“16 shots, 14 months. 16 shots, 14 months. 16 shots, 14 months.” I attended a protest rally on Black Friday that was easily attended by more than 5,000 people. The protest closed down Chicago’s “Mag Mile”, which is the high-end downtown shopping mecca. We congregated at the majestic Chicago Tribune building and proceeded north. Why …
Wrigleyville and Wrigley Field were deathly quiet when I arrived at Game Four with the Mets leading 4-0, no surprise. Then the Mets’ hero of the Divisional Series, Daniel Murphy, turned to a goat in the World Series (pun intended). Now that the Royals have won the World Series, I’d like readers to digest some …
Below is a list of worthy anti-colonial (#anticolo) movies—perhaps the best ever made. A cursory Google search has not uncovered a single list of the best anticolo flicks of all time. The aggregated minds of East Portland Blog have come together to generate a list and potentially be the first website to broach this subject. …
Nice interview with Bill Murray on ESPN at Wrigley. Still funny as ever. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=13934932 No need to give up on the Cubs yet. Lots of parallels to the 2004 Red Sox: 1. Theo Epstein 2. Down 3-0 at home against a New York team 3. A prospective World Series opponent from Missouri Everything is all …
After the Chicago Cubs dispatched the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, a friend of mine commented that we were now in an alternative universe. I had to correct him; the Cubs would need to reach the World Series for that to apply. As of now, there is still the possibility that the Cubs could …
This is downright hilarious: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/24/442822266/a-visit-to-the-worlds-first-boozy-taco-bell – Chuck Strom
The 8/28 edition of the Chicago Tribune contained a gushing article by rock critic Greg Kot about Naked Raygun, a local 1980s “punk-rock band” that appeared on the bill with Foo Fighters, Urge Overkill, and Cheap Trick at Wrigley Field last night. The piece included snippets from Dave Grohl, former Nirvana member and Foo leader. …
Different from similar victuals served elsewhere in the world, Chicago style pizza is more of a gourmet casserole to be enjoyed slowly, sitting down with friends, than it is like New York pizza, which is a convenience food, a slice to be eaten on the run. I’ve been away from Chicago for 25 years and …
Within the last decade or so major league baseball stadiums have piped in player-selected songs when the batter approaches the batters box. The practice then spread to the high school level. When my son played varsity ball as a junior I noticed to my chagrin that all but two of the players chose a song …
The current owner of the Chicago Cubs, the ultra-wealthy Ricketts family, defied an existing legal contract signed by the former owner of the Cubs, i.e., the Chicago Tribune Company, with Wrigley rooftop businesses by significantly expanding bleacher space in right and left field. The expansion also includes the addition of video screens. These improvements are …
A version of this tune featuring American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson has appeared on a high profile commercial for American Family insurance, in the process reawakening interest in this tune, at least for me. The original was released in 1970 by a family group from Chicago, the Five Stairsteps (just as, a year earlier, the …
In the Washington Post – Minnie Minoso, White Sox and Baseball Icon, dies; President Obama joins in tributes I have, surprisingly enough, a great Minnie Minoso story. There was a time when you could, theoretically, get an autograph from a major leaguer simply by writing to him. It seemed to work about 25 percent of …
As a father of two boys, I devoted much time with them in the back yard and at the park playing baseball. When I constructed a flower box in the back yard, I also built a pitching mound. Since my boys and I loved baseball, I was delighted to be involved with them not only …
I’m standing in front of the piece of paper on which David Bowie wrote his lyrics for “Heroes,” with tears falling down my face. This is a must see exhibit for anyone at all interested in the miracle of the creative process: David Bowie Is at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Sometimes when …
From Church Pew to Daley Plaza, the Tragic Descent of Chicago’s Troubled “Sign Guy” by Mark Erickson
This is a sad story about life and mental illness in the great city of Chicago. Approximately 15 years ago, Pastor Arthur A. R. Nelson invited an Iranian immigrant, Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, to worship at North Park Covenant Church, located in Chicago, Illinois. Farhad, an engineer by training, became a Christian and an active church member. …
After some deliberation on my part, e.g., Silver Apples at the Bohemian National Cemetery under a full moon, and the trading of a work shift of one son, I ended up attending two separate concerts by two very different bands from Sweden: Goat and Meshuggah. Goat released its debut album, World Music, in 2012. I …
This is beautiful. Rev. C. L. Franklin is the father of Aretha. His spoken word recordings of sermons were first released to great acclaim in the 1950s by famed Chicago blues recording company, Chess Records. In this clip the Reverend is singing, and quite well, thank you.
When I opened for Nappy Roots recently it struck me on stage like a bolt of lightning that I should start offering free harmonica lessons at shows. Folks just need to bring a decent harmonica down to the shows and I’ll send em’ home smiling with a valuable lesson or two. It’s good to keep …
According to the liner notes of Black Box, WaxTrax! Records moved from Colorado to a storefront on Chicago’s North Lincoln Avenue in 1978 after being “fueled by the punk revolution.” WaxTrax! issued its second single in 1981, featuring Divine of Pink Flamingos and Polyester fame. Also, in 1981, the record store and recording studio released …
Over at Lost Wax Method, my cousin deftly recounts a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Marshall Field’s Choral Society which we and some others attended in the 1980s. As an eye (and ear) witness, I can vouch for his accounts and descriptions, which are compelling and accurate. He recreates the tension, disappointment and humor …
Yes, the most expensive movie in Bollywood history is about to be released and it was filmed in… Chicago. It’s the long-awaited third installment of the Dhoom series, which is set to be released on 12/20/13. If this video is any indication, the movie is going to be sexier and more Śānadāra (spectacular) than the …
During one furlough day I had to break from my massive deck project to rest my bones from all the bending, lifting, and stooping. I choose to do something I had never done in my 25 years of living in Chicago: I toured the Bohemian National Cemetery located at 5255 N. Pulaski Road on Chicago’s …
Rock and roll. Every time I’ve seen Cheap Trick, they played as if they invented it. Most exciting band in the world. – Steve Stav http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qojUFE7ZkI8
When the audience for Chicago blues shifted in the 1960’s from working class black to college age white, a good bit of strange and sometimes wonderful music resulted. Electric Mud certainly makes the first category. The second? Well… Leonard and Phil Chess had already tried to market Muddy Waters to suit the folk craze and …
I had the honor to go see Buddy Guy play at his own club recently. I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t ever done this before. Here are some random thoughts. Scott Holt, who used to play guitar with Buddy warmed up. He led a very tight three piece group through blues originals and …
Before his appalling murder on December 4th, 1969, Fred Hampton, head of the Chicago Panthers, formed an alliance with the Puerto Rican Young Lords and the Patriot Party (consisting of impoverished Chicago whites). Hampton announced this multiracial banding as “a Rainbow Coalition,” years before Jesse Jackson co-opted the term for his own political means. In …
Wild Belle is a sibling duo from Chicago which produces timeless psychedelic-pop with hints of jazz, reggae, and R&B. They recently embarked on their first North American tour and lead singer Natalie Bergman captured images from the band’s life on the road and cobbled those images together into the following retro-coolish video: The duo’s debut …
At Western Recorders in Hollywood on July 25, 1966, The Monkees recorded Mike Nesmith’s song “Mary, Mary” – meanwhile at nearly the same time, at Chess Studios on 2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the Paul Butterfield band with Mike Bloomfield was recording it as well. I’ve always loved it when doped up, kick ass …
Otis Rush has been acknowledged as one of the greats of Chicago Blues for so long that his reputation is almost taken for granted. This performance, and the five others from the same session, is a breathtaking demonstration of how great he truly was when he was young and in his prime. This set, recorded …