I played a few songs tonight for Levon Helm, who sadly passed away earlier this week. Kelly Hogan posted a beautiful little blog post on her Tumblr about Helm and her reaction to his death that you should take a few minutes to read.
Hear my delightful music selections every Friday night on Chicago’s own CHIRP Radio, from 8 – 10 pm Central time.
9:56 PM Jeff Parker Trio Change from Bright Light in Winter (Delmark)
9:50 PM Dave Douglas Great Awakening from Spirit Moves (Green Leaf)
9:45 PM AU Why I Must from Both Lights (Hometapes)
9:43 PM JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound Baaadnews from Want More (Bloodshot)
9:39 PM Over the Rhine I’m On a Roll from The Trumpet Child (Great Speckled Dog)
9:37 PM Gemma Ray Flood and a Fire from Island Fire (Bronze Rat)
9:30 PM Sarah Siskind Worth Fighting For from Say It Louder (Thirty Tigers)
9:27 PM The Magnetic Fields You Must Be Out Of Your Mind from Realism (Nonesuch)
9:25 PM Spiritualized Too Late from Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Fat Possum)
9:19 PM Natalie Walker Waking Dream from Urban Angel (Quango)
9:16 PM Emily Wells Passenger from Mama (Partisan)
9:09 PM Ollabelle Riverside from Riverside Battle Songs (Verve)
9:05 PM The Staple Singers The Weight from Best of the Staple Singers (Stax)
9:01 PM The Band I Shall Be Released from Music From Big Pink (w/ Bonus Tracks) (Capitol)
8:55 PM Occidental Brothers Dance Band International Ɔdɔ Sanbra “Come Back Love” from Ɔdɔ Sanbra (self-released)
8:52 PM The Weepies World Spins Madly On from Say I Am You (Nettwerk)
8:49 PM Sarah Jaffe Sucker for Your Marketing from The Body Wins (Kirtland)
8:43 PM Rilo Kiley A Man/Me/Then Jim from Live at Fingerprints EP (Brute/Beaute)
8:40 PM Horse Feathers Fit Against the Country from Cynic’s New Year (Kill Rock Stars)
8:36 PM Pinetop Seven His Aging Miss Idaho from The Night’s Bloom (Empyrean)
8:32 PM Josephine Foster & The Victor Herrero Band Cuando Vienes del Monte from Perlas (Fire)
8:26 PM Tedeschi Trucks Band Midnight in Harlem from Revelator (Sony Masterworks)
8:21 PM Hockey Song Away from Mind Chaos (Capitol)
8:15 PM Arbouretum New Scarab from Aureola (Thrill Jockey)
8:09 PM Gemma Hayes Horses from The Roads Don’t Love You (EMI)
8:06 PM Alabama Shakes Rise to the Sun from Boys & Girls (ATO)
8:02 PM Mumford & Sons White Blank Page from Sigh No More (Glass Note)
7:59 PM The Mountain Goats No Children from Tallahassee (4AD)
You’re going to hear a lot of talk about musical legacies, with Levon Helm. With good reason.
“The Weight” is also about legacies. It’s about connections. It’s about forming communities. It’s about generosity and shared responsibility. And every time I see and hear my favorite artists play it, I’m grateful for Levon Helm.
I’m having problems putting the words together, so I’ll just say that “The Weight” is the closest thing to religious doctrine I have, I’m sad he’s gone, and I am grateful for his life and his work.
So, the other day on my radio show, I played a track off of Bree Sharp’s 1999 debut album, A Cheap and Evil Girl. She released a follow-up album a few years later and then largely dropped off the musical map. My curiosity piqued by how much I enjoyed her totally-not-a-guilty-pleasure album, I hit up the Google to see what she’s been up to, and boy, did I hit jackpot!
Work on Sharp’s third album, Robots in Love, gradually morphed into being less of a solo acoustic effort and more of an eclectic collaboration with Don DiLego, and they dubbed their side project Beautiful Small Machines. My Google skills were extra handy, though, because it turns out that Beautiful Small Machines have just released a delightful, banjo-infused cover of MIA’s “Paper Planes”. And if there’s anything I love around here, it’s banjos and intriguing, genre-bending covers of popular songs.
The cover is available on iTunes, along with a few other EPs that Beautiful Small Machines have put out over the years. According to their website, Sharp herself is working on another solo album.
Dear Google, thank you for bringing this wonderfulness back into my life. Love, me.
Monday, April 16
Robbie Fulks, Eric Noden; Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Death Cab for Cutie, The Magik*Magik Orchestra, Low; Chicago Theatre. 7:30 pm, $29.50-49.50
Tuesday, April 17
Ari Herstand, Briar Rabbit; Schubas. 7 pm, $8-10
Death Cab for Cutie, The Magik*Magik Orchestra, Low; Chicago Theatre. 7:30 pm, $29.50-49.50
Joe Firstman, Ernie Halter; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-22
Wednesday, April 18
Split Lip Rayfield, The Paulina Hollers, The Lawrence Peters Outfit; Mayne Stage. 9 pm, $16-20
Hanni El Khatib, Sundelles, House Sounds; Empty Bottle. 9:30 pm, $8
Thursday, April 19
Leon Russell; Mayne Stage. 8 pm, sold out
Friday, April 20
Anais Mitchell, Cuddle Magic; SPACE. 7:30 pm, $12-24
Santah, Common Loon, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Bears; Schubas. 9 pm, $10-12
Saturday, April 21
Mason Jennings; SPACE. 7 and 10 pm, $22-36
Snow Patrol, Ed Sheeran; Aragon. 7:30 pm, $35
The Shondes, Cobalt and the Hired Guns, The Cathy Santonies; Hideout. 9 pm, $8-10
Thanks for tuning in to an extra special edition of my show this morning.
Hear my delightful music selections every Friday night on Chicago’s own CHIRP Radio, from 8 – 10 pm Central time. 11:54 AM Mi Ami Bells from Decade (100% Silk)
11:49 AM Bill Callahan America! from Apocalypse (Drag City)
11:44 AM Fitz & The Tantrums Don’t Gotta Work It Out from Pickin’ Up The Pieces (Dangerbird)
11:40 AM Andrew Bird Eyeoneye from Break It Yourself (Mom + Pop)
11:37 AM Melissa Ferrick Shatter Me from Listen Hard (Right On)
11:33 AM Vienna Teng Shasta (Carrie’s Song) from Warm Strangers (Virt)
11:28 AM Black Books The Big Idea from An Introduction To… (Shifting Sounds)
11:25 AM The Shins No Way Down from Port of Morrow (Columbia)
11:22 AM Ida Maria Louie from Fortress Round My Heart (Mercury)
11:17 AM Maná Angel De Amor from Revolución de amor (Warner Music Latina)
11:15 AM Tyler Jon Tyler Separate Issue from Shimby Presents: Live at the Empty Bottle (self-released)
11:09 AM Vandaveer As A Matter of Fact from Dig Down Deep (Supply & Demand)
11:06 AM Daniel Rossen Up on High from Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP (Warp)
11:05 AM Marissa Nadler Trouble from Covers Volume One (self-released)
10:58 AM Alpha Consumer Storms Coming (Sleep Tight) from Kick Drugs Out Of America (self-released)
10:53 AM Bobby Conn Govt. from Macaroni (Fire)
10:49 AM Joe Pug Unsophisticated Heart from Messenger (Lightning Rod)
10:44 AM Bree Sharp Faster, Faster from A Cheap and Evil Girl (Trauma)
10:41 AM Camera Obscura French Navy (Jim Noir Remix) from French Navy (4AD)
10:37 AM Cains & Abels Money from My Life is Easy (Whistler)
10:31 AM Ra Ra Riot Massachusetts from The Orchard (Barsuk)
10:27 AM Fanfarlo Tunguska from Rooms Filled with Light (Atlantic)
10:24 AM A Fine Frenzy Come On, Come Out from One Cell In The Sea (Virgin)
10:19 AM Breton Governing Correctly from Other People’s Problems (FatCat)
10:15 AM The Joy Formidable I Don’t Want To See You Like This from The Big Roar (Atlantic)
10:07 AM Mariee Sioux Homeopathic from Gift for the End (Almost Musique)
10:04 AM Bob Dylan Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (Columbia)
10:01 AM Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals Now She’s Gone from High on a Mountain (Rounder)
9:58 AM Julie Doiron Borrowed Minivans from I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (Jagjaguwar)
9:55 AM Dar Williams The Tide Falls Away from Promised Land (Razor & Tie)
9:52 AM Mirel Wagner No Hands from Mirel Wagner (Friendly Fire)
9:49 AM Martha Wainwright Tower Song from I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too (Zoe)
9:44 AM Tori Amos Bouncing off Clouds from American Doll Posse (Epic)
9:42 AM Moonface I’m Not the Phoenix Yet from With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery (Jagjaguwar)
9:37 AM Okkervil River Your Past Life as a Blast from I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar)
9:28 AM Mirrorring Drowning the Call from Foreign Body (kranky)
9:26 AM Joan As Police Woman Eternal Flame from Real Life (Cheap Lullaby)
9:21 AM Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s Frank left from Rot Gut, Domestic (Mariel)
9:18 AM The Frames Lay Me Down from For the Birds (Overcoat)
9:14 AM The Sea and Cake The Moonlight Butterfly from The Moonlight Butterfly (Thrill Jockey)
9:09 AM Eliza Gilkyson Rare Bird from Beautiful World (Red House)
9:04 AM Poor Moon People in Her Mind from Illusion EP (Sub Pop)
9:00 AM We’re About 9 Writing Again from Engine (self-released)
If you weren’t listening last night, you missed out on some old timey country gospel. That’s right.
Hear my delightful music selections every Friday night on Chicago’s own CHIRP Radio, from 8 – 10 pm Central time. If you missed Friday’s show, catch an extra special bonus edition of my show tomorrow morning from 9 am to noon.
9:56 PM Sharon Van Etten Save Yourself from Epic (Ba Da Bing!)
9:54 PM Whitehorse Emerald Isle from Whitehorse (Six Shooter)
9:50 PM The Ashes Photographs from Sing! (Mint 400)
9:45 PM Dawn Landes Money in the Bank from Sweet Heart Rodeo (Cooking Vinyl)
9:42 PM Dessa The Beekeeper from Castor, the Twin (Doomtree)
9:40 PM Emily Wells Johnny Cash’s Mama’s House from Mama (Partisan)
9:32 PM Deer Tick Sink or Swim from War Elephant (Partisan)
9:28 PM Eleventh Dream Day Lost In The City from Zeroes And Ones (Thrill Jockey)
9:24 PM Zammuto Too Late To Topologize from Zammuto (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
9:18 PM Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings You’re Gonna Get It from Naturally (Daptone)
9:14 PM The Right Now Can’t Keep Running from Gets Over You (self-released)
9:09 PM Peter Wolf Crier Hard As Nails from Inter-Be (Jagjaguwar)
9:06 PM Sarah Jaffe Halfway Right from The Body Wins (Kirtland)
9:01 PM Nora O’Connor Down Here from Til The Dawn (Bloodshot)
8:57 PM M. Ward There’s a Key from A Wasteland Companion (Merge)
8:54 PM Robbie Fulks God Isn’t Real from Let’s Kill Saturday Night (Geffen)
8:51 PM The Louvin Brothers Satan Is Real from Satan Is Real (Capitol)
8:44 PM Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues from Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
8:41 PM Thom Hell Falling Down from God If I Saw Her Now (Voices Of Wonder)
8:37 PM Outer Minds Something New from Outer Minds (Southpaw)
8:33 PM The Decemberists Red Right Ankle from Her Majesty the Decemberists (Kill Rock Stars)
8:29 PM John Wesley Coleman Running into the Bulls from Last Donkey Show (Goner)
8:26 PM The Bowmans Trouble from The Bowmans (self-released)
8:18 PM Choir of Young Believers Have I Ever Truly Been Here from Rhine Gold (Ghostly International)
8:15 PM They Might Be Giants Istanbul (Not Constantinople) from Flood (Elektra)
8:12 PM Nicole Atkins My Baby Don’t Lie from Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie)
8:08 PM Alex Winston Sister Wife from King Con (V2)
8:02 PM The Ethnographers The Marathon Runner from The Ethnographers (self-released)
9:56 PM Jeff Parker Trio Change from Bright Light in Winter (Delmark)
