It's finally that time of year again. Tree trimming and decorating has begun and Black Friday is a thing of the past. So on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3's... a lot of Christmas MP3's. My daughter loves Christmas music so I love Christmas music. Actually, I've loved the songs of the season much longer than she's been singing these songs. There's just something totally festive about Christmas songs even when they're being butchered by punk bands. So without [...]
Introducing Monday Afternoon Quick Fix ! A brand new series that will run every Monday afternoon to showcase the best of Chicago music news, views and stories from around the interwebs and blogosphere that we might have missed. Originally it looked like 88 Fingers Louie were coming back for just one show. After a few successful outings, the punk band looks to be coming back with new material and shows . China Shop offered up an extensive 3-part profile of [...]
How does it go again? On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3's. Something like that, right? Well, the season is finally upon us so here come Christmas and holiday songs of all shapes, sizes, genres, etc... I posted many of these songs last year but there are more than a handful of new gems for you to add to your own Christmas mixes. So, if the title didn't give it away, there's gonna be twelve of these posts so if [...]

Now in its fifth year, Riot Fest has become one of Chicago's most unique festivals. Riot Fest is in autumn, takes place in doors at six of Chicago's top music clubs and caters to one specific musical niche: the Punk Rocker. Yes, Riot Fest is not the type of place to find the eclecticism of Lollapalooza or Pitchfork. It's down to the bone, all business punk rock this weekend. Riot Fest officially kicked off last night at The Metro with a headlining performance from the Butthole Surfers . But beginning on Friday, October [...]

Today my wife has her second ultrasound for our first kid. Exciting stuff. Neither of these songs really have much to do with impending fatherhood, it's just that that's the only thing on my mind today. 35. Eighty Eight Fingers Louie - Summer Photos (mp3) from Back on the Streets (3:12) [Time Remaining: 852:46] I don't recall exactly how I came to like this song so much, but as is usual it was because I heard it played on the radio by WBER . [...]

The mid 90's punk band 88 Fingers Louie announced their first (and only) show August 15 at the Bottom Lounge . Having not played together in over a decade the band had this to say about its one-off reunion: "Having been completely blown away over the level of support the band has received over the years (these last few being particularly insane), we, like our mentors the Blues Brothers, are putting the band back together for one long-awaited reunion show. We are pleased to announce that we will be playing August 15th in [...]
No I'm not kidding. Thanksgiving is here and, dammit, I'm in the holiday spirit already. Plus I just really like Christmas songs... especially punk Christmas songs. I need to plug in the turntable and rip MP3's of the Smoking Popes Egg Nog 7" and the Squirtgun White Christmas 7" as well. Until then, however, these songs will have to do. In addition to this batch, I've got some jazz songs, some ska/reggae songs, and a whole bunch of your standard indie Christmas songs. Enjoy. MP3 | [...]

*Cherry Poppin' Daddies* ~ *Zoot Suit Riot* *Jump in the Line* *I've seen the Daddies with Camisha in Eugene, Oregon. Danced, hugged, kissed. Awesome! Got to see them on Haight Street too. Good F*ckin' times [...]