Local Chicago Music
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Curumin: like summer on record
Japan Pop Show (Quannum, 2008) was an album I first really heard in winter. A smart blend of samba and turntablism, with a smattering of funk and soulful hooks, I realized then that Curumin’s sound was built for summer. According to the New York Daily News: “It’s to Curumin’s credit that he kneaded this thick sonic dough into something not just…
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Stay in My Corner…for a long, long time
The Mighty Mighty Dells are by far the most enduring music group to ever come out of Chicago (Harvey, to be precise), performing with their original line-up since 1952. “Stay in My Corner”, their 1968 pop and R&B smash, was one the longest singles ever released at the time, breaking the 3 1/2 minute barrier established by…
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WBMX…and the White Sox?
I am posting this old ad for WBMX here just because: it is weird and wonderful. In the 80s, WBMX was the Electro/House/Italo-disco/club station, not only in Chicago. The radio station (and its DJs) gained an international reputation for being tastemakers in the burgeoning house community (whose pulsing heart was here in the Windy City). Jive on….
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Howlin’ Wolf (covering Howlin’ Wolf)
“Evil”. A fundamental Howlin Wolf record, created here in Chicago, back in the 1950s. A platter of standard electrified Delta Blues. Now, add Marshall Chess (son of Chess Records’ Leonard Chess), the turbulent and psychedelic 1960s, and some of the best jazz, funk, and soul studio players in the city. Remake and enjoy. Well that’s not exactly…
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Light: On the South Side…Grit and Gold Lamé
I, for one, have stared for more than a moment at the forgotten, peeled paint on the side of the 408 Club building over on 79th Street (just East of King Drive). In mid-seventies hipster font, the ad reads “Sheba Disco”, apparently some sort of disco club. I’ve wondered what manner of elephant bells and Quiana was to be found…
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Dear Michael….
What bothers me are bandwagon tributes. An Icon, they say. A Genius. The same cackling media outlets that refused to play Michael Jackson’s music for years, and affixed an implicit punchline to his name. Whatever. Artists are not perfect people. We can choose to accept the art without embracing the artist. In the case of Michael Jackson,…
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Bobby McClure’s Peak Of Love 1966
Dress super-clean and meet me at the basement party tonight. Chicago Soul at its finest from one time Soul Stirrer Bobby McClure. more about “Bobby McClure Peak Of Love 1966“, posted with vodpod
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Black Slang at the Shrine… and it’s all good
Chicago’s own young, vivrant, soulful, jazz ensemble Black Slang (featuring Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Yaw on vocals) performed this past weekend at new South Loop Venue The Shrine. The group draws as much influence from Herbie Hancock as Mos Def, and pushes the boundaries of musical genres til barely a shred remain. Black Slang…
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Electric Mud: Electrified Delta Blues got a New Jolt
(“Tom Cat” by Muddy Waters) The late sixties in Chicago was a wild time. The Democratic National Convention and the Riots in 1968 labeled us as unruly, Serial Killer Richard Speck in 1966 labeled us as unsafe, and Martin Luther King, Jr., (marching in North Lawndale for equal housing in 1966), labeled us as a…
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Garland Green “Jealous kind of fella” 1969
A beast of a Chicago Stepper cut by Chicago’s own Garland Green. Oh, and he says, he’s not Jealous nor Violent in real life… he even released a song called “Don’t Think I’m a Violent Guy”. Good to know. more about “Garland Green “Jealous kind of fella”…“, posted with vodpod Someone who could “never lose”…
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