The CHIRP Blog
James Brown isn’t merely the Godfather of Soul, he is also the man who invented funk. And others built upon that, but no one more than George Clinton. Whether its the rocking funk grooves of early Funkadelic, or the complex multi-movement songs of prime mid-‘70s Parliament, or his underrated solo records for Capitol in the ’80s, Clinton kept finding new ways to funk, guaranteeing that we would always have One Nation Under A Groove. Let’s pay tribute to this essential artist by grabbing the iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.
- The Diodes — Tired Of Waking Up Tired (Tired of Waking Up Tired: The Best of The Diodes): This is a Candian new wave classic. Back in the day, some might have called this punk, but its really just a rocking tune with an automatic pop hook. This is the band’s peak, but they have quite a few nifty and clever tunes on their first couple of albums.
- Al Green — Take Me To The River (More Greatest Hits): You know a song must be great if it has been covered by both Foghat and Talking Heads. This is an upbeat soul number from the good Reverend Green which mixes biblical metaphor with a story of love gone wrong. The song has about three different hooks and a sublime middle eight. Fantastic.
- Paul Kelly & The Messengers — Everything’s Turning To White (So Much Water, So Close To Home): Kelly is a great Australian singer-songwriter who writes great melodies but has a rough hewn rock style that gives them grit. On this song, however, it’s only Kelly’s voice that provides any grit, as it is a pretty economical number that fans of Ron Sexsmith would probably dig.
- Lewis Taylor — Hide Your Love Away (The Lost Album): This is not a cover of The Beatles/John Lennon classic from the movie Help. This is another soft-pop gem from cult fave Taylor. This has a gentle Laurel Canyon vibe that fans of the latest John Grant record might dig.
- Ron Sexsmith — Nothing Good (Other Songs): The second Sexsmith album is still my favorite as he perfected his pithy approach to writing observational pop songs. It’s no wonder Elvis Costello championed him around this time. Sexsmith has a limited but extremely expressive voice — he always sounds committed to what he is singing, while his melodies are friendly and familiar in the best possible way.
- Fools Face — Land Of The Hunted (Tell America): Tell America is one of the 10 best power pop albums ever made, This Springfield, Missouri band featured four songwriters who all had a great command of melody. Not only did they cook up a great batch of new wave kissed pop-rock songs, they sometimes added social commentary that was not typical of bands during the skinny tie era. This is a chugging number with spectacular drumming.
- Dolly Varden — All Gonna Change (The Panic Bell): A wonderful Dianne Christiansen song from the most recent album by this Chicago band. A lot of Christiansen’s material is comparable to latter day Rosanne Cash — spare (a theme for today, I guess) compositions with keenly observed lyrics. This is the most produced of all of Dolly Varden’s albums and there are lots of nifty sonic touches to augment this otherwise simple acoustic track.
- Nirvana — Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nevermind): The basis for a great Weird Al Yankovic parody. Moreover, a song that changed music significantly, both for good and bad. Alt-rock sent harder rock in new directions,and also, for a few years, opened up the airwaves to a wider variety of rock music. Even today, the effects are felt, as the existence of viable commercial channels for independent music is partially due to Nirvana’s breakthrough.
- Linton Kwesi Johnson — Come Wi Goh Dung Den (Dread Beat An’ Blood): The influential reggae dub poet’s debut album sets the formula that always worked for Mr. Johnson: solid reggae grooves and his intense rhythmic recitations of his politically charged lyrics. All that changed over the years was sharper music, stronger vocals and better production. But the music is swell and LKJ’s passion is contagious.
- Big Audio Dynamite — James Brown (Megatop Phoenix): After Brown got into an altercation with a cop, a lot of folks were inspired to write a song about it, including Mick Jones. This is a pretty typical BAD number, with a sort of funky groove. But it’s not as good as Pop Will Itself’s “Not Now James, We’re Busy”, the best song on this subject matter.
Blonde Redhead returns to the Bottom Lounge as part of their North American Summer Tour and in support of their latest recording, Penny Sparkle. While this album may be easier-listening than their previous releases, it maintains that sense of beautiful pop mysticism they’re known for, and in combination with songs from their earlier works this show will no doubt be one to see. The Sentinals will get the crowd warmed up with their special dose of energetic post-punk and sexy vocals!
Bottom Lounge / 1375 W Lake / 9pm / 17+
It’s time for another CHIRP Night at the Whistler! It’s a great excuse to hear new local music and sample a cocktail by drink masters like Paul McGee, recently named Best Mixologist by the Chicago Reader.
Let Sunglasses sway you into an experimental pop daydream, and then dance it out with the synth-driven low-fi beats of Your Feets Too Big.
A percentage of bar sales benefit CHIRP Radio. CHIRP DJs will also be on-hand to spin between sets, plus you can enter to win prizes in the CHIRP raffle. This show promises to be the perfect soundtrack to one of our beautiful Chicago summer nights, so don’t miss it!
The Whistler / 2421 N. Milwaukee / 9:30pm / 21+ / No Cover
He is, perhaps, the most influential vocalist of the post-punk movement. He was the charismatic,deep voiced frontman of Joy Division, the Manchester band whose rhythmic sound carved out a distinctive niche in the British indie scene. Ian Curtis is also, of course, a tragic figure, a smart young man with problems (such as managing his epilepsy that inspired his unique stage mannerisms) who ultimately ended it all way too soon. In honor of Curtis, please get your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle, and share the first 10 songs that come up:
- Tune-yards — Es-so (WHOKILL): The second Tuneyards album fits in well with some other dissonant groups of this era, but also brings back memories of Talking Heads, Electric Guitars and other post-punk bands. Mixing some African rhythms with basic blues (at times) and creative production and amazing vocals, this is one of the more distinct albums of the year. Merrill Garbus is a one heck of a talent. This song kind of comes from the same place as Micachu, but from a totally different direction.
- Pernice Brothers — Snow (Discover A Lovelier You): A fairly rocking Pernice Brothers tune, thanks to the sharp guitar playing of Peyton Pinkerton. Indeed, this is one of the more driving Pernice tunes, with Joe’s poetic lyrics coming off dramatically with the clipped rhythm and loud guitar sounds.
- Superdrag — Wrong vs. Right Doesn’t Matter (Head Trip In Every Key): Superdrag’s second album is a hidden gem. It’s hard edged power pop in the vein of early Cheap Trick, but with a sound that was heavy enough to fit in well with the alt-rock of the era. This was the follow up to the surprise success of the band’s debut (which featured “Sucked Out”), and the album stiffed, perhaps due to the lack of an obvious single. This is a shame, as it’s full of great songs, like this heavy Beatle-y number.
- Malachai — How Long (Malachai): This duo comes up with a great mix of ’60s psychedelia with hints of trip-hop (Geoff Barrow of Portishead is a mentor) and other sounds. The result is something that might appeal to fans of bands like The Bees and Gomez, or people who wish Badly Drawn Boy had more energy. These guys have strong melodies, arrange their songs well, and don’t let anything overstay its welcome.
- Peter Gabriel — A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World (Peter Gabriel): A playful reggae accented track from PG’s second album. This song mixes the slight reggae feel with an art-pop tune that is somewhere between Gabriel’s prior work in Genesis and art-pop like John Cale and Brian Eno.
- Peggy Lee — I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ (Miss Peggy Lee): A very cool jazz tune with the impeccably cool Miss Lee, who added lyrics to music Duke Ellington wrote for the movie Anatomy Of A Murder. The song is centered on a Latin piano part with bongos and Lee’s sharp phrasing. The song emphasizes rhythm over melody, and Peggy sings accordingly. There is a slightly atonal horn section that chimes in — this was pretty edgy for it’s time, I would guess.
- The Smugglers — Invitation Only (In The Hall Of Fame): An early tune from the great Vancouver pop-punk band. The guitars ring out while Grant Lawrence sings the offbeat lyrics. The chorus is super catchy.
- Edwyn Collins — Bored (Losing Sleep): Collins’ comeback last year from two strokes is one of the best music stories in recent memory. Not only can he sing again, his writing is still sharp. Working with a variety of other Scottish rockers, this album seems to consolidate all of Collins’ strengths dating back to his days in Orange Juice. This song works off a simple guitar riff with the direct lyrics that Collins now uses to accommodate his disability due to the stroke.
- Radiohead — Give Up The Ghost (The King Of Limbs): While the latest Radiohead may not measure up to prior albums, this just shows how incredible their body of work has been. That being said, there are some fine songs on the album, such as this fairly straightforward tune. It really is focused on Thom Yorke’s vocals, with some sweeping faux strings. This is a bit reminiscent of The Bends era, but stripped down.
- They Might Be Giants — Absolutely Bill’s Mood (They Might Be Giants): They may be mainstream now, but always remember how weird They Might Be Giants were at the beginning. Eugene Chadbourne plays a sinister lead guitar on this John Flansburgh tune. This is an ominous pop tune with a clipped rhythm and a deceptively strong melody.
Congratulations are in order for CHIRP Radio – Chicago Magazine has named us “Best Internet Radio Station” in its new 2011 Best of Chicago issue!
We are flattered and honored to get this shout-out from such a fantastic publication, and we’d like to thank them and all of the people who listen to the station for their support!