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The CHIRP Blog
Craig Reptile: Your Sunday Sonic Sundowner writesFriday MP3 Shuffle: Happy Birthday Mark Lanegan Edition
(photo from marklanegan.com by Steve Gullick)
Today on the MP3 Shuffle, we celebrate the birthday of Mark Lanegan. Lanegan fronted a band out of the Pacific Northwest called Screaming Trees from 1985 to 2000, one of many acts that got unfairly lumped into the “grunge” sound. As is usually the case, reality was much more complicated-- the quartet captured an eerie, dark psychedelia through a buzz factory of guitars and Lanegan’s dusty, whiskey-soaked croak of a baritone.
But having seen the band play live and Lanegan perform solo, I much prefer the latter. He’s a well-known collaborator (he’ll share the stage with The Afghan Whigs within the next few weeks at benefits for guitarist Dave Rosser, recently diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer) and has recorded a few records of reinterpretations, but he’s at his best when sharing his own nightmarish dreams and waking nightmares. What better day than Black Friday to commemorate a man whose dark worldview should make him a worthwhile inheritor to the man in black himself?
To mark this day and celebrate Lanegan’s music, let’s play the shuffle. Grab your MP3 player or electronic device of your choice, press the shuffle button, and share the first 10 songs that play:
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of November 21)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join CHIRP Radio in welcoming Fake Limbs to Empty Bottle! (1035 N. Western Avenue) | Wednesday, November 23 @ 8:00 PM | 21+
NEW MEDIA
- An interview with Porches' Aaron Morris and CHIRP's Dylan Peterson
- Clarence Ewing reminds us why My Bloody Valentine's Loveless was chosen for last Sunday's listening party
- Then & Now: North Wells Street Bridge
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesJoin CHIRP for a Loveless Listening Party on Sunday the 20th
This Sunday is a Classic Album Sunday, and man have they got a doozy lined up for us. Thanks to the Internet, there’s been plenty written and discussed over the years about Loveless, My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 magnum opus. It’s still not enough. On the surface it’s a blast furnace of sound that demands listening at the highest possible volume levels. The layers of expression and meaning contained in the sonic assault are numerous and all-enveloping. While this album is renowned for starting and perhaps ending the Shoegaze movement (click here for a playlist of other artists and bands that formed under its influence), it transcends Shoegaze, it transcends Rock...it is simply one of the greatest albums ever made.
On Sunday evening, as part of Classic Album Sundays' network of listening parties being held around the world, the album will be listened to and discussed at Saturday Audio Exchange, 1021 W. Belmont Avenue Chicago, IL 60657. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased here.
SKaiser writesThen & Now: North Wells Street Bridge
The North Wells Street bridge, existing with the elevated rail on a second deck since 1896, is shown below in 1929. Today it connects the Near North Side neighborhood with the Loop.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of November 14)
Upcoming Events
- Sunday, Nov. 20 : Classic Album Sundays presents a listening party of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless at Saturday Audio Exchange
- Sunday, Nov. 20 : CHIRP Radio welcomes Lloyd Cole to the Old Town School of Folk Music
New Media
- Amelia Hruby interviews Horrible
- Candice Triche experiences SoFar Sounds
- November @ CHIRP Radio