Make Way for Little Pictures

As discussed previously, nothing builds buzz for an indie band like a cover of a good pop song. Proving that sentence true are New Zealand's Little Pictures, putting a new twist on Weezer's '90's classic "Buddy Holly".

Who else in the "Mid-20's to Early 30's" age group has vivid memories of dancing in their school gymnasium to "Buddy Holly" in middle school? I also remember dancing to No Doubt and that Merril Bainbridge song that I haven't heard in about ten years.

For the most part, middle school dance songs haven't infiltrated my night life these days, be they the original version or a cover. Now, however, Little Pictures are helping us wash the bad Raditude taste out of our mouths and reminding us of Rivers Cuomo's heyday, making it all the more cool to dance to Weezer once more. Little Pictures take on the track is seductive and kitschy, just begging to be spun by DJ's everywhere. Plus, it features whistling! As Peter, Bjorn and John discovered in 2007, no one can resist a good whistle. 

Little Pictures - Buddy Holly

Monday Mix: 20 Years of Warp

Flincha Presents - Warped Steel - 20 Years Of Warp by Inaudibleanswer on Mixcloud

When are we getting a Warp20 party in Chicago??

Flaming Lips @ Metro 12/31/02 - Best Live Show of the Decade?

After finally coming to grips that it was time to start thinking about putting together end of year and best of decade lists, an idea popped in my head that I should dig through the RFC archives and re-post some of my favorite live shows that I've covered here. However, after the nostalgia floodgates broke open, I quickly realized that what was by far my favorite show of the decade occurred long before the launch of this site.

The Flaming Lips New Year's Eve show at Metro to ring in 2003 was easily my concert-going zenith at the time and nothing since has ever really came close. Other shows may have had more critical merit, but speaking purely from the raw enjoyment of a contained concert experience, this one will probably always top my list.

Flaming Lips - Knives Out (KCRW Version)

William Fitzsimmons Takes On Kanye

If there's one thing in life I have an affinity for, it's a pop song, reinvented by an indie artist. Back in the proverbial day, Cat Power's version of Wonderwall got more than a few spins on my iPod and in the time between now and then, countless acoustic based artists with an underground appeal have tackled mainstream hits, but none have appealed to me quite like Chan Marshall's slow, sad take on the Oasis hit... Until I heard William Fitzsimmons' take on Kanye West.

"Heartless" is a song that, despite my lack of radio listening, I was thoroughly familiar with thanks to my Detroit based father's spinning of the track on various Michigan vacations. Lyrically, the tune seemed to just be begging for a more sensitive makeover  and the maudlin sentiments of William Fitzsimmon's mournful voice is perfectly suited to the emotional core of the song.

Equal parts kitcshy appeal and a damn good take on the song, it's only a matter of time before Fitzsimmon's "Heartless" becomes the interesting song to know and gets featured placement on the wintertime mix of many a hipster.

William Fitzsimmons - Heartless

Monday Mix: Pirate Radio Acid Flashback

I don't know about you, but I'm barely able to grasp the fact that we're coming up on the end of the year already, let alone the end of an entire decade. What makes it even harder for me to get my head around is the fact it has also now been ten years since I first moved to Chicago. Seriously?!? It's been ten years? Did those early years of drinking my ass off at Metro, Double Door and the Empty Bottle multiple times every week make the time go by faster? Or was it all those mindless hours in the middle of the decade working a dull cubicle gig as a research editor? This was, in essence, my first real decade of adult life, so I really don't know what to make of it.

Which brings us to this mystery mix posted above...the end of the decade obviously provides a great segue to reflect and dig through the archives, so I thought maybe I'd find an old DJ set to post for a Monday Mix post. As if I wasn't feeling old enough already, I managed to find a mix that I virtually had no memory of putting together. I had posted it to an Odeo account years ago, and fortunately I included a description of its origins (see notes after jump) because otherwise I would have had no idea where this came from. I honestly have no recollection of the actual process of putting this together. I remember doing a few shifts of pirate radio one summer at the old Buddy Gallery, but the specific memory of how and when exactly I put this together? Not a clue.

Another New Track from Capgun Coup

Radio Free Chicago is no stranger to Capgun Coup, having posted their song "Bad Bands" earlier in the fall. Now that the Omaha native's sophomore effort has finally hit the shelves, the band's wasted no time in hitting the road and getting more tracks on to the internet for mass consumption. Following the raw, fun track "Bad Bands", Capgun Coup has brought us "Sitting on the Sidewalk", which together show quite a bit of promise for their latest release, Maudlin. 

Vaguely reminiscent of the messy, DIY rock and roll of local boy Ezra Furman with a dash of surf and Ramones-era punk thrown in, "Sitting on the Sidewalk" has served it's purpose for me by becoming a nice break in the acoustic and folk monotony I often get stuck in when Autumn in the Midwest rolls around.

In the "Awesome Tour" department, Capgun Coup is hitting the road with Cursive this fall. Don't get excited yet, though, Chicagoists, the closest the pairing is getting to your hometown appears to Iowa.

Capgun Coup - Sitting On The Sidewalk

RFC Interview: MMW's Chris Wood

Together now for nearly two decades, experimental jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood continue to push the boundaries of their collective sound in surprising new directions. Renowned for their improvisational dexterity and expansive musical vocabulary, the band's exploratory live performances have always been central to their creative process. For their latest project, The Radiolarian Series, the band reversed the usual recording cycle, challenging themselves to compose and develop three albums of new material through a series of tours before entering the studio. Released throughout 2008 and '09, the resulting Radiolarians albums are infused with the energies and influences of the trio's long experience traveling and creating music together.

Medeski, Martin & Wood - Undone

Medeski, Martin & Wood - Trinity Workshop Improv

Flashback Friday: A Spy in the House of Lovely Sound

 

Hopeless romantics the House of Love (HOL) formed in London in 1986, quickly garnered praise from legendary Creation Records and released three singles and a self-titled debut album. The band named  after Anais Nin's 1954 novel, A Spy in the House of Love, which depicted a tormented adulteress coming to grips with her tempestuous relations. HOL showcased a bittersweet Brit-pop sound reminiscent of post-Smiths, early Echo & the Bunnymen and Psychedelic Furs.

Fontana Records signed the band to rave reviews but poor sales and tension due to drugs between guitarists Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers eventually tainted the band's progression. However, HOL's second self-titled record, (aka The Butterfly album) mystified listeners with its acoustic arsenal on "The Beatles and the Stones" proclaiming "it made it good to be alone." More upbeat and noisy guitars swirl on earlier singles "Shine On" and captivate with a clever cat-and-mouse tale of love on "I Don't Know Why I Love You." On March 2, 2009, HOL released Live at the BBC.

Beatles & the Stones

Shine On

Don't Know Why I Love You

Shake & Crawl

Hurriance Bells Build Buzz Courtesy of Longwave

Rising from the ashes of the currently on hiatus Longwave comes Hurricane Bells, the project of Longwave singer Steve Schlitz. Hurricane Bells just released their first album, Tonight is the Ghost, hot on the heels of their inclusion on the buzz worthy soundtrack to the second Twilight movie, New Moon. Going for a less obvious, more alt-country influenced sound than we heard with Longwave, Hurricane Bells tracks like "Freezing Rain" and "Winters in New York" are immediately appealing with dark charms and creeping melodies. Lead single "This Year" starts out contemplative and understated but soon builds up steam, sounding vaguely triumphant as Schlitz's lackadaisical, Nick Cave-ish vocals turn optimistic. I imagine that it's going to make quite a few New Year's eve play lists, along with the annually relevant "The New Year" by Death Cab For Cutie.

Hurricane Bells debut is out now on Vagrant, making it one of the late 2009 albums I want to check out.

Hurricane Bells - This Year

Chicago's Swedish Invasion

Despite the Spanish name, El Perro Del Mar is actually a girl named Sara Assbring from Sweden. First gaining attention with her self titled album during the great Swedish revival of 2006 that brought Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" to muzak everywhere.

After last years From The Valley To The Stars, El Perro Del Mar is back with Love Is Not Pop, a relaxed and melodic collection of songs that features a pretty cool cover of Lou Reed's "Heavenly Arms".

Bone up on your El Perro Del Mar by snagging the track before she hits the Metro on Thursday with the aforementioned Peter, Bjorn and John.

El Perro Del Mar - Heavenly Arms

RFC Review: Timber Timbre

Over the summer, I was sitting outside of Reggie's Music Joint drinking a beer and talking with a friend about the new music that we'd respectively been spinning. I'd been rattling off my summer favorites Bad Veins and Dawes when he asked if I'd heard of Timber Timbre. I hadn't, so he extracted his iPod from his bag and played me "Demon Host", the first track off of the band's just released self titled album. I was immeadiately reminded of Ryan Gosling's new project, Dead Man's Bones, with the evocative, spooky overtones of the songs and within days, had procured myself a copy of the disc.

Upon further listening, I discovered the similarities to Dead Man's Bones weren't baseless, although Timber Timbre seems to lie somewhere in the ether between Gosling's vaudeville project and the acoustic musings of M. Ward's earlier, pre-Monsters of Folk work, only with significantly more horrific lyrics.

Timber Timbre - Demon Host

Get on the List: White Rabbits @ Lincoln Hall 11/12

Had a chance to check out Chicago's newest music venue yet? No? Would it help if we snuck you in for free? Today we've got your hook-up for free admission to see White Rabbits open for The Walkmen next Thursday at Lincoln Hall. Just drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Chasing Rabbits" in the subject line for your chance to get on the list with a +1. Good luck!

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

Flashback Friday: This Star Hangs Brightly

Countrified dream pop duo, Mazzy Star was formed from the ashes of Opal in Santa Monica, CA in 1989. Following in the footsteps of the California Paisley Underground movement of the 1980s, the band was heavily influenced by the psychedelic stylings of The Doors and The Velvet Underground. Mazzy Star's debut album, She Hangs Brightly, was released by Rough Trade in 1990 and sounds like a hollowed-out version of Jesus & The Mary Chain; the perfect companion for a rainy day affair. The album begins with the breezy bluesy "Halah," which reminds one of a drug-induced Patsy Cline outtake. "Ride It On" encompasses a simple, acoustical approach filled with heartache and regret, while "Blue Flower" is a classic garage rock number full of slow-core feedback and light shoegaze elements.

Halah

Blue Flower

Ride It On

David Bazan 10/24 @ Lincoln Hall

One of the musicians that has impacted my life the most is doubtlessly David Bazan, who I first discovered about ten years ago after the release of Pedro The Lion's It's Hard To Find a Friend. Most of the musicians that have impacted my life for as long as Bazan has have either died or disbanded so when it was announced earlier in the summer that Bazan's headlining tour would bring him to Chicago in October, my excitement levels started building immediately.  The fact that the show was at my new favorite venue, Lincoln Hall, just added to my anxiousness.

Dawes and Langhorne Slim @ Lincoln Hall 10/23

After missing Dawes during Daytrotter's second Barnstormer Tour, I was pretty excited to see the band play with Langhorne Slim. In fact, I was also quite excited to see headliner Langhorne Slim as well. But the thing that made me the most excited about the events of the 23rd was the fact that it marked my first attendance to fledgling venue Lincoln Hall. All three of those elements together made me a very happy camper indeed.

I've been excited for Lincoln Hall to open it's doors since I first heard about the venue all the way back in June. It is, after all, presented to you by the same folks that own and operate one of my favorite venues in the country, Schubas and the things that make Schubas special are all present at Lincoln Hall- The relaxed hipness of the restaurant and bar, the genuine niceness of the staff, and amazing sound quality in the concert hall itself. When I say that Lincoln Hall just might be my favorite venue, I mean that. Atmosphere is everything and Lincoln Hall has just the perfect amount of it.

Dawes - When My Time Comes

Langhorne Slim - Restless