Recent Articles
The Futureheads Feature
The Futureheads Born A’Sunder At first glance, every musician residing in Sunderland, England is in one of three bands: The Futureheads, Field Music, and Maximo Park. (Actually, it isn’t true, and Sunderland has veritable pop music pedigree up there in the shadows of Newcastle, including Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry and Eurythmic Dave Stewart). But, as […]
Tim O’Reagan feature
Tim O’Reagan Full Frontal Despite their personnel issues and disabling encounters with the vast and varied exigencies of the record industry, The Jayhawks produced, both live and on record, perhaps the most consistently fine pop music of their era (with or without Mark Olson).
Redding Feature
Redding Little Big Men It’s shockingly easy to record and distribute music in this digital age, but it’s still like finding a needle in a haystack to come across music that is worth a listen. Even more difficult is finding a band who can make devoted fans out of those listeners.
Record Collecting Spotlight
BUILDING A BETTER RECORD COLLECTION Music is being released at an extraordinary rate nowadays. Besides the onslaught of new material (lagging sales haven’t met a decline in product for labels) there is also the constant barrage of re-releases for music fans to contend with. It’s hard to keep up. With that in mind, IE raided […]
File For July
THE HARDER THEY COME Enticed by promises of free beer and taquitos, we headed to Chicago’s Hard Rock Cafe for their 20th anniversary party on June 12th. Yes, it was a Monday, but Styx were there, rotating keyboard stand and all.
DVD Zone: July
SYRIANA Warner Bros. It has been this way for the past hundred years. Wars are fought over it and governments toppled because of it. Corporations rake in yearly profits that eclipse the GNP of many mid-sized nations because of it. And, until someone finds a way to make your T-bird run on jelly donut filling […]
Ministry 2
page [ 1 ] 2 [ 3 ] For Rio Grande Blood (13th Planet), Jourgensen figured if the Bush family gets to act like it’s 1991, then so does he. Corralling Tommy Victor (Prong) and Paul Raven (Killing Joke) for the reoutfitted sect, they cannon through 10 tracks in the spirit of Psalm 69 with […]
Ministry 3
page [ 1 ] [ 2 ] 3 But as he said earlier, ideological freedom was the least of his concerns. If he wanted to smoke dope with college kids and protest world trade injustices, he’d move to Portland. Texas has land, perfect for 13th Planet. Having room for his record label complex also helps […]
What About Chicago?
The Blues Foundation held its annual Blues Music Awards (formerly the W.C. Handy Awards) on May 11th in Memphis. Congrats to Chicago awardees Buddy Guy (B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year), Mavis Staples (Soul Blues Female Artist Of The Year), Eddie Shaw (Instrumentalist – Horn), and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (Instrumentalist – Drums). Hubert Sumlin, […]
Local Studio Happenings
ARS STUDIOS in Alsip, Gary Cobb recorded gospel artist Jeri Little live and started mixing for an upcoming CD . . . Wicked Pussy recorded and mixed with Chris Dever . . . Greg Screen started his project with Larry Schara on controls . . . Both Steve Sunner and Lance Drake did their mastering […]
Stuck In Muck
The ratings numbers tell us people in Chicago are hearing the radio. But how many people are really listening? Chicago radio used to crackle; it used to excite, entertain, energize, influence, and order its listeners. Now it’s white noise. Today, Chicago radio is becoming to entertainment choices what the Chicago Blackhawks are to sports choices.
Don’t Call It A Comeback
It’s a fact: Vinyl will not die. Manufacturers like Crosley and TEAC are churning out new turntables for the home user, a demographic that includes baby boomers rediscovering their old records and newbies finding out what the analog fuss is all about. Our annual Record Collecting Spotlight edition of “Gear” takes a look at new […]
Multicultural Muses
Music should have no boundaries, but record labels think otherwise. The record industry constantly devises ever narrowing categories, from new soul to ska pop to indie rock. And what about the sounds that don’t fit, that defy labeling?
Local CD Reviews
Combining elements of Vaudeville, country, and classic rock in a time when every other new band on the planet either cites the Rolling Stones or Joy Division as influences, Bakelite 78 is distinctive to say the least. Armed with the unique and stylized vocals of guitarist Robert Rial and a one-of-a-kind brass section, track for […]
Around Hear 2
Page [1] With its debut EP, May You Only See Sky, (Lone) Cub & Wolf wants you to forget about recent mainstream metal and screamo and come back to the darker side. This band excels at blending most of the metal sub-genres with a little post hardcore, no doubt a holdover from some of the […]
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