Among the 500 some-odd official Record Store Day releases set to hit stores tomorrow, one you won't find on the list will be Chicago-based Numero Group's Eccentric Soul 45." The record isn't an official RSD release--though their double LP "Local Customs: Pressed at Boddie" is (but more on that in a minute)--and will only be available at a store that doesn't exist now and won't exist by Sunday: The Numero Group pop-up shop. more ›

Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Kurt Vile excels live in a low-key, quiet environment. We saw Vile open up solo for Matador Records labelmates Fucked Up at the Viaduct Theater (itself a warm-up to a later show at the Empty Bottle) and were incredibly impressed. We've been huge fans ever since, and we're absolutely certain that Vile's latest album, Smoke Ring For My Halo will be in our top ten albums of the year. So imagine our excitement when Matador announced formally that Vile would be playing solo, acoustic in-stores at Cleveland-based Music Saves and at Chicago's own Reckless Records. more ›

Ever pushing the boundaries creatively through both their ever-expanding catalog of experimental pop and their new and innovative marketing strategies, the British rock phenomenon that is Radiohead has set to release a newspaper of all things. This coming Tuesday, March 29, they will not only present the public with their newest LP The King of Limbs to be purchased in record stores on vinyl, compact disc and also via digital download, but will also release this newest innovative art and/or marketing ploy, a newspaper entitled The Universal Sigh. more ›

Patton Oswalt's comedy possesses a sharp, incisive grasp of language that shows he's spent a lot of time between the pages. Whether it's dubbing the KFC Famous Bowl "a failure pile in a sadness bowl", or entertaining hyperbolic murder fantasies involving George Lucas, Oswalt's gift for inventive invective is without question. His latest outlet for his thoughts is his first book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, a collection of essays. Oswalt's going to be reading excerpts from Wasteland in March at Reckless Records in Wicker Park. more ›

What do The Da Vinci Code, Toy Story, and Apollo 13 have in common? [Ed. note: And Bachelor Party!] Too easy, Oscar-winning superhuman Tom Hanks, of course. According to the 826CHI prom committee, he represents the "everyman American," thus is the theme for this year's prom a.k.a. Prom Hanks. It's tomorrow night. 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 ›

We love Reckless; and frankly, we've always preferred the Lakeview store to the one in Wicker Park. When we heard they'd be moving, we initially feared that it'd be to a smaller space. Luckily, that's not the case. The new digs at 3126 N. Broadway, about a block south of the old location, are fairly spacious. In fact, there's even more browsing room thanks to wider aisles. Unlike the old store, you won't have to elbow your way past people staring at the box sets and New Arrivals. Another bonus: the new store is right across the street from Intelligentsia. more ›

By now you've probably heard the buzz that is Record Store Day. Born as a concept in 2007, Record Store Day, held the third Saturday of April, celebrates its second year of bringing together independent retailers and musicians tomorrow in cities worldwide. The current economic climate coupled with the shift to digital formats and purchasing make this an especially important year to band together and champion the cause of the Independents. more ›

Omaha-based Son, Ambulance is the clever play-on-words product of Joe Knapp and various cornhusker cronies, although the aforementioned singer/songwriter has been the band’s axis. Their debut effort, Oh Holy Fools was a collaboration with Saddle Creek star Bright Eyes, and their follow-ups, Euphemystic and Key, drew from the talents of many of the labels’ frequent contributors. Son, Ambulance’s latest release, Someone Else’s Deja Vu, is mostly a solo effort by Knapp, and departs from piano domination in favor of a more musically diverse sound that incorporates complex arrangements and a wider range of instruments. more ›

This will come as no surprise to music-savvy Chicagoans, but despite the popularity of big chain stores like Best Buy and Target, independent record stores still actually exist. Earlier this year, we celebrated Record Store Day and now Paste Magazine has named their top 17 record stores in the U.S. of A. We're not surprised by the inclusion of some of the more well known stores (Amoeba Records in L.A., Criminal Records in the ATL, and Waterloo in Austin), but we did raise an eyebrow when we saw the lone Chicago entry on the list: Dusty Groove America (1120 N. Ashland Ave), tabbing it "the best place to buy funk records no one's ever heard of." Don't get us wrong. Dusty Groove is an excellent establishment, especially if you're looking for funk and soul records and national recognition is always good. But we couldn't help wondering: whither Reckless? Or Gramaphone? Or...well, countless other fantastic record stores in the Chicago metro area? more ›

Reckless Records of Where? more ›

First we learned about Spoon's free show at Schubas this Friday, scheduled conveniently after Sonic Youth clears the stage at Pitchfork. Tickets are ambiguously hard to obtain, as they're only being given away via drawing from Schubas, Reckless Records or from WXRT. We were annoyed when we heard this, as we don't like jumping through hoops to get into a show. Call us old, but if we can't just obtain tickets through traditional means, we're likely to not attend the show. But we're a little disappointed we presumably won't be attending the Spoon show. We live for shows in small venues, which ensure you won't be crammed together like Blue Line riders at 8 a.m. and can get that up-close, more intimate experience necessary to really see a band play its instruments. more ›

Chicagoist prides itself on knowing how to get meals, drinks, tickets and the like for free. We tend to laugh in the face of people who shell out cover fees for clubs and drop a 50 on top-shelf drinks when you don't have to have your ear too close to the ground to learn about ways to RSVP to get in for free and drink for free for at least part of the night. This is why we felt slightly ignorant, yet excited about something we learned this week while reading Time Out Chicago. more ›

Flickr user josephp tagged a fun fisheye shot of a Chicago institution, Reckless Records. As residents of the neighborhood, we've been known to stroll in on a few occassions to check out the latest offerings. However, we honestly can't remember the last time we purchased a CD, save a few from obscure bands at their shows. Truly children of the digital age, we'll take most of our music from iTunes, thank you very much. more ›

Chicagoist is headed to London. (Well, OK, not the entire staff, just one of us.) We'll be visiting a friend of ours there who's never been to Chicago and, furthermore, isn't too familiar with Toddler's town and our lovable CTA. Naturally we've taken it upon ourselves to educate him. When he told us that he has a multi-region DVD player a little PowerPoint light bulb went off in our heads. Aha! Buy him a DVD,... more ›

Yesterday, Chicagoist took a trip over to the Tower Records downtown, where it’s all over but the shoutin’. If you wanted to own the complete Tony Orlando and Dawn series on 3 DVDs for less than twenty bucks, you were in luck. Other than that, finding recognizable artists in the dregs was a challenge (we managed to pick up recent releases from Cougars and Damone but nothing else held any appeal). It was pretty obvious... more ›

Speaking of on-location filming in Chicago, the Omaha, NE, band Tilly and the Wall recently filmed a video for “Sings Songs Along” in various locations around the city while they were here for a recent performance at Abbey Pub. Just in time for Halloween, the clip proves that zombies may be scary, but like the woman from the Don Henley song, all they want to do is dance. After being pelted by Halloween candy,... more ›

Tonight at Schubas is the (free!) DVD release party for Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music, the winner of the 2004 Audience Choice award at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. The Reader’s J. R. Jones gives a good capsule review of the film here and Bob Mehr profiled the filmmakers in a Meter article here. Our familiarity with Christian rock is mostly limited to accidentally hearing an early Creed album at a... more ›

There are turning points in every band’s career. Unlike the flashy moments that make for signposts in a Behind The Music episode, these are often financial and/or artistic decisions that determine whether artists continue to enjoy the comfort of being a big fish in a small pond or take a shot at widespread acclaim. While many bands have one or two of these moments in their career, the Arcade Fire’s brief career has been full of them. more ›

Last night Chicagoist headed over to the Double Door for a night of eclectic and cheap music. Not knowing what to expect, except that our friend The Rich Experience (look him up at myspace.com) would be playing a couple of his classics as an opener, we went in with an open mind to hear some of Chicago's lesser known bands. more ›

Hate festivals, but want to see some of the bands anyway? A few of the bands playing Intonation Festival this weekend will also be playing at other venues around town. So click around and see if anything is of interest. First up, Four Tet will be doing an in-store at Reckless Records at 3161 N. Broadway on Friday at 5:30 pm. Free. The Go! Team will be at the Double Door on Friday night with... more ›

Do you feel intimidated walking into Reckless Records? Did you cry soft tears of recognition during the “I Just Called To Say I Love You” scene in High Fidelity? Well sob no more, friend. This month’s Illinois Entertainer features an indie record label fakebook so you’ll never confuse Polyvinyl Records with Black Vinyl Records ever again (there’s a version of it posted online as well). We know there are a few labels around town they missed but perhaps these are the only ones who bothered to fill out the questionnaire. The guide tells you which labels accept unsolicited demos (almost all of them do) and what type of music they feature. more ›

), you need to hit up Reckless Records before August 1. They're having their annual summer sale, meaning everything that's been there more than three months is 30% off and everything there more than five months is 50% off. You really can't beat it, especially for the quality used CDs. Chicagoist went yesterday and blew 40 precious dollars of our paycheck. The sooner you go, the better, because we found the supplies at the Broadway store already ravaged by the hipsters. And before this sounds too much for an advertisement for Reckless, Chicagoist thinks the store is deliberately changing the arrival dates on many records so they don't have to discount them. Yeah, they're bastards, but at least they're still not Tower. more ›