Revenge Of The Mekons

By Girlie Action Media

The eagerly anticipated Revenge of the Mekons will be making it’s world premiere at this year’s DOC NYC, New York’s premiere documentary film festival.
Emerging from the first blast of 1977 U.K. punk rock, the Mekons were notorious, as critic Greil Marcus notes, for being “the band that took punk ideology most seriously.”
Charting the group’s progression from socialist art students with no musical skills through its reinvention as rabble-rousing progeny of Hank Williams, the film reveals how, four decades into a still-evolving career, the Mekons continue to make original, genre-defying music while staying true to the punk ethos.
Teaser:

Posted on October 30, 2013

The Weekend In Chicago Rock

Curation By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. Wild Belle at the Metro on Saturday night.

Posted on October 28, 2013

When Lou Reed Played Chicago

Curation By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

“Lou Reed never had quite the notoriety or sales of ’60s peers such as the Beatles or Bob Dylan – his only major commercial hit was ‘Walk on the Wild Side,'” Greg Kot writes for the Tribune.
“But his influence was just as vast, if not more so. Punk, post-punk and most strains of underground music of the last 40 years would not exist without the one-of-a-kind merger of music and words pioneered by Reed and his groundbreaking band, the Velvet Underground.
“Reed died Sunday at 71 in Southampton, N.Y., of an ailment related to a liver transplant he underwent in May, his literary agent said.
“He leaves behind one of the most profound musical legacies of any 20th Century artist. His lyrics suggested a new kind of street poetry, at once raw and literary.”
We’ve culled some video from Reed’s appearances in Chicago over the years.
1. Rock ‘N’ Roll at the Park West in 1978.

Posted on October 28, 2013

The Week In Chicago Rock

Curation By The Beachwood Rock Local Affairs Desk

You shoulda been there.
1. Escondido at the Hideout on Thursday night.

Posted on October 25, 2013

Local Music Notebook: Ha Ha Cubs And Double Door Ha Has

Plus: Brian Wilson, Jeff Beck & Chief Keef

1. Ha Ha Cubs.
It should come as no surprise that the guys in Ha Ha Tonka are St. Louis Cardinals fans; the band, which is on Bloodshot Records, is from Missouri and named after a state park there.
So you can imagine their reaction to a song from their new record being used during the Cardinals’ National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From their YouTube channel:
“Most of you probably know that all of us (except Brett) are diehard St. Louis Cardinals fans. Well, you can imagine how excited we were when TBS used our song ‘Rewrite Our Lives’ last week as intro music to the Cards NLCS game, while highlights played superimposed onto the Arch. It was pretty epic. Oh, and the Redbirds beat the Dodgers 1-0.”
Here it is:

Posted on October 24, 2013

Lady Gaga’s Affront To R. Kelly’s Victims

Collaboration Of Monsters

“Lady Gaga teamed up with R&B singer R. Kelly on her latest single, ‘Do What U Want,’ and it was a Chicago-based DJ and producer who played matchmaker,” Luis Gomez reports for the Tribune.
“DJ White Shadow (real name: Paul Blair) said he put the two artists in touch on a whim while producing Gaga’s upcoming album, Artpop. The synth-heavy ‘Do What U Want’ – which features Kelly singing ‘You’re the Marilyn, I’m the president’ – was officially released Monday and can be heard in Best Buy’s Beats Studio headphones commercial featuring the Washington Wizards’ John Wall.”
That’s interesting, but it doesn’t answer the blindingly obvious question staring us in the face. Not surprisingly, Jim DeRogatis takes it up.

Posted on October 23, 2013

Meet The Pilgrim Jubilees

Chicago Group Revolutionized Gospel

“Since the early ’50s, the Pilgrim Jubilee Singers have used their hard, rockin’ gospel music as a powerful means of testifying their faith, love, and charitable hope that humanity will find a way to bring itself closer to the kingdom of heaven,” Sandra Brennan writes on Allmusic.

Over its long history, the group has undergone numerous personnel changes. The first incarnation originated in the 1940s on the Mississippi Delta by Elgie and Theopholis Graham, but the most famous version of the Pilgrim Jubilees began in Chicago, 1952, when younger Graham brothers Clay and Cleve resurrected the group. Since then, these two have remained the group’s spiritual and musical core.
While growing up in Mississippi, all four Graham brothers were trained to sing. It was Theopholis who left the first group to live in Chicago; the rest of his brothers followed in 1951, and all four briefly sang in the group. the Pilgrim Jubilees toured quite a bit (when not working their day jobs, which for the Graham brothers meant working in their separate barber shops), and this proved too much for the older brothers, who gradually dropped out.
Shortly thereafter, Clay and Cleve invited baritone Major Roberson and lead singer Percy Clark (both from Mississippi) to join. They also took on guitarist Richard Crume and bassist Roosevelt English, and began recording; through the 1950s, they released sides and albums for assorted labels, including Peacock, Chance, and Nashboro.
Soon after signing to Peacock in 1960, the band gained national exposure with their label debut, “Stretch Out.” Its success allowed the Pilgrim Jubilees to finally go professional. Crume eventually left the group to join the Soul Stirrers, but the other three have remained together and carried on into the ’90s.

The Jubilees come to our attention this week because pannellctp has just uploaded a batch of their awesome songs recorded live in Chicago in 1979 to YouTube. Let’s take a listen.

Posted on October 22, 2013