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algabor writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2016: Al Gabor
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2016. Our next list is from volunteer Al Gabor.
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Eddie writesTop Five Obscure Christmas Songs That Deserve to be Classics
by Eddie Sayago
By now, you have heard “Santa Baby” (either Eartha Kitt or Kylie Minogue, or heaven forbid, that version by Madonna) for the 300th time. You may be one of those unfortunate souls who have holiday songs piped in from speakers at the office or during your late-night shift at a chain store. These five songs are a break from listening to another lesser version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” that’s playing on the all-holiday station right now. No one is ever going to come close to Brenda Lee in that department, and I wish artists would stop trying.
Special thanks to fellow CHIRP volunteers Craig Reptile, Bradley, and Jenna for your recommendations.
August Darnell, "Christmas On Riverside Drive" from A Christmas Record (EZ Records, 1981)
This energetic fusion of late-era disco, calypso, and early electronica was originally featured in a compilation titled A Christmas Record, released by New York-based EZ Records in 1981 that featured their most popular acts. (The album’s most famous track is “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses.) The story behind the artist here is another gift in itself, for Darnell’s life could be another blog or a dozen. A native of the Bronx, Darnell paved the way for club culture and its music to reach the mainstream in the US before moving to the UK, fronting numerous bands and having many identities before giving up the lifestyle and settling down.
Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2016: Tyler Clark
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2016. Our next list is from DJ and blog editor Tyler Clark. I think most of us are in agreement that 2016 sucked shit (which also happens to be the name of my band's forthcoming single). It's a sentiment that's been so widespread for so much of this calendar year that it's even spawned its own thinkpieces, but even the recognition of our collective hyperbole doesn't change the fact that this year was pretty beastly. Even if you limit yourself to the year in music, you have to contend with not only the deaths of David Bowie and Prince and Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen, but also Paul Kantner and George Martin and Ralph Stanley and Rudy Van Gelder and Leon Russell and Mose Allison and Greg Lake and all those doomed DIYers at Ghost Ship and... I'll stop now, but not because I've run out of terrible things to rehash. Rather, I'll stop because you get my meaning, because if you're reading this when it's published, that means you've lived through the past 348 shitty days, too, and you know that the worst parts of them extend way beyond losing the guy who wrote "Raspberry Beret." We're in some dark days, but that doesn't mean there weren't pinpricks of light here and there. They've made lists of those, too, and they'll make you feel a little better for a few minutes. If you're a music fan, so will the stunning records that came out this year. Maybe I'm just looking for a silver lining, but 2016 definitely feels, in complete spite of itself, like the best year for music that we've had in quite a while. That's not a huge consolation, geopolitical realities considered, but it's something, and I'll take something over nothing every time. Check out my Top Ten, and see if you agree. |
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of December 12)
Special Announcements
- CHIRP Radio’s Best Albums of 2016 is being published all this month. Check back regularly for our volunteers’ picks for the best albums of the year!
Upcoming Events
- Saturday, Dec. 17: CHIRP Radio and Kickstand Productions present King Dude at Beat Kitchen
- Sunday, Dec. 18: Classic Album Sundays gathers for a listening party of D’Angelo’s 2000 release Voodoo at Saturday Audio Exchange
New Media
- Marites Velasquez interviews Letters to Cleo and Lala Lala
- Kyle Sanders reviews Stevie Nicks & The Pretenders at the United Center
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2016: Clarence Ewing
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2016. Our next list is from DJ and Blog Manager Clarence Ewing. Lately I’ve been thinking about alternate realities. If the musings of some very smart people are to be believed, different outcomes from every event you or I or we experience get played out in an endless number of universes. At this moment in time there are other existences where Cubs fans once again have to Wait ‘TIll Next Year, where great artists I just assumed would always be around still grace us with their presence, if only for a little longer, where people across the world gleefully toast the coming new year as they shake their heads and chuckle “Can you believe the Americans almost voted that a__hole into office? What were they thinking?” The idea of what might have been ended up being the unconscious theme of my Top 10 albums list for this year. The 10 albums I chose are not just among the best 2016 had to offer but also, in their own way, they represent different worlds resulting from different decisions made individually and collectively… |