November 13, 2010 | New Art | by Dave Mata |
Graff legend Slang used to be a neighbor of mine. His sharp-witted personality is mirrored in his latest commision for Wicker Park’s upscale cocktail hole in the wall, The Violet Hour. Read more
November 6, 2010 | Video | 
by Dave Mata |
Twisted, offensive, hilarious. I can’t quite put my finger on where all these people must be coming from. It seems that the strongest thread between all of these hilarious shorts is an incredibly dark sense of humor. Read more
October 18, 2010 | New Music | 
by Dave Mata |
Second in the series of hip hop instrumentals with a different producer on each side of the LP comes Sword for Fieldwerk Recordings. Something about hypnotic rhythms paired with spacey synth samples and R&B] vocals just adds up to a cold-ass winter for me. Meaty Ogre takes side A, showing off his craft for sampling, timing, and bringing a hook home without wearing it out. The flip follows the dark theme, with more sweeping beats aimed at the ‘banging head’ by producer and label owner Crushcon7. This record beats as hard as an ice cold pavement.
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August 12, 2010 | Cool Travel | by Dave Mata |
After selling some 3,000 pieces out of the 4,000 or so that he has produced in the past decade, Chicago artist Derek Erdman is getting out of dodge. Moving westward has not stopped him from putting together one final show at High Concept Laboratories. Without Wax will feature over 1,000 paintings and drawings of this poignant Ohio-born, Chicago-bred genius. Read more
February 24, 2010 | Cool Travel | by Dave Mata |
Post 27 is a unique and beautiful space on Chicago Ave in the Ukrainian Village. I first stumbled upon this ‘all things interior’ boutique a few weeks back, helping a friend move a table. Their new website showcases much of their vintage furniture, jewelery, and art that is held within this stunning establishment.
February 19, 2010 | New Events | by Dave Mata |
After several years of curating art work at events and bars around town, myself and a few friends decided to get a space of our own. Although our first opening isn’t until this coming weekend, we allowed Ben at RVCA to host an event in our gallery. This is a video from the night featuring the work of Charlie Megna, Jake Gillispie, and Matt Jorgenson. Also featured is local rock outfit The Infected.
February 17, 2010 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
There’s an obvious play on the Spinners original here, but that doesn’t mean that these folks don’t create a serious stomper all their own. I first got hipped to Myron & E through Chris in my current DJ collective. Read more
January 20, 2010 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
Joining the ranks of soul revivalist groups such as El Michels Affair and The Dap Kings are Chicago’s own The Uptown Sound. Fronted by the charismatic JC Brooks, this group channels equal parts grimy garage and butter drenched R&B. Spanish label Vampi Soul released this sharply packaged 45 just a few weeks ago, and neither side disappoints. The A side of this dancefloor gem sports an alternate version of Baltimore is the New Brooklyn, the fiery single from this year’s The Beat Of Our Own Drum.
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January 6, 2010 | New Products | by Dave Mata |
When I was first introduced to these home speakers, I couldn’t tell if they were sculptures or actually speakers. At three feet tall, the pair of octoganally fluted horns stand atop an eight inch baltic birch cube, which houses the driver. The opening of the horn is just over a foot wide and is designed to allow the sounds that are played through it to naturally separate, similar to the way you hear things when you see music live. Read more
December 8, 2009 | Video | by Dave Mata 
|
Raga is my new hangover cure. Ravi Shankar put me so at peace the other morning, I couldn’t believe it. I woke with a blistering whiskey headache and mouth that felt like Elmers glue. With no eggs in the fridge, and no bacon in sight, I sat down at my computer and put on this video. Whether it was the soothing drones or Shankar’s pensive expression, I was in an entirely different place by the end of this video. A much better place.
December 3, 2009 | New Photography | by Dave Mata |
Blending macro-photography and digital mirroring, Chicago-based photographer Kristin Bruni composes images that are both peculiar and enchanting. The symmetrical abstractions range from intense angular splashes of color, to smooth and tranquil visual landscapes. Having only viewed her portfolio, I was stunned with the magnitude of size and emotional range of her gallery work. Suggestive and elusive is the best way to describe seeing her brilliant work in person. I’ll never look at cabbage, bubbles, or fishing rods the same way again. Read more
November 27, 2009 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
Pilsen bred trio Meah! are Funkadelic meets Fugazi, chaotic and spazzy, coupled with really hooky-grooves. When I saw them play in Chicago recently, they were in rare form, wiith guitarist Pat Rios half sitting on a stool, half painfully hobble-rocking about the stage, claiming a football injury. Having only seen Meah! play at lofts and smaller venues, it was pretty nasty to hear the Somebody’s Killing A Choir Of Cats vocals as up front in the mix as they deserve.
November 6, 2009 | New Trends | by Dave Mata |
I met one of the Chicago contributors of this New York, LA, Chicago collaboration site in front of a local bike shop this past summer. He was happily showing off his latest thrift store VHS scores to a mutual friend of ours. I slept on the “blog” he said he was collecting the tapes for for some time. Sometimes I make mistakes. Everything is Terrible is a brilliant library of all things unsettling. These are not posts of mindless YouTube anomalies. These are serious and hilarious documentations of what could be lost on most people were it not for these ironic excavators.
November 4, 2009 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
From the surreal opening to the feverish end, Fate Unfolds captivates with a tonal palette that is both broad and gripping. Indie kings of the southwest, Tristeza, have been at it for slightly over a decade. Their latest full-length delivers without a drop of disappointment. Fate Unfolds is drenched with the seemingly long lost art of crafting an album that plays as one solid piece. I could pick several ‘singles’ that I hear on this record, but to do anything but drop the needle and park it does a huge disservice to the artistry and arrangement of this record as a whole. Herein are huge washes of guitars and synths, layered with drums dubbing back and forth from programmed to acoustic with ease and a backbeat that is anything but ‘indie rock’. Read more
November 2, 2009 | Video | by Dave Mata |
This band is one of the most promising acts to appear in Chicago in the past few years. Their live shows have set them apart from their stoner-spazz rock counterparts, with an elaborate light set up that they bring to each show. Yes, you see correctly, lead vocalist joe is ‘playing’ the lights. I can’t imagine these guys ever quit working being that they build their own amps, and drummer, Mizzola plays in like ten other great Chicago bands. Look out for Lasers and Fast and Shit’s new 7″, Introduction, out now.
We’ve been following the young French singer/songwriter Orouni for some time now. His last album got a big thumbs up on here and the new release, Jump Out The Window, has laid waste to the grumblings of the ‘difficult second album’. Read more
I must be the only cat in Brooklyn not sporting any ink. Yup, the streets are lined with people rocking all manner of tattoos, some kitsch, some serious, some that probably should have stayed inside the mind of their creators. If I were to get some work done, I’d probably go to Yannou who takes a playful approach to the art of body re-styling. Read more
I don’t get Flight of The Concords. I just don’t find it funny. I also don’t get most comedy these days. It’s so derivative and clichéd. Everyone wants the same laughs. I like comedy that pushes the boundaries in strange ways. Fonejack is one underground unit that have had me rolling around on the floor with their real life skits. Read more
The Dutch, the beautiful Dutch, in terms of architecture anyway. Here they have led the way again with this reuse of an old crane dock. A new glass office building, with a climatic façade of double glazing, motorized louvers on the outside and full length windows on the inside, hovers above the old dock. Read more
Whoever said Goth is dead failed to inform these people. This blog is vivid proof that Goth is very much alive — I mean, undead — and kicking, in style. So if sinister sisters and brooding brothers tickle your fancy, cast a glance at this virtual necropolis. Don’t forget your parasol. I hear they’re praying for rain. Read more
The hottest indie act around right now? Perhaps. Fullerton, California’s Cold War Kids not only have the slickest name going, but they have a batch of songs that are so good it’s frightening.
Anchored in Paris and Helsinki, the design and illustration duo of Anna Ahonen and Katariina Lamberg is conquering mediums across fashion, advertising and print. Small team. Big ideas. We like.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
In 2008, graphic designer Becky Edgington and illustrator Sarah Beetson created two limited-edition packs of playing cards featuring images from Beetson’s exhibition, 50 Bucks: Bring On The Sluts. The images were selected from almost 500 small artworks created on moleskine paper, inspired by vintage pornography and a trip to Japan. Read more
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