The debut album from Glossies, Phantom Films, is going to sound pretty familiar to even to casual fans of the local music scene. It will probably remind you an awful lot of output from OFFICE, currently on hiatus, and that would make a lot of sense since it's the latest nom de chanson of the leader of that group, Scott Masson. When he tipped us off to his new project it came with the warning that it was weirder than his previous output so he was hoping listeners would be patient and put up with some of his odder tendencies. more ›

Rich Seng is a master of making music into more than melody. The 35-year-old Chicago producer is the brains behind the epic Rhyme Spitters MC battle series and a number of philanthropically minded compilation albums. With Seng, there’s always a higher purpose. more ›

A chapter is closing in the history of Chicago advertising, after JWT’s North American president Rosemarie Ryan traveled from New York to Chicago Friday to deliver the news to the company’s 50 employees that the Chicago office would be closing. JWT has roots in Chicago date back to 1891, and the Chicago office has battled with the New York office throughout its history to shine as the crown jewel in the JWT network. At one time, the Chicago office was the largest office of the world’s largest advertising agency. more ›

A threatening letter was sent to Rep. Bobby Rush's office today, containing what turned out to be a harmless white powder, but was still enough to warrant a Hazmat response. The letter was sent to Rush's office at 700 E. 79th St. Firefighters responded to the call just before noon and employees and the substance were tested. Fire department spokesman Larry Langford said, "It was a white powder, a household product. There was nothing bad about it." more ›

OFFICE's much-anticipated follow-up to A Night At The Ritz has seemed a long time coming. Frontman Scott Masson (and only current member?) reconfigured the band earlier last year and hinted that a free download of the album would be available over the summer. Alas, it never hit public ears. We were lucky enough to get a copy though and the album became a staple on our playlist through the fall and winter months. more ›

A bit of tasty localvore fare for you this week. more ›

Over the past few months we've seen OFFICE undergo some surprising changes that included personnel overhauls and a more adventurous sonic direction. They've played a handful of local shows over the past few months -- including another appearance at Lollapalooza -- but this month they are reemerging in force with a monthly residency at Schubas on Monday nights through the entire month of October. (O.K., we'll say it, Rocktober!) In following with the bands recent turns away from "business as usual" all of the shows this month with be absolutely free! more ›

Sunday Sweaty Sunday. The weather was somewhere between Friday's scorcher and Saturday's gorgeousness. We had our sunscreen applied, water packed, our beach towels ready, and were prepared for whatever Day 3 had to bring us. Lots of questions floated around the grounds, including the still-rumored Obama appearance. What some folks failed to realize was that said rumor was actually listed in the program making it feel manufactured for dubious promotional purposes more than anything else. With that in mind, we took advantage of a wide-open schedule to catch as many bands as we could amongst the (once again) sell out crowd. more ›

more ›

DeRo has the lowdown on a bunch of other confirmed Lollapalooza acts. We already knew Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Rage Against The machine would be headlining, but now you can add Racontuers, Kanye West, and Wilco to that list. We'd bitch about the fact that three of the six headliners have already played Lolla, which in its current incarnation is still a neophyte, but fuck it, we love all the headliners so we'll keep our trap shut. more ›

We've mentioned OFFICE a bunch, and how much we like their smarty-pants pop, so we're pleased to be giving away two pairs of tickets to see them headline Reggie's Rock Club later tonight. Another Chicagoist fave, Ultra Sonic Edukkators is also playing, and the thought of they're hyper Brit-pop running headfirst into OFFICE's super tight arrangement makes us get all giddy, jumping up and down and clapping our hands. more ›

more ›

We just learned that tickets to ALL Metro and Smart Bar shows are only available through their websites, or the Metro Box Office. There will still be service fees for tickets bought online, though we believe they will be much reduced due to Metro handling all sales internally, and there is still never a service fee for tickets bought at the Box Office. more ›

more ›

Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park: more ›

It wasn't all about roasting pigs out in the 'burbs this week: more ›

SXSW just released their full band list and the number of Chicago bands is really encouraging as far as supporting the national impact of our little scene. It's also a good indicator of just how genre-less Chicago is, since the bands range from punk, hip-hop, pop, math-rock, metal, and good ol' fashioned "college rock." It could haave easily been predicted that bands like OFFICE, The Redwalls, Sybris, and The 1900s were in, but big ups to local metal crew Bible Of The Devil and the overlooked and uncategorizable Tub Ring for being selected. And Yakuza? They picked the punk-jazz-metal of Yakuza? Awesome.We're shocked but pleased to see see Naked Raygun will be making a trek down to Austin, but we're really surprised to see Joan Of Arc heading South. Who knew they were still active? more ›

In a political season that has been marked by the theme of change, Illinois's 3rd Congressional District has become one of the battle grounds over what the Democratic Party might look like going forward in 2008. Critics of the incumbent, Dan Lipinski, are unhappy with his opposition to abortion rights and stem cell research, and his siding with moderate Republicans on the war in Iraq and domestic spying. Besides his voting record, they also don't like how he came to congress: If you don't remember the 2004 general election, the elder Lipinski won renomination in the primary, withdrew during the campaign year, and then led the process to pick his replacement on the November ballot - his son Dan, a political science professor from Tennessee. Although Dan won handily in 2004, angry challenges in 2006 held him at only 54% in the primary, with the opposition split between two opponents. more ›

Among all of the jockeying for Cook County State's Attorney and the sparks and drama of the presidential primaries, one of the more significant local races this primary season hasn't gotten nearly the attention that it deserves. more ›

There are "Adult Fans Of Lego" out there? Really? Actually, we find that kind of awesome. Happy Birthday Lego! more ›

The race for Cook County state's attorney has been hot and heavy in the past few weeks, with candidates taking plenty of shots at each other in a debate last week. (You can watch the debate here.) more ›

We always imagined it'd be pretty hard to get into too much trouble in a place like Boise. The Bulls' second-round draft pick JamesOn Curry, currently playing for the Iowa Energy in the NBA's developmental league, however, managed to find enough to be arrested in the Idaho town early Thursday morning and to be charged with urinating in public and resisting arrest. more ›

Common is playing a benefit at House Of Blues tomorrow night (along with OFFICE), and another Chicagoist turned us onto this sweet remix to help us get in the mood.* more ›

A new ordinance kicking around City Council says disabled people with city-designated parking spots in front of their homes would no longer have to display a permit sign on their windshield. Apparently people often forget put the sign on their dashboard when they park, and they get tickets--and then they complain to their aldermen. more ›

While we were chompin' at the bit for the return of Project Runway following a holiday hiatus, the casting for Bravo's next attempt at reality success had us wishing some more episodes of The Office were ready to go. more ›

Clayton Hauck, Chicago's everywhere-at-once nightlife photographer, has released the results of a reader's poll he ran to discern which clubs, DJs, promoters, and bands are at the top of The People's list. It's hardly a scientific poll, and Hauck even admits that when it came to the promoter results there was probably more than a little ballot box stuffing, but we find it interesting as it functions as a good peek into the indie-rock dance micro-scene. And this is the scene, one could argue, driving the majority of the musically related social activity in our fair city these days, so we also find it interesting as an indicator of where things might be heading. more ›

Tomorrow night kicks off Metro's "Home For The Holidays" weekend with a veritable who's who of Chicago-based bands that have had big 2007s. We've waxed ecstatic about OFFICE and the 1900s plenty in the past, so now we'd like to direct your attention to our favorite part of the undercard and encourage you to get out there early. more ›

Lucky enough to get a few days off for the Chrismukkah holidays? Several Chicago area music entities have been kind enough to give you time-filling options. more ›

...than Ed Smith's video blog? As alderman of the West Side's 28th Ward, Smith has a reputation as (sort of) an independent. Coming into office with Harold Washington in 1983, Smith was behind the smoking ban, has pushed for federal prosecution of former police commander Jon Burge, and generally annoys Mayor Daley. Now he wants to be Cook County Recorder of Deeds. As The Reader's Mick Dumke pointed out, this election may be the Year... more ›

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist. Dewars Repeal Day, because you shouldn't take the right to have a drink for granted. Sony Card, because you'll get a free MP3 player if you apply. Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield's book about women, music, and love. American Express' Urban Adventures-- for information about shopping, dining, and entertainment. Homes for Working Families-- working to make housing affordable in... more ›