Portugal. The Man On World Cafe : World Cafe For a danceable band of low-key, really nice dudes from Alaska, Portugal. The Man has stirred up some controversy. Hear a live performance and interview.
Portugal. The Man On World Cafe
Portugal. The Man performing live at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Tiana Timmerberg/WXPN hide caption
Portugal. The Man performing live at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
Tiana Timmerberg/WXPNHip-hop-flavored indie-rock band Portugal. The Man joins us in this session. And for a danceable band of low-key, really nice dudes from Alaska, Portugal. The Man has stirred up some controversy. It all has to do with the super-catchy, danceable radio hit "Feel It Still".
Playlist
- "Feel It Still"
- "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes (from Please Mr. Postman)
First, there's the music video. It takes place in a nightclub-looking junkyard, people are wearing overalls, people are dancing, and — oh yeah — one guy is burning a printed copy of InfoWars, the website run by Alex Jones, a far-right radio host whom the New York Times has called a "high-profile conspiracy theorist." In this session, we'll talk about Jones' scathing reaction to the band.
Then there's the song itself, which bears a certain resemblance to the old Marvelettes song "Please Mr. Postman." And while Portugal. The Man certainly didn't try to pull one over on anybody, and even warned its team about the similarities between the two songs, the band explains why it had to get lawyers involved.
The band also shares some early details about its upcoming album Woodstock, which comes out in a month and was inspired by an old ticket stub from — you guessed it — Woodstock in 1969, belonging to lead singer John Gourley's dad. All that, a live performance from World Cafe Live in Philadelphia and more in this session. Listen in the player above.