Taking plenty of cues from artists like Kate Bush and The Knife, Austra made tidy drums, dance-ready synth beats and powerful vocals feel like a musical feast. more ›

Tyler Jon Tyler has a name that’s bound to mislead. Tyler Jon Tyler may sound like some redneck parody out of My Name Is Earl or Eastbound or Down, or a forgotten teen idol from the mid-nineties. But, in fact, TJT is a sharp, tight power-pop group from the Windy City. Tonight, the trio is set to release their self-titled debut full-length at the Empty Bottle. more ›

Ah, one of the great debates of this grand country of ours: soda, pop, or coke? Which do you call it? I grew up in the region that overwhelmingly calls it "Coke." But Illinois? You call it "pop." By an overwhelming majority (66 percent). It's a fascinating look at how the trend varies by region; what gives, east Missouri/western and central Illinois? Soda, eh? A rebellion against the north staters' "pop" coalition? Check out the map above, created by Matthew Campbell and Prof. Greg Plumb of East Central University in Oklahoma, and even more of the data, collected in a not-exactly-scientific method by Alan McConchie, here. [h/t our sister site LAist who apparently calls it "soda"] more ›

There's a wide variety of classical music being written today. If you don't mind the use of the term "classical music" (which is more inaccurate but slightly less pretentious than the best alternative, "art music"), then you may also pardon the gross oversimplification that that music falls roughly into two camps: complicated, dissonant music from the 20th-century modernist tradition; and more minimalist work from the Steve Reich family tree branch. Composers of the latter group believe that music doesn't need to be harmonically or developmentally complicated, sensibilities that are aligned with other "simple" music. more ›

While we're sure there will plenty of eyes directed at another female singer's long-delayed album dropping today, we feel that it'd be a pity if that caused Annie's excellent sophomore effort to get overlooked. Anne Strand, better known as simply Annie, was all set to release Don't Stop a year ago before abruptly cutting ties from her record label and pulling the album from the release schedule. Word filtered through that she was reworking tracks and recording new material. We'd heard the unreleased version of Don't Stop and while it wasn't perfect we weren't sure if this album revamp was really necessary. more ›

Our first clue that Kid Sister -- Melisa Young-- was on the road to fame is when she apologized to a friend of ours while telling him she wouldn't be able to babysit his kids any longer due to her hectic travel schedule. This also offers some insight into what it is that sets her apart from so many other hip-hop-popsters; even while shooting videos with Kanye West she was picking up work on the side babysitting for friends. It's that combination of a solid work ethic and her lack of pretension that makes her debut, Ultraviolet, such a satisfying listen. more ›

Classes are back in session, which gives us the perfect reason to tell you about Lamar Holley's newest album. Confessions of a College Student is an "autobiographical one-man pop-musical" according to its album cover. If Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman had ever reteamed for a followup to their 1970 masterpiece, and made a concept album about higher education, it might have sounded something like Holley's record. It has Newman's love of ragtime and bittersweet melody, and intertwined vocal arrangements like Nilsson. more ›

One could argue that glossy pop is the product of an overindulgent mindset, but one would be wrong. Pop takes simple components and weaves them together in surprising and ear-popping arrangements. Listen to something like Beyonce's "Halo," with it's Queen stomps, glacial synths and odd warbles for proof of this. There is no practical reason that song should sound so good with all those disparate elements, but it does. more ›

If Lady GaGa is '80s-era Madonna then Little Boots is her artsier new-millennial little sister. So why does it seem like she's being held back from GaGa levels of success? more ›

McDonald's is going to start selling Red Bull and a variety of other beverages in 150 test markets, and might revise its "beverage plans" in the next year or two. They could start selling boiled kitten juice and we wouldn't care, as long as they don't change their magical Diet Coke recipe—DCs from McD's just taste better than all other Diet Cokes for some reason. more ›

Last week, we gushed about the State-side release (finally!) of Swedish pop star Robyn's self-titled record. A magnificent, intelligent slice of dance-pop heaven, the record has been garnering rave reviews, even three years after its release on her native continent of Europe. Now she's on a cross-country trek to continue her quest to capture our American hearts, minds, and ears. We caught up with her on the day after the record's release, as she was traversing between East Coast shows, to get her thoughts on the record's long path to U.S. release, how the internet has affected her popularity, having her own record label, and appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman. more ›

Three years ago the blogosphere criticeratti exploded over the import-only self-titled turn-around album by former pop-princess Robyn. If that opening sentence didn't make your head explode, read on. more ›

After a waaaay too long delay, the Switches debut album Lay Down The Law is finally available in the U.S. Their song "Drama Queen" ensnared us last year with it's stomping glam beat, sneering Dandy Warhols-esque verses, and it's over the top Queen-sized chorus. The rest of the album took the promise of that original salvo and decimated our expectations in the best possible way. more ›

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So we just got word that Juliette and the Licks will be appearing at Reggie's on November 16. We saw this group, led by Juliette Lewis, at The Note over the summer and admit to loving her live show. Some have opined that Ms. Lewis is too busy ripping off Iggy Pop and PJ Harvey to be very interesting, but we suspect these folks have a) never seen her live and b) have not heard... more ›

O.K., so this is a few days old, but we're such big fans of Iggy Pop (and, of course, the Stooges) that we couldn't resist.... more ›

Chemicals — what would we do without them? Twinkies wouldn't have a shelf life of a decade. Diet Coke wouldn't be diet. And microwave popcorn wouldn't cause some weird lung disease. We just read today that diacetyl, one of the main substances used to flavor microwave popcorn*, isn't so good for the lungs. Truthfully, when we read the first article about the first consumer that is likely to have "popcorn lung" (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, or... more ›

Even though rapper 50 Cent proclaimed to the world earlier this month that he would quit music (and deprive the world of another "In Da Club") if Chicago native Kanye West's new album "Graduation" sold more copies than his new CD "Curtis," the two have reportedly ended their feud via the universal peace maker -- alcohol. The two are both dropping albums on Sept. 11 and have been debating in the press for the past... more ›

Pop quiz! Which is better: a Chicken McNugget or a small morsel of chicken meat that has been battered and fried to look like, smell like and taste like a Chicken McNugget, a piece of chicken lacking only the telltale McDonalds' wrapping? If you answered the McNugget, you aren't alone; A recent study of preschoolers in which the children sampled identical McDonald's foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers found that the unmarked food always lost. Even when it was apples, carrots or milk they still picked the McDonald's wrapped snack. more ›

It’s difficult to choose only one performance that was my favorite from 2007 Lollapalooza. Polyphonic Spree's joyous performance captured my heart and made me remember what Lollapalooza and all music festivals are for — losing myself in the music. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on an energetic, tight set, and Daft Punk brought it all home with a phenomenal stage show that was never topped throughout the weekend. more ›

Braless and wearing an oversized white T-shirt with a hand drawn peace sign and the word "Love" written underneath it, Patti Smith humbly began her set with an extra-Jamaican sounding "Redondo Beach," fumbling some of the lyrics and apologizing to the crowd for being too excited. more ›

It’s all fun and games until someone calls sell-out, but how is almost every artist not a sell-out when it comes to putting tunes behind a commercial these days? From the use of “Lust for Life” to get us aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Wilco shilling for Volkswagen, what are the best or worst songs used in commercials? Mark Caro wants your comments about that over at his blog, Pop Machine. Do we care... more ›

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get... more ›

The talk of the "indie rock diet" that's been tossed around the blogosphere this week is ripe with irony; any of us who have hung out with a band for even a night know that the stereotypical indie rocker replaces food with alcohol whenever given the chance. And when on tour, anything goes. A friend of ours, who happens to drum in a band coming to Chicago next week, once told us about how the... more ›

Tonight is AMPED! Columbia College’s Third Annual Battle of the Bands which is part of an ongoing series that invites participation from area high school students interested in arts and communications majors. Six bands comprised of local students will be competing at Hothouse for the princely sum of a $50 gift certificate per band member and, of course, the bragging rights of being Chicago’s best band! Chicagoist will be there as a “celebrity judge” to... more ›

There are all kinds of things we could say about Sanjaya — we could say: more ›

She’s Your Sister was formed in Chicago, but after logging in a bunch of shows and pretty much getting nowhere, they decided to hightail it to California. We know, we thought that was weird too. Why would a reasonably decent band willingly plunge into the morass that is the Hollywood/L.A. music scene, right? more ›

Although we’ve written extensively about our love for the city’s tea and coffee offerings, chances are, if you wander into the fine Chicagoist offices around 10 a.m. on any given day, you wouldn’t find us drinking one of these beverages. No, sirree, you're much more likely to see us sipping a can of pop as we blog away. more ›

After speculation over who will be the "special guest" at the Robbins Family benefit we posted about last week, organizer Jessica Hopper announced today that local legends Eleventh Dream Day will headline the event at Empty Bottle on January 27 at 8:00 p.m. Also appearing that evening are Chin Up Chin Up, Bobby Conn, Life & Times, and Red-Eyed Legends. Plus, they'll be raffling off lots of goodies. Here's the list so far: * VIP... more ›

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward... more ›