CHIRP: Chicago Independent Radio Project

More comics about music for your edification.
Posted by Tony TB on May 14, 2009 around 2pm

I just found a couple of interesting new things in the twin worlds of indie/web comics and music.

First, a indie publisher called Poseur Ink will very shortly be releasing an anthology of comics about music called Side B. Contributors include Chicago’s own Jeffrey Brown (who designed CHIRP’s Record Fair poster and t-shirt — contact us for more info on how to get one!), as well as Mitch Clem and Box Brown.

Side B, as you may imagine, is a follow up to their 2007 release Side A.

Meanwhile, I Love Tapes is a new web comic about a band. It’s a collaboration between Ned Hugar, who’s also a contributor to Side B, and Frank Gibson, who contributed to Side A. And in addition to the satire of the indie rock scene, Frank and Ned periodically post streaming mixes. How fun is that?

(Incidentally, Frank writes another comic called Tiny Kitten Teeth, in collaboration with Becky Dreistadt. It’s not about music, but go check it out anyway. The art reminds me of what you might see if you wandered through the art section of a thrift store while on psychedelic drugs.)

Show Review: Masshysteri/Hjertestop @ Sub T
Posted by Chris S. on April 6, 2009 around 11am

Pulling up rather late to the Subterranean, fighting off the cold-death-rain as I ran from the ATM around the corner, I was over joyed by being inside. I handed my ID to door guy, followed by ten bucks and ran up the stairs, hearing the last few notes of Big Knife’s set. This was my second biggest regret of the night. My first being that I missed the opening band, Duress‘ set.

Fronted by local zinester and defender of the stage dive, Matt Rolland (Mindless Mutant zine), Duress features current members of other local straight edge bands One Foot in the Grave and Poison Planet. Duress brings a fast, abrasive and short brand of hardcore to the party, which sits somewhere between Minor Threat and SS Decontrol.

Getting their start by handing out demo tapes at local hardcore shows, they’ve built their own mini hype machine on the local hardcore message board, along side regular shows around the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area. I was disappointed that I missed their set, but being a local band, I’m sure I’ll cross paths with them in the near future.
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Punk Rock Armor
Posted by Dustin D. on February 23, 2009 around 3pm

What could be more punk rock than a St George and the Dragon inspired suit of armor made entirely of punk rock records from 1986? How about 100 black vinyl skulls forged from the top hits of the same year? Sounds pretty righteous!

Check out the video below to see Artist Ted Riederer’s process from studio to gallery
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Bottle Up and Explode: P.A. in Record Stores!
Posted by Katherine R. on February 22, 2009 around 12pm

I’ve been getting my dose of internet humor almost solely from a few blogs recently: It’s Lovely, I’ll Take It!, which is all about disturbing real estate listings, Vintage Microwave, which is all about disturbing free stuff on Craigslist, the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotations marks which, well… and finally, Passive Aggressive Notes, a blog dedicated to collecting and posting “painfully polite and hilariously hostile writings from shared spaces the world over.”

Some recent gems from P.A. Notes include this snippet of fashion advice for the ladies, and this back and forth taped to a candy machine.

My downstairs neighbor’s dog has been barking for weeks, but because of my now hyper-awareness of the hilarity and ineffectiveness of taped-up notes, I’ve been waiting for a good time to talk to her face-to-face about it. I’m not the kind of person who leaves passive aggressive notes, I say to myself.

Then my friend Nate brought this P.A. posting to my attention:

top five musical crimes perpetuated by record store customers in the 90s and 2000s

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A Look at Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Posted by Dustin D. on February 20, 2009 around 5pm

Amidst all the RIP notices (Lux Interior, Blossom Dearie, Touch & GO Distro…..) I thought maybe we should post something a bit more upbeat. My good friend Chris Sienko recently tracked down the final two Roland Kirk albums that he was missing for his collection, and emailed me about an article he wrote about Kirk for Blastitude.

As he describes it, “The article contains 28 capsule reviews of Kirk’s canonical albums (not counting bootlegs or posthumous CDs released after his death). It is originally sourced from two lengthy emails sent to Blastitude’s editor-in-chief, Larry Dolman, explaining what I had been listening to obsessively for the last 8 months or so. If it reads like a breathless, middle-of-the-night email, that’s because it basically is (cleaned up a bit and augmented later for print-readiness).”

Definitely well worth a read, and if you haven’t heard Kirk’s “Domino”, I suggest you do yourself a favor and check it out!

Touch and Go Distro, Gone
Posted by Katherine R. on February 18, 2009 around 12pm

Inklings about the demise of venerable indie label Touch and Go have been floating around the blogosphere for the past few days, and today the situation became clearer: Time Out Chicago is reporting the record label, which has been operating out of Chicago since 1983, will fold its manufacturing and distribution wing, and carry on as a free-standing indie label.

Touch and Go released two albums yesterday: Mi Ami’s Watersports and Sholi’s debut self-titled LP.

According to a statement from label owner Corey Rusk, T&G will “be busy for a few months working closely with the departing labels and scaling our company to an appropriate smaller size after their departure. It is the end of a grand chapter in Touch and Go’s history, but we also know that good things can come from new beginnings.”

Valentine’s Day playlist
Posted by Tony TB on February 14, 2009 around 1pm

Oh no oh no, it’s Valentine’s Day! Date tonight? OK, did you get chocolates? Go get ‘em! And flowers? Are they fair trade flowers? OK, ready?

Now you need some music. We’re going to lay it on a little thick here. It’s Valentine’s Day; if you’re going to celebrate, just go for it, right? Resist the urge to get ironic with CocoRosie’s “By Your Side” or Love Is All’s “Last Choice”.

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Blossom Dearie, you will be missed
Posted by Tony TB on February 10, 2009 around 12am

When I was in college I went through something of a Cole Porter phase. I had a few albums of his songs, and so I could compare different singers’ interpretations of the same songs.

One that stood out in particular was Blossom Dearie’s version of “Always True to You in My Fashion”. Dearie’s clear, high, kittenish voice gave a touch of innocence to Porter’s ribald lyrics — a perfect counterpoint, really, just right for the song. And so I filed her name away in my mind as something to remember.

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Punk Rope & Other Offbeat Workouts
Posted by Katherine R. on February 7, 2009 around 12am

Now that we’ve had a little over a month to try and make habits of our New Year’s resolutions, ask yourself: are you utilizing your gym membership? No? Maybe that’s because the repetitive treadmill thing just isn’t happening for you. Check out some of these alternative fitness options, guaranteed to inspire you in a way that 45:33 on the elliptical no longer can.

Punk Rope at Discovery Center
Feb 25 - April 1
Wednesdays 6-7pm
Discovery Center (2940 N. Lincoln)
$89
Get fit in this “rock’n'roll-fueled cross between recess and boot camp” that mixes traditional jump rope with themed drills and school yard games. (Beginner.)

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Remembering Charlie Cooper
Posted by Kumar M. on February 6, 2009 around 12pm

As the sad news spread around the Net last week of Charlie Cooper’s passing, many of us here at CHIRP were shocked. Whether you only knew Charlie through the music of Telefon Tel Aviv or you knew him as a friend, he will surely be missed. Here at CHIRP we want to send our best to Josh and to Charlie’s family during this hard time.

There will be a memorial service at Sonotheque, Sunday Feb 8th, from 5-8PM, for friends to remember Charlie. A message on Facebook said this:
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