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The CHIRP Blog
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesIn Rotation: Panda Riot
Chicago band Panda Riot creates Shoegaze-y walls of sound that mix beauty and intensity. It's a great way to kick off the summer. Music from their new album Infinity Maps is available for listening in rotation and by request on CHIRP Radio.
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of May 29)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join CHIRP Radio and Kickstand Productions at Subterranean (2011 W North Ave) on Sunday, June 4 and welcome Diet Cig! Show starts at 8:00 PM.
NEW MEDIA
- The origins and ideas of Bunny are shared here with CHIRP's Jennifer Roger
- First Time: First Test with Sarah Sherman
- Kentucky-natives White Reaper met up with CHIRP Volunteer Andrew Meriwether at Beat Kitchen
- Concert Review: Lewis Del Mar at Thalia Hall by Layne Lindroth
- Clarence Ewing shares what's In Rotation: Andy Pratt
- Kyle Sanders writes about Rediscovering Our Record Collections with Fleetwood Mac's "Tango In the Night"
- Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing explore the cinematic Fourth Wall: Frozen River
TOP OF THE CHIRP CHARTS
1. The Clams – Gunslinger (1980)
2. Shamir – Hope (self-released)
3. !!! – Shake the Shudder (Warp)
Kevin Fullam writesThe Fourth Wall: Frozen River
Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the 2008 crime drama Frozen River.
This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.
Kevin: While I can count many, many tiers of wealth separating my own lifestyle from that of Pure Opulence, a middle-class existence seems mighty lavish when compared to the dreary day-to-day survival of Frozen River. Strap yourselves in, folks... and be thankful that you have more than Tang and popcorn awaiting you for breakfast in the morning.
Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo, in an Oscar-nominated performance) lives with her two sons in a battered trailer at the edge of civilization in snowy, upstate New York -- and her deadbeat husband has just absconded with what would've been the down payment on a shiny, new "double-wide" mobile home. Christmas is coming, the cupboards are bare, and through happenstance, Ray stumbles upon Lila (Misty Upham), a member of the nearby Mohawk tribe. Lila ekes out her own living by helping to smuggle illegals across the Canadian border via the frozen St. Lawrence River.
The two women become partners out of financial desperation, and each successive trip feels like another round of Russian Roulette. Is this the time when the icy river cracks? Are the state troopers wise to the whole operation? And what happens when Pakistanis show up to be smuggled, as opposed to the customary Mexicans and Chinese?
KSanders writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: Fleetwood Mac’s “Tango In the Night”
written by Kyle Sanders
In a pop cultural world soaked in nostalgia (remakes, reboots, and revivals--oh my!), even reissues can be a saving grace to a long forgotten, often underrated work of art. A band like Fleetwood Mac may not be underrated by any means (and some naysayers, perhaps, find them a bit overrated), but thanks to the nostalgic mentality of reminiscing, one would find that this year alone has found the musical group celebrating a handful of milestone anniversaries.
In 2017, not only has the band celebrated fifty years of making music, they've also celebrated the fortieth anniversary of their best-selling album, Rumours, the thirty-fifth anniversary of their early eighties contribution, Mirage, as well as the twentieth anniversary of their biggest comeback, The Dance.
Since that well-received reunion special, the band has maintained a solid presence in the touring circuit, as well as frequent pop-ups on classic rock radio stations. Just recently, their signature track "The Chain" was used to promote the blockbuster sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and was featured on that film's soundtrack as well.
Yet while most remember the band as a Seventies Supergroup, few often regard their album Tango In the Night as a notable musical foot note of the late 1980s. Coincidentally, that album celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year, and in recognition of that album's birthday--as well as the sixty-ninth birthday of notable band member Stevie Nicks--let us take look back at an album that remains lesser known yet still influential in the world of pop music.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesIn Rotation: Andy Pratt
Combining Folk, Classical, and Jazz music, the debut album from Chicagoan Andy Pratt gracefully blends genres echoing the best sounds of '50s-'70s American music. Produced by Steve Albini, Horizon Disrupted is available for listening in rotation and by request on CHIRP Radio.