Chicago's Steve Albini is probably best know as the man behind the velvet curtain for many in your face, rough and tumble rock albums that defined the '90s like PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me," The Pixies' "Sufer Rosa" or one of the ultimate classics of the decade, Nirvana's "In Utero." His well-known stature as a sonically charged recording engineer and massively loud and distorted guitarist for his down and dirty noise-punk band Shellac is only equaled by his reputation as difficult and sometimes controversial curmudgeon whose opinions have ruffled the feathers of of the likes of indie to mainstream heavy hitters Sonic Youth. We won't even get started on his stage banter which has ranged from friendly to completely fucking caustic, calling audience members names and generally just being kind psuedo-hard-ass trapped in the body of a flannel wrapped, skinny, horn-rimmed glasses wearing indie rocker. more ›

Given their penchant for minimalism, it shouldn't be surprising that local quartet Disappears can unpack lots of new information in a small amount of space. But even strident fans of the band's simple, devastatingly effective blend of garage-rock swagger and Teutonic rhythmic precision were likely surprised by the rapid-fire delivery of big intel on a recent blog post. The bad news first: Disappears’ drummer, local super-musician/producer Graeme Gibson, is leaving the group. The good news, according to said post? The split is “totally amicable,” as Gibson is moving to a new town where he’ll have “some awesome opportunities ahead.” The even better news? The guy filling in for Gibson on the kit “for as long as he is able or wants to” is Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, a dude who has played the drums on one of the best records of all time. more ›

We've all heard the bitter critic jokes about Sonic Youth's name: Sonic Old, Sonic Middle Aged, Sonic Geezers. With all five (former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold joined the band in 2006) members in their late 40's or early 50's, the not-so-clever plays on the group's moniker were probably inevitable, but anyone making them clearly hasn't caught the godfathers of experimental indie rock lately. Even from the photo pit at the Vic on Sunday, Lee Ranaldo's gray mop top was the only giveaway that this wasn't some hot new Pfork-approved Brooklyn group . Band linchpin Thurston Moore crawled across the stage about a minute into opener "She Is Not Alone," torturing his battered Jazzmaster with a drumstick and making his 50 years look more like 15. He and Ranaldo played off of each others' youthful antics and still-powerful voices for the next 70 minutes, while the stoic Kim Gordon thumped out basslines and quirky guitar progressions and unsung hero Steve Shelley proved he's still an innovative and hard-hitting drummer. more ›

Sonic Youth is the picture of consistently. They're been releasing fine albums of music that could only be attributed to them for so long it's easy to lose sight of what an unfailingly excellent band they are. The group has spanned decades and continually releasing stuff that indicates their instruments still have plenty of noise to wring out and bleed all over the stage. It's remarkable. more ›

It's May 1st and we hope you got paid today because your wallet is about to be REALLY empty. more ›

The Pitchfork Music Festival kicks off its 2008 edition this weekend at Union Park, and we're going to highlight some of the "can't miss" acts of the weekend on Chicagoist over the next few days. Today we'll tackle the Friday night line-up, filled with nostalgia, brio, blood, sweat, tears, and louder than a Bomb Squad production. more ›

We hate the Aragon Ballroom as a live amplifier-driven music venue. Hate, hate, hate. The acoustics are awful, the sight lines suck, and the place hasn't been worth stepping inside since they got rid of the buckets of beer after that Sonic Youth / Public Enemy show we were at that ended up in a riot. more ›

The first day of the Pitchfork Music Festival showcased three classic acts, performing their classic albums. Slint re-created their seminal Spiderland, and while watching their set we realized that they are definitely one of those bands everyone name-checks, but almost no one has actually heard. Kind of like how dudes in the '90s would talk about how awesome Patti Smith's Horses was because that was just the sort of thing you were supposed to say.... more ›

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 ›

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 ›

With the recent news that Intonation Music Festival will not be held this year, there’s been speculation of what exactly David Singer and company will be doing to bide their time. When we spoke with the Intonation crew last year, they emphasized that what made their festival different than the influx of outdoor festivals in the Chicago area was the diversity of the lineup, combined with the fact their festival happened before the Chicago summer... more ›

The rumors had been swirling about who else would play Friday night at the Pitchfork Music Festival and those rumors turned out to be true for Slint and GZA joining up with Sonic Youth to play a full album. We never heard a peep about Saturday’s headliner of Yoko Ono. Love her or hate her, for a myriad of reasons, John Lennon’s widow is quite the accomplishment for Pitchfork’s Fest in July. Ono is more... more ›

Download the original attachment We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment... more ›

It was just announced Sonic Youth will headline the Pitchfork Music Festival's opening night, July 13, with a performance of Daydream Nation in its entirety. Holy shit, is that awesome or what? more ›

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... more ›

Day Two has come and gone. We thought that maybe we were slacking today, since we only traversed the magnificent mile four times instead of yesterday's seven, but it seems that we took a lot more pictures. Today's bands didn't disappoint, from Wolfmother to Living Things and, not even mentioning, Sonic Youth or The Go! Team. And, all we have to say about The Flaming Lips is - WOW! We're looking forward to tomorrow. What... more ›

Three recordings by artists with strong Chicago ties were added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry this year: Nat "King" Cole for his recording of "Straighten Up and Fly Right"), Mahalia Jackson’s "Move On Up a Little Higher" and an interview with James Baldwin conducted by Studs Terkel in 1962. Sadly, neither “Veronica Hates Me” or “Cindy’s On Methadone” by Screeching Weasel were included this year. more ›

When we head out of the Chicagoist offices tonight, we’re totally taking a disco nap. There’s just too much going on this weekend. First, if you’re not getting enough “playful sex” in your life then allow us to recommend Asobi Seksu. No, it’s not the name of a boner pill, it’s an indie rock band from NYC with a name that’s colloquial Japanese for the above. If you like Sonic Youth but wish they were... more ›

New York's finest (that's Sonic Youth, not the NYPD) make a stop in town tonight at the Vic. As anyone who went to their performance at the Goose Island Fest last summer knows, these guys (plus Kim Gordon, one of rock's sexiest goddesses) have still got it. Ever since adding Chicagoan/ Wilco producer/ musician extraordinaire Jim O�Rourke as the fifth man to their line-up, the group has seen remarkable restraint with noise and a welcome rediscovery of melody. Their latest release, Sonic Nurse, is one of the best records of the year and one of the strongest in the group's storied career. Also check out their recently released collection of videos, Corporate Ghost, including work by Spike Jonze, Todd Haynes, and a pair of videos in Pixelvision. Fuck yeah. more ›