The Tribune Editorial Board released its list of endorsements in the upcoming Illinois primaries on February 5. Among the list are 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski (striking a blow to challenger and progressive blog champion Mark Pera) and tenacious ice cream magnate Jim Oberweis -- running for Congress in the 14th District -- who is determined to get himself elected to some office, somewhere, some time (we hear Sugar Grove is looking for a......

What's coming up? Let's see. 2007 has been quite a year for the Cold War Kids, whose twangy indie rock has worked its way into the hearts of festival attendees across the world, playing everywhere from Lollapallooza to the Glastonbury Festival. If you’d rather see them up close and personal instead of surrounded by shirtless dudes holding plastic cups of beer, now’s your chance. Metro, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m., $15, all ages. On sale at......

We were reading Deadspin yesterday and came across the map you see above, via flickr user "littlebudapest" and the website Strange Maps. As you can see, the map breaks down the continental United States by baseball allegiances. Notice the little fiefdom the White Sox hold within Cubs Country, like West Berlin surrounded by East Germany during the Cold War. One would think that, with one World Series win in the past ninety years, the......

"Exotica was a round-trip ticket departing everyday for something more fabulous. It had the feel of distant places, but it took you to spots never before trekked by man ... All this cultural production promised a world more primitive and less mediated than life in the burgeoning white collar states. Exotica was more than a sound, it was design movement, and a pop art reaction to a Cold War paradigm that said all that was......

The day is finally here! We get to mark up the schedule, fight with our friends over who to see, and determine what time we have to wake up to make it down to Grant Park. The Lollapalooza schedule is finally out. Also, if a three-day pass seemed excessive, the single day tickets are now on sale for $80. Which headliner will make the previously unconvinced head to the festival? Will it be Daft Punk......

What Made Milwaukee Famous is the quirky kid with the dorky name in the back of the class whom no one notices until he gets his braces off, gets into MIT, and scores a summer internship with NASA. Kicking around the Austin scene since 2004, WMMF has put together a kind of indie-rock dream team: management through Fourth Floor, a division of powerhouse promoters Capitol Sports & Entertainment (Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits), booking through Monterey......

After fighting World War II, ending The Cold War, and living the American Dream, the greatest generation is once again aiming to show up the current generation of out-of-shape kids. While the kids thought they had video games locked down, gramps is now training to embarrass you at family get togethers. In Lincolnshire, the Sedgebrook retirement community has set up a Nintendo Wii in the clubhouse lounge. The community is holding a bowling tournament on......

Did the groundhog see his shadow this morning? What does that mean again? We'll just jump forward to spring and get us some tickets to shows where we can don a jacket instead of a parka. My Brightest Diamond will be opening for The Decemberists on a pair of evenings at the Riviera. If anyone has the perfect pedigree to open for the lit-rockers it would have to be Shara Worden. She's the granddaughter of......

Last week, we recommended catching this weekend’s Cold War Kids show at Hideout. You listened, because the show is sold out. But we’ve got our hands on a pair of tickets to the show and we’re giving them away to you!. As one of our commenters pointed out, Cold War Kids was on tour with The Futureheads with a stop at Metro planned for this Saturday before that tour was cancelled due to an injured......

Not much on sale this weekend, but there are still good shows to see and changes to be made to your rock and roll lifsetyle. On sale this weekend: Raconteurs We’re still kicking ourselves for missing their set during Lollapalooza. We’re a bit surprised the backlash hasn’t kicked in yet, but that’s probably a testament to just how good their shows are. Just be smart about it and see them on the 30th and save......

Last night, Chicagoist took in a performance by Mates of State (above) and The Cold War Kids at an official pre-party for Lollapalooza at Abbey Pub. Both bands will be performing this weekend out in Grant Park along with 128 other artists. We'll bring you coverage of one of Chicago's biggest events on Monday, but don't forget to stop by the unofficial after-party we're throwing with the folks at V2 Records. Tonight at 9......

A smorgasbord for the mind, the 2005 Chicago Humanities Festival has rolled into town. This year’s theme is Home and Away, concerning “the role that ‘place’ serves in the creation of our sense of rootedness and belonging.” Sounds like Pretentious-English-Major-speak, but an impressive slate of writers, musicians and performers are addressing such hot button issues as globalization, mobility, national identity, and bridging regional differences. Most tickets are $5, a bargain that ensures many sold out......

Even if Bill Murray wasn’t originally from the Chicago area, we’d still plan on seeing his latest collaboration with Jim Jarmusch, Broken Flowers, which hits Piper’s Alley and the AMC River East this weekend. Chicagoist has long believed that the way to tell the really compelling actors from the lousy ones is with The Phone Book Test. That is, if an actor is really good then listening to them read the phone book will still......