that range from hilarious to amazingly bizarre. Like R. Crumb's Zap Comix set in the Olympia punk scene. ($3)

Turntable Operator #7- Reviews of the strange and interesting. ($2)

Back in Stock: Neil Campau's Building: A DIY Guide to Creating Spaces, Zach's My Complicated Relationship With Food, DJ Frederick's A Dream of Books, Nicki Sabalu's DIY or Don't We series, Growing Things, and every in-print issue of Basic Paper Airplane.

Music

Electrician- Wet and Ripping the Lake in Two (Cassette)- Six songs about friends, family, death, and the end of the world. ($7)

Poppet- The Blue Sky is Always Blue (CD)- The long-awaited debut studio album from Poppet is here! 15 transcendent pop songs for a super fun post-apocalyptic dance party. Synth-driven pop with complex vocal layers, heavy bass lines, and plenty of hand-claps. ($13)

You Are Plural- Rabbit, Rabbit (LP & Digital Download)- Power pop like you've never heard it before. Cello, wurlitzer electric piano, drums, and lush harmonies combine to make uniquely beautiful and addicting songs. ($12)

Paper Goods

Bateleur Eagle Notepad- The oddest-looking eagle ever. Offset print, spiralbound, unlined book. ($3)

Bluethroat Notepad- A thrush, a chat, or an old world flycatcher...depending on who you ask. On light blue unlined paper. ($3)

Castle Postcard- A ridiculously pretty castle from Hope Amico's Keep Writing letterpress postcard series. ($3)

Sunbird Notepad- A sunbird, taking a dive. Offset print, spiralbound, unlined book. ($3)

Tiger Notebook- A perfect-bound tiger notebook. 100% recycled and reused materials. Unlined white pages inside. ($4)

Back in Stock: You Have All the Tools You Need Postcard (a personal favorite), the Mini-Tiger Pad 3-Pack, the Gold-Fronted Leaf Birds Notepad, and Corina Dross' anytime-Valentine series (with recontextualized Smiths lyrics).

Books

The Greatest Most Traveling Circus- The long-awaited book from Jonas of Cheer the Eff Up! Released on Olympia's great Sweet Candy Press. ($10)

Sunspots- The surface of the sun, maps of the heavens from long ago, peep holes into other universes. ($15)

Various Two- 32 photographers work off the Leonard Cohen quote, "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in," to create this gorgeous art zine/book. ($10)

Back in Stock: Tomas Moniz's excellent Bellies and Buffalos novella.

Miscellany

Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna Button Set- Three of the greats on one inch buttons. Rendered in pen and ink (in all their '80s glory) by Portland's own Nathan McKee. ($5)

Salt N Pepa Buttons- The mighty SNP, making a special appearance on one inch buttons. ($5)

Back in Stock: The incomparable Portable Fortitude card deck, and the ever-popular Crow Shield Patch.

News

*Music to listen to: The biggest news this month is the release of an epic new album from Jordan O' Jordan! A must. Also, new releases from: Mirah, Margy Pepper, Victor Florence, and Autococoon.

*Our release from David Thomas Broughton got reviewed on Tape Famous.

*Eleanor Murray's Bury Me Into the Mtn album had been getting some press on Secretly Important and the Dub Narcotic blog.

*Basic Paper Airplane #7 was reviewed on Zine Reviews.

*In other Jordan O' Jordan news, he's been selling his patron saint candles (which include Ursula K. LeGuin and Dolly Parton) through Granny Arts.

*Our soap-making Seattle friends Herbivore Botanicals have been getting a crazy amount of press of late, including a feature in Vogue! (This is definitely the first time we have ever linked to Vogue.)

*Our old friend Nik Nerburn (anyone remember the Dum Thumbz zine we carried ages ago?) is fundraising for In the Shadow of Paul Bunyan, a documentary film he's making that sounds amazing! 

*Portland Button Works is celebrating its second anniversary on May 20th with a button-making party and zine reading birthday party.

*In festival news: This weekend is LA's first Queer Punk Festival, next weekend is the first Fisherman's Village festival (in my old home of Everett, Wa.), and we're busy helping plan the 14th Annual Portland Zine Symposium for July 12th & 13th, which suddenly feels like it's just around the corner.

*And mark your calendars because the Portland Zine Symposium's annual Bike-In Movie is happening June 5th. We'll be watching the Australian classic (and Nicole Kidman's 1983 debut starring role) BMX Bandits. See you there.