Music journalist John Graham, a steadfast presence in Portland culture and Willamette Week ’s pages in the late ’90s and early ’00s, died in April in San Francisco. He was 52 years old. Not many details have surfaced, at least not that I’ve heard, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ve lost a singular intelligence and talent who dedicated himself to the service of independent culture.

I met John when I joined WW ’s staff in 1999, and for years we worked shoulder-to-shoulder, running the paper’s music department. Heady times. Willamette Week produced thick issues packed with ads, operating with palpable swagger. The city was amid one of its cyclical self-celebrations, MAX and urban growth boundary and Pearl District all showcased as breakthrough expansions in an ever-upward trajectory.

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