AltWeeklies Wire
The Sweet Surprise of 'Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'new
Bubblegum that never loses its snap, Peter Sollett's second feature miraculously hits some of the same heights within a slightly contrived structure drawn from the novel of the same name by Rachel Kohn and David Levithan.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
10-01-2008 |
Reviews
Noah and the Whale Establishes Itself on the Indie 'Cute Rock' Scenenew
Handclaps, xylophones and whistling solos make Peaceful a toe-tapping good time. Charlie Fink's lyrics, however, weave lovelorn, wistful themes.
Chicago Newcity |
Andy Seifert |
09-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Sydney's The Presets Don't Quitnew
Since the band's inception, the classically trained musicians have been churning out dance-pop music with electronic proclivities. There's not much of a dance scene in Australia, so they looked to the dance floors of Europe and Aussie rock 'n' roll progenitors AC/DC and Midnight Oil.
Chicago Newcity |
Garin Pirnia |
09-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Maps & Atlases Finally Give Us More Songsnew
When Maps & Atlases' Tree, Swallows, Houses EP broke in 2006, it felt as if the band was taunting you, that the math-rock wizardry was almost antagonistic in its assault.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
09-04-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Brian Azzarello's '100 Bullets' Comic Coming to an Endnew
The awe-inspiring creation will end its decade-long run after just seven more issues. Since its inception, the stars have aligned to enable Azzarello's labyrinthine revenge/noir series to evolve into one of the most memorable comics in recent years.
Chicago Newcity |
Michael Moreci |
08-27-2008 |
Books
Aesop Rock Reaches His Peaknew
Much like his Def Jux boss and labelmate El-P, Rock has defied commercial logic by developing a successful career dropping notoriously esoteric (and at times, indecipherable) rhymes over highly textured rhythms and angular bass lines.
Chicago Newcity |
Brad Knutson |
08-20-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Long Walk: From Milwaukee to Chicago on Two Feetnew
I've bicycled from Chicago to Milwaukee a dozen or so times, including several trips during the dead of winter on the annual Frozen Snot Century ride. But lately I've been getting interested in walking as a form of travel that helps me take in more of my surroundings by slowing me down.
Chicago Newcity |
John Greenfield |
08-20-2008 |
Travel
Two Chicago Exhibitions Memorialize Polaroid's Heydey with Fervent Nostalgianew
Polaroid announced in February 2008 they would cease production of both consumer and professional instant-developing film and cameras. Now, as the distribution line trickles to a stop and the price of the film has nearly doubled, photographers are beginning to feel the bite of loss.
Chicago Newcity |
Jason Foumberg |
08-20-2008 |
Art
Fiberglass Giants: Chicago's Last Bastions of Marketing Kitschnew
During the 1960s and 1970s, the sight of massive pop-art fiberglass figures greeted drivers on streets and smaller highways across the country. From California to Maine, drivers and their families were alerted by figures in the forms of hotdogs, hamburgers, cowboys, clowns, alligators and oranges, lobsters and loons.
Chicago Newcity |
David Witter |
08-06-2008 |
Art
Chicago's Street Art Community Mourns the Loss of One of Their Ownnew
On the morning of June 14, 23-year-old Brendan Scanlan, a street artist who went by the name Solve, was stabbed to death in a late-night altercation. Within a few days of the incident, you could find "Solve RIP" painted all across Chicago sidewalks, and at the memorial service, a fellow street artist brought a handful of tees depicting Solve's signature name design.
Chicago Newcity |
Molly Each |
08-06-2008 |
Art
The High Crimes and High Art of 'Man On Wire'new

Even after seeing Man on Wire three times, I'm ready to see it again: just about any place. It's far and away my favorite film commercially released in 2008 to date.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
08-06-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kid Sister, the New Queen of Hip-Hop?new
With only a minute amount of material actually released, the buzz around this potential new queen of hip-hop is so overwhelming that when her mug graced the cover of URB this summer the immediate gut reaction was "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense," and not "Wait, she doesn't even have a record yet!"
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
07-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Where to Go for Breakfast in Chicagonew
The following is a list of some of our favorite spots within city limits, stretching from Andersonville all the way down to Hyde Park, from hip weekend-morning brunch spots, to old-school classics, to destination-spots for the nighthawks .
Chicago Newcity |
Staff |
07-30-2008 |
Food+Drink
Constructing 'American Teen' with Nanette Bursteinnew

American Teen debuted at Sundance 2008, and some viewers begrudged the sale of Nanette Burstein's eminently entertaining, beautifully constructed snapshot of the lives of several teenagers across a senior year at a Warsaw, Indiana high school.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
07-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: American Teen, Nanette Burstein
An Amateur Photographer Follows the Obama Trailnew
While many people started following the election much earlier, I began to literally follow it in August of 2007. The Democrats were invading Soldier Field. I had just started working at my school newspaper and had begun my senior year at Columbia College. I decided to try and use whatever swagger this position offered me and try to get into the big debate.
Chicago Newcity |
Tim Hunt |
07-09-2008 |
Media