1 hour 48 min • 2019
Author Archives: Jamie Ludwig
Posted inMusic
DJ and producer Ariel Zetina on a beautifully transgressive Portuguese beat genius
Current musical obsessions of producer and DJ Ariel Zetina, photographer Julia Dratel, and Reader associate editor Jamie Ludwig
Posted inFilm
Maybe The Great Escape isn’t as great as it once seemed?
When history is more amazing than the movies.
Posted inMusic
William Basinski showcases ambient compositions based in earthly reality and outer space at Pitchfork Midwinter
Ambient music is often unfairly regarded as “background noise,” but in the hands of its most passionate practitioners, it can be as striking as the loudest and most confrontational music ever produced. Minimalist composer William Basinski has been mastering this realm of sound for four decades, and he’s bringing his expertise to Chicago for two […]
Posted inMusic
The Devil Makes Three trade their folksy minimalism for full-bodied rock on Chains Are Broken
The members of the Devil Makes Three grew up in New England but formed their trio in California in 2002. They’ve since moved their home base to Burlington, Vermont, and their crisscrossing migrations seem fitting for a group that draws on rootsy styles and sounds from across the continental U.S., including folk, bluegrass, country, blues, […]
Posted inMusic
Juan Wauters finds his voice while creating music throughout Latin America
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Juan Wauters moved to Queens, with his father in 2002, when he was 17, and worked alongside him at a picture-frame factory to save money to bring over the rest of the family. In 2008, having picked up the guitar, he got together with some neighborhood friends to start lo-fi garage […]
Posted inBlogs
Let us now praise Elvis Presley and his movies
It’s the King’s birthday, so Viva Las Vegas, baby!
Posted inMusic
Madison garage punks the Hussy can heat up the coldest winter nights
Here in the midwestern tundra, January can be a sleepy time for shows by touring bands, but no matter where or when Madison garage punks the Hussy play a gig, they heat things up—or even set them on fire. And that’s not just cliche rock ’n’ roll hyperbole; in this case, you can take those […]
Posted inMusic
Racetraitor guitarist Dan Traitor on connecting hardcore and union organizing
Current musical obsessions of Racetraitor guitarist Dan Traitor, Decline front man Fern X Decline, and Reader associate editor Jamie Ludwig
Posted inMusic
Forever Deaf Fest celebrates a mix of homegrown heavy sounds
Chicago is well-known as an incubator of house music, industrial, noise rock, emo, and drill, to name a few. But the city’s decades-strong legacy of groundbreaking metal has only just begun to get its due in recent years, as a variety of heavy music styles have come into a blackened sort of vogue. The latest […]
Posted inBlogs
Jonny Polonsky celebrates decades of guitar-pop perfection with a show in his old hometown
Alt-pop wunderkind turned songwriting pro Jonny Polonsky revisits Chicago with a new rarities collection in tow.
Posted inMusic
Tropa Magica take their hybrid psychedelic cumbia punk to new heights
In 2012, brothers David and Rene Pacheco emerged from East Los Angeles with Thee Commons, a band that blended elements of cumbia, chicha, surf, punk, psych, and more. Despite having all the ingredients for an excellent dance party, the group initially struggled to find a foothold in LA’s music scene, which like those of many […]