Chicago Reader: Music Review

The New Keepin' It Real

mail@chicagoreader.com (Jessica Hopper) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Kid Sister punctures the materialist fantasies of pop radio. by Jessica Hopper KID SISTER ULTRAVIOLET (DOWNTOWN) American radio pop right now is arguably at its most materialistic—an ugly nadir reflecting the end-times capitalism of our recent past. Because the major-label machine has to chug away for a year or more to shuttle a carefully crafted hit from its inception to your hard drive, pop songs created during the post-Obama paradigm shift—or during the real slog of the recession—mostly haven't even hit the airwaves yet. We're still getting the fantasy as we knew…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The Quantity Is the Quality

mail@chicagoreader.com (Miles Raymer) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600

He�s not the best MC and he�s not the worst, but Gucci Mane is crazy enough to put out four albums� worth of free material in seven days and that�s good enough for me. by Miles Raymer Having access to so much free music that you can't find enough time to listen to even a small fraction of it is the very definition of a first-world problem. On the surface it seems about as serious as "My high-def TV only does 720p," but it's a problem that's actually having a serious impact on music. Fighting it is already out of the question. Trying to convince someone with a downloading addiction to restrict his consumption for any sort…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Indian Summer Dance Party

mail@chicagoreader.com (Jessica Hopper) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Keep the fall feeling at bay with new music from Pens, Basement Jaxx, Luciano, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, and more. by Jessica Hopper CROOKERS "Put Your Hands on Me" featuring Kardinal Offishall and Carla-Marie (Southern Fried) "Put Your Hands on Me" (Hudson Mohawke remix) (self-released) Italian steamroller-house It boys the Crookers got a big boost from the "Day 'n' Nite" remix they did for Kid Cudi—released last winter, it's only just barely starting to go away—and now they're finally coming out with a debut LP, Tons of Friends, due in January on Southern Fried. The debut single is less generic than you'd expect…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]