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
SKaiser writes@CHIRPRadio (week of November 3)
EVENTS
- TONIGHT! Join us for a CHIRP New Volunteer Orientation at 7:00 PM at the Conrad Sulzer Regional Library (4455 N Lincoln Ave) These meetings are a mandatory first step for all those interested in volunteering with CHIRP!
- Wednesday, November 6 at 8:00 PM | CHIRP Radio 107.1 FM Welcomes: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult at Chop Shop (2033 W North Ave) | 18+
- Friday, November 8 at 11:00 AM | Join CHIRP at the Chicago Printer's Guild 4th Annual Publisher's Fair at Constellation (3111 N Western Ave)
- Friday, November 8 at 12:00 PM | CHIRP Sponsors Day of the Dowd II at Fitzgerald’s (6615 Roosevelt Rd) | All ages
- Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 PM | CHIRP Radio 107.1 FM Welcomes: David Wax Museum at Schubas (3159 N Southport) | 21+
NEW MEDIA
- Features interviewer Sarah Brooks caught up with Frank Iero at Riot Fest
- Kyle Sanders writes Fathers on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (“Extracurricular” AND “Tremors”) from the 2019 Chicago International Film Festival
- First Time: First Fling with Roberto Luzuriaga
- Features Assistant Director interviews Maria Jacobson, singer and songwriter for Chicago locals Fran
KSanders writesFathers on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (“Extracurricular” and “Tremors”)
written by Kyle Sanders as part of his coverage of the 2019 Chicago International Film Festival
Fatherhood can be hell. While parental responsibilities continue to change in our ever progressing sense of parenthood, the role of the father still tends to be looked upon as a source of security, to provide that "everything will be alright" feeling when the going gets tough. But sometimes even a dad can't guarantee that, because they might not be alright themselves.
The movies have given us plenty of father figures, some good (Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird), and some way, WAY bad (Jack Torrance in The Shining). There are also those who are flawed yet mean well. And at the Chicago International Film Festival, we get two prime examples in Extracurricular (Croatia) and Tremors (Guatemala/France/Luxembourg).
In the opening scene of Extracurricular, we see fumbling hands wrapping up a Barbie-esque doll in wrapping paper meant for a birthday gift, spliced with scenes of children being dropped off at school. Immediately, we understand these gruff-looking hands must belong to a father hastily preparing a gift for his young daughter. Blaring over the sequence is an intense musical score, foreshadowing a situation that's about to erupt.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes@CHIRPRadio (Week of October 27)
EVENTS
- Join CHIRP at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Saturday, November 1, for South Side Soul and Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble.
NEW MEDIA
- First Time: First Fling with Danielle Sines
- Kyle Sanders reviews films from the Chicago International Film Festival (pt. 2 | pt. 3)
- Shawna Kaiser gets Inspired Around Town
- Eddie Sayago compares two versions of "I Put a Spell on You"
TOP OF THE CHIRP CHARTS
1. Kim Gordon – No Home Record (Matador)
2. Angel Olsen – All Mirrors (Jagjaguwar)
3. The Hecks – My Star (Trouble in Mind)
Eddie writesTake Two: “I Put a Spell on You” (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Vs. Nina Simone)
by Eddie Sayago
The Original:
Screamin' Jay Hawkins (original artist and recording)
From At Home with Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Okeh, 1956)
One of the most popular songs for the Halloween season is the signature song from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, who literally screamed, grunted, and moaned on what was originally going to be a traditional love pop ballad while in a recording session back in 1956. Most radio stations banned the track due to its "cannibalistic nature" yet it sold over a million copies in the U.S., thanks to his macabre live performances and eccentric lifestyle. (Which should been a limited series at the very least, which can include how he fathered somewhere between 57 to 75 children over the course of his lifetime.)
KSanders writesBattle of the Sexes: “Initials S.G.” and “Instinct”
written by Kyle Sanders as part of his coverage of the 2019 Chicago International Film Festival
A good on-screen chemistry can make a film. It can really amp up the timing of a romantic or screwball comedy (think Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib or Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday) or build the tension of a suspenseful thriller (think Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs or Michael Douglas and...well, any given actress in those late '80s/early '90s thrillers he used to churn out every other year).
What makes this kind of formula work? Is it simply a yin and yang balance the film requires, an easy camaraderie of the two stars, or just really really good acting? Perhaps a little of all three?
Two films that borrow from the aforementioned genres (a little bit of comedy, a little bit of suspense) are included in this year's roster of films at the Chicago International Film Festival: Initials S.G. (Argentina/Lisbon) and Instinct (The Netherlands).