What’s Going On?
Seeing Change In The Sea Change: The Music Industry In Flux
About six weeks before the music world descended upon Lower Manhattan for the 2007 CMJ New Music Marathon, one of the punk era’s great icons, CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, died at age 75. His club, which closed in 2006 after a rent dispute, was the portal from which punk rock emerged.
Billy Bob Thornton
Been There
A handful of diehard fans wander around outside the club-parked tour bus like Dawn Of The Dead shopping-mall zombies. They don’t seem to know what to do, only that they’re supposed to be here for some reason, since something they crave might be lurking within. And it is.
Holiday Gift Guide
Get your gift on with these megasets:
An 11-minute remix of “Let Me Ride?” Merry Christmas indeed! The Death Row Records empire crumbled long, long ago, but that hasn’t stopped Suge Knight from digging up every half-ass remix, freestyle, and D-side in the vaults to make a few bucks. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Tupac are all on The Death Row Singles Collection, but only to remind us how good hip-hop (and Snoop) used to be. Snoop absolutely kills on “187um (Deep Cover Remix).”
Little Brother
The Return
When hip-hop’s golden era died down in the mid-’90s, so did many of the greatest groups responsible for that renaissance.
50 Folkin’ Years Of The Old Town School Of Folk
Frank Hamilton phones in for this interview about 45 minutes late. Seems the 73-year-old folk singer/teacher and his wife are running behind schedule due to a late night singing at a Democratic Socialists Of America labor rally in their homebase of Atlanta.
Appearing: Saturday December 1st at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.
Scottland Yard Gospel Choir
Welcome To Splitsville
Appearing: 12/14 at Flatlanders (200 Village Green) in Lincolnshire, 12/15 at The Note (1565 N. Milwaukee) in Chicago.
Hello, My Name Is Richard
Q&A With WXRT’s Richard Milne
IE: Have holiday submissions to “Local Anesthetic” started coming in yet?
Richard Milne: I’ve gotten e-mails from people asking clarification on what I’m expecting or telling me that it’s done or close. They just need to remix a vocal. I know people who’ve encouragingly started early on this — if they’re talking about they have to remix a vocal they’re putting some effort into it.
Britney…Britney…Britney…
It must take effort to convince a county court that putting two children in the custody of Kevin “Popo Zao” Federline is a wise decision. But that Britney Spears is on a run of hijinks that’s making Scooby-Doo cringe. To recap, one of eight drug tests she actually made it to (she has allegedly skipped six) reportedly came back positive for amphetamines.
Help!
Capitol/Apple
After the success of A Hard Day’s Night, it would have been easy for The Beatles to try to recreate the faux documentary style that made that film such a delight. Instead, for their second foray into the big-screen world they went a totally different direction. While it isn’t the grand slam that Night was, Help! qualifies as a solid RBI double.
“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. Everything that meets the aforementioned guidelines will be reviewed in the order received. This may take several months.
Four of the six cuts on Athens‘ debut, The Philosopher, are so reminiscent of The Smiths one doesn’t even focus on the lyrics or the songs themselves because one is so captivated by the way that singular sound has been channeled. It’s when the two non-Smiths-sounding cuts interrupt the reverie that the listener (and hopefully, the band) pause to wonder (to play fast and loose with Gertrude Stein) where the there there is ultimately to be. (www.myspace.com/athensinchicago)
– David C. Eldredge
Forty Piece Choir’s swan-song, The Profound Nature Of Life, offers little insight into the veteran Americana act’s recent breakup. Instead of a funeral march (or wispy, introspective folk), their fourth full-length is a celebration of boogie-woogie horns, jubilant electric piano, and an almost Born To Run level of uplifting vocal urgency. FPC have hit their rock ‘n’ roll stride while walking out the door. The less folksy the future for the ex-members, the better. (www.fortypiecechoir.com)
– Mike Meyer
In a world of cutthroat musicians with six-page press kits, Mitch And The Polecats are refreshingly modest. “I hope U enjoy it,” writes harmonicist/vocalist Mitch Mathena on his band’s perfectly shabby one-sheet. Get Naked is so casual it negates the need for introduction, focusing instead on immediate, easygoing love songs (well, lust songs) and smooth, harmonious blues jams. On the unpretentious title track, MATPC acknowledge their “part-time” band status. If they were full-time, they probably wouldn’t sing about it. (www.myspace.com/matpcmusic)
– Mike Meyer
For two months now I’ve stashed away Rhino’s The Heavy Metal Box and Megadeth’s Warchest just so I could reveal all the glorious details in December and make this month’s column a sort of “Headbanger’s Gift Guide.”
Cheesy, I know. But I’m only trying to spread a little holiday cheer to all you godless heathens. Worth a try, right?
GIBSON
Les Paul Robot Guitar
A friend once told me he couldn’t attend shows at a certain Chicago venue because the bands that generally played there “couldn’t tune their damn guitars.” The Gibson Les Paul Robot could change that.
Chicago radio was like a revolving door in 2007 – even at the left side of the dial.
Last summer, Loyola University opted out of its contract with Chicago Public Radio, which had been running the college’s WLUW-FM (88.7) since 2002. Under the leadership of program director Shawn Campbell, WLUW had just become financially self-sufficient, but Campbell was fired, as was station manager Craig Kois, who also lost his part-time teaching gig, which he’d held for the past 19 years.
