AltWeeklies Wire
Wanting More from 'Indiana Jones'new
There are good things and indifferent things throughout this enterprise by the two richest directors who ever lived, but most of the best (and worst) moments work from surprise, which reviews have already splashed across the media consciousness.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
05-21-2008 |
Reviews
The Long Blondes are More Than Just Clothesnew
"It wasn't our intention to make a dark record. We maybe got a little bit annoyed with the press from the first album, who compared us to the Fifties and Sixties girl groups, [talked about] the fashion ... we wanted to get away from that, be recognized for musical achievement rather than the fact that some of us like to dress up pretty."
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
05-21-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: couples, The Long Blondes
UK Grimer Dizzee Rascal Teaches Us 'Maths & English'new
"It sounds like a step up sonically, musically it's just bigger," Dizzee, aka Dylan Mills, says of his new album. "I wanted to make an album you could have a party to, or have a rave to."
Chicago Newcity |
Brad Knutson |
05-14-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dizzee Rascal, Maths + English
How the Chicago Symphony Landed the Music Director New York Wantednew
Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, who had reportedly turned down the music directorship of the New York Philharmonic at least twice in recent years, is signing a contract to become the CSO's tenth music director.
Chicago Newcity |
Dennis Polkow |
05-14-2008 |
Music
Heavy Meta: Smiling Through 'Iron Man'new
Neither narcotic nor hallucinatory in form, Favreau's film still bestows behavior and awareness and small smirking joys within the display of the genius of a self-involved id-on-the-run, tactile, motile, in-the-moment Robert Downey, Jr.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
05-07-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Jon Favreau, Iron Man
The 45 Acts Who Rock Chicago's Music Worldnew
How do you size up a musician's creativity, let alone rank it above another's? As we dare take on this task every two years, many factors come into play: cultural relevance, invention, influence on other musicians and the rest of the industry, but also what moves and excites us personally.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch and Duke Shin |
05-07-2008 |
Music
Tags: Chicago
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Explains the Namenew
They needed a name for the project, so they turned on the TV to a scene from The Office in which David Brent goes, "Does it offend you, yeah? My drinking?" Seconds later, the band was born. "It shouldn't be about not liking a band because of its name," keyboardist Dan Coop says. "It should be about listening to the music."
Chicago Newcity |
Garin Pirnia |
05-07-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Sybris Returns with 'Into the Trees'new
After a long break that involved some touring and a patient writing period, the Chicago band is back with a more riotous affair.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
05-07-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Into the Trees, Sybris
Bob Teitel Brings His Moviemaking Success Home to the Old Neighborhoodnew
A late February rain melts the snow that blankets Humboldt Park. Gray and wet, yet bustling with pedestrians. It's the first day above freezing in weeks, and the neighborhood is starring in its first major motion picture, called, fittingly, Humboldt Park.
Chicago Newcity |
Ed M. Koziarski |
04-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Australia's Cut Copy in Full 'Colours'new
More aligned with psyche-pop than straight-up pop, the Australian trio wax nostalgic and cite influences like Tangerine Dream, ELO and Krautrock.
Chicago Newcity |
Garin Pirnia |
04-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours
Errol Morris and the Aesthetics of Evidencenew
While the endlessly loquacious and deeply political director has made a film about Abu Ghraib and the secondary victims (those who were punished of low rank and those of higher rank who created the atmosphere where such violations were possible were not), he's more interested in dissecting the meaning of photography.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
04-30-2008 |
Reviews
Cecilia Tidlund, the Clog Mistressnew
The native of Sweden is the creator of Clogmaster, a line of traditionally Swedish clogs that has developed a devout following (thanks in part to her intense training with orthopedic surgeons).
Chicago Newcity |
Molly Each |
04-30-2008 |
Fashion
Scout Niblett Sends Us Off To Our Deathsnew
Niblett, whose work has often been compared to the more minimalist output from PJ Harvey or Cat Power, is no rip-off artist -- her sincerity and, lately, sweetness comes purely from a songwriter on some sort of path to discovery, even if it's a path that leads directly to her own heart.
Chicago Newcity |
Tom Lynch |
04-16-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Life's Never What You Expect in 'Young@Heart'new
The story of a Massachusetts senior citizens' choir -- where the minimum age is 73 -- is funny, blunt and often moving.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
04-16-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Stephen Walker, Young@Heart
Taking Your Eco-Friendly Attitude to Your Wardrobenew
Just in time for Earth Day, plenty of eco-chic clothing and accessories are hitting the shelves in emerging spring/summer 2008 collections.
Chicago Newcity |
Molly Each |
04-16-2008 |
Fashion
