I appeared on FOX's Good Day Chicago this morning to chat about last night's Grammys telecast. Watch the video and let us know your thoughts on the show. more ›

The selected songs cover a broad swath of the musical spectrum, with upbeat pop numbers like Florence and the Machine's "You Got the Love," and cool classics like known Obama favorite, "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. Sandwiched in between are a few head-scratchers like Ricky Martin, or clear Red State pandering cuts like "My Town" by Montgomery Gentry. more ›

Red Bull Music Academy - Chicago Sessions kicks off tomorrow, at Metro/Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark St., 10 p.m.,, $5, 18+ (21+ for Smart Bar) more ›

Archie Powell & The Exports just announced the May 1 release of their sophomore full-length, Great Ideas In Action, and they’re already giving away free downloads of its first single. more ›

We've been fans of Bad Veins for a while now and have waited for-EV-er for the trio of multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Davis, drummer Sebastien Schultz and their 1973 Pioneer reel to reel tape player Irene to release a new album. We will finally get that new album from them in late April and last night they premiered the video for the fist single off The Mess We’ve Made. Check out why we love the band so much below and take in “Dancing On TV.” more ›

You could call The Asteroids Galaxy Tour a commercial band since their initial break onto the scene was through an Apple commercial with their tune "Around the Bend," and recently they resurfaced with "The Golden Age" and its prominent placing in an international beer commercial. So you could call the band commercial. Get it? Though the sound the band produces, while slick, isn't exactly commercial. more ›

Did you know Madonna's halftime show was the most watched EVER with 114 million viewers tuning in? And despite the obvious lip synching we found it to be one of the more entertaining mid-game outings in years. There was no wardrobe malfunction, no crotch slides into the camera, no huge phallic silhouettes; there was plenty of glitz and glam but it was all topped off by a singer in her 50s with more energy (and a younger glow) than most pop singers a third her age. Not bad, huh? more ›

We’ve been hearing a lot about Andrew Bird lately in anticipation of his new album release in a few weeks (March 6 to be exact), and now he is in the midst of taking another medium by storm: film. more ›

OK Go continue their streak of memorable videos constructed through partnerships that recall ye olde days of when the upper crust (in this case corporations) acted as patrons to the arts. And, if such arrangements continue to allow a band like OK Go unfettered creativity without having to beg for alms, we're O.K. with that. more ›

Briar Rabbit is celebrating Black History Month by releasing The Great Routine, a concept album whose theme is minstrel shows of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that featured black actors in blackface. more ›

The fourth annual Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Fest concluded Saturday with performances by headliners Joe Pug, Dawes, and Drive-By Truckers, though not without some setbacks. more ›

The one time we saw Guns N' Roses was the opening night in Alpine Valley of their Use Your Illusion world tour. It was a huge, bombastic show; one of those hugely over the top rock concert spectacles. The band was at the height of their powers. Man, a lot can change in 21 years, huh? The current touring version of the band is missing almost all the original members of the band but the replacements are all seasoned pros and are more than capable of helping W. Axl Rose maintain the stadium spectacle. Despite the incredibly disappointing Chinese Democracy the band has continued to successfully tour and have a huge back catalog that immediately triggers the smell of hairspray and sweaty leather. Despite the passage of years the band's fan-base still allows them to fill stadiums. more ›

Did you enjoy the new video for Wilco's "Dawned On Me" we posted yesterday? We discovered there's more the Wilco / Popeye collaboration than initially meets the eye... more ›

Wilco enlists the aid of a certain sailor man who loves his spinach. in their latest video. more ›

The nomadic and enigmatic singer-songwriter Cass McCombs has long been one of our favorites here on the Chicagoist staff. It is no wonder really that we are very anxious to take in a live performance by this traveling minstrel this Sunday, January 28 at Lincoln Park's gorgeous eat, drink, musical merry-making rock club, Lincoln Hall. more ›

We’ll admit, we wrote Fujiya & Miyagi off as sort of a one trick pony, one of our favorite in the stable, sure, but you could always pretty much count on what you were going to get when they released new music. Their last album, Ventriloquizzing, was a departure--darker, moodier, matured. It had the familiar synth laden minimal funk, but took that driving beat down a much more menacing path. This is thanks in part to the crew signing on co-producer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Au Revoir Simone, Devendra Banhart). “It seemed like the right time to work with someone else to help us avoid going to our default setting,” says vocalist David Best. more ›

When Portlandia debuted exactly one year ago with its shoestring budget and home on a specialty cable channel, the show's quick rise to cult-status favorite was pretty predictable. The bigger surprise - evident during the sold out Chicago stop of "Portlandia: The Tour" Wednesday night - was how adeptly the show walks the sometimes-blurry line between satire and cynicism. more ›

Local psych-pop quartet YAWN is the first band to star in Converse’s video project, Rubber Meets the Road, in which emerging bands travel to Brooklyn to record in the company’s studio for free. more ›

Andrew WK. Classically trained pianist. Motivational speaker. Heavy metal party monster. A true icon for our times. Can you believe it was only ten years ago that he burst onto the musical scene with his propulsive debut, I Get Wet? Was it only a decade ago that this twelve song collection dedicated to conveying the message of just how important it is to party until you puke really is? In under 36 hyper-adrenalized minutes, WK took huge pop hooks and covered them in about 74 layers of over-the-top guitars before topping it off with his candy coated screams. more ›

The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Fest returns for a fourth year with its most impressive lineup yet, and the whole thing kicks off this weekend. more ›

The Redwalls. Smith-Westerns. Give Back. Three bands all touted as talented teen sensations, but only one of them debuted with an album of really solid music. And it's the one you probably haven't heard of. more ›

Listening to Narrow Sparrow's debut EP is a little bit like floating through space in your jammies—part bedroom pop and part dreamy space adventure. more ›

A round trip to "Madchester" can be had this Thursday night, as Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot bring Sound Opinions at the Movies back to the Music Box. more ›

Anyone that doubted dubstep's direct roots in both hair metal and prog rock should watch this. more ›

While we were outside dancing in the snow with each other last night, this little kitty stayed warm and cozy during a dance party of his own. more ›

In the mood for some fast and loose garage rock? Magic Milk has you covered. more ›

Everybody’s favorite whistling indie violinist released details on his new album yesterday, due out March 6 on Mom & Pop records. Revealed are the album art (above) and track listing for Break It Yourself (below), along with a short teaser video that shows Bird and crew at work (and play) at his western Illinois barn where the album was recorded. more ›

This Saturday, GlitterGuts will celebrate four years of prolific and quality work by throwing the fourth annual Jukefest and Underground Dollar Store at Lincoln Hall. more ›

Tiger Bones is calling it quits, and they’re saying farewell with one last show tonight at the Metro. more ›

Spencer Tweedy's dad's band made an album last year, so young Spencer decided to shoot a video for one of its songs with a few of his friends, including Oak Park's Tavi Gevinson. more ›