CHIRP is building an Associate Board for young professionals 35 & under. Interested? Please fill out this form.
The CHIRP Blog
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Warren Zevon Edition
It’s Warren Zevon’s birthday today. Warren was born here in Chicago back in 1947. It must have been a fascinating childhood, as his father, a Russian immigrant was a bookie. By the time he was 13, Zevon briefly studied classical music under the tutelage of Igor Stravinsky. By 16, he quit school and tried to make it in music. He wrote from songs for The Turtles and his first record was stillborn. After a stint as the musical director for The Everly Brothers, Zevon made lots of cool friends, like Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Jackson Browne. The Browne connection led to a record deal, and Zevon’s first two albums for Asylum Records (Warren Zevon and Excitable Boy) are classics. Zevon had one foot in Laurel Canyon and one foot in a hard bitten world of down and out people and headless CIA men. And this was all filtered through his dark sense of humor. Zevon had his one hit, “Werewolves of London” and a fascinating career where he crossed paths with so many top flight musicians. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he made another great LP and spent an hour on the David Letterman show, in what was truly memorable television, before passing on. In honor of Zevon, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesWeekly Voyages: Friday Jan. 24 to Thursday Jan. 30
(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 January 24
Polarizer, A Friend Called Fire, Injecting Strangers, Moon
Beat Kitchen 9pm, 21+
The Life and Times
Bottom Lounge 8pm
Brother George, Jonny Drake, Santah
Double Door 9pm, 21+
The Hoyle Brothers
Empty Bottle 5:30pm, 21+
Mac Blackout Band, MAMA, Flesh Panthers, VLLLAGE
Empty Bottle 9pm, 21+
Chicago Psych Fest V: Five Levels Of The Experience
Hideout 21+
Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writesTake Two: “Baker Street” (Gerry Rafferty Vs. Foo Fighters)
.jpg)
Winding your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well, another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold
It's got so many people, but it's got no soul
And it's taken you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything…
The Original: A beautifully constructed and polished mix of smooth-jazzy psychedelic Pop from the glory days of Mighty FM radio, punctuated by one of the most distinctive choruses in 20th century music, a saxophone riff that screams Urban Angst.
The Cover: Replace the sax (and everything else) with electric guitars cranked up to 11 and slamming percussion, arranged in the “loud-quiet-loud” pattern of the ‘90s Seattle Rock sound Dave Grohl helped make famous with Nirvana.
Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Richard Hawley Edition
Today is Richard Hawley’s birthday. He first came to prominence with the band the Longpigs, who had a couple British hits in the 1990s. After they fell apart, he did sessions, including playing with Pulp, finally striking out on his own in the early aughts. His second album Lowedges got him some attention with his crooning voice (with a hint of Scott Walker) and lush, romantic songs. Further albums used titles based on places in his native Sheffield as he further perfected his classic sound. And each one climbed higher on the British charts. With his last two albums he began experimented with longer songs, and on last year’s Standing On The Sky’s Edge, he added some psychedelic sounds and wound up with a #3 UK album. Hawley also got to fulfill a lifelong dream by producing Duane Eddy. He is one of the most consistent artists of the past 10 years. In Richard’s honor, please grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs that come up.
Kyle Whelliston writesThe First Album I Ever Stole: “Toto IV”
If you came of age in a certain time, between the death number one of the vinyl record and the shining pony magic of the digital compact disc, your first album probably came in a 3-by-4 inch plastic cassette. The music clung to a spool in the form of chromium dioxide shavings, and the recording was identified by way of the artist's name in bright red block letters. Once I had saved up eight dollars in allowance so I could buy The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat from the Nice Price collection, my career as a music consumer was underway.
Much later, ten dollars earned from mowing lawns went towards Run-DMC's self-titled album, a purchase that my CHIRP colleague Micha Ward made as well. Both albums influenced my young adulthood greatly. But this isn't about either of those.
This is about the first album I ever stole.