Focus Features

Certain places seem to become magnets for the bohemian indie musician. The most famous, of course, is New York City – and specifically the borough of Brooklyn – but Portland also holds a seemingly irresistible lure to kids with guitars who believe they were born to strum. Elliott Smith made the city his home, and recorded some of his very best work there, and the City of Roses has laid claim to a prodigious list of top-notch bands and artistes, from Modest Mouse, Everclear, Quasi and Sleater-Kinney to The Decemberists, The Shins, Kristin Hersh and Stephen Malkmus.

As part of our celebration of the musically-minded metropolis in Movie City: Portland, we here at FilmInFocus reached out to an illustrious group of bands who call Portland home and asked them to pick their five favorite movie soundtracks. Below you can read the enthusiastic and informed responses of Courtney Taylor-Taylor from the Dandy Warhols, M. Ward (whose excellent new album Hold Time just hit the stores), Willy Vlautin from Richmond Fontaine, Danny Seim from Menomena, Anita Robinson from Viva Voce, and Thomas M. Lauderdale of Pink Martini.

You can check out their soundtrack selections – and some great accompanying stories – below: