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The CHIRP Blog
Kevin Fullam writesThe Fourth Wall: The Fall of The Simpsons and the New Criticism
Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the YouTube video essay The Fall of The Simpsons.
This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.
Clarence:
This time around, Kevin, I’d like to chat about something that’s not a movie or a TV show, but a critique of a TV show. A show that was, in the minds of many in our generation, THE TV show…The Simpsons.
The critique is a YouTube video called “The Fall of The Simpsons: How It Happened.” It’s a half-hour essay by someone named Super Eyepatch Wolf that tries to explain why The Simpsons, now entering its 29th season, has fallen so far from grace in terms of quality.
I think the video makes a lot of sense. The creator and narrator laid out his argument in a sober, systematic fashion. First, he provided a form of proof that the show is, in fact, not as good as it used to be. He then goes into the history of the show’s creative staff and what they did to make this show work, followed by an analysis of what makes something funny, which I found particularly interesting.
Mike Nikolich writesAlbum Review: Chicago Afrobeat Project Mashes Music Styles on Latest LP
by Mike Nikolich
As a teenager, I began listening to African stations via shortwave radio, a hobby I still enjoy today. Through this medium, I discovered West African artists like King Sunny Ade, Malian guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Touré and Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti.
Throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s, my wife and I were regulars at the legendary Equator Club, near Broadway and Lawrence, and we had the chance to see many of these wonderful artists up close and personal.
I still love music from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Zaire, and regularly play artists from these countries on my Friday afternoon show from noon to 3 pm. When the award-winning Chicago Afrobeat Project announced its latest LP, What Goes Up, I jumped at the chance to review it.
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRadio (Week of October 9)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Wednesday, October 11 | 8:00 PM | 21+ | CHIRP Radio presents First Time: First Dream at Martyrs' (3855 N. Lincoln Ave)
- Sunday, October 15 | 10:00 AM | Join CHIRP Radio at Alchemy Audio's Music Gear Swap (4255 N Knox Ave)
- Sunday, October 15 | 10:00 AM | CHIRP Spins at Vintage Garage's Season Closer (5051 N Broadway)
NEW MEDIA
- Top Ten Tom Petty Deep Cuts by Kyle Sanders
- The Fourth Wall: The Square with Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing
- Amelia Hruby met up with Angus Andrews of Liars at Riot Fest
- Eddie Sayago give us Veruca Salt: On Tape at Wicker Park Fest
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.