BY JOHN NICOSIA In Sidney Pollock’s 1975 political thriller, Three Days of the Condor , a former AT&T lineman (Robert Redford), breaks into a Bell System building in Manhattan and calls the CIA. Just as the agency thinks it has traced the call, a new location pops up, then another, then another. “He’s tying twenty phones together!” The Condor has exploited his knowledge of the phone system to turn the tables on his employer. In his new book, Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws Who Hacked Ma [...]
Four Tet - Rounds (Domino Records) Ten years ago, Four Tet released Rounds , his third full-length, and his most focused work. Four Tet—UK’s Keiran Hebden—composed an affirming masterwork of mood, rhythm and repetition using only disparate, seemingly unrelated samples, culled from just about anywhere you can imagine, and beyond. Throughout Rounds , Hebden carefully stacks loose, manipulated jazz rhythms atop soft swells of organs, synths, piano, guitars, vocals, etc. Although sample-based artists are not scarce, Four Tet extended the possibilities of the genre with Rounds , setting an impossibly [...]
The Haxan Cloak's Excavation BY JORDAN MAINZER Death stopped for Emily Dickinson. If only he would be so polite towards The Haxan Cloak's Bobby Krlic. Within the first two minutes of The Haxan Cloak's incredible new album Excavation , Krlic (who kind of looks like Sam Beam's evil twin) pays tribute to some of the most invigorating and simply creepiest musical ideas of the past half-decade, from the leeching strings of Jonny Greenwood's soundtracks for There Will Be Blood and The Master to Death [...]
BY KEITH MEATTO Vampires have surpassed their pop culture saturation point, thanks in part to the HBO series True Blood and the Twilight series of books and blockbuster movies. Literary types can enjoy Karen Russell’s latest short story collection Vampires in the Lemon Grove while couch potatoes can watch a new commercial where suburban vampire becomes “morning people” so they can eat fruity breakfast bars. Even The New York Times web site has a page devoted to News About Vampires . Add to [...]
BY TIM MYERS One of the more exasperating trends in popular culture today is the sudden rise in derisive articles on the “Millennial Generation” (See the most recent Time cover story “The Me Me Me Generation” and the Business Insider rebuttals ). They’re pompous, contrived, ill-informed, and littered with backhanded compliments (“Millennial are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents. Why they will save us all!”) and fall neatly into the long-standing tradition of bitter old folks dismissing entire generations . A common denominator in [...]
Poster for GOAT's First US Tour BY PETER LILLIS Korpilombolo, Sweden is a remote "locality" in northern Sweden. With approximately 530 residents, Korpilombolo recently gained notoriety for being home to the mysterious GOAT, a fast rising and fantastic psychedelic rock band with a penchant for tribal drums, blues-drone freakouts and voodoo-like masks. Wrapping up their first US tour, GOAT played sold-out shows at some of our top venues, including The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Austin Psych Fest and the Empty Bottle. We were fortunate enough to catch their Chicago date, [...]
Titus Andronicus and The So So Glos: bringing back the dudes BY JORDAN MAINZER REWRITE BEGINNING. SEE EMAIL What's left to say about Titus Andronicus at this point? At least that's what I initially thought. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the Glen Rock, New Jersey band’s show on May 4th with fellow Brooklyn DIY punks The So So Glos and Chicago-based but originally from Brooklyn band Sharpless (who sound like some sort of Thermals/Screaming Females hybrid and who [...]
BY DANIEL BEAUREGARD NEXT Collective is a New York-based group comprised of some of the most notable young names in jazz. Except for producer Chris Dunn, there isn’t a single musician credited on the album that was born before 1980. Despite their youth, each of these musicians has already carved out a place in jazz history. Their new album, aptly titled Cover Art , finds NEXT Collective giving contemporary takes on an eclectic mix of well-known pop, rock, and hip-hop tunes, including a few from my youth, including [...]
Aioli makes everything better Truly, I think condiments are the best. And maybe they don't all necessarily outshine the food they clothe, but they do possess the power to transform. Sinus-scorching honey mustard turns a mediocre sandwich into an outrageous one; a zany marinade makes brisket wildly addictive; and a fresh summer tomato sauce turns boxed whole wheat pasta into a revelation (and that's no easy feat). Without sauces, dressings, and spreads, food would be without magic. And so, in celebration of food's under-appreciated sidekick, I wanted to share two of my favorite recipes [...]
James Blake's sophomore effort, Overgrown BY JORDAN MAINZER It’s about 9:30 P.M. at Metro Chicago on May 4, 2013, and the crowd is stuck in some sort of limbo. Unsure whether to stand still and scratch their chins or dance, audience members look very awkward while a DJ plays minimally and lazily remixed versions of recognizable songs like Andy Stott ’s “ Numb ” and D’Angelo’s “ Untitled (How Does it Feel) ”. All is well, however, because coming on in about 30 minutes will be James Blake, an [...]
Mikal Cronin BY JORDAN MAINZER He's been starting over for a long time. He feels anew. So instead of baking a new cake, Mikal Cronin has proved that the cherry on top can make something special. In other words, tweaking and refining goes a long way. Lest we forget, tweaking and refining for Mikal Cronin doesn't just mean playing even more with Ty Segall. It also means getting a B.F.A. in music and learning how to compose for different instruments, the latter of which [...]
Original Illustration by Yuri Priamo Canales BY PETER LILLIS In the shadow of a prolific icon, is there still progress to be made? The late Storm Thorgerson certainly has created many iconic works over the years, mostly in the form of artwork for several iconic psychedelic and progressive rock bands, including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Mars Volta. You’ve seen his artwork befor e, no doubt. His imagery is so ingrained in the fabric of pop culture, the ethereal yet concrete pieces can float by unassuming, taken for [...]
Chicago in April BY PETER LILLIS & JORDAN MAINZER Today, Peter and Jordan continue their monthly roundup of the shows they saw in the last month. As seen below, April includes two of their favorite sets of the year. These 16 additions put our collective concert tally at 47 for the year, not including our coverage of SXSW and Lollapalooza Brasil . 4/5 – Neon Indian @ The Mid Surprisingly, chillwave pioneer Alan Palomo of [...]
Darryl Reeves Darryl Reeves considers himself a true southerner. Born into a musical family in Mississippi, the saxophonist studied music at Jackson State University, then completed his masters at the University of New Orleans, where he studied with legendary trumpet player, composer, and bandleader Terence Blanchard. Growing up in Miami in the 90s, Reeves says hip-hop music played a pivotal role in his life. Moved by hip-hop samples originating from jazz, Reeves was led to such great saxophone players as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. As a kid, Reeves used to sit [...]
Bill Callahan BY PETER LILLIS Bill Callahan is a thoughtful guy. His forlorn brand of folk rock indicates an author trapped inside his own expansive mind, wandering for years through the darkest metaphors and altered, repetitive memories. With 13 albums under his belt, Callahan-once known as Smog-has an assured voice that relaxes on the sliding scale somewhere between the smokiest Willie Nelson and the smoothest Ian Curtis performances. His language is as sharp as it is blunt, revealing the plain truth through bouts of murky fiction. He's a [...]
BY ANDREW HERTZBERG With over 100 films to see at the 29 th Chicago Latino Film Festival this year, only seeing three of may seem paltry. But just as I left my literary comfort zone this year, I have likewise resolved to prescribe corrective lenses to another of my major cultural blindspot: international cinema. Chicago’s not necessarily known as being a film town, but with festivals like CLFF, CIMM, Underground Film Festival, and in acclaimed theaters such as the Music Box, Facets, and Logan, it’s not hard to explore flicks beyond the weekly [...]
The Knife's Shaking the Habitual BY JORDAN MAINZER Don't call it a flashback. I've never thought of The Knife's much-loved 2006 album Silent Shout as a "you had to be there" moment in time. Or even a great record. Instead, to me, Silent Shout was an influential record: one of those "not many heard it, but everyone who did started a band" records. I know, I know. Blasphemous. Because I was never a great fan of the sister-brother duo beyond a few songs here and there, [...]
"Mac" Rebennack, Jr. aka Dr. John BY JORDAN MAINZER The only thing weirder than seeing a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in normal clothes is seeing a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who normally wears a headdress in normal clothes. On April 17, I was lucky enough to speak to Mac Rebennack, Jr., better known by his stage moniker Dr. John, after his show at SPACE Evanston. The short experience flew by: whether that was a result of a couple Goose Island brews and a 10 dollar black [...]
Mark Meatto, Director of How to Grow a Band BY FRANKLIN P. LAVIOLA Back in 2008, filmmaker Mark Meatto went on the road with Punch Brothers , the not-quite bluegrass quintet led by mandolinist Chris Thile, former frontman of Nickel Creek. The resulting film, How To Grow a Band , captures Punch Brothers in the months surrounding the release of their debut album Punch . The band has [...]
Luke Daly BY GINA MYERS Even in the age of digital media, many writers, artists, and publishers are still dedicated to book arts, from silkscreening covers, to using letterpress technology, to hand-binding books. In that spirit, Chicago’s Spudnik Press Annex offers a space for writers, bookmakers, artists, students, and others to learn about some of these processes. Founded in 2013, The Annex hosts a gallery and classroom, independent studios, shared workspace, print shop, and reference library of small press and experimental book projects. Recently, FP's Gina Myers chatted with Chicago-based writer, [...]
Frontier Psychiatrist
Mikky Ekko – Kids
And now James Franco would like you to give him some money please
Ears Wide Open: Dignitary
