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The CHIRP Blog
Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop 25 Christmas Songs of the Last 25 Years: #25 - The Posies, “Christmas”
It's the holiday season, which means Christmas music. Lots and lots or Christmas music, most of which was written before the people listening to it were even alive. While "Jingle Bells" and "We Three Kings" are great, and resilient, we're devoting this year to finding the best Christmas song written since 1989. We begin today, with #25.
#25: The Posies, "Christmas" (1996)
I'm going to open this countdown with a bold assertion: compared to the 2000s, the '90s were a terrible time for indie-rock Christmas tunes. Whether it was fatigue from the charity single explosion of the mid-1980s or the slack-assed Gen-X jadedness that colored most of the decade, it suddenly stopped being cool to write your own holiday music if you weren't Mariah Carey or NSYNC.
Fortunately, the Posies were fine with being squares. On the simply-titled "Christmas," singer Ken Stringfellow quietly turns in one the best performances on Geffen Records' 1996 Christmas compilation Just Say Noel. Instead of hiding behind irony (Sonic Youth's "Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope") or turning in a smirking adaptation of a classic (Beck's "The Little Drum Machine Boy"), the Posies' frontman does what he does best: sing a delicate song about feeling uncool feelings at a time of year when everyone else is happy. It's the best (and most melancholy) four minutes on the entire compilation, and one of the finest holiday songs from a decade not known for them.
Dylan Peterson writesCHIRP Radio Best of 2014: Dylan Peterson
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Throughout December, CHIRP Radio presents its volunteers’ top albums of 2014. Our first list for this year is from Features Director Dylan Peterson. Another emotional year. It couldn't have been just me, right? |
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesComing This December: The Top Albums of 2014!
Thanksgiving's over. The turkey has been eaten, the turkey sandwiches are on deck, and food comas are shaken off. It's time for another feast – a feast of music! Starting December 1, we'll be presenting our volunteers' picks for their favorite albums from this year. We've listened to a LOT of albums over the past twelve months, and we're happy to share with you the releases that had the biggest impact on us (and our ears) in 2014.
One New Year's Eve we'll say farewell to the old year by publishing a combined list of the albums that were most mentioned by our volunteers. But there's usually a couple of hundred albums that don't make that list, so check back regularly to read up on what we've been listening to!
SKaiser writesTake a read with local author Greg Hickey’s Our Dried Voices
“I was just trying to write a good story. It’s not always easy or thoroughly enjoyable, but neither is any other pursuit that is truly fulfilling.” This is from Greg Hickey, author of newly released, Our Dried Voices.
Hickey sat down for a reading at City Lit Books last Thursday and with about 30 visitors gave insight on the story he’s finally been able to tell.
Greg Hickey reads an excerpt from his book, Our Dried Voices, on November 20 at City Lit Books in Logan Square.
Trix writesCHIRP Radio Welcomes Mirel Wagner to the Old Town School of Folk Music on Nov. 26!
Chirp is proud to welcome Mirel Wagner to Old Towne School of Folk on Wednesday, November 26th. Like other folk singers out of Scandinavia, Wagner’s Finnish roots are undeniable, her haunting vocals and lyrics that at times, speak of death and necrophilia. Her unembellished and poetic compositions are reminiscent of Cat Power’s You are Free, but darker, more like lullabies to the past for times and people who have passed from this earth but not from her memory.
Wagner’s most recent record When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day was written in isolation that carries through her songs. "Dreamt Of A Wave" draws from the sensations one has when all external stimuli is removed (“Dreamt of a wave, oh I think I thought I did / The wave was not water but flesh and blood and bone”). With no distractions, Wagner’s mind wandered to reflect on the “not so nice” parts of the human experience, bringing these dark times into the light with sparse definition of the subject, leaving room for the listener to shape their own meanings.
Show starts at 8pm with Andrew Sa opening. Tickets are available here.