I hope you got some rest this past week or you’re going to be plain pooped out for the next week’s festivities surrounding the great and glorious Illinois State Fair. There are almost as many bands playing at various venues around the grounds as there are houseflies coming to enjoy the fine delicacies offered by […]
Music
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sound patrol 8-5-04
The Roots are, among other things, exhibit A when earnest white National Public Radio members try to argue that not all contemporary rap is crass consumerist crap: “They rail against the system! They make with the uplifting messages! They’ve got a real live drummer and everything!” But, unfortunately for the Roots — six records in […]
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Now playing 8-5-04
As the brave and belligerent Captain Beefheart once said, “It’s hot, it’s so hot.” But — and the good Captain did not say this — “That’s the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, we like it, uh-huh, uh-huh.” Or at least that’s the way it is and just in time for the Decatur Celebration (this weekend) and the […]
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Now playing 7-29-04
Feeling lost and confused, cast adrift in a sea of fests, fairs, fries, and other assorted outdoor music events? Pull yourself together, friend. You’ll need your wits about you to navigate the many out-of-doors musical experiences that lie dead ahead. First comes the Divernon Homecoming, with Strange Brew, Lost Boys, and Hot Property on Thursday, […]
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Now playing 7-22-04
Hey you! Gently place your shoulder against that rock you’ve been hiding under and give it a shove. We’re out here having fun and would like you to join us. Springfield favorites The Blazers return for a Thursday night visit to the Underground City Tavern. The “other group from East LA” is often likened to […]
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Sound patrol 7-22-04
A.C. Newman The Slow Wonder (Matador) The problem with the “pop” tag is that it’s essentially meaningless: J.Lo is pop. Elvis Costello is pop. OutKast is pop. Bing Crosby is pop. And A.C. Newman is pop. Of course, a literalist might argue that pop music is popular music, by which standard Newman’s, alas, is disqualified. […]
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The more things change. . .
Getting old sure can blow sometimes. You feel kinda smart and all, telling the shiny-eyed kid that her favorite new band (a) isn’t reinventing music as we know it, (b) isn’t even inventing a new hybrid of existing musics, and (c) isn’t doing anything that someone else didn’t already do better 100 years ago. But […]
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Now Playing
Rise and shine, fellow music lovers: The time is here to share another week of music and mirth, drinks and dance, and good times with the world at large. Get yourself out to Mariah’s as Harry O (the artist formerly known as Harry Nino) and Oysters Rockefeller entertain the folks from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. […]
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Now Playing 7-8-04
Everyone ready and waiting for an action-packed weekend? Are you prepared for rooftop excitement, auditorium magic, coffee shop jazz, and bar band bonanzas? Ready or not, here it comes. Virgil Rhodes, longtime area jazz saxophonist and flutist, has set us up with a wonderful night of high-dollar jazz at a mere pittance. Jazz by Footprints, […]
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Haunted by high expectations, Wilco produces a minor Ghost
Wilco A Ghost Is Born (Nonesuch) Listen closely to A Ghost Is Born, and you’ll discern a faint whooshing noise, the teensiest hiss of concentrated air, silence made sibilant. No, it’s not the sound of 16,000 rock critics preparing to service their lord and master, Jeff Tweedy. It’s not some clever studio gimmick courtesy of […]
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Now playing 7-1-04
Hello fellow Americans, ready to celebrate 228 years of independence? Put that bottle rocket where it belongs, and let’s get (fire)cracking. Begin your holiday weekend with a Thursday evening stop at Cecil’s beer garden to experience the uplifting sounds of elevator shoe featuring the stellar vocals of Trina Madonia. You won’t find a more pleasing […]
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Remain the same, or reinvent
Patti Smith TrampinÕ (Columbia) Most artists survive by reinventing themselves. The media, always angling for the snappy lead, demand of their subjects new storylines, and the subjects (who, after all, have stuff to sell) usually acquiesce. But Patti Smith, like God and Edith Piaf, is eternal — exactly the same as she was 29 years […]
