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Current DJ: Andy Vaso
Daft Punk Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from Discovery (Virgin) Add to Collection
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On one side of the room is an "Appalachian post-punk solipsist" who has been conjuring his own unique style of American roots music since the early 1990s. On the other side is a group that emerged from the primal psychedelia of the band Cave into a more placid but no less adventurous style of electronica. Two great tastes that taste great together? Absolutely, thanks to a new release on Drag City. Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties, a collaboration between Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, showcases two approaches to music that combine to form intriguing minimalist structures that subtly change form right in front of your ears .
Tracks from Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties can be heard in rotation and by request now on CHIRP Radio.
Upon hearing a band is named “Ratboys,” one (especially one of a certain age) might be inclined to picture a group of Punk rockers, or maybe an ‘80s Metal-revival outfit. Don’t be so quick to judge this book by its cover, though. This particular group of Ratboys, a Chicago band fronted by Julia Steiner on vocals, mixes acoustic and electric guitars to make music that’s based in Pop, Rock, and even some roots music. It’s a tuneful, inviting sound, with songs like “MCMXIV” that capture what a warm Spring day in Chicago feels like.
After several Bandcamp releases, Ratboys have recently released their debut album AOID. Selections from this album are playing in rotation and by request on CHIRPradio.org.
Chicago band My Gold Mask has been making music together since 2008. Experiencing their albums, including their newest release Anxious Utopia, one will hear a distinct combination of influences including polished Pop and indigo moods of Goth and Darkwave. In this band’s hands, these flavors mix together in a unique and satisfying fashion that may well inspire a trip to the dance floor to shake off the last bits of winter.
Songs from Anxious Utopia are available for listening both in rotation and by request on CHIRP Radio.
With all the crap going on in the world every day, I found a small consolation of hope to restore my faith in my fellow man from the worldwide reaction to the death of David Bowie earlier this year. It’s always painful to lose someone who’s so prolific and creative, but the thousands of tributes and memorials that made their way across the media-sphere demonstrated, however briefly, the power of music and art to bring us together in ways other forces simply don’t have the power to do.
One of the more powerful creative tributes took place a few months before Bowie’s passing. Chicago band Disappears, as part of last year’s Bowie exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, performed Bowie’s album Low, an album originally released in 1977 as part of his Berlin Trilogy. I can't think of many other bands more suited to interpreting the Thin White Duke's journey into the avant garde.
Songs from Disappears’ Low: Live in Chicago are currently being heard in rotation and by request on CHIRP Radio.
We are living in a golden age of crate digging. The latest exhibit - Chicago band Savage Beliefs, who tore up the '80s Hardcore scene for three short years before calling it a day. Alona's Dream has gathered all of the band's material into a new compilation called Big Big Sky. All-star producer Steve Albini helped transfer the tracks from the orginal masters. The music is as explosive as ever and is now in heavy rotation on CHIRP Radio!