We're seeking new members for our 2025 Board of Directors, as well as our founding Associate Board for young professionals 35 and under. Details and application at each of the links above.
The CHIRP Blog
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesThe Fourth Wall: Her
[Welcome to The Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the Spike Jonze film Her. This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.]
Kevin: How real do our relationships need to be?
Here's a thought experiment. Think back to when you were a young child. No computer, no phone, and no postal service. The only people you could maintain relationships with were those you could see and touch -- which pretty much meant your immediate family, neighbors, and classmates. That was your entire universe.
What percentage of our relationships today fall under that umbrella? How many of our friends are those with whom we hardly ever share physical space? Does it matter? Should it matter?
With regards to romance, much of the stigma involving online dating has evaporated in recent years. But even if you're contacting folks via the web, you still have to leave your house to set the actual wheels in motion, right? What if you didn't have to leave your house? (Or even put on a clean shirt?) Welcome to the film Her.
In Her, a 2013 Spike Jonze film set in the near-future, Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a sad-eyed romantic who's in the process of getting divorced. One day, he purchases an Operating System with artificial intelligence (Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johannson) and the ability to learn and evolve. The OS is designed to be a personal assistant, but they soon bond, and become... well, more than friends.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesCheck Out the 2017 CHIRP Record Fair Social Media Stream
The 2017 CHIRP Record Fair and Other Delights was a smash hit with over 1,000 customers getting their fill of vinyl and vintage gems. We’d like to thank all of the vendors, performers, and volunteers who made the event such as success!
Check out the event's social media stream for real-time comments about the event. We’ll see you again this summer at the Pitchfork Music Festival!
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRADIO (Week of April 10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- CHIRP Radio presents First Time: First Test at Martyrs' (3855 N. Lincoln Ave) Wednesday, April 12th at 8:00 PM | 21+
- Join CHIRP Radio and welcome Mark Eitzel & Howe Gelb to the Old Town School of Folk Music (4544 N. Lincoln Ave) on Friday, April 15th at 8:00 PM | All Ages
NEW MEDIA
- Clarence Ewing and Kevin Fullman write The Fourth Wall: The Ides of March
- Amelia Hruby talks with local artist Izzy Olive about her brainchild, Half Gringa
- Concert Review: The Revivalists at Concord Music Hall (3/18/17) by Layne Lindroth
- CHIRP Radio DJ Jessi D interviews JC Brooks ahead of celebrating their new --and fourth -- album, The Neon Jungle, at the Neon Jungle!
-
Interview: Dan Rico Performing Endless Love at the Empty Bottle on April 11th by Amelia Hruby
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesThe Fourth Wall: The Ides of March
[Welcome to the Fourth Wall, CHIRP's weekly e-conversation on cinema. This week's subject is the film The Ides of March. This edition is written by CHIRP Radio volunteers Kevin Fullam and Clarence Ewing.]
Clarence: Kevin, after watching The Ides of March, I want to ask you about two of the bigger names in Hollywood in 2017.
First, a summary: Based on the novel Farragut North, the movie stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, a hard-charging campaign manager who is working for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney, who also directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the film). Morris wants the Democratic party nomination for the upcoming presidential election but, as is made clear several times, he is a Man of Integrity who will not compromise his principles to win any election.
Meyers and his senior campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) are locked in a metaphorical chess match with Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), the campaign guru of Morris’ main opponent, to see who can collect the last batch of delegates needed to get their guy a shot at the White House. As events unfold, loyalties are tested and secrets revealed in a way that addresses the question, how far are you willing to go to get what you want?
Lady Amelia writesInterview: Dan Rico Performing Endless Love at the Empty Bottle on April 11th
Dan Rico has gained renown for performing as a part of local acts EGO and MAMA, but last year he released a solo album entitled Endless Love. This month he'll perform at the Empty Bottle on April 11th highlighting tracks from that release alongside fellow local Flesh Panthers and fellow rock-band-member turned soloist Ian Saint Pé (of the Black Lips).
CHIRP volunteer and DJ Amelia Hruby recently caught up with Dan Rico to chat about his solo work and upcoming shows.
AH: After your work with other local bands, what made you decide to record a solo album? How do you think this work stands out from those projects?
DR: Recording a solo album wasn’t so much a decision as it was a discovery. After exploring in the studio for a number of years at a certain point I turned around to find there was plenty of material to put together a cohesive album. Another factor was that I know I'm gonna be making music for a long time. Why not lay the first bricks now for a road I will inevitably travel the rest of my life? In my experience bands come and go-- people quit and move and get married etc—but this way I’ll always have this project to build on.
To answer the second part of your question I’d say Endless Love is a departure toward a more pop-oriented sound (not billboard top 100 type EDM-hop pop but a little more traditional). I grew up listening to pop and as an artist aspire toward a sound that’s universal. Most of the bands I’ve played in have had very niche audiences (hard rock, experimental, etc) and though I’m proud of these projects I want music I can show my parents and friends and kids and have them all enjoy it. Growing up playing in punk bands, I hope to make music that’s still counter-cultural, that confronts norms and encourages critical thinking, but that’s also enchanting, uplifting, harmonious, atmospheric, and accessible. I don’t lnow if "Endless Love" achieves this on all fronts but that’s what I’m working toward.