Kaskade vaults from Chicago’s underground to mainstream
Most of Ryan Raddon's classmates at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook spent their Friday nights at football games and keggers. Raddon's clique took off for the city, staying up...
Home > Reviews
All Stories
Neil Sedaka doesn’t quite have a million songs, but he’s close
The first hit Neil Sedaka ever wrote, with partner Howard Greenfield, was singer Connie Francis' "Stupid Cupid." Shortly after that, working five days a week in New York's famous Brill...
Destroyer pulls out all the stops on ‘Poison Season’
It took Dan Bejar four and a half years and a dozen musicians, including a small orchestra, to put out Destroyer's lush, layered new album "Poison Season." Then the veteran...
Best Coast still playing it fast and murky
In the moments before a recent interview with Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, the YouTube advertising lead-in for her "Feeling OK" video involved the buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich at a certain...
North Coast festival preview: 7 artists not to miss
The North Coast Music Festival calls itself "Summer's Last Stand," but it might have gone with "Lollapalooza's Hangover." Those who couldn't afford tickets to last month's Grant Park extravaganza can...
Barrence Whitfield is still shrieking
One night in England, Barrence Whitfield jumped off the stage into the crowd. "People parted (like) the Red Sea for me, and I fell flat on my — " The...
Chicago’s Pinebender is still loud, still slow and still heavy
Nobody in Pinebender ever said, "Slower." It just happened. "That was something we never strived for," says Chris Hansen, frontman for the Chicago heavy-rock trio. "People would always tell us,...
Juanes still on rock’s cutting edge
On the title track of his latest album, "Loco de Amor," Juanes sings this line: "Your smile is like the sun/ And it makes you shine." Later, he pledges to...
Diana Krall still just doing music that she likes
Long before Diana Krall was a jazz superstar, accompanying herself on piano for Nat King Cole, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin cover songs that've sold millions of copies, she was...
Ralph Stanley has more years on the road than many folks are old
It is 88-year-old bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley's job to walk onto the stage, find the microphone and sing. His grandson, 22-year-old Nathan Stanley, is in charge of everything else —...