We've got to teach them all a lesson more ›

Noble Square's Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements festival want to make sure you have one last chance to get your freak on this summer. more ›

The folks at Steve Albini’s recording studio, Electrical Audio, are celebrating (apparently while Albini sleeps) after receiving the official letter that their mortgage has been paid off, without any one's help. more ›

Steve Albini's critical, thought-provoking words about also thought-provoking rap group Odd Future is still getting attention. Here's an update, including a rebuttal from Odd Future rep Healthcliff Berru and a tweet from Tyler, The Creator. more ›

Steve Albini's never been one to mince words, and, in a Electrical Audio blog post, he had more than a choice few for rap collective and Pitchfork darlings Odd Future. more ›

The heyday of Chicago's post-rock scene of the 1990s found a lot of talented and ambitious musicians lumped under its rather non-specific banner. If it wasn't always easy to express just what fit Dianogah, Tortoise and U.S. Maple into the same classification, it was at least easy to notice that a handful of individuals kept cropping up over and over. Perhaps it was their complementary dispositions towards what made music worthwhile which held the whole thing together. The only inarguable point is that their influence has lasted longer and traveled farther than most localized "scenes." more ›

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 ›

Set your nautical coordinates for guyville, ladies and gents, because Urge Overkill is back: The band announced its first album in 16 years, titled Rock & Roll Submarine (because why not?). According to a news release, Submarine will be distributed through its own UO Records, and will hit stores on May 10th. more ›

We like to think of our fellow Chicagoans as big-hearted folks, and we fancy our comedians as some of the best in the business. For their 9th annual holiday benefit, "The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa," Second City is corralling big-hearted comedians and other performers for a full 24 hours of music, improv and some sweet looking raffle prizes. more ›

Steve Albini may be Chicago's most famous angry young man. Well, at least that's the rep he has. The music engineer and studio owner -- and sometimes musician -- has worked with everyone from Nirvana to that little band making a racket in the basement next door, but he's maybe even more famous for his personal brand of straight talk. Albini has been quieter lately, more famous for talking about poker on message boards than anything else, but GQ recently got him to sit down and share some of his opinions and the whole thing is a damn good read. more ›

Here's legendary music person Steve Albini reading one of his short stories yesterday afternoon at Quimby's. The Medill journalism grad, recording engineer, Shellac frontman and — sorry, womenfolk — newlywed shared three of his works with the public for the first time. Also reading was poet and Kentucky Chrome Revue frontman Brett Eugene Ralph, who read selections from Black Sabbatical — his new collection of poetry out on Sarabande Books. more ›

Jarvis Cocker's Further Complications was recorded right here in Chicago with favorite son and studio egghead Steve Albini engineering. It's a sexy beast of an album, one that trades in the gentler strokes of his solo debut for a rougher, raspy, well-fucked feel. Cocker brings together Mick Jagger's swagger with David Bowie's breadth and range and makes it all his own to create a white boy blues with swagger and stomp. more ›

Genius. more ›

We've looked all day and still can't top hedgehogs in bandages (they were bandaged at, no lie, Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital). That's the clear winner of awesomeness today. But there were other good contenders... Good luck getting this catchy pork song out of your head. Have 24 hours to burn? The annual 24-hour The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa Benefit kicks off tonight at 7pm at Second City. This year's performers also... more ›

So we were poking around Second City's website and noticed they're having a fundraiser to buy presents for needy kids on December 5 on The Second City e.t.c. stage. It's called The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters To Santa. Apparently it's a 24-hour event that will feature lots of improv and a few bands. Musical acts confirmed so far include Sally Timms and Jon Langford, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Robbie Fulks, Steve Albini, and... more ›

Yup, it's Halloween night. And, assuming you're not completely incapacitated from celebrating this holiday for the last week, you're probably blinded by the flurry of options on how to spend tonight. Allow us to make a few suggestions. We talked to Jesse Thorn a couple days ago about his The Sound Of Young America show. Well tonight is the live 8 p.m. taping at Second City's e.t.c. stage. Thorn will be interviewing engineer and Shellac-man... more ›

Jesse Thorn, Host of The Sound of Young America more ›

As promised, this post will briefly explore (in first-person singular) life on the other side of the gate at Lollapalooza. Why? Because we know you're dying to read more things about that giant music festival that took place in Grant Park this past weekend. When The Polyphonic Spree recorded part of their newest album, The Fragile Army, at Steve Albini's studio Electrical Audio, they called up local tap dancer and Chicago Tap Theatre artistic director... more ›

We’ve done a little improv in our day, and we know just how challenging it can be to chock-full of humor and energy for an hour or two. But being the improv giants they are, Second City will be hosting a 24-hour marathon of comedy and music beginning this evening at 7 p.m. as part of their benefit event, “The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa.” Tickets are $10 for the entire day... more ›

Recording their first album in thirty-three years, the revamped Stooges are in town recording at Steve Albini’s home away from home, Electrical Audio. Over the last two weeks or so, Mr. Albini has been getting quite the press. His business is profiled in a Crain’s series regarding music and the bottom line, he’s the subject in Bob Mehr’s piece “The Plumber”, and now the MSM has decided to jump in and talk about our indie... more ›

A scene of warehouses and industrial grit served as the stage backdrop during this weekend’s Touch & Go 25th Birthday Party and we can’t think of a better visual fit for the label’s aural aesthetic. Many of the bands performing over the weekend fit perfectly within the visual suggestion set about by the mega-urban “City That Works” setting, thus setting this festival apart from the lush environs experienced during Intonation / Pitchfork / Lollapalooza earlier... more ›

If you’ve ever wanted to get into Steve Albini’s pants, now’s your chance. more ›

Touch & Go finally released the set-times for this year's big ol' anniversary show/Hideout Block Party. Saturday is THE day to go, but all three days have got stellar acts. Come to think of it, while Saturday hosts the heavy-hitting legendary bands, Friday night is the one to don the ol' dancing shoes and get your groove on. We are so psyched for this. Friday, September 8 9:00pm !!! 8:00pm Ted Leo + Pharmacists 7:00pm... more ›

All the summer rock fests are over, but the real blowout is coming in September with the Touch and Go 25th Anniversary Celebration and the 10th Anniversary Hideout Block Party. If you want to go to the three-day extravaganza for free, you’ve got just one day left to enter our giveaway. more ›

A couple of things caught our attention yesterday and we thought we’d share them. First off Ike Reilly will be on NPR’s World Café today. Now this would be easier if Chicago’s WBEZ carried the show, but it doesn’t so we all have to continuously check the Archives in order to see when they have that up to hear the stylings of Libertyville's finest. And far be it from us to not break news... more ›