Radio Free Chicago

These Summer Jams Are the Summeriest.

When Itunes shuffle played Blonde Redhead's "Elephant Woman" the other day, I couldn't shut it off fast enough. They're one of my favorite bands but the second it gets back-sweat hot outside, my taste instantly changes. This is obviously a common phenomenon, hence the term 'summer jam' — no one asks you what your winter jam is, but everyone has their soundtrack for the school's out for summer, bbq-heavy/clothing-light vibe of this season. Do you have your own hot weather band/cold weather band dichotomy?

Every year my playlist tends to consist of easy-breezy Top 40 earworms (it was Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" nonstop last year, these days I'm all about Drake's "Best I Ever Had"), then songs I always come back to when the temperature creeps up, and of course some Hits of the Day. This year, though, I just don't have that many new songs on heavy rotation. Dirty Projectors' performance at Pritzker Pavilion a couple weeks ago got me more into them than I had been before, The Phenomenal Handclap Band is pretty fun, and I'm really happy to say that Diplo and Switch's Major Lazer album lived up to my expectations for the most part; I'll definitely be at the Congress for their tour stop on August 7th. But other than that? I would love some recommendations because I'm a tad bored with what I've heard lately. People are going crazy for the Vampire Weekend/Ra Ra Riot collabo Discovery, but their Lite R&B leaves me dead from the waist down. It's okay, everyone burns out a bit when they have 11,274 unread emails in their blog's inbox (true story), right? So here's five tracks that make my list every year. Straight classics. Let's make this the "all ladies" version just for the hell of it since I'm sure there will be more of these posts in the near future.

Findlay Brown and Au Revoir Simone @ Logan Square Auditorium, 6/26/09

Last night was my first time at Logan Square Auditorium and I found its school dance vibe very charming. Actually, a romantic TV version of a school dance is a more apt description — my school's auditorium had the standard thick red drapes on the windows, but it definitely did not have Baker-Miller pink walls and gorgeous circles of ornate molding surrounded by tiny bulbs. Oh, and there was definitely never any beer for sale at the dance.

Michael Jackson almost certainly dead at 50

The Internet is exploding with reports that Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles this afternoon, and news is slowly trickling in that they were unable to revive him. Despite leading a personal life that could be called contraversial at best, his influence on music is undeniable and nearly everyone has a favorite Michael Jackson song. I know I have about 15. A fascinating man with a brilliant musical catalog, condolences to his family and (often rabid, terrifying) fans.

UPDATE: Confirmed. Michael Jackson, 1958 - 2009.

Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It [Tangoterje re-edit]

Todd Terje/Tangoterjespace

- Samantha Vincenty

Hot Links: Mixin' It Up

Fellow Chicago bloggers Boy Kings interview local talent Kid Color in their latest edition of BKTV. I applaud these boys' bravery, unabashedly pasting their faces all over the Internet like this. Personally, I always blog with a mask on because of all the death threats I get over my incendiary political opinions. Just kidding! It's to avoid the fans lined up outside my house. Another joke, guys! It's because I'm horrifically ugly.

BKTV w/ Kid Color from Boy Kings on Vimeo.

Head over to their site to download the aptly named "7 Minutes In Heaven" mix Kid Color made for the video. As an adult sufferer of ADD, the mix lines up perfectly with the length of my attention span.

Speaking of superb mix purveyors, the folks at Noncollective have been turning out diverse and always excellent mixes for at least a year now, and I should have linked to them long ago. Moreover, I've e-mailed them with track listing questions and they're more than happy to help/shoot the musical shit with you, which is brilliant. They describe their latest by Parisian DJ Vidal Benjamin, called Balearic Nightmare, as "a journey into dark balearism, a weird mixture of leftfield music aimed at filling your summer insomnias in the most insidious way." Totally! Get it, and all of them, here.

Monday Roundup and a Bunch of Dummies

Black Lips, King Khan and Mark Sultan have recorded an album together under the moniker the Almighty Defenders; it's set for a September 22nd release on Vice Records. (via Pitchfork)

Fans of The Gossip will enjoy this NME quote-and-photo spread starring the always outspoken and generally delightful Beth Ditto. Music for Men releases digitally tomorrow, although people holding some romantic notion of keeping it real with the vinyl will have to wait until October. 

You know what I completely forgot about? The Walkmen are playing Pitchfork. But Japandroids are playing at the same time! Tough choices, although my real problem is there is about four hours of lag time between bands I'm interested in seeing on Saturday. Does anyone have any good suggestions of what to do at an outdoor festival if you don't actively want to watch the bands that are on? The CHIRP Record Fair is well worth checking out, of course. And I could always play connect the dots with the random shirtless dude in front of me's back acne. That killed some time at Lollapalooza last year.

Non music-related sidebar: Fans of old-timey toys and general creepiness check out this wonderful New York Times slideshow featuring several shots from The Vent Haven Museum of ventriloquism. Apparently I need to make a trip to Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

'Branded' @ The Congress: Rapture, Hearts Revolution, The Rub

UPDATE: The event's been moved to Debonair. Hot Biscuits has the info.

The Rub is a DJ trio — Ayres, Cosmo Baker, and DJ Eleven — that throws one of my favorite dance parties in the universe the first Saturday of each month at Southpaw in Brooklyn, and they're just one of several excellent reasons to attend Branded on Friday night at The Congress. They're sharing the bill with The Rapture (another DJ set, do they even play with instruments anymore?), Chicago's own up and comer Rob Threezy, and HeartsRevolution, who are so adorable they should be illegal. No, seriously, they used to drive a pink ice cream truck loaded with Japanese candy around New York and they released this white heart-shaped record for the CYOA single. Check out their online HeartsChallenger store and you'll probably end up buying something pink with a unicorn on it. Did I mention you can rent the ice cream truck? I admire their marketing savvy.

My last trip to The Congress to see Crookers and Deadmau5 pretty much blew my mind, as I somehow hadn't grasped that there's a real rave-revival thing going on right now. Thankfully big pants remain dead in the ground, but glowsticks are back and better than ever! The people-watching was incredible and it actually made me really happy to see the next generation and new incarnation of the scene. The protective granny in me was also happy the kids I saw looked older than I was back when I'd tell my mom I was sleeping over a friend's house but actually driving to a warehouse in Jersey City. I basically spent all of 1996 covered in glitter, nowadays I make sure the teens are drinking enough water while they're rolling. The circle of liiiiiife.

HeartsRevolution - C.Y.O.A. (Lauren Flax Remix)

Salt n Pepa vs Josh Wink - Push It Higher (DJ Ayres Remix)

A Mixed Bag of Downloads

New Zealand's Bachelorette plays The Hideout this Saturday. Fans of Stereolab and Broadcast should definitely check out her out, and it's always interesting to see how an electronic act translates onstage when backed by a live band.

Bachelorette - Mindwarp

If you prefer your music with less computers and/or Kiwis, O'Death and Balmorhea are at The Empty Bottle on Saturday. O'Death has kind of a Devil-went-down-to-Georgia thing going on with the fiddle and everything, and Balmorhea plays the kind of songs that would be in the movie of your life where you're walking outside just staring at the sky and thinking about your life and how crazy everything got, you know? 

Balmorhea - Settler

The press release for Magic Wands tells me their EP was recorded using the same drum machine as Prince’s "Purple Rain," which reminds me of this longish love letter to Prince's Purple Rain wardrobe posted on PopMatters for the film's 25th anniversary a couple of weeks ago. 

Magic Wands - Black Magic

PS: If somebody buys me one of these cat paintings I'll carve their name in my stomach out of feverish devotion.

Art Brut @ Schubas Tavern 6/11/09

What's even better than seeing the energy of London's Art Brut at a music festival?  Seeing them in a place like Schubas where you can feel the stage and the floors vibrating with their basslines!  Lead singer Eddie Argos was in prime form with his typical showman gestures and classic pacing and rambling.  Half the time, the lyrics are made up of his astute observations on life with everything from modern art making him want to rock out to his brother discovering rock and roll, as well as the art of the b-side.  If Eddie Argos wasn't interesting enough on his own, the band also pulls it together with a bass-guitar-drum combination that manages to provide consistent catchy punk overtures.  The fact that all five band members on stage appear completely animated and having the time of their lives certainly helps matters.  It can't be denied that they have a certain in your face presence live with Argos even leaving the stage a couple of times and singing from the audience.

Q Tip @ The House of Blues, 06/12/09

Like many people who grew up in the New York tri-state area in the mid 1990s, I was a huge Tribe Called Quest fan. I could say every word to their first three albums in my sleep, I was at their last show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in '98, and I've long joked that my stripper name would be Bonita Applebum (or Sin-o-Men, I go back and forth). Still, while Amplified and The Renaissance were "decent with two hot songs" and "good" respectively, I've never thought to go see Q Tip solo. So when I headed to the House of Blues on Friday for the Chicago stop on the Bacardi B Live tour, I had no idea what to expect. Would he phone it in? Would their be twenty extra dudes onstage as hype men/dead weight (I'm looking at you, Ghostface)?

Video: Röyksopp ft Robyn - The Girl & The Robot

This song has been my summer jam for the past few weeks. I have to say I really like this non-official video just as much. Perhaps I wasn't the only one who felt confused and maybe a little uneasy over the kind of romantic dancing scene in "Short Circuit." The best part of this is the end when [SPOILER] Robyn learns that robots can't get you pregnant.

Royksopp gives their take on Stephanie and Johnny 5 plus four more magical girl-meets-robot pairings in cinema.

Tonight! Daedelus and Ghislain Poirier @ Funky Buddha

If I wasn't struck down by what is almost certainly swine flu, I would be at this Daedelus and Poirier show tonight, as I've wanted to see both live. Go to Funky Buddha and live my life for me! Tell me what sunshine and laughter sounds like (*fragile cough*). 

Ying Yang Twins - Wait (Ghislain Poirier remix)

I posted a mix Poirier did for Sinden's radio show on KISS this morning over at Ghostproof Blanket. 

A delightful video for an equally delightful song...I wish the weather outside matched its tone.

Get on the List: Ha Ha Tonka @ Schubas

We've got three pairs of tickets for the Ha Ha Tonka show at Schubas this coming Monday, June 15th. You can read our praise of their last Chicago visit here — consider their live show "RFC Recommended." Listen to their latest album, Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South, streaming right now on Rhapsody. Novel Sounds releases next Tuesday, so I'd imagine they'll bring it extra hard on Monday night. 

To get in on this, e-mail radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Ha Ha Tonka tix" in the subject line. We'll draw the three winners at random by first thing Monday morning, and then we'll contact them with further details. Treaty of Paris and Old Stable Hands (hey, my nickname in college was "Old Shaky Hands"!) are opening. 

Hump Day Roundup

Monday night dance party Rehab recently made the move from Evil Olive to Debonair Social Club. Evil Olive is my favorite late night dancing spot in Chicago, I must confess. So what if I like to hear some Pitbull at 1 a.m.? My Iroquois name on the rez is Dances With Douchebags. I find the layout of Debonair to be not entirely dance party-conducive and I'm pretty sure I've seen a velvet rope outside of it which, hmm. You're located right by an intersection colloquially referred to as "The Crotch." Regardless, I'll reserve judgment on the move until I check it out myself. Local bloggers Boy Kings talked to the event's promoters, Team Bayside High, about the reasons for the new venue. (Time out: Speaking of Bayside High, Mark Paul Gosselaar went on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in character as Zack Morris and it was pretty funny.)

Vancouver's Black Mountain offshoot Pink Mountaintops play their guitar fuzz-y love songs tonight at the Empty Bottle; I'm planning on getting there early to check out Brooklyn buzz band Suckers.

Pitchfork has Jesus Lizard reissue details and tour dates.

Devendra Banhart remixes Oasis, per their request. No word on whether they've asked Jay Z to do it too.

Pink Mountaintops - Execution

Suckers - Easy Chairs

St. Vincent plays Millenium Park tonight

Despite the slightly cringeworthy name "Downtown Sound," the Monday night concert series at Pritzker Pavilion has got some great acts lined up for the next few weeks including The Sea and Cake, Icy Demons and Nomo, who I think will sound extra great in the park. 

Tonight at 6:30, Annie Clark/ St.Vincent* performs for free (with Alla opening) on the heels of last night's Metro engagement. According to The Metro's Twitter, she was "looking/sounding absolutely incredible last night," which I'm sure is true on both counts. She's a talented lady, but let's not also forget she's a pretty lady. I can't wait for Miranda July to direct and star in the biopic chronicling this wide-eyed beauty's rise to Hype Machine ubiquity! Sometimes, when I read a quote from Angelina Jolie in a magazine I like to imagine an alternate reality in which she was born in the body of Rosie O'Donnell, and then further imagine how the world would react to her in general were this the case. What if St. Vincent looked like Susan Boyle? What if C-A-T really spelled dog!?! 

Annie Clark can't help being so gaddam adorable on top of being musically gifted, but maybe all of this navel gazing is why I can't seem to think of a "blog-hot" female act right now who isn't also, well just plain hot. Counter examples?

St. Vincent - Human Racing

Nomo - Crescent

Icy Demons - miami ice

Festival News: Metronome, Pitchfork

The Metronome Celebration, conveniently taking place a few blocks from both my apartment and Margie's Candies' magical ice cream cones, kicks off tomorrow at noon and finishes up Sunday night. Boasting five stages — Rock, Punk, Electronic, Folk, and Local — the festival offers a strong lineup and proceeds will  benefit the Logan Square Neighborhood Coalition. I'll definitely be there on Saturday as I'm especially looking forward to Here We Go Magic and DJ sets from locals Willy Joy and Zebo, although John Vanderslice may be the biggest draw of the day. 

Here We Go Magic performing live for Baeble: 

Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com

Pitchfork lineup shift! Black Lips are now playing on Saturday and Michael Columbia are playing Sunday. Charles Hamilton is out; Antlers are in for Saturday. It's not too late for ticket holders to cast their votes for Write the Night set lists, so you better grab your tickets and wash your finest Am App jumper because summer's almost here. And nothing beats Chicago girls in the summertime. Amen.

The Antlers - Two