CHIRP: Chicago Independent Radio Project

Who brought a gun to band practice?
Posted by Dustin D. on August 19, 2008 around 4pm

I have listened to a lot of exceptionally weird music in my day. I’m not saying that to brag in any way, but seriously, in my music collection you’ll find such exceptional gems as Shooby Taylor the Human Horn, Farmers Manual using the hum of refrigerators as their source material, Matmos sampling plastic surgery tools on A Chance To Cut (which is on Matador of all labels), or the Sonic Catering Band, which as their name implies play “music” by contact micing dinner parties.

So in line with my love of absurd music, the photo below makes me wonder at how awesome this band might actually sound…. (more…)

Reg Kehoe and His Marimba Queens
Posted by Dustin D. on August 18, 2008 around 3pm

In the early days of “soundies”, movie makers often found larger-than-life vaudeville style musicians like Roy Smeck to showcase the medium. I’m a gigantic sucker for the musicians of the 30s and 40s as the level of musicianship is of a quality that is rarely seen today. Luckily alongside such amazing record labels as Yazoo, a smattering of archival film preserves this amazing period in music.
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Elastica Setlist
Posted by Dustin D. on August 18, 2008 around 10am

In the mid 90s, amongst a small and relatively cool group of my friends there was this whole anglophile divide between fans of Oasis and fans of Blur. I was most definitely in the Blur camp, as I felt they were much more weird and punky than their middle of the road competitors. Somewhere in all that Brit-Rock fever was the band Elastica who released their self-titled album in 1995. I’ll readily admit that I thought Connection was an incredibly fun and catchy song made even more appealing by the fact that I found Elastica’s lead singer Justine to be incredibly dreamy.

The group played a show in Chicago on June 3rd of 1995, which I sadly did not attend. I did however attend their 2nd show that year, which was on October 31st at the Metro. This was in the days of my overzealous youth, so of course I arrived as soon as doors opened, and staked my front row realty. Near the end of the show, Justine invited the crowd to join the band on stage, and she reached her hand down to help me up. The stage filled quickly and as the band tore into Connection I jumped around like a madman….giddy with the excitement of dancing on stage with Justine. Years later, in a box of old papers, I found that I had snagged the setlist from the stage that night, and I present it to you here.
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The Birth of Buttflower
Posted by Dustin D. on August 11, 2008 around 10am

The final day of the Pitchfork Music Festival 2008, was a hot and sweaty affair filled with an exceptional array of talent. As the day wore on, folks hoping to catch a set by Cut Copy were told that the band had been delayed at the airport. Many immediately filed away in hopes of catching a prime spot for Spoon who were playing at the opposite side of the festival. Those who stayed were treated to an impromptu set by a band comprised of King Khan (of King Khan & the Shrines), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), and Jered from the Ponys on drums. At first the band struggled through perhaps one of the worst renditions of a Bo Diddley song ever played. But as more and more people left the stage area, the band got better and better. At one point they were joined on vocals by Jay Reatard, who tore himself into a fit, flailing about wildly while writing on the ground. After his guest stint, Jay Reatard retreated to the side of the stage, only to emerge later with a bouquet of flowers that a fan had brought up for King Khan. Jay Reatard promptly pulled down his pants and stuck the flowers into his butt before throwing the flowers into the audience. Stage hands wrangled him back behind one of the speakers where they stood guard to make sure he did not make another appearance.

Witness the birth….of Buttflower
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The Homage Thing
Posted by Luscious Gris on August 11, 2008 around 10am

The tribute album came and went. Now it’s more aptly termed a “trite homage” album. The same vaguely indie bands show up, the same non-indie bands that don’t mind some extra cash, the same regrettably uninspired targets. What deserves a bit of attention in this calculus is: what is homage?

The Webster Dictionary defines it thus:

Pronunciation:
\ˈä-mij, ˈhä-\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French homage, omage, from home man, vassal, from Latin homin-, homo human being; akin to Old English guma human being, Latin humus earth
Date:
14th century
1 a: a feudal ceremony by which a man acknowledges himself the vassal of a lord b: the relationship between a feudal lord and his vassal c: an act done or payment made in meeting the obligations of vassalage
2 a: expression of high regard : RESPECT —often used with pay b: something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another : TRIBUTE

Let us then pause to consider what would rightly constitute a recorded testimony to the worth or influence of an artist. One might write and record a song in the style of person being paid homage, implying some core truth in the adage that the sincerest form of flattery is mimicry. It would appear that writers enjoy this form of homage from time to time, visual artists do not, and musicians are somewhere in between.
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An Alice in Chains Christmas in August
Posted by Dustin D. on August 8, 2008 around 9am

I recently went back to my parents house out in the suburbs and was presented with a giant box filled with items from my childhood. As most people can tell you, it takes quite a while before you can fully “move out” from your parents house if they end up relatively staying in the same area. There’s always old toys, stuffed animals, photos, yearbooks, report cards, you name it.

If there was ever any question at all about where I got my packrat/collector mentality; well there isn’t any more. I fully blame my parents. I’m still going through all the items in the box, but so far I’ve found some pretty amazing stuff, like the script from my 5th grade play where I was the Emperor (of new clothes fame). Better still is my binder filled with newspaper and magazine clippings about Nirvana (cut me some slack…I was a teenager in the 90s after all), and a whole host of other odds and sods.
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He’s wanted dead or alive
Posted by Dustin D. on August 5, 2008 around 1pm

If you should come in contact with Bon Jovi, do not look into his face. He will only rock it.

My pop habit
Posted by Billy K. on August 5, 2008 around 11am

Or: How I learned to stop worrying and kind of like Bono

As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more omnivorous in my listening habits. No longer do I rely so heavily on the guitar-heavy indie rock I came of age with — I’ve expanded to jazz and funk and [gasp!] even electronica, which, due to its being the opposite of guitar-heavy indie rock, I had long suspected was not ‘real’ music. But the real difficulty for me as a listener has been coming to terms with my guiltier pleasures. Pop was my enemy, or so I thought, but in the last couple years I’ve been trying real hard to make friends. These days, Lil’ Wayne happily shares space on my iPod alongside Les Savy Fav and Lou Reed, and I’m okay with that. Honesty is healing. With that in mind, here are four more forbidden loves I need to get off my chest.
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Stooges Gear Stolen
Posted by Dustin D. on August 4, 2008 around 4pm

IGGY AND THE STOOGES EQUIPMENT STOLEN ON AUGUST 4, 2008 OUTSIDE THE EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL, 208 SAINT ANTOINE OUEST, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

If anyone has ANY INFORMATION please contact Eric Fischer as soon as possible.
Eric Fischer at: nycentral13@gmail.com
cell phone: +1 646 932 1907

There’s a web page at: http://www.hootpage.com/stoogesstolenstuff/stoogesstolenstuff.html that will soon have pictures and updates to more stuff found missing

Read on for a list of items taken
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MAE SHI vs Yea Big Kid Static
Posted by Dustin D. on August 4, 2008 around 4pm

It’s no secret that i’m a huge fan of both the Mae Shi and Yea Big Kid Static, so when I found out that they were teaming up on some mash up remixes, I was excited to say the least.

The boys in the bands were gracious enough to let us post some mixes for you to download.
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