Links to my newest freelance pieces.
The 46th Chicago International Film Festival is packed to the gills with films, fans and critics. For two weeks, many folks will be lining up to see some of the most anticipated cinematic releases of the year: there’s Black Swan, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, 127 Hours, Certified Copy, Hereafter, The Tempest … [Read more…]
Some aldermen sponsor ordinances and resolutions. Alderman Rey Colón sponsors concerts. The 35th Ward Alderman’s website declares that the representative for parts of Avondale, Humboldt Park, Irving Park, and Logan Square, “has been an independent, progressive leader in the City Council since May 2003.†via Alderman Rey Colón reviews Dan Deacon and Lightning Bolt | Music | … [Read more…]
Nichols and drummer Brandon Korch saw Pissed Jeans play at the Rock & Roll Hotel in April, and wanted to pay tribute. “We were like, ‘We can be in a band named Shat Shorts, and we’ll have songs like ‘Liveblogging the Loss of My Virginity,’†says Nichols. “It started off as a ‘This is gonna … [Read more…]
Joking aside, Castevet’s success is a big deal. For a band that plays basement shows as often as Castevet, the opportunity to release an album on a foreign label like Japan’s Stiff Slack Records doesn’t happen every day. Castevet is doing something big. And that big thing is emo. via The New Emo: It’s back, … [Read more…]
By Leor Galil, guest blogger Before Community’s Season 2 premiere Thursday night, the people behind the TV show will dish out laughs in 140-character bursts during a “Twittersode.†That’s a Twitter episode. No, the creators of the comedy, which follows disbarred lawyer Jeff Winger and his interactions with students when he starts attending community college, … [Read more…]
This Friday, Wicker Park bookstore Quimby’s is hosting three 33-1/3 scribes, who are set to chat it up about their contributions to the series. Northern Illinois University Professor Joe Bonomo will cover AC/DC’s Highway To Hell, Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Scott Plagenhoef will chat about Belle And Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister, and Pitchfork Managing Editor Mark Richardson will discuss … [Read more…]
Few artists have rendered the art of failure as enjoyable as Claudio Fragasso did with his 1990 film, Troll 2. The combination of stilted acting, awkward dialogue, and a plot that makes any exploitation picture seem drab by comparison helped make Troll 2 a cult phenomenon. Four years ago, Michael Stephenson, who played Troll 2’s … [Read more…]
It’s shocking how many reissues of lost indie-rock acts offer the descriptor “ahead of its time.†Carissa’s Wierd was never ahead of its time. What it was, and still sounds like, is out of place. Though not entirely anachronistic, the disbanded Seattle group’s sound sticks out from its post-grunge, pre-indie-surge milieu, and luckily its new … [Read more…]
Matt Harmon has a lot on his plate. The 25-year-old DIY musician and concert organizer is the bassist in mathy screamo quintet Suffix and plays guitar and sings for a punk trio called Cloud Mouth, which is about to drop a new six-song 12-inch, That Ghost Is Always With Me (Ice Age), and on July … [Read more…]
In the trailer for the new movie “Birdemic: Shock and Terror,†the film’s hero celebrates a million-dollar deal with a high-five from a co-worker. That money is an achievement, a goal people think about endlessly. It’s something recent DePaul University graduate Patrick Dowell ponders from time to time. And Dowell knows just what he’ll do … [Read more…]