Columns
File: November 2006
Must Be Election Time In the spirit of talking out of both sides of one’s mouth, Universal Music made a pair of separate statements as it adapts awkwardly to digital. Coinciding with Google’s acquisition of YouTube for a cool $1.65 billion — Google’s estimated worth is $100 billion — several record companies including Universal reached […]
DVD Zone: November 2006
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE HBO Video It seems almost quaint now. It’s also a little sad. In 1955, Senate hearings were conducted looking into the effects of pornography on the nation. The main target: a mild-mannered businessman and photographer named Irving Klaw and his sister Paula. Also in the crosshairs, the Klaws’ most famous model, […]
It’s A Jazz Life
If You Got To Ask, You Ain’t Got It (Bluebird/Legacy) is a meticulously organized three-disc musical chronicle of the short but prolific career of stride piano master, composer, vocalist, and bandleader/ entertainer Thomas “Fats” Waller. Waller was a musical genius who came streaking through life comet-like, leaving behind a musical legacy still felt today.
Studio Happenings
The Artist Formally Known As Vince finished his new release, Welcome To The Show, set for release November 21st. Recording took place at OXIDE LOUNGE RECORDING in Bloomington. It was produced, engineered, and mixed by studio owner Tony San Filippo.
Male Monarch Of Most Media
Move over media royalty Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, and make way for renaissance rocker Rob Zombie.
Drum Solo!
Tama Star Classic Mirage November is International Drum Month, and it gives us a chance to discuss our favorite acrylic drum set of 2006, the Tama Starclassic Mirage, a kit that brings backs memories of Led Zeppelin basher John Bonham’s Vistalite (Ludwig) drums from the 1976 film, The Song Remains The Same.
Soul Survivor
A distinctly American hybrid, soul music traces its illustrious creation to gospel, R&B, and jazz. While classic soul was produced in the ’60s and ’70s, the ’80s and ’90s witnessed the neo-soul movement. The British have proven to be much more reverent to American music than Americans; when classic soul gave way to disco in […]
Local CD Reviews
Ahab Rex‘s The Queen Of Softcore EP contains four remixes of the title track. The problem is the song isn’t all that interesting in the first place. Press sap the song of energy by implanting a played-out techno beat while Rex themselves sabotage their own tune by using even more generic funk riffs. The Countdown […]
Around Hear Page 2
The first compilation from startup label Four Play Music features half-a-dozen musicians following in the Chicago house music tradition. Artists like Home & Garden, Lake Street Project, and label head Andrew Emil all supply a few tracks here, but with similar beats and minimal vocals, no one really stands out. However, the album does flow […]
Around Hear Page 3
Though beginning strong with blues-tinged guitars and fantastic harmonica on tracks like “What’ch You Gonna Do” and “Feel The Same,” Mitch & The Polecats‘ uncompromisingly masculine Southern-style country rock on Swamp Womp begins to feel tired about halfway through. While not doing anything wrong per se (although the vocals do begin to grate after awhile), […]
Hello, My Name Is Ian
Hello, My Name Is Ian Q&A with Ian Anderson IE: How is touring with the orchestra project different than touring with Jethro Tull? Ian Anderson: Well, it’s a little bit scaled down. We don’t use as many people in the crew; we have less in the way of equipment, but we do have more *people […]
DVD Zone: October 2006
SEVEN SAMURAI The Criterion Collection Countless films over the years have been dubbed “masterpieces.” From Fritz Lang to John Ford, Peckinpah to Scorsese, all have created what many consider quintessential pieces of filmmaking. Few films, however, actually change the very nature of cinema itself.
File: October 2006
HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR Eddie Van Halen knows two things very well: smokin’ guitar licks and smokin’ cigarettes. Apparently adult entertainment and curing cancer can be added to the list. The six-string maestro called Howard Stern‘s Sirius Satellite show on September 8th, Launch Radio Networks reports, to promote a porn movie (more on that in […]
Local CD Reviews
“Chicago ain’t been this great since Jordan,” declares Terror Squad president Fat Joe about Logan Square rep Ace Mac on All Aces Mixtape Vol. 1. So Joey Crack’s co-sign is a little inflated, but Mac does kick some pretty entertaining “gangsta shit.” Atop a barrage of mostly borrowed, bass-heavy beats from Rick Ross, Twista, and […]
Around Hear Page 2
The three-song sampler for Secrets To Be Told, Rob Nicholas And A Moment’s Notice‘s debut CD, is tolerable but by no means terrific. “Lost Yourself” and “You Say” are run-of-the-mill alt-rock odes, with “Crave” adding a dash of jazz guitar to an otherwise mediocre melody. Hopefully the full-length disc features more originality, as quite honestly […]
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