For six years now, you've been able to trust The Killers to put out a nice contemporary Christmas tune to counter Mariah Carey's annual assault on our eardrums. more ›

Next time you're at a party Nd you want to switch the conversation away from politics, ask this question: "Do you remember the time Ronald Reagan slapped the taste out of Angie Dickinson's mouth?" more ›

As reported here and here, the full list of Lollapalooza 2009 headliners has been revealed. In addition to the Beastie Boys, Jane's Addiction, and Depeche Mode, the anchor stages at either end of Grant Park will also feature The Killers and Tool. Lou Reed, the Decemberists, Neko Case, and Andrew Bird have also been tipped to participate. more ›

It seem de rigueur to discount anything The Killers do as passe and self-indulgent, and it's not hard to see why when you consider the damage frontman does to the band every time he opens his mouth. At the same time, we've always thought a band's output should mostly be viewed separately from any blunders its members might make -- Ryan Adams, anyone? -- so for that reason we were one of the 0.26% of the population that actually enjoyed The Killers' last disc, Sam's Town. No, it wasn't the best album off the tear, and at it's best moments it was more watered down disco-Springsteen than anything else, but we dug it anyway. more ›

A sad week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure? more ›

This is the year we officially gave up on MOBfest. We've been involved with MOBfest every year since its inception, and even started to get involved this year (anyone who knows us can figure out which bill we had a a hand in), but finally just realized that the whole thing is a rather pointless endeavor. Their mission statement, according to the MOBfest website, is: We are a three-day music business seminar focused on building... more ›

It’s been a harsh week, hasn’t it? First, we had to walk through a blizzard, prove our love on Valentine’s Day and then it got cold again. The rest of the week they piled work on us here at the office, and now we have to decide what tickets to buy for upcoming shows. Life is just hard sometimes. Too bad the John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae show didn’t go on sale earlier; it... more ›

We knew it was coming. The sophomore slump. The uninspiring live tour. Who is it this time? It’s the Killers. more ›

Well, we’re halfway through Rocktober, and things show no sign of slowing down. Tonight’s much-hyped appearance by Lily Allen at Double Door is sold out, so if you don’t have tickets there’s no way you’re going to be able to weigh in with all the other bloggers tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, we’ll be there, and we’ll let you know how it went. If you didn’t get tickets for that, though, stop by Liar’s Club for... more ›

Just when the darkness of winter is getting to be too much - it's Valentine's Day! Something there to remind us how dark our days really are, but today, of all days, the City gives us the present we've been dreaming of - Lollapalooza. This year our present will last 3 days from August 4th-6th, have 130 performers on eight stages and take up more space in Grant Park. No one act is signed... more ›

The Assembly more ›

It’s no secret that dancey rock and/or roll is all the rage with the kids these days. It’s also no secret that the bands practicing this style of music are dealing with critical assaults of the knee-jerk variety. For example, the more loved a band is by the proletariat the more loathed it is by the critical establishment. View the disdain hurled upon groups like The Killers and stellastarr* and the accolades showered upon Bloc... more ›

Last night at the Vic, The Bravery took the stage with their new wavey brand of rock-n-dance. Are they style over substance? Probably, but we also believe that they are just some boys who are having a great time being rock stars and their performance demonstrated that. Sam Endicott spoke before every song to explain what it was about, but the lyrics don’t need much explanation since they’re just not that deep. Before “Tyrant” he... more ›

Chicagoist did our duty and tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards last night just in case anything Chicago related occurred. Or in case a giant tidal wave washed over Miami. Either way, it would’ve been cool with us. It had been a number of years since we last had cable and were able to watch this so count us as being rather surprised by just how much the rock and/or roll dominated the proceedings.... more ›

Though the summer’s not quite over yet, yesterday’s Chicago Tribune took a look at what’s next for Chicago’s newest music venues. more ›

Though it may have been Lollapalooza in name, it wasn’t exactly Lollapalooza in spirit as Chicago hosted what may become the next great destination rock festival after organizers work out some of the kinks in the festival's rebirth. If nothing else, Lollapalooza organizer Capital Sports Entertainment deserves credit for making the fest happen at all considering Chicago’s long-standing animosity to rock acts. But a lack of musical diversity and the tightly controlled atmosphere meant the... more ›

We're a little sunburned, a little dehydrated and sort of exhausted because Chicagoist was there as Lollapalooza 2005 rocked Chicago this weekend. Organizers needed to prove that Lolla was still a viable commerical entity with acts like Pixies, The Killers, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie and more. While they accomplished that feat, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the festival. We'll be posting reviews later today but until then check... more ›

Chicagoist is disappointed that The Walkmen & Ambulance Ltd show at Schuba's Saturday is sold out, as well as The Brian Jonestown Massacre event at Darkroom on Sunday, but that never stops anyone from walking by and seeing if there are any scalpers. Following are some events that, as of this writing, are still on sale. Friday evening Crobar kicks off Lollapalooza with a party featuring many, many djs. RSVP at guestlistchicago@crobar.com - no mention... more ›

MOBfest is dubious at best in its claims of being a major player in the record industry even though it continues to infer that it has helped create album deals for Rachael Yamagata, The Killers and Kill Hannah. It’s pretty obvious that all of those groups had things in the works, though, long before they hit the stage at what is currently Chicago’s only music festival that claims to draw in the big label A&R... more ›

The lineup for the new (but not necessarily improved) Lollapalooza on July 23rd and 24th in Grant Park was released this morning and well...it’s a mixed bag. We’re really excited about some of the bands on this list and unmoved by others. Many of the bands you’d expect to be in the lineup are: Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, The Bravery, The Walkmen, World Leader Pretend, Louis XIV, VHS or Beta, etc. Problem... more ›

Gaper’s Block alerted us to some big music festival news: Lollapalooza will return this summer. Bad news? It’s only playing one city. Good news? The city is Chicago. Nice. Marc Geiger, one of the founders of the original Lollapalooza, will help bring Lollapalooza to Chicago from July 23rd to 24th. Perry Farrell is also involved in a “creative capacity.” Though the new Lolla website goes live on Friday, the festival lineup won’t be announced mid-April.... more ›

The well-worn cliché about British rock and pop audiences is that they are ready and willing to embrace a band that breaks the mold and presents something new—much more so than music fans over here. Just two years ago, music execs were in a panic over the lack of British artists on the Billboard charts. While Robbie Williams still remains a hard sell here, whatever plan was devised back in 2002 is clearly working. And... more ›