Shawn Campbell writes
So…today is Record Store Day, and there are so many things going on at stores in and around the city! How to keep them all straight?
CHIRP Radio has done the legwork so you don’t have to. Here are all the latest details on special events going on at local record stores. We’re not going to tell you who has which RSD releases — you’ll have to check with the stores for that — but we will try to tell you what special events each store has planned.
So without further ado, here are some of the events at stores around town:
There’s More…
Shawn Campbell writes
The CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights is coming right up on April 14th and 15th at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. 2012 marks the tenth year for the Fair and its Other Delights, once again providing a paradise for vinyl enthusiasts, with something for everyone, from rarities for the serious collector to affordable selections for the casual fan. Even if you’re not a record buyer, the event should hold pleasures, including artwork and crafts, chances to win prizes through games and raffles, a photo booth, DJs, food and drink provided by Irazu and Goose Island, respectively, and a kids’ area to entertain the little ones. We’ll even have a live performance by Blue Ribbon Glee Club.
The Fair runs 10AM-5PM Saturday and Sunday, with a special early bird admission session for serious collectors from 8-10AM Saturday. Regular admission is $7 or $5 with a flyer or ad. Saturday pre-admission is $25, and allows readmission throughout the weekend.
There’s More…
Shawn Campbell writes
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2011. Our final list is from CHIRP Radio President and Founder Shawn Campbell.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
- Seapony – Go With Me (Hardly Art)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Who needs groundbreaking when you have a record this lovely and breezy? As a sucker for a great pop song, I fell under the spell of Seapony the first time I heard them, and probably listened to this album more than any other in 2011.
- Wax Idols – No Future (HoZac)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Wax Idols meld multiple decades of sound into their hyper-catchy garage rock. There’s a bit of 60s girl group, some 70s postpunk, 80s tough grrrl rock, all blending together nicely in a record that reveals a little more with each listen.
- Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (Capitol)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
This old school blast from the Beastie Boys made me tremendously happy. Clever enough to be satisfying, dumb enough to be fun.
- Disappears – Guider (kranky)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
There’s always been something enticingly ominous about Disappears, and Guider delivered more of that dark, driving energy. In fact, it almost feels like the second half of a double album with last year’s Lux – there’s not a lot of evolution, but there’s an equally strong set of songs.
- Gold-Bears – Are You Falling in Love? (Slumberland)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
While I liked this year’s Pains of Being Pure at Heart record, Gold-Bears grabbed the fuzzy C86 spot in my heart that The Pains’ self-titled album held in 2009. Catchy songs buzz and soar, teenage heartache abounds, and there’s just a little more oomph behind it all.
- The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Atlantic/Canvasback)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Giant, swirling walls of guitar and a tremendous sense of intensity, that great build-up and release, made The Big Roar perhaps the best shoegaze album since the heyday of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.
- Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I loved the fact that one of the most anticipated records this year was from a group of women in their 30s and 40s – and that, at the end of the day, all the excitement was completely merited with a strong set of rock songs and a really great energy.
- Tashaki Miyaki – 12” EP (Self-Released)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
Fuzzy, druggy pop songs, heavy on the reverb, half girl group, have Velvet Underground – a formula I’m virtually powerless against when the songs are good. And these are good. Bonus points for the cover of Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat.”
- Mickey – Rock ‘n’ Roll Dreamer (HoZac)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
What’s not to love about scuzzy glam garage from Chicago? Replace a few ‘s’s with ‘z’s, a few ‘y’s with ‘ee’s, in titles like Bright Lights Big City, Kids in Love, and Baby We’re Gold, and this album could sit proudly next to the likes of Sweet and Slade.
- Stone Darling – All I Wanna Do 7” (Self-Released)
BUY: Insound / iTunes
I don’t particularly like including a single on my best-of list, but this song haunted me for the second half of the year. Gorgeous harmonies, lush and lovely, and no, not a lost Mazzy Star track.
Honorable Mentions
- Beach Fossils / What a Pleasure EP / Captured Tracks
A Classic Education / Call It Blazing / Lefse
Swiftumz / Don’t Trip / Holy Mountain
Charles Bradley / No Time for Dreaming / Daptone
Evans the Death / Threads 7” / Fortuna Pop!
Shawn Campbell writes
We’ve had a great day at the CHIRP Record Crawl! The weather is gorgeous, and the deals are outstanding! Shoppers turned out to pick up their badges at Atomix, and headed right over to Permanent Records. Next stops were Dusty Groove and Favorite Records.
A stop at Quencher’s for refreshment energized shoppers for the second half of the day. Next up, saki, Logan Hardware, and finally, northward to Laurie’s Planet of Sound.
Thanks so much to all the stores and all the shoppers who’ve been participating!
There’s More…
Shawn Campbell writes
Summer in Chicago means festivals galore, but a new entry on this year’s calendar is certainly among the most unique and ambitious. Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements runs September 16 through the 18th at Eckhart Park, combining live music and circus arts with carnival rides, games, and the proverbial Fun For Kids of All Ages to create a kind of Vaudeville for the 21st Century.
Each day, Brilliant Corners’ Magic City Tent will feature an impressive lineup of acrobats, aerial artists, and more, along with live music and short films. On Saturday, September 17th, proceeds from one of these performances — Bindlestiff Family Cirkus , a group that combines elements of Vaudeville, Circus, Wild West Shows, Burlesque, and Sideshow — generously benefits CHIRP Radio. Tickets for the Saturday performance are available here. The previously-announced act, Ricochet, had to cancel for personal reasons.
Music fans also will find plenty to like over the course of the weekend, with live performances by Shellac, Bill Callahan, School of Seven Bells, Dan Deacon, and many others under the bigtop in the Criss/Cross Tent.
There’s More…
Article Categories
Active Child,
Adam Yauch,
Al Green,
Alice Cooper,
Andy Partridge,
Angie Mead,
Appearances,
Architecture In Helsinki,
Aretha Franklin,
Art Brut,
Artist Spotlight,
Astrud Gilberto,
Battles,
Beauty Bar,
Beck,
Belle & Sebastian,
Best Of 2009,
Best Of 2010,
Best Of 2011,
Big Freedia,
Bill Stevenson,
Biz Markie,
Blake Schwarzenbach,
Bobby Conn,
Bon Iver,
Bottom Lounge,
Braid,
Brownsville Station,
Buck Owens,
Cadillac Palace,
Cat Power,
Chan Marshall,
Charlie Christian,
Chicago,
Chicago Bands,
Chicago Filmmakers,
Chirp Night At The Whistler,
Chirpradio,
Chk Chk Chk,
Chris Difford,
Coach House Sounds,
Colin Blunstone,
Colin Newman,
Comedy,
Community,
Concerts,
Contests,
Crocodiles,
Curtis Mayfield,
Cymbals Eat Guitars,
D. Boon,
Damon Albarn,
Dan Smith,
Dave Davies,
David Bazan,
David Vandervelde,
David Wicik,
David Yow,
Death Cab For Cutie,
Death Set,
Debbie Harry,
Deerhoof,
Democracy Burlesque,
Double Door,
Doves,
Dum Dum Girls,
Ed Schrader's Music Beat,
Eleanor Friedberger,
Empty Bottle,
Eric Burdon,
Evan Dando,
Evanston Space,
Flavor Flav,
Friendly Fires,
Fundraiser,
Future Islands,
Gang Gang Dance,
Gene Pitney,
Geoff Barrow,
George Clinton,
George Harrison,
Giveaways,
Gold Panda,
Graham Parker,
Gram Parsons,
Grrrl On Grrrl,
Guy Picciotto,
H.r.,
Harvey Pekar,
Hideout,
High Places,
Hollows,
Ian Curtis,
Industry,
Interview,
Ipod,
Ipod Shuffle,
J. Mascis,
James Williamson,
Janet Weiss,
Japandroids,
Javelin,
Jello Biafra,
Joan Of Arc,
Jodie Foster,
Joe Lally,
John Cale,
John Deacon,
John Waters,
John Zorn,
Judson Claiborne,
Kate Pierson,
Kathy Valentine,
Kelley Deal,
Kim Ann Foxman,
Kim Deal,
Kimya Dawson,
Kmfdm,
Kurt Vile,
Ladyfest Midwest,
Laura Szumowski,
Lincoln Hall,
Lionel Hampton,
Lists,
Ll Cool J,
Local Community Radio Act,
Local Music,
Lonely Forest,
Lou Reed,
Lpfm,
Lux Interior,
Marc Bolan,
Matt Kimmel,
Maureen Tucker,
Memory Tapes,
Merle Haggard,
Metro,
Michael Lux & The Bad Sons,
Midwestern Housewife,
Mike Chapman,
Mike Mills,
Miki Berenyi,
Movies,
Mp3,
Mp3 Shuffle,
Music Box,
Naked And Famous,
Neil Finn,
Neil Young,
Neon Marshmellow Fest,
News,
Nicky Hopkins,
Nina Hagen,
Nostalgia,
Off!,
Off Book,
On The Web,
Otis Redding,
Ozzy Osbourne,
Paul Stanley,
Paul Westerberg,
Personal And The Pizzas,
Person Of Interest,
Phantogram,
Phil Lynott,
Podcast,
Pop Culture,
Portage Theater,
Profiles,
Pymalion Music Festival,
Ray Charles,
Reading List,
Record Fair,
Redgrave,
Rediscovering Our Record Collection,
Reggie Watts,
Residencies,
Reviews,
Rhett Miller,
Riv,
Roberta Flack,
Robert Wyatt,
Ryan Adams,
Schubas,
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir,
Seen And Heard,
Serge Gainsbourg,
Seth Feinn,
Sharon Jones,
Shuffle,
Sleepy Sun,
Sonny & The Sunsets,
Spank Rock,
Split Reel,
St. Vincent,
Stephen Howard,
Stephen Morris,
Steve Jones,
Stevie Wonder,
Subterranean,
Suggs,
Sxsw,
Syd Barrett,
T-Shirt,
Theater,
The Hold Steady,
The Hood Internet,
The Mayne Stage,
The Mid,
The Sandwitches,
The War On Drugs,
This Week,
Thomas Dolby,
Tim Kinsella,
Tommy James,
Trans Am,
Tricky,
Uic Pavilion,
Vee Dee,
Vic,
Video,
Vincent Price,
Volunteering,
Washed Out,
Webcomics,
Weekly Voyages,
What Community Radio Means To Me,
Whistler,
Wilco,
Will Oldham,
Wire,
Yuck,
Zola Jesus,
Zoo-Mouse-Key Press
→
