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CHIRP DJ writesCHIRP Welcomes Tobacco to Lincoln Hall on Friday Sept. 30
by Andrew Meriwether
Pittsburgh’s own Tobacco brings his trippy, twisted electronic creations to Lincoln Hall this coming Friday, September 30th.
Tobacco (aka Tom Fec) is currently touring after his latest release, Sweatbox Dynasty. The album is clearly a continuation, but also a refreshing evolution, of Tobacco’s previous heavily modulated synths and vocoded vocals. Fec began his career as the frontman for the much-acclaimed Black Moth Super Rainbow, which has been consistently releasing albums since 2003. BMSR’s 2007 release Dandelion Gum received praise from critics, and it is around this time that Fec began work on his solo project, Tobacco, with his release of Fucked Up Friends in 2008. While having following of his own, Tobacco found some mainstream popularity after “Stretch Your Face” from 2010’s Manic Meat was used as the theme song for HBO’s Silicon Valley.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesTop Five Underrated Musicians from Extremely Successful Rock Bands
This one goes out to those who appreciate the work of the New York Yankees, Microsoft, and Mcdonald's. Who cheer on the scrappy go-getters like Sony Music and Amazon.com and cheer on Mark Zuckerberg when his bank account swells up another $10 million.
OK, not really. But yeah, kinda. History, after all, is written by the winners, and there are times when winners must get their due. Especially when the whole overshadows the individual parts. This is very much true in the music world, where the brilliant work of individual musicians can get overlooked from time to time for any number of reasons.
Is it possible for someone who’s part of a group that’s sold millions of records and made untold sums of money to be considered “underrated?” I say, in certain aspects, yes. I believe there are some groups that have achieved certified legend status that have members who still don’t quite get the full credit they deserve. Like these five....
Josh Friedberg: Music Historian's Corner writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life”
Preachy, saccharine, bloated, inconsistent—call it what you will, but Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life has held up exceptionally well over the last 40 years. Maybe it’s because the messages are still relevant, maybe it’s because the arrangements to songs like “Sir Duke” and “I Wish” still sound fresh, maybe it’s because Stevie Wonder toured behind the album two years ago and audiences still love it. In any case, this month, Stevie Wonder’s double-LP-plus-a-7”-EP (!)-length monstrosity has been selected for Classic Album Sundays, which CHIRP is sponsoring in Chicago at Transistor (transistorchicago.com) on Sunday, September 25.
In terms of my relationship with this album, I saw it in my mother’s CD collection as a kid, and I eventually bought the later remastered version. I’ve sometimes had a mixed reaction to this album: as others have pointed out, the lyrics are convoluted and the songs go on and on, but if you just pay attention to the arrangements and the overall sound, the album is absolutely brilliant, and today it is among my ten (five?) favorite albums ever.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes@CHIRPRadio (Week of September 19)
Special Announcements
- The CHIRP Radio Fall Fundraiser is in full swing! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so far. We’ve still got plenty of thank-you’s for everyone who gives, including the new CHIRP Member Card, which WILL make you the coolest benefactor on your block! Go to http://chirpradio.org/donatenow to make a donation. Thanks!
Upcoming Events
- CHIRP Radio Welcomes Sara Watkins to the Old Town School of Folk Music on Wednesday September 21st
- BACON, BANDS, AND BREWS! CHIRP will be at Exit Strategy Brewing for Baconstock on Saturday September 24th
- CHIRP will be there for Classic Album Sundays, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life at Transistor on Sunday September 25th
New Media
- First Time - First Taste by Mindy Segal
- First Time - First Taste by Dave Toropov
- Amelia Hruby interviews Shamir
- Josh Friedburg Rediscovers Carol King’s classic album Tapestry
Josh Friedberg: Music Historian's Corner writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: Carole King’s “Tapestry”
I’ve pretty much always loved Carole King’s 1971 blockbuster album Tapestry, but I’ve sometimes been conflicted about embracing its flaws. Yes, this is one of the most beautiful pieces of pop song craft ever made—it’s a different kind of candidate for “greatest pop album ever” than a dance album like Michael Jackson’s Thriller—but I would be dishonest if I acted like I think every single song is an absolute masterpiece. In fact, 1971 was so good a year for classic albums that Tapestry was probably not even one of the very best albums of the year, though it won Album of the Year at the Grammys. But today I do enjoy every single song on the album, while acknowledging that some are better than others.
One sleeper track, “Way Over Yonder,” has played a very special role in my life. I sang it at my college graduation ceremony and at a Take Back the Night march against sexual violence, dedicating it to a number of friends. But still, “Way Over Yonder” is by no means one of the album’s several all-time classics: “I Feel the Earth Move,” “So Far Away,” “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and others far outdistance it in quality. But this song has woven itself into the story of my life in a way that different songs on the album did for millions of listeners in the ‘70s.