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Archive for December, 2006

Cover Story: Essential Local Albums ’96-’06

Cover Story: Essential Local Albums ’96-’06

| December 29, 2006 | 22 Comments

The 25 Essential Local Albums Of The Last 10 Years The January 2001 Illinois Entertainer cover story was “25 Essential Local Albums,” a difficult task if there ever was. Prone to being picked apart. No Little Walter? Elmore James? Technically, Donny Hathaway was born here. Herbie Hancock completely changed jazz in his own way, but […]

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File: January 2007

File: January 2007

| December 29, 2006 | 2 Comments

THE BEST OF 2006 Here’s our staff’s lists of the best the past year had to offer in albums, singles, concerts, and DVDs!

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Headlights interview

Headlights interview

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Headlights And Then There Were Three Somewhere along the path less traveled most people get turned around, detoured, or just get off altogether. For Erin Fein, 24, of indie pop group Headlights, after the breakup of the band’s prior incarnation, she almost became one of those people. “The last year before Absinthe Blind broke up […]

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The Hush Sound interview

The Hush Sound interview

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Hush Sound Burbing Over The suburbs can be a dismal place to hang out from the teens to early 20s, but then again, they can also be the perfect grounds for a band hoping to beat the boredom. Though members of The Hush Sound had already experimented with other musical entities before teaming up, their […]

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Iomos Marad interview

Iomos Marad interview

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Iomos Marad Schooled “I call myself the social worker of rhymes.” These are the words of South Side native Iomos Marad (born Marcus Singleton), the MC who introduced himself to the public by rapping and drumming on CTA platforms. Ever since he officially entered the rap game with his anti-materialistic single, “Deep Rooted,” in 2000, […]

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Psalm One interview

Psalm One interview

| December 29, 2006 | 2 Comments

Psalm One Droppin’ Science “What was the question again?” Cristalle Bowen, known to hip-hop heads as Psalm One, asks this more than once while being interviewed in the Abbey Pub’s basement. It isn’t because the Englewood-raised rapper is absent minded. It’s more that, luckily for IE, she truly attempts to answer each question as thoroughly […]

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Russian Circles interview

Russian Circles interview

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Russian Circles The Heavy To ask Mike Sullivan who his fans are is like asking him if he went to prom in high school. “We don’t get rabid young girls screaming at us because we’re hot dudes. That’s not the case, unfortunately,” he says. The 26-year-old guitarist of Chicago’s Russian Circles is the kind of […]

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DVD Zone: January 2007

DVD Zone: January 2007

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Little Miss Sunshine Fox Searchlight We’ve all been on road trips with the family. And, as one gets older, nine out of 10 people will probably tell you there’s hardly anything more taxing. That’s why the cross-country trek with the relatives is such fertile ground for filmmakers.

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Global Blues – Live!

Global Blues – Live!

| December 29, 2006 | 1 Comment

There was a time when live recordings were considered inferior to studio sessions because of the poor sound quality, the somewhat annoying concentration of applause, and the possibility the artist would turn in a less-than-perfect performance.

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Studio Happenings

Studio Happenings

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

At ARS STUDIOS in Alsip, Maurice Jackson cut new tracks for his current project. ARS engineer Larry Schara worked with producer Mike Logan to capture Jackson’s performances . . . Mexican/ Duranguense band Herrantes De La Sierra mastered their new album with producer Eric Herrera of ASI Music/EMI Latin and ARS engineer Andy Padayao . […]

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Celebrity Helper

Celebrity Helper

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

“You cannot make friends with the rock stars,” Lester Bangs insists, talking to the budding rock crit in Almost Famous. “They’ll buy you drinks, you’ll meet girls, they’ll try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs. But they are not your friends.”

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Rockin’ Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio – Let’s Go!

Rockin’ Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio – Let’s Go!

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Few things are more satisfying to the ears than hearing Robyn Hitchcock unveil a new song played live with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey on free radio, then listening to them explain its context and spin some of their favorite records.

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Best Of Gear 2006

Best Of Gear 2006

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

In honor of our January ’07 “Best Of” issue, we’ve compiled our favorite pieces of “Gear” from the past year. Gretsch G400JV Archtop Guitar

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A Velvety Listen

A Velvety Listen

| December 29, 2006 | 0 Comments

Let’s call it a comeback. No need to mince words. Colombia’s premiere rock en español group were on a scary path toward losing the essence of their Latin alternative roots.

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Local CD Reviews

Local CD Reviews

| December 29, 2006 | 4 Comments

Prior Ahab Rex CDs have been praised in this column and the latest, Blood On Blonde, earns similar thumbs up (even though they, once again, retread four tracks from an ’04 disc). That leaves six great new tunes that bend the caustic with the sweet, bobbing and weaving from jazzbo to agit/agro and all points […]

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