Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
Adrian Holovaty is the Chicago tech whiz behind such projects as EveryBlock and Django. He’s also a gypsy jazz guitar enthusiast who posts his arrangements on his YouTube channel. Here are my favorites:
1. Build Me Up Butter Cup
–
Posted on December 25, 2008
By Don Jacobson
The BoDeans are justly celebrated in Wisconsin. God love ’em. They are a great roots rock band. Their pairing with producer T. Bone Burnett on their landmark first album Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams remains a seminal moment in the development of alternative rock and, 22 years after its release, is still one of the best-ever debut albums.
The thing about the BoDeans, though, is they’re just so . . . Wisconsin. In fact, they are so Wisconsin, not everyone may know they are inextricably intertwined with the recent history of the state, as our handy timeline shows below.
Posted on December 22, 2008
By The Beachwood Blago Rock Affairs Desk
1. I Fought The Law
Shaking down donors for another run
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
Microphone planted in my hair bun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
I had a Senate seat to fill
That was worth its weight in gold
Didn’t want to give it to Candidate 1
Unless she did what she was told
Planted an item in the column of Sneed
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
Posted on December 10, 2008
By Don Jacobson
1. The World’s Worst Roots Music Fest.
The head-shakingest roots music news of the week: A planned three-day Americana benefit music fest that was supposed to draw 100,000 people the weekend before last near Austin, Tex., collapsed in chaos, shutting down after the second day and leaving vendors, contractors and your sister’s boyfriend screaming to get paid.
As far as I can tell, the reason it fell apart is that the guy who was putting it on was charging $70 for a fest whose headliner was . . . Asleep at the Wheel.
Posted on November 25, 2008
By The Beachwood Child O’ Mine Affairs Desk
What the reviews say.
*
Critic: Jim DeRogatis (Sun-Times)
Headline: “We Waited 17 Years For This?”
Golden Nugget: “With the very rarest of exceptions, rock ‘n’ roll is a dish best served steaming hot.”
Reference to Ishtar: Yes
Reference to Heaven’s Gate: Yes
Posted on November 24, 2008
By Don Jacobson
Boy, those classic country guys sure seem partial to using Chicago in their song lyrics. This time in Chicago In Song, two more of them, Lester Flatt and David Allan Coe, trot out the city in their ditties, in one case referencing Chicago’s supreme position as the trucking capital of the world, and in the other . . . well, as a drug-ridden hellhole.
I know. You just can’t escape the typecasting.
Posted on November 15, 2008
By The Beachwood Road Goes On Forever Affairs Desk
I Am The Roadie
Posted on November 13, 2008
By Don Jacobson
The L.A. group The Seeds have an incredibly apt name because from their humble, barely visible germ sprung some mighty, mighty oaks. Like The Doors (very woody) and Alice Cooper (kinda tinny). There is a direct connection from The Seeds’ organ/synth-heavy Flower Power psychedelia – chiefly authored by unsung ’60s keyboard genius Daryl Hooper – to Ray Manzarek and all the rooms of the Morrison Hotel. And the proto-punk screechings and snotty ramblings of Seeds singer Sky Saxon. . . well, I think it’s safe to say that raw ’60s garage rock reached some of kind climax with him and it was up to Alice and Iggy to take that stash and run with it, later handing it off to the kids at CBGBs.
Posted on November 10, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
After closing out my Division Street Election Night blogging and watching Barack Obama’s victory speech, I headed down to the Beachwood Inn to check out the action. Shortly thereafter, folks who had been at the Grant Park rally started trickling in . . . and the jukebox fell silent. Armed with a couple house jukebox dollars, the responsibility fell to me to get the party started. I was under a lot of pressure – to move quickly while maintaining a celebratory vibe combined with Obama themes without being too obvious. You know, like Richard Roeper. Here’s what I came up with.
Posted on November 5, 2008
