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The CHIRP Blog
Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesTop Five: Charity Singles That Don’t Suck
CHIRP's fall fundraising drive is in the books, and it was a great, humbling success. It also got us thinking about the music world's greatest fundraising weapon: the charity single. In the spirit of pop philanthropy, I went back into the archives to answer an age-old question: has there ever been a charity single that didn't suck?
1) Artists United Against Apartheid - "Sun City" (1985)
Benefits: Anti-apartheid charities
Organized by: Steven Van Zandt
Notable Acts Represented: Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen & Little Steven, Gil-Scott Heron, Joey Ramone, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Keith Richards & Ron Wood, Run-DMC, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Jimmy Cliff, George Clinton, Bonnie Raitt, Darlene Love
Why It Doesn't Suck: The subject matter. Most charity singles are used solely as fundraisers, following the well-meaning (but sometimes misguided) Western tendency to throw money at a problem until it goes away. "Sun City" did that, too, raising millions for anti-apartheid charities upon its release in 1985. However, Artists United Against Apartheid took their commitment a step further. In addition to singing on the record, every artist involved took a pledge not to play Sun City, the infamous whites-only resort that became an emblem of South African inequality. The song was a form of self-policing, calling out both the horrors of aparthied and the tacit approval of those horrors given by artists (including Elton John and Queen) who chose to accept gigs at the resort.
Mike Bennett writesFriday MP3 Shuffle - Happy Birthday Cub Koda Edition
He’s the man who wrote “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” and made unlikely rock stars out of Brownsville Station, a proto-garage rock band of the ’70s. He later went on to become a real student of the blues, writing many important pieces about American music history. Cub Koda is a real unsung hero of rock, and the bespectacled rocker managed to pen some other cool tunes, including the great “Kings of the Party”. There is nothing Cub would appreciate more than having everyone grab their iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 tunes that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesA Chat with Kate Adams, Performing Tonight at the Homeroom Chicago Songwriter Showcase
Kate Adams is one of the artists who will be performing and discussing her craft tonight at the Homeroom Chicago Songwriter Showcase at Columbia College’s HAUS at the Quincy Wong Center (623 S. Wabash). Along with J.C. Brooks, Odea, and Isaiah Oby, Kate will be playing music and providing the audience insights into the songwriting process and her musical influcences.
Billie Howard of Homeroom Chicago had a chance recently to ask Kate a few questions about herself:
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesJoin Us for the Ravenswood ArtWalk Tour of Arts and Industry This Weekend!
(Poster design by Laura Matzen)
Ravenswood Avenue is one of the most unique thoroughfares in Chicago. Strategically tucked between the busier and noisier North Side streets, tree-lined Ravenswood is a parallel oasis of commercial and creative activity, an urban planner’s dream come true.
The numerous artists and artisans who work on the avenue will be on display when Ravenswood ArtWalk presents the 13th annual Tour of Arts & Industry on October 4th and 5th from 11:00am to 7:00pm (6:00pm on Sunday). Over 150 artists will be featured as they open their studios and display offices to the public for free. There will also be a street festival on Saturday, the Ravensood Artwalk Detour, which will feature live music, a craft beer garden, and a food truck roundup. CHIRP Radio will have a table there too, while also providing music to accompany your day!
Autumn is in the air, and this is a perfect way to spend what’s going to be a wonderful weekend inside and out before Winter sets in once again. See you there!
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: Music from the Motion Picture “Pulp Fiction”
There was a point in my life where I wanted to be a filmmaker. I still might be one at some point. Who knows? If it wasn’t for my obsession with music, I might have been a textbook cinephile by now, as intrigued by new releases and upcoming film festivals as I am now about new album releases and who’s on the program at the next big music festival.
I still have a strong interest in movies, though, and the picture that got it all started for me was Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. This was the movie that not only fascinated me to no end with it’s singularly unique style (made up of entirely of, I would soon learn, styles copied from a lot of other films), but also got me interested in movies as more than just something to stare at while I stuffed my face with popcorn.