Once upon a time, before there was a Record Store Day, Dusty Groove‘s morning basement sales were an annual highlight for many an obsessive crate digger. Begun in 2001, the sales have become rarities (the most recent was outdoors on a side street in 2014), but this wolf used to enjoy trying to spot famous musicians waiting patiently with the plebes to sort through the store’s marked-down goodies—and is still convinced that Dean Wareham somehow cut the line in 2002. Anyway, from 10 AM till 5 PM on Saturday, July 20, Dusty Groove will load its third-floor space with thousands of dollar LPs and 25-cent 45s—many of them never before offered to the public. Who knows when Dusty Groove will do a sale like this again—that third floor will be leased soon, so it could be another five years. Get there early, and keep your eye on any dude who looks like he was in Galaxie 500!
Gossip Wolf loves a mystery, and has obsessed for years over the dark electronica of anonymous local producer Faithful. In an era of oversharing, Faithful’s MO of emerging only briefly from the ether with a Soundcloud single, cassette EP, or radio DJ set is refreshing. In May, Faithful dropped a free digital EP, Timed Imaginations, on Italian label Prehistoric Silence, and it’s loaded with anxious, hypnotically beautiful textures and beats. “Cornerz” weaves dissonant chatter—a pitched-up voice, glassy synths, barking sub-bass—into something that feels unsettlingly like waking from a half-remembered dream. Faithful sometimes plugs shows or releases on Twitter at @001FAITHFUL.
Last week, Chicago music and culture podcast Better Yet released the compilation album All of God’s Money, a tribute to Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It features some of this wolf’s favorite local rock acts, including Meat Wave, Slow Mass, Lifted Bells, and Ratboys. Proceeds benefit the AIDS Foundation of Chicago—in its first 48 hours, the comp raised more than $1,500! v
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