The inaugural A.V. Fest Chicago (2011) (more by Matt Ziegler)

The A.V. Club launched more robust Chicago-specific content in 2005 and its online component--chicago.avclub.com--in 2008. Unfortunately, this week marks the end for both those things, as the time has come to eliminate our local content as of today.

The A.V. Club will continue to exist as a national entity and the Chicago office will remain open, churning out great stories, reviews, interviews, and blog pieces about modern pop culture. Please visit the site. It's not Chicago-specific content, but it's wonderful, creative stuff. National A.V. Club content will continue to appear in The Onion every week, which you'll still be able to get in boxes and at fine establishments around Chicago every week. It just won't have local listings or features in it.

Check out The A.V. Club Chicago's fantastic An oral history of Chicago's metal scene.

In related news, head to A.V. Fest / Hideout Block Party in September.

As you may know, the 5th annual Record Store Day is taking place this Saturday (April 21), at independent shops throughout the country. Reckless Records, Permanent Records, Laurie's Planet of Sound, Dave's Records, and many more stores throughout the city have A TON of stuff going on. Continue reading for a full breakdown of events...

Continue reading "bvChicago's guide to Record Store Day 2012"

As Pitchfork points out, Touch and Go Records temporarily stopped releasing new material in 2009, however seem to be gearing up for the release of a new CocoRosie 7".

"We Are On Fire" b/w "Tearz for Animals" is due out on June 5 via the Chicago label in both vinyl and digital formats. The two tracks were recorded and produced by Dave Sitek, whose group TV On The Radio was once a Touch and Go band. The B-side or "second A-side" as T&G see it, features vocals from Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons). CocoRosie are also working on a music video for "We Are on Fire" with Emma Freeman, who directed their videos for "Lemonade" and "Gallows."

Check out both Emma Freeman-directed videos, below..

Continue reading "Are Touch and Go Records back in action? New CocoRosie 7" on the way"

Syl Johnson @ the Bell House in June (BKLYN) (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

TMZ reports that Chicago soul singer Syl Johnson, who sued Kanye West and Jay-Z in 2011 over the improper use of his song "Different Strokes" in the Watch the Throne track "The Joy," has now reached an out-of-court settlement with the pair of rappers. Additional details have not been made available to the public.

In related news, Jay-Z plays Austin City Limits as part of SXSW TONIGHT.

Syl Johnson's "Different Strokes" and Kanye West/Jay-Z's "The Joy," below..

Continue reading "Kanye West & Jay-Z settle out of court w/ Syl Johnson"

Lollapalooza 2011 (more by Grant MacAllister)

The Cook County Board of Commissioners Wednesday approved a measure giving it control over waivers from the 1.5-percent amusement tax, sending a clear message to Lollapalooza: From now on, you'll be paying what you owe.

"This is not like the diamond district," said Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who sponsored the measure. "You can't get it wholesale."

The move passed unanimously, with one commissioner, John Fritchey, abstaining with a vote of "present."

At a time when the city, county, and state face unprecedented budget deficits, Gainer was outraged when she learned that the giant concert in Grant Park was using its partnership with the not-for-profit Parkways Foundation, on whose board she once served, to dodge its approximately $350,000 a year county tax bill.

Lollapalooza also has a controversial exemption from paying the 5-percent city amusement tax, a bill estimated at more than a million dollars, as well as the 6.25-percent state sales taxes, the value of which has not even been estimated.

As reported on Monday, IL Rep. Sara Feigenholtz has asked for an investigation of the state waiver. And several Chicago aldermen have been questioning the propriety of the city tax exemption since before the 2011 concert, the seventh under a long-term sweetheart deal negotiated in part by Lollapalooza attorney and lobbyist Mark Vanecko, a nephew of former Mayor Richard Daley.

However, the parks group and Lollapalooza co-owners C3 Presents of Austin, Texas, and Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor, which is run by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's brother Ari, are expected to lobby hard in Springfield to fight any push to make the concert pay the 6.25-percent state sales tax. And the fate of the city tax exemption in 2012 is yet to be determined. [Jim DeRogatis]

PREVIOUSLY: Chicago City Council demands review of Lolla's "tax-free deal"

As we're nearing Record Store Day's Black Friday sale, news on exactly what will be in stores has been released. Chris Brown of Portland's Bull Moose Records has given us a two-part video rundown of most of the day's special releases. Check it out below.

Among many others in town, here are some record shops we recommend visiting...

Reckless Records (3 Locations)
Saki Records
Laurie's Planet of Sound
Permanent Records
Dave's Records
The Music Experience
Gramaphone Records
Raffe's Record Riot
Shake, Rattle & Read
DEADWAX
Beverly Records
Dusty Groove America
Dr. Wax
Hard Boiled Records
Groovin High, Inc
Jazz Record Mart
Death or Glory
Out Of The Past Records
Kstarke Records
Record Breakers
The Exchange
Cafe Mustache
Hyde Park Records
Stony Island Plaza (DTLR)
Chicago Digital

As you can see in the above tweet, SXSW will be holding a mixer tonight (10/28) at the Hideout from 5:30 to 7:30PM, which includes badge giveaways and free drinks.

If you don't have any plans and like free things, why not head over?

You may remember what went down at SXSW 2011 with the Chicago-based band Screeching Weasel at the Scoot Inn. In short, all members have quit aside from the band's founder Ben Foster (aka Ben Weasel), who has just announced an October 29th performance at Reggie's. Tickets are on sale now.

He recently issued a SUPER LONG statement, which you can read below..

Continue reading "Screeching Weasel (aka just Ben) release statement +++ schedule gig @ Reggie's"

Before there were jet-setting superstar DJs, multi-day dance festivals, Ableton Live, laptops and CDs, there was Trax Records. Before there was trance, techno, drum n' bass, dubstep and every other dance music sub genre you can think of, there was pure house music and the label that started it all was Trax Records.

To celebrate 25 years in the business, on October 18, Trax Records will release a special two-disc collection showcasing some of the label's more underground and avant-garde tracks and a future full of promise. In addition to a musical collection, the package includes a special DVD documentary entitled The House That Trax Built, which tells the story of Trax Records and explores the relationship (and growth) between house music, the city of Chicago, and the international music community and fans. [Press Release]

You can stream the collection in its entirey via Trax's SoundCloud account, and head below to check out the tracklisting, plus a promo clip of The House That Trax Built.

Continue reading "Trax Records celebrating 25 years w/ new CD & DVD doc."

Billboard has named HoZac, Drag City, Kranky, and Jagjaguwar in its top 50 independent US labels list.

Check out a blurb about each, directly below..

HoZac Records (9)
Since 2006, this Chicago vinyl label has focused on endearingly distorted, underground rock'n'roll, reminding us why an ears-to-the-ground approach to music pays off--they released the first LP from recent break-out band Smith Westerns in 2009, as well as the debut EP 7" EP from LA popsmiths Dum Dum Girls, now with Sub Pop, in 2008.

Drag City Records (34)
Not just a gold mine for mind-blowing folk and psychedelic reissues, Drag City's catalog is alive and well with new artists, responsible for the latest from Ty Segall, Joanna Newsom and Scout Niblett.

Kranky (35)
Go-to label for eccentric architects of thundering towers of sound like Tim Hecker and Deerhunter or dissonant punks like Disappears. As explicitly stated on the label's site, their high-brow and selective operation seldom deviates from its "very specific aesthetic," which vacillates between chaos and opioid ambience.