AltWeeklies Wire
How Technology is Turning the Tables on the Westernization of Popnew
The exchange of musical ideas between the West and the rest of the world is evolving into a genuine conversation, and that can only be an improvement. The internet may be giving the music industry all kinds of fits, but it's pretty great for the health of music itself.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
07-28-2008 |
Music
'Indestructible': Living with ALS for the World to Seenew
Ben Byer died just weeks before the theatrical premiere of his documentary about fighting the disease.
Chicago Reader |
Ed M. Koziarski |
07-21-2008 |
Movies
The Man Who Makes the Pitchfork Music Festival Happennew
Mike Reed's best known as the guy who assembles indie rock's favorite festival, but in his spare time he performs miracles for the local jazz scene.
Chicago Reader |
Peter Margasak |
07-21-2008 |
Music
The Prairie Spies Put Fun Firstnew
The Chicago band makes music for the best possible reason -- and you can hear it on Surplus Enjoyment.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
07-21-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'The Dark Knight': Batman for the 21st Centurynew
It's not just about good and evil anymore -- it's about order and chaos.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
07-21-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
An Entrepreneur Helps Chicago Mixologists Stay on Top of Their Gamenew
Chicago is home to some of the country's best mixologists but lacks educational opportunities for those with more advanced skills, including those who've already gone through programs at places like the Siebel Institute or Bridget Albert's Academy of Spirits and Fine Service. He aims to fix that with his mixology labs.
Chicago Reader |
Julia Thiel |
07-14-2008 |
Food+Drink
Running Out of Retronew
Enjoy the '90s revival while you can--the space-time continuum is about to collapse.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
07-14-2008 |
Music
'The Wackness': The Coming-of-age Story You've Heard Beforenew
Watching Jonathan Levine's funny, sincere tale of a Manhattan B-boy navigating an inappropriate relationship with his middle-aged shrink while falling hard for the man's stepdaughter, I kept wondering where I'd seen it before. Oh, The Graduate.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
07-14-2008 |
Reviews
'Gonzo' Tells the Story of the Reporter Who Became the Storynew
Alex Gibney's last two feature documentaries, Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, are more important works of journalism than anything Thompson could bring himself to write in his later years. Compared to those movies, Gonzo feels a little soft and boomer-indulgent with its 10,000th rehash of the Nixon years and its soundtrack of trite 60s anthems.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
07-07-2008 |
Reviews
Chicago's Last Coal Hauler is Down to Two Customersnew
Used to be coal yards were like taverns -- practically every neighborhood in the city had them. But today Paul Schoening is the last person in Chicago who retails the fuel, and he only has two customers: D'Amato's Bakery and Coalfire Pizza.
Chicago Reader |
Mike Sula |
07-07-2008 |
Food+Drink
Murder on Sheppard Air Force Base?new
Four months ago Blanca Luna was found stabbed to death in her room on the base. Her family still doesn't know who killed her or why -- or what the military knows about it.
Chicago Reader |
Kari Lydersen |
07-07-2008 |
War
Could Cubs Catcher Geovany Soto be the Key to a World Championship?new
Manager Lou Piniella, trying to end the Cubs' century-long title drought, is relying on a rookie catcher who happens to be a key reason why, for the first time since 1908, the Cubs entered June of a season with the best record in baseball.
Chicago Reader |
Ted Cox |
06-24-2008 |
Sports
'Potential' Serves Teen Angst, Straight Upnew
Ariel Schrag didn't survive the Holocaust or flee the Ayatollah, but her comics find meaning all the same.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
06-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
Major Labels Could Learn a Thing or Two About File-Sharing from Lil Waynenew
Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, which came out June 10 on Universal subsidiary Cash Money, was one of the most anticipated albums of 2008, even though the sheer amount of material Wayne has already released in the past year -- including dozens of web-only tracks and several album-length mix tapes -- threatened to try his fans' patience as well as overload their hard drives.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
06-24-2008 |
Music
How to Make Money on the Internetnew
With the economy in a free fall and jobs disappearing faster than the bubbles in a Red Bull, it was a relief to drop in on the third Seed Conference and get a jolt of high-energy confidence about the future.
Chicago Reader |
Deanna Isaacs |
06-24-2008 |
Tech
