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The CHIRP Blog
Rachel Woodall writesJoin Us for CHIRP Night at the Whistler with Distant Cities & KSRA!
It's time again for the CHIRP Night at the Whistler! This month on Monday, November 11, we welcome local bands Distant Cities and KSRA.
Distant Cities is a trio of illusive musicians with a sound they describe as “interminably cimmerian, voltaic-stygian, and scintillated.” In laymen's terms, their music is endlessly dark, electrified and hellish, and animated. (This writer admits needing to look up a few of those original terms, but after doing that and hearing the music, it all made sense.) The band has a dark, electronic sound. The setup is simple in theory: vocals, synth, and drums. Their music, however, is anything but simple. Each song is intricate and invites listeners to step outside of their own worlds. Come enjoy their dark, cosmic sounds!
KSRA is Rachel Sarah Thomas, a one-woman power machine. She is a producer, songwriter, and powerful singer. She describes her music as “90s chill pop.” It is an interesting combination which works: electric sounds, sampling, and her rich vocals all come together to make an addictive sound.
Come out to the Whistler this Monday night to support CHIRP and these upcoming local bands!
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Roy Wood Edition
Today let’s celebrate the birthday of Roy Wood, an innovator in the ‘60s and ‘70s with The Move and the original Electric Light Orchestra. Wood came out of Birmingham, playing in a forerunner of The Idle Race, a band later led by Jeff Lynne. Wood then formed The Move, who had a hit with their first single, “Night of Fear”. The Move song “Flowers in the Rain” was the first track played on BBC Radio 1. They also had classics like the psych-pop wonder “Blackberry Way” (their sole UK #1) and the proto-glam rock of “Wild Tiger Woman”. Later, Jeff Lynne joined The Move, which led to classics like Lynne’s “Do Ya” and two songs that later loomed large for Cheap Trick, “California Man” and “Brontosaurus”. Eventually, Lynne, Wood and Bev Bevan formed Electric Light Orchestra, at the time more prog than pop. Wood then left to form Wizzard, a fascinating band that alternated poppy glam singles like “I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday” with arty albums. Roy eventually went solo and resurfaces with odd things like front a nine-woman all-saxophone backing band. In honor or Mr. Wood, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Josh Friedberg: Music Historian's Corner writesRediscovering Our Record Collections: “The Band” by The Band
For this edition of Rediscovering Our Record Collections, I am examining one of my favorite albums of all time, a classic rock and Americana milestone.
An almost all-Canadian ensemble, The Band emerged in the late 1960s with a blend of older and newer sounds associated with the American South and gained a wide audience in the process. Their second, self-titled album is often considered their best work, and as of June, 2013, the statistically compiled website Acclaimed Music ranked it as #40 on their list of the most acclaimed album of all time.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday November 8 to Thursday November 14
(Weekly Voyages is CHIRP Radio's listing of concerts in Chicago at select venues. Information about tickets can be obtained from the venues' Web sites. (Do you have corrections or updates for this list? Send us an e-mail.)
Friday November 8
Four Star Brass Band
Abbey Pub 21+
Pretty Lights, Blood Diamonds, Paul Basic, Supervision
Aragon Ballroom 7:30pm, 18+
The Flips, The Return Fight, The Missingjays, Mathew Ferris Band
Beat Kitchen 10pm
The 151s, Martian Agriculture, Void the Light, Shades of Indigo
Bottom Lounge 6pm
Oran Etkin Quartet
Bottom Lounge 8pm,
Chicago Afrobeat Project, Sidewalk Chalk, Ayodele, Trio Mokili
Double Door 8:30pm, 21+
Jolly Korea, Noah Noel, The Plastic Rebellion, The Del Christies
Elbo Room 8:30pm 21+
The Hoyle Brothers
Empty Bottle 5:30pm, 21+
Kilo Wattson writesThe First Album I Ever Bought: “Run-D.M.C.” by Run-D.M.C.
I bought my first album around the time that music as I knew it was changing. Bought, however, is an inaccurate representation of this acquisition.
One glorious afternoon in 1984 I walked into the Rose’s Department Store in High Point, North Carolina with my mother and emerged with Run-D.M.C.’s self-titled first record stuffed in my corduroys. Cassette. Weird plastic holder and all. My grade school friends and I were in awe of the sounds that were emanating from North Carolina A&T’s WNAA at that time and I raced home to listen to this cassette in its entirety, especially “Hard Times” which I had heard so many times on late night college radio that year.
Cassette in the deck and earphones on… I was disappointed. Why didn’t this music sound like when I listened to it on the radio? Was there a problem with the cassette, my father’s old stereo or had my ears suddenly become incapable of hearing this music? I was disappointed and thought my break dance dreams were over.