Columns
File: February 2008
EMI’s E-M Ergency In what could be mistaken for a climate-change exercise, lifeboats are circling the offices of EMI Recordings, home to Capitol, Virgin, and Astralwerks Records among others. Nearly 2,000 jobs have been cut — take that, downloaders! — and the fallout isn’t limited to staff.
DVD Zone: February 2008
Strike? What Strike? What seems to be troublin’ ya, bunkie? Are you bummed because you haven’t seen a new episode of your favorite show in months? Do you feel you’ll projectile vomit if you stumble across another inane “reality” show? Have you gotten a little sick of all those high-falootin’ writers thinking they should get […]
Local CD Reviews
“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. […]
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Sue Fink is a singer-songwriter with a quirky take on folk’s storytelling tradition. At times she sounds as if she is writing children’s music with her sing-songy melodies and PG subject matter about dogs, fish, and cell phones. Musically, her second album, Damsel In Distress, never charts new territory, but lyrically, she’s quite creative. (www.suefink.com) […]
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Ten years of combining polka with rock ‘n’ roll (and lots of beer) deserves a celebration. To mark their decade anniversary, The Polkaholics released 10 Years To The Floor, a live album that shows off this band’s dedication to all things polka. Even with so-so production, this album captures this Chicago trio’s live energy. Still, […]
Judd’s Dread
My first face-to-face encounter with Blake Judd didn’t leave me with a very good impression of the Nachtmystium frontman. In the summer of 2003 I had just moved to Chicago and was living half a block from Metal Haven’s old Lakeview location. Homesick, overwhelmed, clueless, and friendless, I dropped by the store a few times […]
Air Tight
APPLE MacBook Air Mac fanatics have been anticipating a sub notebook that would match the specs of mini-notebook laptops from PC makers Sony, Fujitsu, and Toshiba. They were rewarded last month when Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air, a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen laptop that weighs three pounds and is about 3/4-inches thick.
Why Free TV Sucks
NBC will make network history on February 18th when it premieres the Internet TV series, “Quarterlife.” But not because the half-hour show follows the lives of six good-looking white Los Angeles 20-somethings as they express their angst and try to find their place in the world.
Studio Happenings
At ELABS MULTIMEDIA in Madison, Wisconsin, Nonpoint mixed a live acoustic radio performance, recorded by Elab’s remote truck. Randy Hawk and Jack LeTourneau produced . . . New York pop rock group Locksley mixed an upcoming Japanese release for Fab Tone Records that was engineered by Sam Bair . . . Arrival Records artist Bascom […]
Blues Lite
In the liner notes to the Little Arthur Duncan: Live At Rosa’s Blues Lounge DVD/CD set (Delmark), writer, producer, radio personality, and all-around blues maven Scott Dirks, referring to the band on the stand, says “This is exactly the kind of music that made Chicago famous a half century ago.” I beg to differ. Although […]
Best Of Around Hear – 2007
Each January, we dedicate part of “Around Hear” to those low-profile local artists who are our favorites from the passing year – the results of our staff and freelancers combing clubs and stacks of CDs for more than the booze and adulation we normally receive. This is by no means an attempt to make a […]
DVD Zone: January 2008
Once Fox Searchlight It seems to happen every year: The S.L.I., or Scrappy Little Indie. At some point a scrappy little indie flick from across the pond shows up on our doorstep to remind us $300 million is not needed to make a good film. It will generally be about a scrappy dweller (or dwellers) […]
Year In Blues Review
During a recent talk at Northwestern University by Israeli professor and musician Karen Alkalay-Gut, the conversation turned to language and perception in poetry and music. Alkalay-Gut teaches Hebrew poetry in English at Tel Aviv University. As the discussion became musical, a British chap in attendance disparaged rock music played in various cultures, claiming it to […]
California Leavin’
Spending a year and a half on the road with George Clinton – recording all the funkmeister’s live gigs and producing a bevy of tracks – and employed as Snoop Dogg’s personal engineer for three years, Nate Oberman has witnessed the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle from an up-close-and-personal vantage. His working relationship with The Doggfather […]
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