REVIEW: JAKE ONE – WHITE VAN MUSIC (2008)
Producer extraordinaire Jake One recently released his Rhymesayers and full on debut album, White Van Music this year, heavily anticipated due to his work with 50 Cent, Young Buck, and De La Soul. It’s a collective work featuring well over a dozen contr
REVIEW: GUNS N’ ROSES – CHINESE DEMOCRACY (2008)
Back in elementary school, the teacher told us to bring things of that time period the following day that would be put into a box to be sealed and buried, only to be opened decades later. To me, Chinese Democracy (Geffen, 2008) is the recorded embodiment of a time capsule. You speak of Axe
Photography: Mac Lethal & Grieves in Milwaukee
Grieves at Stonefly Brewery, shot by John (Gallery) Grieves is a (young looking) emerging rapper coming out of Seattle. He spent time on CMJ’s Top 20 Hip Hop before coming out with his newest album 88 Keys & Counting via Black Clover, a new label started up by Mac Lethal. A personal
REVIEW: KANYE WEST – 808S & HEARTBREAK (2008)
From the university and parties of 2007’s Graduation, Kanye reigns in a distinct dark departure leaving heart and love in the spotlight. West will alienate many listeners much in the way Beck did with Sea Change in 2002 with this album, especially those seeking follow-ups to the&nbs
PHOTOGRAPHY: JAGUAR LOVE AND POLYSICS IN CHICAGO
The Abbey Pub on Grace and Elston is a smaller venue that hosts acts on the verge. A few years ago, I caught Heiruspecs before they began to take off (expect their first new album in years shortly) as well as O’Death earlier this year. As a venue, it’s the bridge between the Empty Bottle-ty
Review: Mumford & Sons – Love Your Ground EP (2008)
Up until recent, Mumford & Sons has been that still, crystal clear water. After their recent touring stints, people have taken to the band so that they’re starting to take their course into the currents of music. The London-based folk and bluegrass outfit, briefly, is on the heels of
REVIEW: YELLE – POP-UP (2007)
With a recent tour of the United States, aptly titled C’est l’Amérique Tour, in addition to introducing the Season 4 finale of Entourage, Yelle is on the forefront of French musicians making the jump over the pond to enrapture audiences with enticing electro pop. Yelle first
PHOTOGRAPHY: YELLE’S ‘C’EST L’AMERIQUE’ TOUR IN CHICAGO
Tuesday night the French electro-pop dance-influenced Yelle landed in Chicago, by way of Reykjavík, for their C’est l’Amérique Tour (It’s America! Tour) accompanied by L.A.’s Funeral Party. Helped by Club DJ Tepr and drummer/”songmaker” GrandMarnier, Yelle delivered one of thos
Review: Lindi Ortega – The Drifter EP (2008)
After watching the Toronto-based country-folk singer-songwriter perform before Noah and the Whale in Chicago, I sought out an EP online. The Drifter E.P. (Cherrytree Records, 2008) is a short, simple sampling of her live show with a couple gems (one polished, one rough) amongst t