Recent Articles
Ryan Bingham reviewed
Roadhouse Sun (Lost Highway) Of the criticisms levelled against Ryan Bingham’s major-label debut, Mescalito, was its obsession with establishing the author in a fabric of hobos, grifters, and drifters, an attempt to build cred through self-mythology. Appearing: Saturday, July 11 at Martyrs in Chicago.
Cover Story: Cheap Trick
Call And Response You wouldn’t be out of line accusing Cheap Trick of coasting. Their last album was named for their hometown of Rockford and featured cartoon images of themselves on the cover; this summer’s release bears the oh-so-cunning title The Latest. A year ago they toured as an opener for Journey and Heart, and […]
Todd Snider interview
All-Star Snub Lost amid the hoopla surrounding pitcher Zack Greinke’s hot start, this year’s Kansas City Royals are surging thanks to sweet-swingin’ singer/songwriter Todd Snider. “I was with the Cubs last year the whole way,” he admits, “watched most of the games. But I’m with the Royals now because I met some of ’em. They […]
Placebo interview
A Change Of Skin Even with the boundary-less World Wide Web, most of us music lovers go about our listening business unaware there are beloved hit-makers across the oceans who are blips on the radar or completely unknown to us. There are any number of possible reasons for this, really, but with the release of […]
Landy interview
Tip Of The Goldberg Forgive Adam Goldberg. He doesn’t mean to interrupt. But if he could just . . . yeah, ‘scuse me . . . there. Pardon me. Already disguising his sprawling, Mercury Rev-ish psychedelia as Landy (his “band” name), he’s trying to make his debut album as unobtrusive as possible: released on Apology […]
Sonic Youth live!
Vic Theatre, Chicago Saturday, June 27, 2009 Sonic Youth have always seemed like a band who shouldn’t exist. Or, more specifically, should no longer exist. In their embryonic stages, the New York-based quartet (stretched into a five-piece for this tour by adding ex-Pavement bassist Mark Ibold) could barely play their instruments. So they improvised […]
The Horse’s Ha preview
Schubas, Chicago Friday, July 3, 2009 Chicagoans Janet Bean (Eleventh Dream Day) and Jim Elkington (The Zincs) have made their Horse’s Ha side-project official. Sommeliers across the county can relax, as they’ve moved on to more salt-of-the-earth venues like Schubas.
Cage preview
Reggie’s, Chicago Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Cage has never really been the typical MC, but within the past four years, the New Yorker has moved further into his own alternative sonic existence.
File: July 2009
God Bless The Queen The blues world has lost its Queen. Koko Taylor, whose raw-edged, impassioned vocals won the hearts of fans worldwide for five decades, passed away at 80 on June 3rd of complications from gastrointestinal surgery.
Hello, My Name Is Lita
Q&A With Lita Ford IE: I’ve noticed a lot of Runaways imports in the record stores. That seems to be really hot right now. What is your involvement, if any, in the upcoming Runaways biopic? Lita Ford: We’ve had a bit of a falling out, and I just don’t care to be a part of […]
Around Hear: July 2009
Local Band Reviews Lubriphonic Lock five skilled blues musicians from the heart of Chicago in a room and ask them to jam for a couple of hours, and what do you get? Hopefully an all-out blues-soul-funk experience — and in the case of Chicago newcomers Lubriphonic, that’s exactly what’s delivered. The quintet lets all its […]
Media: July 2009
Live Local Bands Get Their Own Free Weekly (Free) TV Show “We’re encouraging local bands to support each other in a grassroots way,” says John Sink, executive producer of “Chicago/ Live,” a new live, weekly music performance series that airs Wednesday nights at midnight on WJYS TV-Channel 62 — just after “JBTV.” Editors note: Due […]
Caught In A Mosh: July 2009
Master’s No Puppet As if Master wasn’t enough of a reason to like Paul Speckmann, the dude credits this humble little magazine with boosting his career! In early 1984 Speckmann had just left War Cry (which, along with fellow Chicago doomsters Trouble, was a major influence on the mighty Cathedral) and craved something faster, more […]
Sweet Home: July 2009
Whole Lotta Music Goin’ On The bright spot in an otherwise drab and dreary spring is the group of high-quality new releases that have crossed my desk for review. I am especially pleased to see that Chicago labels are recording local talent — a trend I hope continues. As I have said many times before […]
DVD Zone: July 2009
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 UMe If Bruce Dickinson isn’t the coolest person on the planet, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who is. Not only is he still one of the best and most charismatic frontmen in the business at age 50, but if he needs to catch the afternoon shuttle from London to Cardiff, […]
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