Long overdue....
"The judge will determine remedies in a separate proceeding. That could include significant divestments by Live Nation, or even a breakup of Live Nation & Ticketmaster — an outcome that the federal govt. had called for when filing its case almost two years ago." shorturl.at/LhvSe
New-ish songs that are living inside our heads at @soundopinions.bsky.social. Here's where to listen: bit.ly/4tA8BKS
Mine too
In celebration of Neil Young's 80-plus years on the planet, our journey through the past in 12 tracks we've chosen from his massive songbook. Link in comments. @soundopinions.bsky.social
The reception from critics & public to this LP so discouraged Miles Davis that he didn't record another studio album for a decade. But "On the Corner" mapped the future by fusing the innovations of Sly and Hendrix with jazz and avant-garde arrangements and production. I rave on: shorturl.at/Xqqpr
Rob Miller found a community in a Chicago, and helped build a label that defined a time and a place for more than two decades. The @soundopinions.bsky.social interview with the Bloodshot cofounder: bit.ly/4spE8OW
And a few words from me about that era:
shorturl.at/zmCoW
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance was built on decades of innovation in Puerto Rican music, all roads leading from the great Willie Colon (RIP). A few words about the late salsa legend in this @soundopinions.bsky.social bonus podcast:
tinyurl.com/fuawa3me
RADIO ALERT NEWS!
Just got word my interview with @jimderogatis.bsky.social & @gregkot.bsky.social on the fab @soundopinions.bsky.social show will be airing TONIGHT in Chicago (and who knows where else) on @wbez.org @8pm
We'll talk about my @illinoispress.bsky.social book (link in bio) & much more.
I picked up this LP when I was in college, and it remains relevant. Loaded with political commentary/satire that still sounds outrageously of the moment. My minor at Marquette was political science, and I once wrote a term paper based on one of its tunes, which I spiel about here:
shorturl.at/St2VI
Giants still walk among us. AACM cofounder/composer/multi-instrumentalist Roscoe Mitchell, 85 years young, kicked out the jams with his dog Shuggie and the great Mike Reed (drums) and Jason Adasiewicz (vibes) in a 70-minute piece of extended ebb and flow interaction last night at Constellation.
See you there.
Some spiel about Al Green and his garage-gospel masterpiece, "The Belle Album": bit.ly/4rRdr5g
And our @soundopinions.bsky.social conversation with Green's biographer, Jimmy McDonough, about the album: bit.ly/4lL6LEf
Tim & Katie Tuten + Mike & Jim Hinchsliff are moving on. The Hideout will remain, but the club's ownership, and its identity as a DIY Chicago institution will change hands. The little club that could. Mark Guarino has more: shorturl.at/C5N5r.
I also loved "The Secret Agent," the second remarkable film in recent years set in '70s Brazil about the resilience of the oppressed in an era of dictatorship. "I'm Still Here" won an Oscar, "Secret Agent" got shut out, but with "Sinners," it's the 2025 film I cherish the most. (2/2)
Oscars post-mortem: The final scene of "Sinners" with Buddy Guy is the moment when a very good film becomes a great one, a moving coda that illuminates and broadens the impact of what came before. I found the entire film worth watching again, as the Guy cameo put it all in context. (1/2)
How many artists/bands can say they did great work in their 3rd decade & beyond that equaled or surpassed the music they created in their 1st decade? The list is mighty small. We talk about a few that defied the odds on @soundopinions.bsky.social:
bit.ly/4rBTe37
What are your late-career faves?
Where have all the protest songs gone? They've never gone away, and have been arriving like news bulletins in recent months. Sound Opinions returns to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library to dig into the latest wave of resistance anthems. 7 p..m. Wednesday. It's free. Info here: shorturl.at/80ugE
"Ticketing employees at Live Nation joked about trying to 'gouge' people for parking and V.I.P. upgrades at concerts, calling fans 'so stupid' for paying the inflated charges and boasting that they were 'robbing them blind baby...'" shorturl.at/shZPW
The ever-expanding resist playlist, linked below, is just a small sampling of the outpouring of new protest songs, most released in the last few weeks.
open.spotify.com/playlist/1DL...
Danny Brown and Peaches, two entertainingly offbeat, thought-provoking button-pushers with new albums.
Some spiel from me on past interviews with both:
bit.ly/3OVQNek
And reviews of the new LPs from Jim and I on @soundopinions.bsky.social: www.soundopinions.org/show/1058
More Blur.
A promise? Or a threat? From the oppressed.
Show Me the Monet: French impressionism meets the clutter of materialism and ecological myopia.
Relevant as ever.
I became familiar with British street artist Banksy through his work with Blur 25 years ago. We caught a retrospective exhibit while visiting California (Del Mar). Subversive, humorous and above all, humane, Banksy's art has all the immediacy of a protest song. More pix from the exhibit in comments.
I'll be teaching "Rockin' in the Free World: Democracy and Music in America, an Unruly History" at U of Chicago's Graham School for "lifelong learners" starting March 25. The topic just keeps getting more timely by the day.
Free Zoom preview of the class Thursday. Registration in comments below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-jh...
Salsa mastermind Willie Colon, RIP. Link in comments to the Bronx-born trombonist-composer's first masterpiece, "Che Che Cole" (1969), an invitation to dance at the rhythmic intersection of Puerto Rico, Africa and Cuba.
