Links to my newest freelance pieces.
Local experimental musician Brett Naucke is a young dude, but in tape years he’s the old man on the block. That’s because his label, Catholic Tapes, is one of the longest-running cassette labels in Chicago. via Catholic Tapes | Music | Tapes ’n’ Tapes | The A.V. Club Chicago. Volume No. 3 is up and … [Read more…]
Science, social studies, and school spirit—these three “sâ€-named studies are what many high schools build their curricula around. via Yo, Teach! Can you teach me how to Huskie? | Music | The A.V. Club Chicago. This sure beats whatever random videos the SGA rolled out at my high school. It’s quite entertaining.
The Best 70 Albums of 2010 < PopMatters. I covered No. 20, Das Racist’s Sit Down, Man.
RedEye designer Trent J. Koland made the cover image of Kanye, which happens to look a lot like the cover of Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, the first book in O’Malley’s popular graphic novel series. O’Malley took to Twitter and wrote, “this is both an honor and an outrage: chicago redeye portrays kanye west as … [Read more…]
Emo, as we’ve come to know it, gets fairly bad press. But Monument is one of a handful of bands across the country that is reimagining the sound by resurrecting something akin to the ’90s version of it. At gigs on the local house-show circuit, Monument can draw 50 or more kids, but sometimes just … [Read more…]
Since opening in July, Logan Square coffee shop Café Mustache has made its mark by providing a performance space for Chicago musicians. via Music to listen to while growing facial hair | Music | The A.V. Club Chicago. Café Mustache is an excellent coffee place, and they do great stuff. They can now add a … [Read more…]
Though the lyrics of Unknown Pleasures deal with Curtis’ depressed outlook, they can easily be re-interpreted to reflect on Hook’s recent history. via Ian Curtis has lost control | Music | The A.V. Club Chicago. There’s nothing quite like re-interpreting pop songs.
The 60 Best Singles of 2010 < PopMatters. It’s end-of-the-year list time, and here’s the first offering: PopMatters “Best Singles of 2010.” I wrote about Here We Go Magic’s “Collector” and the Arcade Fire’s “Sprawl II.” The latter write-up can also be read in the Sacramento Bee‘s “Riff Report,” which focused on the list’s top … [Read more…]
I never made it through All Day. My curiosity couldn’t withstand the boredom I encountered listening to the album. I don’t doubt the talent or sincerity of Gregg Gillis, nor do I look down upon his craft: I recognize that it takes a lot of dedication to pull of what he does, and All Day … [Read more…]
Artificially Sweetened is best treated as something akin to a The Death Set for Dummies: Clearly, the dudes in The Death Set are big fans of all the artists featured on the mixtape, and the brief selections and odd mash-ups of hip-hop acts and punk bands certainly show their mark on the frenetic punk act. … [Read more…]