Now Playing
Current DJ: DJ Duggery Presents the Frontiers of Weird
Post Coal Prom Queen I See No Gods Up Here from Music For First Contact (self-released) Add to Collection
The CHIRP Blog
Kevin Fullam writesThe Fourth Wall: The Square
Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the Australian crime thriller The Square.
This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.
Kevin:
Oh, what a tangled web we weave... -- Sir Walter Scott, Marmion.
I don't even need to complete the above verse, do I? You know what's coming next. And while we can't be sure of exactly what will befall Raymond Yale, the hapless protagonist of the 2008 Australian thriller The Square, we're quite certain that he's digging himself a deeper and deeper hole in attempting to cover up increasingly egregious sins.
Ray (David Roberts), a successful construction foreman who's not above squeezing his contractors for payola, is sleepwalking though his marriage. His wife suspects what we know: he's found a paramour in the much-younger Carla (Claire van der Boom), who sees Ray as her ticket to escape from her own husband, the shady, menacing Smithy (Anthony Hayes).
During their hotel trysts, Carla pushes Ray to leave his wife and commit to something permanent. Ray is less than convinced, but when Carla discovers a huge stash of cash brought home one day by Smithy (presumably through nefarious means), she and Ray agree to abscond with the money and start a new life together. The only quandary: how to steal the cash without inviting reprisal from Smithy?
Kyle writesTop 10 Tom Petty Deep Cuts
written by Kyle Sanders
On a day filled with tragedy, avid rock fans learned of other disheartening news that singer/songwriter Tom Petty had suffered from cardiac arrest, with confusing news reports eventually confirming his death.
Petty produced an array of well-known hits throughout his career as both a solo artist and as lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. From "Refugee" to "You Don't Know How it Feels," Petty's craftsmanship as a songwriter proved successful throughout his forty-plus years in the music industry.
With hits like "I Won't Back Down," "Here Comes My Girl," "The Waiting," "Free Fallin," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Learning to Fly," and "American Girl," there is no lack of favorite songs to choose from when compiling a list of Petty's best. Yet to those fans who stick solely to the hit singles, Petty's discography showcases just as many valid lesser known tracks than those that cracked the Billboard Hot 100.
In honor and remembrance of Petty's legacy in music, here's a list of deep cuts that deserve the attention of your ears:
10. "The Trip to Pirate's Cove" (Mojo, 2010)
Somewhat reminiscent of the songs of old when lyrics were stand-ins for a linear narrative, this track from one of The Heartbreakers' most recent efforts finds Petty on a cross-country journey, finding persons of interest along the highway.
"She was a part of my heart/Now she's just a line in my face," Petty bemoans, regarding a motel maid he decides to take along for the ride. This moody slow burn of a song shows Petty was still in top form well into the twenty-first century.
Eddie writesOn Tape: Veruca Salt at Wicker Park Fest (July 26, 2015)
Written by Eddie Sayago
September 29, 2017:
As the street festival season concludes with all the Oktoberfests going on across the city, so concludes the era of watching live music outside while drinking and eating and jumping up and down on a soon-to-be potholed street. I for one am glad festival season is over.
Wicker Park Fest is one of many festivals I have tried to enjoy over the years, but once you pay the “suggested donation,” fork over eight bucks for beer, get bumped into by one of numerous bros in those rompers who greet one another and begin every other sentence with “brah!” (followed by a pause that is a tad bit too long), and maybe get pickpocketed or bump into some casual acquaintance whose name you can’t remember and they insist you hang out with them and their obnoxious summer fling they will call “bae” because maybe they don’t know his name, the appeal of drinking on the street has lost its luster.
Also, it’s hot, And why are there kids here?! (Isn’t that what those summer camps are for?)
Kevin Fullam writesThe Fourth Wall: BoJack Horseman, Season 4
Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the Netflix series BoJack Horseman.
This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.
Clarence:
In the series BoJack Horseman, the humans and demi-humans who populate the bustling film and TV industry town of Hollywoo [not a typo] have the usual problems. But, as in our reality, some problems are more profound than others.
The series’ main character (Will Arnett), the washed-up former star of the ‘90s sitcom Horsin’ Around, is a giant pile of vice, self-loathing, and poor decision-making. If a writing teacher out there needs to provide an example of the difference between a "hero" and a "protagonist," they don’t need to look any further than this guy.
BoJack has friends: now-former agent/lover Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), now-former houseboy Todd Chavez (Aaron Paul), industry frenemy Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins), and biographer Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie), who’s also Mr. Peanutbutter’s wife. But over the series’ first three seasons these people have realized, in their own ways, that the best way to keep BoJack in their lives is to get away from him. Mr. PB and Diane focus on their marriage, Princess Carolyn her career and desire to start a family, and Todd his search for his own place in the world, which still involves crashing on other peoples’ couches.
E. Malcolm Martinez writesJoin Us for Sun Kil Moon at the Old Town School of Folk Music on 10/3!
Sun Kil Moon, aka Mark Kozelek, performs his plaintive, haunting, poetically rambling and often autobiographical songs at the Old Town School of Folk Music (4544 N Lincoln Ave) on Tuesday, October 3rd at 8pm.
Former frontman for the San Francisco band Red House Painters, Kozolek formed Sun Kil Moon in 2002. The band’s debut, Ghosts Of The Great Highway (2003, Jetset Records) was greatly received by critics and audiences alike but the band’s largest success was the highly acclaimed Benji (2014, Caldo Verde Records), which produced the alternative radio hit "Ben’s My Friend" as well as multiple references to Panera Bread.
Sun Kil Moon is touring in support of its latest release, Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys Of Blood (2017, Caldo Verde Records). A prolific songwriter with numerous solo releases and collaborations, Caldo Verde will release Kozelek’s latest, a collaborative collection entitled Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White, on October 5th. The album will stream on Kozelek’s website in the days before its release. Sun Kil Moon will be joined at The Old Town School by Magik Magik Orchestra, Steve Shelley (drums) and Josh Haden (bass).