Spin Control
Coasting Once Again
In 2002, Chicago-based producer and multimedia artist Liz McLean-Knight (aka Quantazelle) started her IDM/techno label subVariant Recordings. Of all the genres underneath the electronic-music umbrella, producers and fans of techno and IDM tend to take their music quite seriously. But, in the name of levity, subVariant’s first release was a Quantazelle album entitled “Coaster”
(2009-01-20)
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Soundcheck
Boom!
Even thirty years removed the heyday of R&B, Nashville’s The Dynamites prove that soul music still revolves around one figure: the charismatic frontman
(2009-01-20)
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Run, Rabbit, Run
Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit has one more hop through the US
Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit had its breakout year in 2008, releasing sophomore record “The Midnight Organ Fight” (Fat Cat) to substantial critical acclaim, solidifying the band’s place as one of the most exciting, relatively new, relatively straightforward rock acts to emerge in some time
(2009-01-20)
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Tip of the Week
Passion Pit
Think of the publicists cursing themselves for not crafting this backstory: guy needs an uber-romantic Valentine’s Day present, so he produces a small album for his girlfriend, only for the songs to leak to the general public and the positive reception thereafter leading to the forming of Passion Pit, a feel-good electro-pop quintet outta Cambridge
(2009-01-20)
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Tip of the Week
Jackson: Los Hermanos
Meiotic’s “Jackson” night, which Chicago techno enthusiasts look forward to every third Friday of the month, is moving from Lava Lounge to Sonotheque. This welcomed venue change will maintain Meiotic’s vision (booking diverse electronic music acts to perform in an intimate space) but provide partygoers and the performers with a superior sound system
(2009-01-13)
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Soundcheck
Youth Without Youth
What does youth sound like? If you’re 18 years old, it should sound like angst, like alienation, like catharsis. Like Joy Division, but more fun. After local trio Stranger Waves made its debut at Empty Bottle not too long ago, a buzz began that this team of teens had the chops to channel Curtis and crew and some seventies punk, that the band was an onstage explosion of garage rock, two guitars, no bass, energized drums and a whole lot of yelling. Essentially, the band can bring it and, in the end, what else can anyone ask for? Who knows what’ll come from this band, still very much in the infancy stages, but the songs I’ve heard, especially the jangly, weirdly motivating “Bad Acid,” are genuinely thrilling
(2009-01-13)
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Only a Day Away
Schubas’ Tomorrow Never Knows turns 5
While almost all of Chicago’s music festivals lay dormant through the cold winter months, Schubas opens its doors this week for the fifth consecutive year of its now-five-day music festival, Tomorrow Never Knows
(2009-01-13)
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Tip of the Week
Rotting Christ
Twenty years ago, a battle of the gods waged above Mt. Olympus and, out of the blood of the fallen overlords, Zeus forged the most malevolent creation of man: Athens’ black metal quartet Rotting Christ. Now in its twentieth year of pioneering Greek melodic dark metal, Sakis Tolis and company have a long history that Lucifer will surely reward them for
(2009-01-13)
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Tip of the Week
Shameless: Derrick Carter, James Curd, Brian Heath
It’s Tuesday. The holidays were great, but the last week and a half of recovering cash and/or brain cells has likely left you with a midweek case of cabin fever. So what if Jeremy Piven’s mercury level is probably still higher than the thermometer frozen to your porch this evening. You have options. After a hiatus through 2008, Shameless returns for a special edition one-off. Featured tonight is none other than Boompty Headquarters’ own Derrick Carter
(2009-01-06)
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An Affair to Remember
All City Affairs exploits “Identity Theft”
Peter Andreadis, drummer and sometimes-vocalist for Baby Teeth, has carried on a solo side project called All City Affairs for a few years now, an even more sugary counterpart to the other group, in which he elaborately constructs little indie-pop gems
(2009-01-06)
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