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CHIRP Playlist: Friday, December 16, 2011

Sarah — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:31:15 +0000

Friday was a long, weird day. I retaliated by taking it easy on ye olde internet radio. Lots of banjo and alt-country and songs that I love. Oh yeah, and the Muppets. Thanks to everyone who tuned in. It’s always fun for me to get requests from people who I don’t know.

I’ll be back next week with a whole slew of un-holiday songs on Christmas Eve Eve.

9:52 PM Tycho Dive from Dive (Ghostly International)
9:49 PM Sufjan Stevens All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands from Seven Swans (Asthmatic Kitty)
9:43 PM Thea Gilmore Razor Valentine from Avalanche (Compass)
9:40 PM Rilo Kiley More Adventurous from More Adventurous
9:38 PM Sea Lions I Don’t Wanna Go Out from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid to Ask (Slumberland)
9:34 PM Korallreven Pago Pago from An Album by Korallreven (Acephale)
9:28 PM The Milk Carton Kids Michigan from Prologue (self-released)
9:26 PM Gillian Welch I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll from Time (The Revelator) (Acony Records)
9:21 PM Fruit Bats Shivering Fawn from Tripper (Sub Pop)
9:19 PM Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová Leave from The Swell Season (Overcoat)
9:15 PM Orchestra of Spheres There is No No from Nonagonic Now (Fire)
9:08 PM David Bowie All The Madmen from The Man Who Sold the World (Mercury)
9:04 PM Ivan & Alyosha Glorify from Fathers Be Kind EP (Missing Piece)
9:00 PM Mutts Real Bright from Pray for Rain (8eat8)
8:57 PM Edith Frost Wonder Wonder from Wonder Wonder (Drag City)
8:50 PM Kate Bush Wild Man from 50 Words for Snow (ANTI-)
8:45 PM Luke Roberts Epcot Women from Big Bells and Dime Songs (Thrill Jockey)
8:41 PM Joe Pug Nobody’s Man from Nation of Heat EP (self-released)
8:38 PM Townes Van Zandt St. John The Gambler from Our Mother The Mountain (Tomato)
8:33 PM The Muppets Rainbow Connection from The Muppets (Original Soundtrack) (Disney)
8:28 PM Noam Pikelny Charlie’s Song from In the Maze (Compass)
8:26 PM Kathleen Edwards Sidecar from Voyageur (MapleMusic)
8:22 PM Death Cab for Cutie The Sound of Settling from Transatlanticism (Barsuk)
8:18 PM Robert Pollard In a Circle from The Kids Eat It Up: The Best of Robert Pollard (2010-2011) (Guided By Voices Inc.)
8:14 PM Elvis Perkins Doomsday from Elvis Perkins In Dearland (XL)
8:09 PM Thomas Comerford Sugar Baby from Archive + Spiral (Spacesuit)
8:05 PM A Girl Called Eddy Girls Can Really Tear You Up Inside from A Girl Called Eddy (ANTI-)
8:01 PM The Decemberists Los Angeles, I’m Yours from Her Majesty the Decemberists (Kill Rock Stars)

CHIRP Playlist: Saturday, November 5, 2011

Sarah — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:24:07 +0000

Two hours, some songs, and a brand new, comfy chair in the studio. It’s like someone heard me whining on Twitter a while ago about the awful chair.

I’ll be back on the air on Saturday, November 26, from 2 to 4 pm, Central time.

1:56 PM Sufjan Stevens All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands from Seven Swans (Asthmatic Kitty)
1:52 PM Res The Hustler from How I Do (MCA)
1:51 PM Malajube Le Blizzard from La Caverne (MB3)
1:45 PM Joshua Radin These Photographs from We Were Here (Columbia)
1:41 PM Murder By Death The Big Sleep from In Bocca Al Lupo (East West)
1:38 PM The Mekons Space in Your Face from Ancient & Modern (Bloodshot)
1:32 PM Eliza Gilkyson Jedidiah 1777 from Paradise Hotel (Red House Records)
1:30 PM Devics Lie to Me from Push the Heart (Filter)
1:25 PM Meg Baird The Finder from Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
1:20 PM Tapes ‘n Tapes Freak Out from Outside (Ibid)
1:17 PM Skybox Fences from Morning After Cuts (self-released)
1:13 PM Phantogram Make a Fist from Nightlife EP (Barsuk)
1:07 PM Brown Bird Bilgewater from Salt for Salt (Supply and Demand)
1:03 PM Tom Waits Satisfied from Bad As Me (ANTI-)
1:01 PM The Highwaymen Highwayman from Highwayman (Columbia)
12:57 PM David Berkeley Chicago from After the Wrecking Ships (Ten Good Records)
12:53 PM Angus & Julia Stone A Book Like This from A Book Like This (Nettwerk)
12:49 PM My Brightest Diamond We Added It Up from All Things Will Unwind (Asthmatic Kitty)
12:42 PM Chris Pureka Hangman from How I Learned to See in the Dark (Sad Rabbit)
12:38 PM Dessa The Chaconne from Castor, the Twin (Doomtree)
12:32 PM The Decemberists This Is Why We Fight from The King Is Dead (Capitol)
12:28 PM Quiet Company Fear & Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree from We Are All Where We Belong (self-released)
12:26 PM JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound I Can See Everything from Want More (Bloodshot)
12:22 PM The Heavy Circles Better from The Heavy Circles (Dynamite Child)
12:16 PM We Were Promised Jetpacks Picture of Health from In the Pit of the Stomach (FatCat)
12:14 PM Meg & Dia Monster from Something Real (Doghouse Records)
12:10 PM M. Ward Sweethearts On Parade from Transistor Radio (Merge)
12:06 PM Cristina Bautista Collector’s Expedition from Gold Parts EP (Local 638)
12:03 PM Neko Case Thrice All American from Furnace Room Lullaby (Bloodshot)
12:00 PM Joe Pug Speak Plainly, Diana from Messenger (Lightning Rod Records)

CHIRP Playlist: Saturday, October 8, 2011

Sarah — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:26:35 +0000

Once again, the lovely people at CHIRP have seen fit to allow me to play songs for a few hours. Thanks to everyone who listened, requested songs, Tweeted, and all that great stuff. Here’s what I played, in case you’d like to relive the magic. Your next chance to hear me on CHIRP is Saturday, October 22nd, from 9 pm to midnight.

11:57 AM Sufjan Stevens The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! from Come On Feel the Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty)
11:55 AM Grey DeLisle Bohemian Rhapsody from Iron Flowers (Sugar Hill)
11:50 AM Beirut A Candle’s Fire from The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
11:47 AM M. Ward Four Hours In Washington from Transistor Radio (Merge)
11:43 AM Cadillac Sky Trapped Under the Ice from Letters in the Deep (Dualtone)
11:38 AM Pajama Club From a Friend to a Friend from Pajama Club (Pajama Club)
11:34 AM Alela Diane Pigeon Song from The Pirate’s Gospel (Holocene Music)
11:30 AM Over the Rhine Long Lost Brother from Ohio (Back Porch)
11:25 AM Luke Temple So Long, So Long from Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care (Western Vinyl)
11:19 AM Neko Case John Saw That Number from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (ANTI-)
11:15 AM Megafaun Real Slow from Megafaun (Hometapes)
11:08 AM The Low Anthem Hey, All You Hippies! from Smart Flesh (Nonesuch)
11:05 AM Young Man Low from Ideas of Distance (Frenchkiss)
11:01 AM Lost in the Trees A Room Where Your Paintings Hang from All Alone in An Empty House (ANTI-)
10:54 AM Amanda Palmer Ampersand from Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
10:50 AM Balam Acab Oh, Why from Wander/Wonder (Tri Angle)
10:48 AM Aimee Mann Going Through The Motions from The Forgotten Arm (Superego)
10:42 AM Tinariwen Walla Illa from Tassili (ANTI-)
10:37 AM Rufus Wainwright 14th Street from Want One (DreamWorks)
10:33 AM Van Morrison Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile) from Saint Dominic’s Preview (Warner Bros.)
10:30 AM Pete Fountain Georgia on My Mind from Big Band Blues (Ranwood Records)
10:27 AM The Mekons Geeshie from Ancient & Modern (Bloodshot)
10:21 AM The Minor Canon A False Start from No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Tenderness Records)
10:18 AM Dosh Number 41 from Tommy (Anticon)
10:13 AM Wild Flag Glass Tambourine from Wild Flag (Merge)
10:06 AM Brighton, MA Eskimos from Amateur Lovers (Loose Tooth)
10:03 AM Jens Lekman Waiting for Kirsten from An Argument with Myself EP (Secretly Canadian)
9:59 AM The Del McCoury Band 1952 Vincent Black Lightning from All-Star Bluegrass Celebration (Rainmaker Production)
9:55 AM Ben Lee Gamble Everything For Love from Awake is the New Sleep (New West Records)
9:53 AM Barn Owl Temple of the Winds from Lost in the Glare (Thrill Jockey)
9:48 AM Elvis Perkins I Heard Your Voice In Dresden from Elvis Perkins In Dearland (XL)
9:42 AM Shooter Jennings All of This Could Have Been Yours from Black Ribbons (429 Records)
9:39 AM Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Maniac from Hysterical (self-released)
9:34 AM In Tall Buildings Walking Man from In Tall Buildings (Whistler)
9:30 AM Blitzen Trapper Love the Way You Walk Away from American Goldwing (Sub Pop)
9:27 AM Quiet Company You, Me, & The Boatman (Truth Is, I’ve Been Thirsty My Whole Life) from We Are All Where We Belong (self-released)
9:22 AM Owen Pallett Keep The Dog Quiet from Heartland (Domino)
9:18 AM Azita Parrots from Disturbing the Air (Drag City)
9:14 AM Holly McNarland Sister from Home is Where My Feet Are (Universal)
9:09 AM Meg Baird Beatles and the Stones from Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
9:05 AM Matt Pond PA Sugar Bush from Spring Fools (Altitude)
9:02 AM Sixteen Horsepower Hutterite Mile from Folklore (Jetset Records)

This Week in Great Music: 10/11 – 10/17

Sarah — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:33:56 +0000

This is basically the worst week in the world for concerts. And by worst, I mean full of too many choices. I’ll be at the Brandi Carlile show at SPACE on Wednesday, and at DeVotchKa at Lincoln Hall on Saturday. The rest of the week is up in the air. I’ll probably be sobbing under my desk rather than making any real decisions.

Monday, October 11
Robbie Fulks, Hideout. 7 pm, $10 suggested donation
Belle and Sebastian, Smith Westerns; Chicago Theatre. 7:30 pm, $42.50
AA Bondy, Schubas. 8 pm, $12-14
Miike Snow, Riviera Theatre. 8 pm, $25
Jennifer Knapp, Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20
Neon Indian, Metro. 9 pm, $18

Tuesday, October 12
Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys, Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $20-25

Wednesday, October 13
Guided by Voices, Times New Viking; Riviera Theatre. 8 pm, sold out
Kevin O’Donnell’s Fall Spectacular; Martyrs. 8 pm, $8
Brandi Carlile, Katie Herzig; SPACE. 8 pm, sold out
Marc Cohn, Park West. 8 pm, $35
The Walkmen, Japandroids, Miniature Tigers; Metro. 9 pm, $21
Jukebox the Ghost, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Ruby Coast; Schubas. 9 pm, $10-12

Thursday, October 14
The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club; the Vic. 8 pm, $30
Edie Carey, Rose Cousins; SPACE. 8 pm, $12-22
Four Tet, Matthew Dear, Jon Hopkins; Metro. 9 pm, $19
Bell X1, James Vincent McMorrow; Schubas. 9 pm, sold out

Friday, October 15
Patty Loveless; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm & 10 pm, $34-38
Sufjan Stevens, Chicago Theatre. 8 pm, sold out
K’Naan; Park West. 8:30 pm, $22.50-25
Massive Attack, Martina Topley Bird; Riviera Theatre. 8:30 pm, $40
DeVotchKa, Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir; Lincoln Hall. 8:30 pm, $25
Robbie Fulks, Dave Gonzalez and the Stone River Boys; FitzGerald’s. 9 pm, $15
Rocky Votolato, Ha Ha Tonka; Beat Kitchen. 9:30 pm, $12-14
The Felice Brothers, Adam Haworth Stephens; Empty Bottle. 10 pm, $15
Califone; Hideout. 10 pm, $12
Jon Drake; Uncommon Ground on Clark. 10 pm, $5 suggested donation

Saturday, October 16
Meshell Ndegeocello, Helen Money; Old Town School of Folk Music. 7 pm & 10 pm, $34-38
Gorillaz; UIC Pavillion. 7:30 pm, $49.50-95
DeVotchKa, Angus and Julia Stone, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir; Lincoln Hall. 8:30 pm, $25
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Langhorne Slim, Jesse Skyes and Phil Wandscher, Mimicking Birds; Double Door. 9 pm, $15-18
Old Devil’s Ball, ft. Jon Langford’s Skull Orchard, Andre Williams and Sally Timms; Martyrs. 9 pm, $12
Joe Pug, The Changes, Vandaveer; Metro. 9 pm, $11

Sunday, October 17
Catie Curtis and Terri Hendrix; Old Town School of Folk Music. 4 pm, $16-20
Lissie, Dylan LeBlanc; Lincoln Hall. 8 pm, $14
The Wildbirds, The Black Atlantic, The Lighthouse and the Whaler, Kevin Andrew Prchal; Beat Kitchen. 8:30 pm, $7
Eli Paperboy Reed; Bottom Lounge. 9 pm, $12

News & Links – January 12

Sarah — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:45:14 +0000

Bowerbirds; photo by Alissa Anderson

In conjunction with the Tomorrow Never Knows festival, kicking off this week at Schubas and Lincoln Hall, Reckless Records has four fantastic (and free) in-store performance coming up:

Thursday, January 14, 5:00 pm - Bear in Heaven – Lakeview store (3126 N Broadway)
Friday, January 15, 5:00 pm – Icy Demons – Lakeview store
Saturday, January 16, 4:30 pm – Bowerbirds – Lakeview store
Sunday, January 17, 5:00 pm – Pomengranates – Wicker Park store (1532 N Milwaukee)

I’ve seen different times listed for all four of these shows at almost every source I’ve seen. My times are taken from Reckless’ website, but who knows what’s accurate and what isn’t. I’d recommend showing up early anyway. Shop around while you’re there and support local business. I’m going to try to make it to Bowerbirds and Pomengranates – the latter’s a little less likely, because cold weather + me trying to get motivated to go to Wicker Park = me staying at home and yelling at the television instead.

Gapers Block has a great summary of the Tomorrow Never Knows festival, including profiles of many of the bands.

Lizz Kannenberg at the Chicagoist has a set of fantastic photos from the first night of Butch Walker’s four show stint at Schubas last week.

Chromewaves has a preview of Basia Bulat‘s new album, Heart of My Own, scheduled to be released on January 26.

Pitchfork’s always captivating Cemetary Gates series features The Mountain Goats this week. First up, John Darnielle and company perform “Psalms 40:2″ in an old empty church.

Consequence of Sound gives a second look at Tegan and Sara‘s Sainthood. The album’s grown on me, though I still like The Con better. They also give a glowing review to Owen Pallett‘s Heartland, due out for release today.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland do four stripped down, acoustic songs for the Lakefever Sessions: Stay Zombie Stay, Weeping Mary, Gypsy Davy, and Sweet Roseanne.

NPR streams Spoon’s new album Transference, which is due out January 19.

NYCTaper has a listing of all recordings posted in 2009. Highlights include Alela Diane, a whole lot of Antlers shows, the Decemberists, Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), the Mountain Goats, Sharon van Etten, and Wilco.

Robert Loerzel at Underground Bee posts a review of the My Gold Mask/Violetness/the Bitter Tears show at the Hideout last weekend, one of those shows where I’m wondering why I didn’t just suck it up and head out into the cold so I could go see it.

Speaking of My Gold Mask, Loud Loop Press profiles 10 up-and-coming Chicago bands, including My Gold Mask, Bailiff, and Puerto Muerto.

Cover Lay Down offers up acoustic blues covers by artists including Keb’ Mo’, Kelly Joe Phelps, and Taj Mahal, of songs by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, Cat Stevens, and more.

Muzzle of Bees takes a look at the upcoming release from Clogs, an artistic collective that counts Shara Worden and Sufjan Stevens among its members. The new album, The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton, features Shara Worden on vocals for a good portion of the songs. Sign me up!