Apparently Most Of The Best Local Bands In Chicago Aren't From Chicago

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 8, 2013 5:50PM

Here's one from "the Internet is a wasteland" files. CBS Chicago published a post on its website this morning listing the "best local rock bands in Chicago." Except most of the bands listed didn't start in the city and have achieved a measure of success that they don't reside in the area anymore.

Any list claiming to be "the best" of anything is subject to dissection (even our ongoing year-long series of best of posts). To be fair, we also like most of the bands writer Angela Hazen selected, specifically Fall Out Boy, OK Go and Local H. (We should note right now that Local H kingpin Scott Lucas contributes the occasional movie review to Chicagoist.)

But this list is great, if you're looking to travel back in time to 2004 and to print an article that is so short-sighted and terrible without looking at what is currently happening in the local music scene is a disservice to your readership. The icing on the cake is when you read Hazen's bio.

Angela Hazen lives in Oak Park, IL. She has worked as a model in Chicago and studied broadcast journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She has traveled to Europe on several occasions, and keeps her readers up to date with local and international style, shopping, fashion and beauty trends. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

With street cred like that, she's Lester Fucking Bangs. We have no idea how traveling to Europe on several occasions makes one an expert on music; maybe Hazen's spent to much time there to actually seek out local bands here. We're gonna add our love of travel to our resume right away.

If you want a list of local bands that has some substance, check out our list of the best local bands to watch in 2013.