One of the musicians who made the Blues Brothers "too good to be a parody" passed away last week. RIP Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin. more ›

When it opened in 1965, Dixie Square Mall in Harvey was hailed as a shopping center for the future, eventually growing to hold 64 stores by 1968. But the debt load of its construction and the high crime rate in Harvey plagued the mall from the start. By the time Penneys left in 1978, Dixie Square Mall was on life support, eventually closing one year later. 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 evening, around 6:45, we noticed the sky was showing quite a bit of movement, slowly becoming a little darker and a little scarier by the second. The rain slowly started, and we heard the cries of the sirens. Passersby must have noticed our befuddlement as they alerted us that this was a tornado siren. We raced for shelter, quite awkwardly we should add, passing a lot of people that didn't seem to care that they were on the verge of being sucked up and thrown hundreds of feet across the city. Soaked, we sat at the computer and got a little more acquainted with the Public Alert Warning System, aka PAWS. It is really called that. more ›

The building that housed one of the most famous movie chase scenes ever, has been demolished. Again. For the last time. more ›

Are you flush with cash and looking to give it to a good cause? If for some reason you haven’t yet donated money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, allow us to make it easier for you as you make your weekend plans whether you're eating, going to a show or just knocking around town. We have yet to hear anything about the free Twista benefit show at House of Blues on September 19th featuring Da... more ›

Yesterday saw the DVD re-release of the film that many consider the quintessential Chicago movie: The Blues Brothers. The fanfare that greeted the release of the 25th Anniversary Edition was unprecedented…unless you count the fanfare that greeted the release of the 20th Anniversary Edition. The multiple retrospectives we’ve seen this year have all led up to this week. On Monday, there was a live simulcast of a Q&A session with Blues Brothers director John Landis... more ›

As the city’s nighttime streets lend an air of authenticity to this weekend’s number one movie and Vince Vaughn's new flick shuts down a portion of Michigan Avenue for most of the day, the Sun-Times reminds us why The Blues Brothers is responsible for bringing moviemaking back to the city of Chicago. As we watched Batman Begins this weekend, we noticed three things: 1) It is possible for Chicago’s mass transit system to get worse... more ›

A wire story on Chicago-bred hip hop in this morning’s Red Streak runs with the idea that a high tide raises all boats. In this case, the motion of the ocean is courtesy of “recent” success of Kanye West and Twista. Members of Chicago’s hip-hop community interviewed for the article praise the underground scene, but note that Chicago’s also-ran status is due to a lack of management that can push local artists and, in turn, raise the profile of a city that’s had a thriving scene for years. In the early 1990s, Chicago became a flashpoint for the alternative rock scene thanks to bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and Screeching Weasel. Perhaps the “aughts” will be the time for Chicago’s hip-hop community to finally break wide. more ›

Chicagoist seems to be rapidly developing a weekly feature here called “Cool Pictures From John.” Last week it was the Sun-Times Demolition Derby and this week it’s a series of screencaps from the recently-released-on-DVD I, Robot. The movie takes place in Chicago in the year 2035. Apparently, this city’s in for quite the architectural boom over the next generation, the west side in particular (guess there’s a reason for that Circle Line after all!). Ah... more ›

Today�s Trib Loop info is called �Curiosities,� but it seems more like a leftovers. Start off the fun with a quiz, which we�ll admit kind of kicked our ass. Good thing they didn�t ask us about the property at 22 East Jackson, the former Pickwick Lane. There�s still a 19 x 19 stable house there, and it might be up for sale as an �office building with character or even as an office/residence.� Let�s see�it�s 361 square feet, built in 1857 with a third story added in 1907, and no one can find it on the first try? Think it�s already wired? more ›