Chicago: Beef, Love and Understanding

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Lightning Bolt is playing at some UofC coffeeshop on March 31. I am tempted to go.

I am listening to the new Wilco album, it's really really really boring so far.

I am full of opinions today! Does anyone have any questions about my opinions on anything?

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

er, the hamtramck blowout.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Ah yes, a number of my Detroit friends are attending said Blowout.

― dan m, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link

nick, in your opinion should i go to paul cary/gay baby show at phyllis' or the clockcleaner/times new viking show at permanent records tonight? i've seen clockcleaner before but not TNV but i'm friends with the people in gay baby and it's their 2nd show (and 1st chicago show). what say you nick?

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:54 (seventeen years ago) link

dan, i kind of wish i was going to that. i want to see chrome spiders.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:55 (seventeen years ago) link

<i>Opening night will be devoted to "legendary" rock, rap and experimental music performers, each doing a "classic album" in its entirety, a festival spokesman says.</i>

How it's done!

― Eazy, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Rats, I want to see TNV. I've always missed them one way or another.

― Laurel, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

The only one of those bands I've heard of is Times New Viking, so go to that. Plus, Phyllis' is dumb.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:58 (seventeen years ago) link

PETER FRAMPTON!!!! 3RD BASS!!!!! YOKO ONO!!!!!!

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 14:58 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah, plus that show starts at 9 so i could probably scoot up to phyllis' if it gets over early. i never heard of permanent records until this show, has anyone here been there? 1900 block of chicago?

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, it's a nice little record store. You can buy the FF album there.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

It's pretty tiny.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm eating cream of wheat with strawberries in it which is the opposite of both spicy food and corned beef hash.

"Lighting Bolt" and "coffee shop" seems like an odd artist/venue combination.

― Jenny, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Nick, I only got as far as ripping five Field Music songs last night before iTunes crapped out (either 'cause of scratched cd or shitty computer, I'm not sure but I'm guessing the latter). I tried sending those to you but apparently YSI sucks these days? It kept saying I should upgrade my browser and never completed a transfer.

― Jordan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

I think LB typically avoids playing "rock venues."

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:10 (seventeen years ago) link

I'll try sendspace, all the kids are using it?

― Jordan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

i saw them at the bottle.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

I've been eating really well all week but I think it might be the day for a greasy diner lunch. I think this time I'll try the place at Montrose and Western.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Though I am also making pizza for dinner tonight, so maybe I shouldn't.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:13 (seventeen years ago) link

I meant to eat well and go to the gym last night. Instead I watched a Neil Hamburger dvd, work on some beats, ate a piece of fried chicken and crashed.

Nick, what is your opinion of Neil Hamburger???

― Jordan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:18 (seventeen years ago) link

I was all excited because I never order lunch with everyone at work, but today decided that, hell, it's Friday and, hell, maybe I'll participate in the office lunch ordering for once. I'll be a joiner. So this morning I announced that to a couple of coworkers who gave me a pitying look and said, Oh, Sarah, no one is going to be in the office for lunch. We'll all be out at the job site for a meeting.

Why did I forget to bring my book today? NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Thankfully, it should at least be nice out when I walk to find myself some lunch somewhere.

Check out my weather forecast

― KitCat, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:18 (seventeen years ago) link

today is pay day so i think i might treat myself to a decent dinner tonight. STEAK AND TATERS, STEAK AND TATERS!

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

SARAH YOU CAN'T WIN

― Laurel, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

I think Neil Hamburger is funny.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link

Though I've only seen bits and pieces on YouTube.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link

I respect the schtick.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link

i think i'm the only person i know who doesn't like neil hamburger.

like i said, what do i know.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:23 (seventeen years ago) link

You don't know much about history. Don't know much biology.

― KitCat, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French you took

― KitCat, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Don't know much about geography
Don't know much trigonomitry
Don't know much about algebra
Don't know what a slide rule is for

― KitCat, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, I bet you don't know nuffin bout birthin babies.

― KitCat, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:26 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, it's good shtick. The dvd was pretty funny, although I'd heard that he got the crowd pretty riled up and it seemed to me like they were definitely in on the joke.

Even though it's part of the shtick, the throat-clearing and hocking up really disturbs me.

― Jordan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:27 (seventeen years ago) link

actually i do know something about birthing babies, courtesy of the "marriage and family" class i took in college after the sociology class i wanted was cancelled.

― chicago kevin, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:28 (seventeen years ago) link

You're the only kind of knowledge they don't teach at any college; you're an education in yourself.

― Laurel, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:30 (seventeen years ago) link

I totally made my point with that devastating zing.

No, I was just on my way to work.

I'm not sure that I think that rock critics should be eclectic in their tastes. And I certainly frown upon the practice of deliberately making your top-10 lists eclectic to make a point. But Kot's eclecticism makes him a more interesting person to me. DeRo can be predictable sometimes, while Kot often surprises me.

― jaymc, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:34 (seventeen years ago) link

DeRo and Kot are both positively turdy.

― kenan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:37 (seventeen years ago) link

I am listening to the new Wilco album, it's really really really boring so far.

When Renee (who goes to see Wilco/Tweedy every single time they play) said it was boring, I was like whoa, okay.

Have I ever mentioned that I know someone who made out with one of the new Wilco members a few months ago?

I'll try sendspace, all the kids are using it?

Yeah, I prefer it these days, mostly because I don't have to LOG IN. The only disadvantage is that you can't download more than one file at once.

― jaymc, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:39 (seventeen years ago) link

yeah, and sendspace has a 300mb limit, which is plenty for an album, maybe 2.

― kenan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:40 (seventeen years ago) link

It's not about being eclectic; I wouldn't consider liking Girl Talk particularly "eclectic." It's a fun album but not really challenging or even especially innovative. I'm not saying these are bad things, I'm just saying it's not a difficult or controversial album to pick as a favorite. It's a safe "edgy" choice.

This all ties in to really complicated issues about the purpose of popular music criticism in the age of the Internet that I don't really want to get into. But it basically boils down to me wondering why I should read the writing of a music critic who I feel knows less about music than me? That's how I feel about basically all music writers at this point. That's probably pretty conceited. I guess I could want to read their writing if they were just a good writer, but I don't think Kot is an especially good writer either.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Sarah on the new Wilco album: "I listened to the Wilco album getting ready this morning and it was a
complete let-down. :-( I agree. It's boring. Also, Tweedy has had
some BEAUTIFUL pretty slower songs in the past, but these don't even
work as pretty. They're just.., well, boring. Some are easy listening.
Gag me with a spoon, maaaaan."

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:41 (seventeen years ago) link

Now THAT'S rock criticism.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:41 (seventeen years ago) link

Liking Girl Talk is not "eclectic" on its own, it's eclectic when it's on the same list as that slapped-together back-to-basics Neil Young album and Mission of Burma. It's also very much a blog/webzine phenomenon, which makes it surprising when a daily newspaper guy like Kot gloms onto it. I'd wager that most newspaper guys just review whatever big CDs they get in the mail. Maybe Illegal Art is sending out promo copies to the Chicago Tribune, but I'd be surprised.

I wouldn't say that Kot is a bad writer, I'd just say that he's an uninteresting one. And to be honest, I don't ever actually read him. I just like listening to him on Sound Opinions.

― jaymc, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:50 (seventeen years ago) link

It's like, "Wow, he actually made the special effort to take the five minutes it takes to scan Pitchfork every day."

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:51 (seventeen years ago) link

why I should read the writing of a music critic who I feel knows less about music than me? That's how I feel about basically all music writers at this point.

Uh, seriously? When I wrote for Stylus, I was constantly awed at how much more all the other staff writers knew than I did. I always told myself that my music writing could still succeed on the basis of it being good, intelligent writing that just happened to use music as its subject. (I think there are a lot of critics who are primarily music fans looking to parlay their obsession into something useful, whereas I consider myself a writer first and foremost.) (And there are a couple people who write singles reviews for Stylus that I think are totally uninteresting writers. I know the format is supposed to be casual, but what's the point of saying something like, "The music is energetic, but it doesn't really do anything for me"? Why bother publishing that??)

― jaymc, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:55 (seventeen years ago) link

So guess what? Sarah's flight to Memphis leaves at 5:45 AM tomorrow morning. Meaning we are aiming to get there around 4 a.m. Huzzah!

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:55 (seventeen years ago) link

"there" = the airport

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:56 (seventeen years ago) link

I will say that M1ke P0well is one of the few music writers who consistently impresses me.

― n/a, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I scan Pitchfork, too... scan. Sometimes I read it. Most of the record reviews I read are blurby ones from retailers, strangely enough, like Boomkat or Other Music. Not like they don't have a vested interest, but I don't really want big opinions anyway. I want a description, a comparison or two, someone who sounds knowledgeable but not awfully proud of their knowledge beyond just wanting to tell me that this record exists. That's all I usually want to know: THIS RECORD EXISTS. I'll take it from there.

But I do still like feature-y music writing that tries to put things into social context or what have you.

― kenan, Friday, 9 March 2007 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link

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