Last year, we lamented the loss of the great DJ Dick Biondi who was unceremoniously dumped from the WJMK 104.3 broadcast airwaves when it switched to a “Jack FM” format. After spending a year in Internet and HD radio purgatory, Biondi’s back at WZZN 94.7’s “True Oldies” station starting this Monday at 9 p.m. more ›

There are two ways to determine which posts were the most popular posts on Chicagoist this year: comments and hits. A lot of commenting tells us you've got feedback, you want to talk about things. Either the subject of the post or the way the post was written has struck a cord. A lot of hits means that even though you may not have commented on a post a lot, you went back and read it a lot. Or maybe you forwarded the link to the post to a lot of people. more ›

First it was a new “Loop Rock Girl.” Then it was the return of “Joey Bag O’ Donuts.” Now, in its bid to return itself to its former glory, The Loop 97.9 is bringing back one of the men who made it all possible: Jonathon Brandmeier. more ›

In a surprise move, Chicago’s New Rock 94.7 The Zone switched to an all oldies format at noon today. Then again, it’s not like there wasn’t any warning. more ›

Chicagoist was killing time in the new arrivals section of after-words, our favorite used book store, on Friday night when we spotted a book of essays on rock music. As we quickly snatched it off the shelf, we spotted another. Then another. Thinking we were oh-so-clever we asked the woman behind the desk: “So did some rock writer come in here and unload their whole collection?” “Actually,” she replied, “yes.” It turns out that Mr. Rock Writer comes in twice a year and dumps off several unwanted texts sent to him by publishers. We stupidly forgot to ask A) who this mysterious person is and B) if they could call us next time it happens. more ›

There’s a Chicago connection to the shooting death of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and four other people at a Columbus rock club last night. Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul, who formed the metal outfit Pantera in the 1980s, and the rest of their band Damageplan were scheduled to play tomorrow’s Nutcracker 2004, a live event at House of Blues sponsored by 94.7 The Zone. Representatives at House of Blues and The Zone confirm that the Nutcracker 2004 event will go on as scheduled. A source at The Zone said there will be a short tribute to Dimebag at the beginning of the show featuring a couple Damageplan and Pantera songs as well as a brief moment of silence before the show goes on. more ›