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The CHIRP Blog
Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop Five Songs About Winter (That Aren’t About Christmas)
Chicagoans survived their latest brush with winter weather last week, waiting out Polar Vortex Jr. without dipping into their customary winter emergency kits (for me, a fifth of Old Granddad and a VHS copy of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles). However, most of them did it without the aid of seasonal music; while Christmas carols demand a large share of the popular songbook, songs about general wintertime are significantly harder to come by. To stave off cabin fever, I compiled this list of my five favorites. You probably won't find carolers singing them on street corners any time soon, but they make welcome additions to playlists from here until March.
Before she escaped to Laurel Canyon and started gallivanting around with Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell spent years weathering Canadian winters around Alberta and Saskachewan. That kind of cold sticks with you, even when you leave it. Despite its title, "Urge For Going" doesn't celebrate the kind of California escape that MItchell eventually found; although she eulogizes the death of both a romance and the summer that contained it, she also remains determined to see the cold months out without flinching. "Urge For Going" gained most of its fame by coming out of other people's mouths; the song was a hit for country singer George Hamilton IV in 1967. However, the best rendition comes from picaresque crooner Lee Hazelwood, whose version appeared on his Sweden-only 1973 album I'll Be Your Baby Tonight. Recorded during Hazlewood's stint in Scandinavia, the song takes on an extra layer of yearning; Hazlewood's not only in for a long, dark winter, but also one spent very far from home.
CHIRP DJ writesCHIRP Radio’s Top 20 Albums of 2014!
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The votes are in and the calculations are complete...here are CHIRP Radio's top albums of 2014! Our volunteers cited over 220 albums as their favorites for this year, and these are the 20 records mentioned most often. From all of us at the station, Happy New Year and all the best for 2015! |
Shawn Campbell writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2014: Shawn Campbell
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2014. Our next list is from CHIRP Radio's Founder and General Manager Shawn Campbell. Here's what I liked this year. I don't pretend it's a list of the most important records of the year, I'm not trying to make any type of overarching statement -- these were just truly the records that hit me the hardest in 2014, the ones that got the regular spins and that I kept coming back to over the course of the year (or in the case of D'Angelo, expect to keep returning to in coming months). Thanks for listening. |
Katie O. - Local Love writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2014: Katie Owens
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2014. Our next list is from Local Features Director Katie Owens. This list is not exhaustive and I'd like the reader to know I love listening to local music and anything reminiscent of The Beatles and The Strokes. |
Mike Pakowski writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2014: Mike Pakowski
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2014. Our next list is from DJ, Promotions Director and Board Member Mike Pakowski.
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