Portland’s Jesse Valencia is many things: musician, activist, filmmaker, author, raconteur. But this week, he adds perhaps his most prestigious appellation: Haute Garbage podcast guest. Jesse’s seminal Arizona (now PDX) band Gorky is celebrating 25 years of killer tunes, and Jesse joins the show to discuss his approach to music, UFO encounters, the origins of his book Keep Music Evil about the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the fight for Portland independent music, and the legacy of the late, beloved Gorky co-founder Ben Holladay.

Music this week:

• “Action Pants” by Gorky (22:39)
• “First Blood” by Moderator (49:50)
• “AM Radio” by Gorky (1:01:54)
• “Shopping” by Rayon (1:26:04)
• “Swinger” by Salo Panto (1:44:49)

Portland emo math-punk superstars Swiss Army Wife grace us with their presence fresh off the release of their brand-new full length, “I Love You, But I Hate it Here”. For all its volume, emotion, and dynamic, the record never tries to grip too tightly, breathing comfortably and finding a deep flow through the shards and sharp edges. The gang talks discovering satisfaction through vulnerability, the virtues of permissible imperfection, multi-wave-poastmodern-emo meaninglessness, and the causation/correlation among their creative output, Mt. Dew, and geopolitical instability.

Music this week:

• “Idaho” by Swiss Army Wife (15:41)
• “Big Bumming’” by Hummus Vacuum (31:33)
• “Cowboy” by Swiss Army Wife (50:23)
• “Sisyphus” by Citrus Jr. (1:08:15)
• “No Such Thing As Ethical Consumption Under Late-Stage Capitalism” by DMH (1:21:43)

Named one of Portland’s best new bands by the Willamette Week, ethereal indie folk band Essie and the Hum seem to have sprung to life fully-formed, with a musical cohesion and creative clarity that belies their scant 13 months together. The whole band is in the house this week to peel back the curtain on that creation myth and dive into the moments of change and growth that have propelled them so far. We also get into the gremlin-core good looks of Billy Joel; bone-conducting as an audio medium (pro or con?); gnat jewelry; and paper eating (decidedly pro).

Music this week:

“I Am a Flower” by Essie and the Hum (22:34)

“Fauna Song” By Rapman Gavin and Jesse the Tree (40:15)

“Raccoon Eyes” by Essie and the Hum (1:06:15)

“Nausea” by Laska (1:24:59)

“La Bruja” by Arteaga (1:42:32)