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The CHIRP Blog
Greg Kantowicz writesLive Free With CHIRP Radio’s March Events
Jessi Roti writesThe Power of The River: Bruce Springsteen and the Ties That Bind
written by Jessi Roti
I’ll admit it –I’ve talked my fair share of trash regarding “Dad Rock.” You know “Dad Rock,” or Arena Rock, Classic Rock –the older, white dudes who still do their best to reclaim that youthful exuberance they had in the late 1960’s – early 1970’s, but come off more as caricatures of themselves. Dads eat that up, trust me. I grew up with it with my parents driving my sister and me around blasting the best of Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, you name it. As a younger person, I didn’t get it. As a woman, I really didn’t get it. But that has all changed, and I owe it to Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band.
After becoming obsessed with Bruce’s Born to Run album during my senior year of college, I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets when a tour in support of Springsteen’s latest box-set release The Ties that Bind: The River Collection. The band was to play The River album in-full along with other Springsteen classics. Yes, sign me up and over-charge me with those fees, Ticketmaster.
On March 3, 2016, my sister and I made it to the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI to be “transformed,” as Bruce says, by The Boss and the E-Street band themselves. Transformed may be too strong of a word, but I was moved in a way that I didn’t expect. For the first time in a long time, I was reminded of why music is one of the last art forms that can truly stand the test of time from generation to generation.
I go to shows all the time. I used to joke that I had been to more shows than days of school (which I still believe to be true). Yet there’s something to be said about the stadium show that makes you feel like you’re at the local venue/bar, a much more intimate setting, experiencing an artist you love. I’ve been to plenty of big, classic rock shows, from the aforementioned Tom Petty, Peter Frampton, to Robert Plant and Bob Dylan. But there was something about this show that truly transcended age gaps, gender gaps, social class, and race that made me feel I was a part of something special.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWhat’s Happening at CHIRP Radio (Week of March 14)
Upcoming Events
- March 14th through the 25th is CHIRP’s Spring Fundraising Drive. We have set a goal of $20,000 for this drive and are giving away a Pilen Lyx bicycle (courtesy of J.C. Lind Bike Co.) to one lucky giver. Your donations help us pay our ongoing station costs, including the care and maintenance of our new tower where we will be broadcasting on FM107.1 later this year. Thanks for your continued support!
- CHIRP Radio welcomes Mount Moriah to Schubas on Friday March 18th
- CHIRP Radio welcomes Freakwater to The Hideout on Friday and Saturday, March 18th and 19th
- CHIRP Radio joins Spudnik Press Cooperative for the 6th Annual Hashbrown Chili Cookoff at Hubbard Street Lofts on Saturday March 19th
New Media
- Dylan Peterson interviews Beacon
- The Friday MP3 Shuffle: Happy Birthday Bruce Watson of Big Country
- In Rotation: Disappears
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesFriday MP3 Shuffle: Happy Birthday Bruce Watson Edition
Photo Source: DaBelly Magazine
Today we celebrate the birthday of Bruce Watson, lead guitarist and longtime member of the band Big Country. While they never dominated the US charts, they had a few international hits while building a solid following in the UK and Europe with a rustic yet punkish Rock sound. It was also a very Scottish sound, courtesy of Watson’s guitar which sounded like a bagpipe fused with a mandolin. The piercing hooks helped define songs like “Fields of Fire (400 Miles),” “Wonderland,” and one of the all-time ‘80s-est of ‘80s tracks “In A Big Country.”
The band released eight studio albums before the death of lead singer Stuart Adamson, who succumbed to alcoholism. Despite the tragedy and a few lineup changes, Bruce and the band remains together and continues to perform and tour. Let’s honor Watson and Big Country’s ability to keep on keepin’ on: Take your MP3 player, press the "shuffle" button, and share the first 10 songs that play:
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesIn Rotation: Disappears
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.