In the blog age of the hyper (and overhyped) search for the Next Big Thing, an artist’s shelf life as a “big deal “in the independent music world is dwindling to little more than one sold out tour and a trackback in year-end review posts. Gone are the days when one band set the bar for a genre and then completely redefined it, all to the great satisfaction of its fans and its critics alike.... more ›

It was ten years ago today that Jim Ellison, lead singer/songwriter of the great Chicago power pop band Material Issue, committed suicide at the age of 31, ending one of the most influential and heartfelt careers of any Chicago musician. In a previous post, we said “not since the Undertones’ “More Songs About Chocolate and Girls” had a band ever released such a concise sonic mission statement as MI’s International Pop Overthrow album.” Three chords... more ›