Film and Television
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Tim & Tom: it wouldn’t be funny if it weren’t so true
As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, this Saturday meet Tim & Tom… a “Salt & Pepper” comedy team born in the hotbed of sixties Chicago… Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen met for the first time in tumultuous 1968 Chicago. As the heady promise of the sixties sagged under the weight of widespread violence, rioting, and…
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Universal Mind Control: Common Double Vision
9image, Common at Army & Lou’s (75th & King Drive, Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood) Here’s the recently released alternate version of the video for Chicago-bred Common’s “Universal Mind Control”. Directed by Lil X, it was shelved in favor of Hype Williams’ robo-love version. Jive on. more about “Universal Mind Control: Common…
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Ronald Fair: Griot of Chicago Tales
1932— Ronald Fair is perhaps best known as a teller of crisp, satirical, and unsentimental Chicago Tales: inner city stories of struggle, morality, and overcoming (not unlike his own Chicago story). Born in Chicago on October 27, 1932, Fair attended public school. He was inspired as a young man by fellow Chicagoan Richard Wright to begin writing.…
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Tapes Lost to Time: Chicago Stories
I am bothered by tapes that disappear, the same tapes that record our collective story. The sort that get erroneously misplaced, taped over, or buried (true stories, all). It’s happened often in Chicago to bits of media that palpably documented Chicago Cultural History. It seems to have happened too many times for my taste. Here’s a…
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Esser says: She’s Never Satisfied
I caught the video for “Satisfied” by Esser on cable access recently, and consequently can’t get the tango-inflected song out of my head. British artist Esser is a young chap with a notable ear and notable hair. The level of camp in this clip is high. Sort of makes me crave some Kid Creole &…
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Movies in The Park: Fireflies and Stars
(“To Sir with Love, 1967) According to the Chicago Park District, 170 current and classic movies will be shown in neighborhood parks throughout the city, through September. I know many of us have missed the first program offerings, but here’s a list of recommendations for the final month of movies. Lots to choose from… Bring popcorn,…
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Fame: Cult Movie of the Week
Fame (1980) is one of those movies that makes you wish you lived in a world so filled with youthful fervor that at anytime a group of kids might break into interpretive dance and jump on a cab. We don’t. But that didn’t keep us from cheering for the characters in the film (especially Coco…
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Cult Movie of the Week: Stray Dog (1949)
A work of Japanese Noir from iconic Japanese director Kurosawa, “Stray Dog” (1949) gets by on good looks, swagger, and heart. Featuring a slinking pace, the film’s cadence is ultimately trumped by its ability to be beautifully gritty and enveloping, just like summer. Set in the depths of summer in Post-World War II Tokyo, the film follows detective Murakami as he seeks to…
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The Other Side of Paradise, in plain view
Poet Stacyann Chin’s memoir, “The Other Side of Paradise” (Scribner, 2009), is a coming-of-age story. It’s a tale of growing up never fitting in, not with family, not with social structure. It’s also about living in Paradise (both literally and figuratively), but never feeling as though Paradise’s bounty is available for you. Ultimately, however, the book…
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Adjust Your Color….and Believe in Radio
Check this clip from the PBS Documentary called “Adjust Your Color” chronicling the life and times of Petey Greene, a seventies DC-area shock-jock/activist (who was played by Don Cheadle in the film “Talk to Me”). Makes me believe in radio (again). And for good measure, below darkjive proudly presents: Life imitating art, Mr. Greene in the flesh. Wild…
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