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This summer I read an enlightening biography on the late Pauline Kael (A Life in the Dark for those interested), one of the most influential and provocative film critics of the twentieth century. She climbed her way up through the ranks (as a working single mother no less!) to claim her throne at The New Yorker where she reigned for nearly twenty-five years.
What's interesting is that her approach to reviewing cinema involved no technological prowess or scholarly theory on the art form--it was all emotion. Watching a film meant undergoing a transformative experience; to Kael, it was personal.
Kael's tenure at The New Yorker ended in 1991 when I was much too young to connect with her biting reviews. By the time I learned of her significance in film criticism, she had already passed away in 2001. But finishing her biography left me with the impression that her influence still lingers, because I realize her sensibilities toward cinema march in unison with my own: I no longer yearn for a film to entertain me, I want to feel it.
That wish is granted every October during the Chicago International Film Fest. In it's 58th year (and my SIXTH year of CHIRP coverage), CIFF brings over ninety features and sixty short films to the Windy City, ranging from life-affirming dramas to eye-opening documentaries and midnight shockers.
by Features Contributor DJ Ninja
Chicago musician Al Rose talks 8th album, future-proofing protest songs, and a storied flute history
Despite flute being the first instrument that Chicago musician Al Rose picked up at age 10, he doesn’t play it on stage anymore. He played in the school band, was classically trained. But no more on stage.
“I used to play flute more often in the early part of my career, but I got tired of drunk people in particular shouting out ‘Tull!’ every time I picked up the flute,” Rose said. “I mean, don't get me wrong. I really do like Jethro Tull. But I got tired of people going ‘TUUULL!’ It's kind of the flute version of ‘Freebird.’”
Rose focuses these days on the acoustic guitar as his primary instrument at gigs, and he occasionally plays electrics when recording in the studio, including a 12-string Rickenbacker on his latest album, “Again the Beginner.” But he still picks up other instruments from time to time.
“I do harmonica at some of the live shows,” Rose said. “I have been teaching myself mandolin over the last couple of years but have not had the courage to play it in front of people yet.”
The Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (Verve)
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field (Carpark)
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field (Carpark)