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Eddie writesBest Crate Digging Finds: Grammy Awards Edition
by Eddie Sayago
We are in the middle of my favorite season of the year: awards. There are so many awards shows and ceremonies, most of them for film and actors. Music’s so-called biggest night, the Grammy Awards, is often overlooked by some (me) awards spectators due to its usually out-of-touch picks for its trophies.
And this isn’t new. There’s a clip from the 5th season of The Simpsons where Homer tries to give away his Grammy to a bellhop who then tosses it off the balcony (“Hey, don’t throw your garbage down here.”)
The (American mainstream) music industry’s most coveted prize is the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Is is known as “The Big Award.” A lot of people can benefit from this award, and not just to put something shiny to put on a shelf.
This award is given to the artist, band or group, the producers, songwriters, the mastering engineers, the recording engineer or mixer, and featured artists. All these people get a boost in the business that will lead to attention and hopefully more work and opportunities.
Most albums return to the charts and get more sales and ears for their overall work. Admit it, you are intrigued when you see (insert award) Winner at the top of the bill, poster, or album cover. (I definitely am.)
These seven albums have won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and were found coincidentally at various record shops around town.
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Henry Mancini, The Music of Peter Gunn (1959, RCA), won at the 1959 Grammy Awards
Carole King, Tapestry (1971, Ode/A&M), won at the 1972 Grammy Awards
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977, Warner) won at the 1978 Grammy Awards
U2, The Joshua Tree (1987, Island), won at the 1988 Grammy Awards
Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (1995, Maverick), won at the 1996 Grammy Awards.
Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company (2004, Concord), won at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010, Merge), won at the 2011 Grammy Awards.Alanna Miller writesComing Attractions: “Crispy Skin” by Squid
by Alanna Miller
Right away, Squid’s 'Crispy Skin' deceives the listener. The composition is uptempo with keyboard that recalls Mario Kart sounds. The drum marches fast and the keys and synths build to draw you into a magical world. Then, primary vocalist Ollie Judge’s voice appears like spoken word in a manner that feels creepy, like an enunciated whisper. He’s playful and toying with you. 'Am I the bad one?/ Yep, yes, I am.'
The vocal delivery is sometimes pouty and sometimes emphatic. The instruments are played as if in conversation with Judge, playful riffs snuck in between lyrics. The rapid tonal shifts feel dizzying and manipulative. Altogether, the song feels like you’re watching an acid-washed 80s horror movie where everything seems just fine...until it isn’t.
Over two minutes into the track, the song slows down almost to a stop, building palpable tension. Judge chants to you, taunting, which is perhaps the first time you realize the title of the song you’re listening to is "Crispy Skin." You can’t hide from it when every syllable is enunciated over acoustic instrumentals.
As the music builds back up, your excitement grows. You’ve fallen down the rabbit hole now. You don’t even mind that this song is about cannibalism.
Squid tells a story that feels intoxicating. The music is cinematic, and the lyrics are daring. The record has a certain of Montreal experimental art rock sound that is wonderfully weird and masterful. Also I’m a Scorpio, so anything with a scorpion on it will appeal to me.
Cowards, the third album release from the British post-punks, is a concept album, with each song exploring stories about the macabre. Suffice to say, it will surely be a scary good release.
CHIRP Radio writesCHIRP Radio Weekly Voyages (Jan 27 - Feb 2)
Upcoming Events:
- Friday Jan 31: CHIRP Radio welcomes Tim Heidecker with Neil Hamburger to Thalia Hall
- Wednesday Feb 5: CHIRP Radio presents Both Sides Now: Folk, Punk, & Grit at Schubas
- Thursday Feb 6: CHIRP Radio welcomes Jessica Lea Mayfield to Schubas
- Friday Feb 7: CHIRP Radio welcomes Trentemøller to Outset
- Friday Feb 7: CHIRP Radio welcomes Toro y Moi and Panda Bear to the Saly Shed
- Friday Feb 7: CHIRP Radio is a media sponsor for Taste of Ravenswood
- Tuesday Feb 11: CHIRP DJ Night at the Native feat. DJ Shannon Duffy
- Tuesday Feb 11: CHIRP kicks off the Fireside With series with M.E.H.
- Wednesday Feb 12: CHIRP Music Film Festival Presents Empire Records
- Saturday Feb 15: CHIRP Radio welcomes The Vulgar Boatmen to Schubas
- Tuesday Feb 18: CHIRP Music Trivia: Black History at Beermiscuous
- Sunday Feb 23: CHIRP Night at The Whistler with The Slaps and Sick Day
- Wednesday Feb 26: CHIRP and the Chicago FIlm Society present Light of Day at NIU Auditorium
Alanna Miller writesComing Attractions: “T&A” by Blondshell
by Alanna Miller
Blondshell’s ‘T&A’ is Sabrina Teitelbaum at her best. The second single released from the artist’s sophomore record If You Asked for a Picture has all the markers of what Blondshell listeners have come to expect.
There’s a blatant, 'I won’t take your sh*t,’ attitude combined with a '90s pop-rock sound that recalls the music of Sinead O’Connor, Liz Phair, and Alanis Morsiette. Plus, she’s a skilled storyteller ("Salad" is my generation’s "Goodbye Earl.") and isn’t afraid to get raw. Many songs off her debut discussed themes like self-worth, casual sex, and sobriety with a poetic finesse that has become a Blondshell signature.
"T&A" and its companion single, "What’s Fair," achieve an impressive level of consistency in both sound and appeal to Blondshell’s self-titled debut released in 2023. With a witty, indignant rock anthem, Teitelbaum finds in "T&A" affirmation that she is right in her lane.
The title of the song, '"T&A"- an acronym more often used by rappers than girl rockers- is an overt reference to the sexual objectification of women. The lyrics describe feelings of shame, desire, and perversion. 'But I started taking my shirt off/ and facing the wall,' she laments.
And then it bursts. In the chorus, Teitelbaum belts 'Why don’t the good ones love me?' emoting the desperation felt when lust and toxicity combine. But our narrator’s not entirely innocent in all this. After all, she’s "Letting him in." Sometimes, we just can’t pull ourselves away from a harmful love, which is what makes "T&A"s' lyrics so provocative.
"T&A" is clever, somewhat pessimistic, and evokes angry, slicing, rock n’ roll feelings in a manner that is a natural extension from her debut. If You Asked for a Picture, set to be released in May, will surely be a highlight of the year.
Noah Haynes writesBetter Man: When a Gimmick Elevates a Movie
by Noah Haynes
If you’ve seen any biopic, you can probably predict every emotional beat of Better Man.
It’s the newest music biopic to hit theaters (competing with the Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown) and depicts the life and career of British pop star Robbie Williams.
Rising to fame in the mid-'90s, Williams first saw success in the U.S. as part of the boy band Take That, whose song “Back For Good” hit #7 on Billboard’s Hot 100. He would go on to have a mildly successful solo career with charting songs “Angels” and “Millennium” but remained most popular (and extremely popular) in his home country of Britain.
It doesn’t actually matter too much whether you know Robbie Williams or not, though. I had never heard a note of music by the guy and found the story very approachable to a newcomer.
Plus, well, it wasn’t hard to track the plot when it fell into the familiar, tired story beats that we’ve seen a hundred times in other career biopics. (“Oh, he’s falling into a drug addiction and estranging his wife? Gotchaaa…”)
Nevertheless, despite my criticism of the plot, this is actually a pretty fun movie. Before going too much further, however, we have to address the elephant in the room—that is, the monkey.
In all the promotional material, and the movie itself, Williams is portrayed as an anthropomorphic, CGI chimp. He walks, he talks, but he is a monkey—though it’s played as normal in the movie.
Speaking on the strange decision, director Michael Gracey (of The Greatest Showman fame) told BBC "Quite often Rob will say, 'I'm just like a performing monkey' or 'I'm up the back like a performing monkey…It just sparked this idea of, we've got this chance to tell this story, not from the perspective of how we see Rob, but how he sees himself.”
So, sure it’s a gimmick. Surprisingly though, I found it to be one that paid off quite well. Not only would the movie be much less interesting if it was played straight, the fact that there’s this crazy chimp on screen grabs your attention and holds it. It’s actually kind of a genius move to subtly communicate the charisma Williams brings to his live appearances.
Plus, as director Michael Gracey dips into his musical tendencies and starts bending reality, it acts as a seamless transition to a place of heightened reality. It’s not hard to accept the presence of a one-take, three-minute-long musical dance number when you’ve already suspended disbelief with the main character.
And thank goodness, because the musical aspects of this movie really shine. Apart from the previously-mentioned scene, the montage of Williams dancing with his future wife, Nicole Appleton, beautifully incorporates the love song “She’s The One” as the two dance together on a boat.
By divorcing itself from the requirement to show Williams performing every song in a realistic way—the film opens itself to a whole host of creative choices. It made me want to see more biopics as musicals.
It’s fun, it’s stylized, it’s goofy—sure the story is overplayed, but don’t let that get you down. Whether you know Robbie Williams or not, his life story is worth seeing, even if just to get a few new songs stuck in your head.