Columns
Media: February 2012
Chris Auman and his buddy Tom Ziegler conceived of Reglar Wiglar during a night of drinking in Lincoln Park’s punk-rock haunt Delilah’s in 1993. The first two black-and-white, text-only issues poked fun at alternative music, and featured fake record reviews and fake interviews with fake bands.
Studiophile: February 2012
Dot Dot Dot returned to the studio, this time with producer/mixer Tadpole (Plain White T’s, 3 Doors Down, Finger Eleven, Disturbed). Working out of Parka Studios in Berwyn, they say they’ve continued the direction of III, which itself was a marked departure from their early poppier sounds.
Sweet Home: February 2012
When exploring the formidable list of Chicago’s blues divas, Deitra Farr‘s name is always front and center. Versatile and energetic, her smooth and controlled voice tackles a range of genres from soul to gospel but it always remains grounded in the blues.
File: Year-End Top 10s
The IE staff picks its favorite albums, reissues, live shows, and local bands of 2011.
Best Songs Of 2011
Is that a giant list of songs, or are we just happy to see ya? For all the discussion surrounding the deaths of various recording styles and formats, 2011 was a fantastic year for songs. IE found very little overlap when our writers submitted their votes, which is astounding.
Around Hear: January 2012
Richard Anthony is much more gifted as a songwriter than he is as a singer throughout Connected Part One, an odd but occasionally endearing synth-pop project where 100-percent of the proceeds go to foster-children’s charities.
Caught In A Mosh: January 2012
Like Hulk Hogan, I am a real American. That means, first and foremost, I fight for the rights of every man. It also means I use geographically specific release dates for my year-ending top five. Hence Ghost‘s Opus Eponymous inclusion
Digital Divide: January 2012
So if you believe those wacky Mayans (and really, when have they ever lied to us?), there’s less than a year left on the lease here on the big blue marble. The countdown to oblivion is coming to town, so get dressed.
Gear: January 2012
Of the dozens of musical gadgets we preview and review every year, a few stand out as “the best of best.” As we look back at 2011, we present Gear’s best of, uh . . . Gear!
Media: January 2012
Back in 1979, half of Chicago tuned into Wally Philips’ popular WGN-AM (720) morning show. That year, newcomer Steve Dahl released his song parodying the venerable Philips and his loyal listeners, “Oh Wally.”
Studiophile: January 2012
It’s been six years since the release of her debut album . . . this side of yesterday, but January marks the return of indie-folk singer/songwriter Martha Berner. Her long-awaited full-length follow-up, Fool’s Fanatsy, also bears the stamp of her new band, The Significant Others.
Sweet Home: January 2012
Hubert Sumlin was one of the greatest blues guitarists of his generation. Famous for the explosive guitar riffs that he produced as a member of Howlin’ Wolf’s band, Sumlin influenced such rock-guitar gods as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Keith Richards. His 80-year journey began in the Mississippi Delta and took him across the world […]
Hello, My Name Is J
IE: We were intrigued by the local connection to The Office Of Future Plans. J Robbins: [Laughs.] It’s Jeff Dean‘s fault that we’re a band. Dean is hard to say no to. His enthusiasm in this case was relentless.
Around Hear: December 2011
Downers Grove-based Rollo Time, brainchild of singer/songwriter Jon Raleigh, carry on a tradition of smart Chicago power-pop blueprinted by bands like Material Issue and Green. Rollo Time occasionally tosses in more interesting elements of harder-rocking, obscure Brit-pop bands like The Boo Radleys and Thurman on Victims Of The Crown,
Caught In A Mosh: December 2012
Trevor Fisher’s taking the month off, so, in his tradition of picking greatest-hits bits of his column, the IE staff has selected its “Caught In A Mosh” favorites since its 2007 debut. Punctuating the chronology are his top-5 records from each year, which will then be capped by his best-of-’11 next month.
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