Chicago

Meditations on Crime Announces Collaborative Album + Art Book ft. Cindy Sherman, Raymond Pettibon, Julian Schnabel, Miranda July, Laurie Anderson, Kenneth Anger, Julia Holter, Animal Collective’s Geologist

Today, Meditations on Crime has announced the eponymous collaborative new album and art book, due out September 23. The multimedia project includes a Harper Simon produced & co-written album of musical collaborations with a sweeping range of contributors including Julia Holter, Cole Alexander of Black Lips, Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux, King Khan, Animal Collective’s Geologist + Sun Ra Arkestra. Adding Cindy Sherman, Nate Lowman, Julian Schnabel and Laurie Anderson and more to the range …

New > Lidell Townsell (sampled by Beyoncé on “COZY”) > hear track “1988” > via Marine Snow

90s Chicago house artist  Lidell Townsell shares new single 1988 Lidell Townsell & M.T.F. 1992 hit Get With U (here)sampled by Beyoncé on COZY (here) listen to new track 1988 exclusively on Marine Snow here ​​”Take me somewhere far away from here,” the through-line of Lidell Townsell’s smooth house gem, 1988, and also the exact thought many of us had while reading the …

Chicago’s Wolf Rd Release New Single + Music Video “Burn All Of Your Bridges”

Photo: Kelley Curran Wolf Rd (“wolf road”) is a rock band from Chicago, Illinois that combines an eclectic mix of influences to create a sound that is catchy and accessible, yet refreshingly unique. The group’s diverse sonic spectrum ranges from pop-punk party bangers with anthemic emo hooks to electronic dance synths, monstrous guitar riffs, and breakdowns …

LISA LOEB JOINS REO SPEEDWAGON FOR SURPRISE “KEEP ON LOVING YOU” PERFORMANCE IN DALLAS

Texas concertgoers were treated to a special surprise when Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb took the stage to perform the mega-hit “Keep On Loving You” with REO Speedwagon at the band’s “Live & UnZoomed” summer tour at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on Sat., July 23. This isn’t the first-time the Loeb has performed the song, however. She has …

In Chicago, city of many-hued tragedies, only white victims capture attention of media and public, by Mark Erickson

During the Fourth of July weekend violence, 71 people were shot and 8 killed in Chicago, Illinois.  Those combined numbers easily exceeded the horrific and tragic shooting that happened in Highland Park, Illinois.  While all major local networks fixated on Highland Park for several days, national outlets also devoted considerable resources to the suburban massacre. …

Work Wife + Mary Hood Share “Drown Me Out” Collab Single + Video

Photo Credit: Justin Buschardt LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Work Wife + Mary Hood – “Drown Me Out”Stream / YouTube LISTEN & SHARE: Work Wife – “Creases”Soundcloud / Spotify / YouTube LISTEN & SHARE: Work Wife – “Plastic Windows”SoundCloud / Spotify LISTEN & SHARE: Mary Hood – “Lake Sebago” Stream LISTEN/WATCH  & SHARE: Mary Hood – “Come Back Earth”Stream / YouTubeThe first in Brooklyn-by-way-of-Seattle indie pop artist Work Wife’s series of collaboratively-written tracks with other …

Tips on How to Keep Making Money While You Carry On Making Music, by Cody McBride

The last two years have been tough on everyone. In fact, there are very few of us whose lives haven’t been altered in some way or another as a result of this recent change of events. For many artists, including musicians, Rolling Stone notes that this unexpected change of life events has affected their livelihoods …

Greatest SNL Skit Ever: “Anything is possible and all that was once beautiful can be again…”

Simply titled, “Don’t Stop Believin’ (Marching Band) – SNL” this recent satire featuring Bowen Yang, Zoe Kravitz, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd and Heidi Gardner is the undeniable greatest SOAT (skit of all time). Mr. Yang’s illuminating commentary gives furtive dramatic life to the manic hopes, troglodyte fears and impermissible ambitions of partially informed music bloggers …

Stop in the Name of Love, Before You Break My (Sacred) Heart: The Supremes live at the Hollywood Palace 1965

The above photo has been floating around Facebook the last few days, to much chortling hilarity. Anyone familiar with the northwest side of Chicago will recognize not just the public Catholicism of this picture, but also the style of boxy, brick-only, housing built in the far north end of Chi-town where tradition holds that homeowners …

BLEED: FOREVER DEAF FEST WITH YAKUZA, REPENTANCE AND MORE, by Mark Erickson

Last weekend I headed to a small Chicago venue called the Beat Kitchen to see Yakuza headline the Forever Deaf Fest. Yakuza has been my favorite Windy City band for quite a while…long before the frickin’ pandemic started. Over the years three musicians have remained constant: Bruce Lamont (vocals, saxophone, clarinet); Matt McClelland (guitar); and, …

1987 Men’s Division III Basketball Championship Memories With Pix, by Mark Erickson

Not too long ago I wrote about North Park College’s 1985, senior-laden men’s basketball team’s journey to the school’s FOURTH national championship.  Coach Bosko led that team in his first year after working as the top assistant coach for many years.  Preparing for the 1985-86 season, Bosko now faced fielding his first recruiting class as …

Architecture of the Cocktail: New Spirit Monday – Absinthe or Absinthia, by Bill Stott

There are few spirits with more mythology and lore than absinthe. Loved by many, loathed by as many, and known in name only to the majority. Absinthe began as a medicine, became a popular drink, obtained a cult-like status, was made illegal, and has a new life thanks to the rebirth of the craft cocktail renaissance.  Absinthe or …

LILA IKÉ & SKILLIBENG – THY WILL: Jamaica’s Prominent Emerging Artists Rise Up & Address System Corruption

Fusing contemporary reggae with elements of soul, hip-hop and dancehall, breakthrough recording artist Lila Iké teams up with rising dancehall talent Skillibeng for a powerhouse remix of “Thy Will.” Both hailing from Jamaica, these two distinct vocalists continue to gain notoriety as the island’s new generation of promising stars. Today, they unleash the song’s brand new …

This is Hell! 1288: The FBI’s role in the assassination of Fred Hampton / Flint Taylor + Jeff Haas, by Mark Erickson

On Saturday, I heard an interview on my favorite radio show, This Is Hell, hosted by Chuck Mertz on WNUR (89.3 FM in Chicago), with Flint Taylor and Jeffrey Haas.  These two guys founded the People’s Law Center. Go to episode 1288 to listen to the interview. https://www.thisishell.com/Haas wrote a book about the Fred Hampton murder.   The …

Evanston, Illinois Uses New Marijuana Sales Tax Proceeds to Fund Reparation Payments to African-American Evanstonians: Why Doesn’t Portland Do This? By Mark Erickson

The Urban Dictionary has two definitions for Illannoy: 1) The innate ability of Illinois residents with a “better than thou” attitude to upset other Midwesterners; especially those from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. 2) A state of mind of Wisconsin residents exacerbated when Illinois residents consider Wisconsin “Illinois’ State Park”. Illinois passed legislation so that on …

Holy Ghost! Respond To Chicago White Sox Insensitive “Disco Demolition” T-Shirt Promotion During PRIDE

Tomorrow, June 13th, Chicago White Sox will “commemorate” the 40th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night with a free T-shirt promotion. The announcement – during Pride month no less – has re-opened the discussion around the destruction of a Gay, Black, and Latinx art form at the hands of a primarily white mob led by white …

tobi lou – Waterboy

From Urbandictionary.com: “Waterboys are men or boys who willingly run errands for girls that they are interested in, however the girls are not interested in them. They do things such as taking her trash and disposing it. Buying and bringing her food. Getting her water. Whether she asks you or not. One key difference between a …