The year has a been a tumultuous one for nightlife and electronic music in Chicago. Promoters had to think smart to pull in crowds with far less spending money and we lost our shining star, the always tasteful Sonotheque. With Lava Lounge set to relaunch in 2010 as a cocktail lounge and a long winter still ahead, many feel uncertain, yet curious, for what the new year will bring. more ›

This is the year where, in my opinion, a lot of good music was unleashed but very little great music was created. We've hit a stasis point it seems, where the music scene has become so varied and so wild that the end result is a homogeneity that makes it very difficult for anything truly astounding to surface. Sure, loads of critics laud the efforts of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, and I found their albums this year to be pleasant enough too, but how many people are still listening to them over and over again, months after their release? I don't doubt there are some die-hard fans, but I'd be willing to wager that even most of those placing those discs on their year-end lists haven't fired them up since the summer. more ›