Revisiting Laurie Anderson’s 09/11/01 Chicago Concert
Laurie Anderson had a concert scheduled for September 11th, 2001. While many events were cancelled that evening Laurie decided to go on with her show. Today, Chicago Tribune Music Critic Greg Kot takes a look at his review of that moving performance. The following words are his beginning with his new introduction and then his piece from twelve years ago. ——————————————————————————————————————————– On the night of Sept. 11, 2001, Laurie Anderson decided to go ahead with her scheduled performance at Park West, even though her city had been devastated earlier that day. Here’s my Tribune review of that performance. It was one of those moments “when everything changes,” Laurie Anderson sang, in a voice that sounded like she was narrating...
New Order “Get Ready”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#767 in the series) is New Order, Get Ready In the early 80’s I sometimes was overwhelmed with the idea of how much undiscovered music there was. New Order was more underground and sub-culture back then, even though the mix of rock and dance music did become big and certainly New Order gained fame and popularity as years went by. But it was not with their best songs and tracks, like “Your Silent Face,” one of my favorite songs of all time, went largely unheard. The reason I bring this up is the same is true of this almost forgotten release from 2001. I forgot about it myself and couldn’t find the disc...
Frank Black and the Catholics “Dog in the Sand”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#376 in the Series) is Frank Black and the Catholics, Dog In The Sand Who the heck actually knows how many solo album’s Frank Black has put out by now? Jeez, probably even Frank himself has lost count! But it’s a lot. By my reckoning we’re talking, as of May 2011, 15 albums. Roughly. He’s a prolific guy. There’s been a remarkable output over the last 18 years and what’s even more remarkable is the consistency and high standard of the material , they’ve all been pretty good albums. Which is why there’s so much debate amongst his fans about which one is actually the best. That’s a question i wouldn’t even attempt to...
Ben Folds “Rockin’ The Suburbs”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#367 in the Series) is Ben Folds, Rockin’ The Suburbs Ben Folds’ 2001 solo debut Rockin’ The Suburbs is one of those albums that kind of took me by surprise. If you’ve ever listened to his work either solo or with his 90’s band Ben Folds Five, it’s like sitting down listening to a friend tell a story. This release, however, was his first solo effort, and manages to balance cleverness and vulnerability while maintaining some pretty impressive consistency. North Carolina native Folds is reasonably prolific, with over 20 albums, EPs, and compilations, and if you think you haven’t heard him before…well, you most likely have. He contributed to the soundtracks of Over...
Drive-By Truckers “Southern Rock Opera”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#324 in the Series) is Drive-By Truckers, Southern Rock Opera This is really an interesting project. Drive-By Truckers had been around since 1996. They had released three albums. None that would make them household names, not even “trailerhold” names. For years they (actually mostly band leader Patterson Hood) had been thinking about a project that would eventually go a long way to raising their popularity to what it is now. That would be the double album Southern Rock Opera. It was a tribute to the rock music of the south, leaning heavily toward Lynyrd Skynyrd. It would not just feature Skynyrd, but southern rock and southern lifestyles in general. As alluded to earlier,...
Neil Finn and Friends “7 Worlds Collide”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#227 in the Series and #11 in the Live, Saturday Night Series) is Neil Finn and Friends, 7 Worlds Collide. Today we’re featuring a different type of ‘live’ album. The name of the project back originally was Neil Finn and Friends. The name of the album was 7 Worlds Collide. As the project continued, it was renamed‘7 Continents Collide. But I guess I should describe the project. Neil Finn is the leader of Crowded House. He was also one of the leaders of another New Zealand act, the Split Enz. About 10 years ago he decided to invite some of his favorite musicians to his homeland to live, eat, sleep and play music. ...
