Here's a pitchfork writer's defense of Pitchfork's inclusion of so much mainstream rap on their year-end top 50, and their general movement toward mainstream rap coverage in general.

Here's a link to someone's best videos of 2005, with links to watch each video. Definitely some good ones on there!

Here's an intriguing article about the rise and fall of Lookout! Records.

From Q101.com:

"The Strokes will be coming to downtown Chicago on January 3rd to play an exclusive Q101 Show at a very small venue. Listen to Q101 Thursday (12/29) at 5pm for the official concert annoucement including venue location, onsale info for the general public, etc."

Hmmm, wonder what their definition of a "very small venue" is?

From Dr. D: Who wants New Year's Eve Wolf Parade tickets for $200?

Seriously, I think Coldplay tickets at the Metro didn't go for much more than that. Aren't indie rockers supposed to be poor? And smart enough to realize that they'll be back again in 2006 at a reasonably-sized venue such as the Metro?

This morning on the bus, a guy got on who was still SHAVING.

So glad this is only a two-day week for me.

Office Xmas party, part three:

Well the pictures were developed and put out on the company network. There is definitely more than one picture like this:

Good lord, Mogwai is playing at the Logan Square Auditorium on March 1. That is a very small venue for the LOUDEST BAND EVER TO GRACE THE STAGE. I came late to the Curiosa festival two summers ago to catch only their last song, and even in the Tweeter Center's huge outdoor amphitheatre, my ears were bleeding within seconds. I think their live show could be used as a torture device in the War Against Terrorism.

The show scene has been unbelievably dry for awhile now, though a few are starting to pop up on the horizon (horizon being February and March). Here's some I'll have my eye on:

Friday, February 17: Stars at the Metro
Sunday, February 26: Cat Power w/ the Memphis Blues Band at the Vic Theatre (word is she's getting less shy on stage!)
Friday, March 3: Matthew Dear as Audion at the Smart Bar (I have still to check out the Audion album, but I hear it's quality sexed-up techno-rock, so this could be a hotttt time)
Saturday, March 11: Stereolab at the Vic Theatre
Saturday, March 18: Akron/Family w/ Larsen at the Empty Bottle (very excited for this, I've heard their live show is amazing and if I hadn't gotten their album so late in the year, it probably would have made my top 25)
Friday, March 24: Scout Niblett at Schubas (she's FABULOUSLY weird live)

The big TMT year-end extravaganza is up now, check it out and waste away your day like I have been going through everything. No big surprise with our #1, in my opinion. I think my favorite part is Matt Weir's drawing/description of Animal Collective's "Grass."

Here's my top 25:

25. Spoon- Gimme Fiction
24. Royksopp- The Understanding
23. Bloc Party- Silent Alarm
22. Xiu Xiu- La Foret
21. Stars- Set Yourself on Fire
20. M83- Before the Dawn Heals Us
19. MIA- Arular
18. Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene
17. Caribou- Milk of Human Kindness
16. Thunderbirds Are Now!- Justamustache
15. Robot Ate Me- Carousel Waltz
14. Architecture in Helsinki- In Case We Die
13. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
12. Bonnie Prince Billy and Matt Sweeney- Superwolf
11. New Pornographers- Twin Cinema
10. Antony and the Johnsons- I Am a Bird Now
09. LCD Soundsystem- LCD Soundsystem
08. The Hold Steady- Separation Sunday
07. Sleater-Kinney- The Woods
06. The Decemberists- Picaresque
05. Andrew Bird- & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
04. The National- Alligator
03. Sufjan Stevens- Illinois
01. Animal Collective- Feels (tie)
01. Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary (tie)

From Gapers Block, here's a profile of Jay Ryan in the Chicago Sun-Times. He doesn't look like I'd pictured him.

Parade of cute animals into fire!

P4k's top 50 albums of the year is out now, thankfully not the same day as TMT's or I'd be spending all day at work looking at year-end music websites. What's up with the picture they've got on the front page? I don't know if I get it- it's like New York skyscrapers with a Logan Square street sign in front. Whatever.

I'm down with Sufjan as #1, but much of the rest of their list leaves some things to be desired. I still don't get this Art Brut band and what makes them so fascinating, other than they're supposed to be ironic or something. I don't get why albums that they consider "best new music" during the year don't even make the top 50 (Architecture in Helsinki, Black Mountain, Caribou). Andrew Bird is sorely missing, even though the site raved about him fairly regularly and gave "Fake Palindromes" five stars.

The idea of a top singles list also doesn't make total sense to me, since I'm not sure what makes something a "single" anymore. I'll stand by Kelly Clarkson at #4, Antony's "Hope There's Someone" was a nice change of pace at #1, but most of it is mainstream rap singles with random indie stuff thrown in the midst. Why is Animal Collective's "Grass" considered a single while nothing from Illinois can get single status? Stylus Magazine's top singles were also very, very odd choices.

Still have no clue what will be on TMT's top 25 tomorrow, other than Sufjan of course! We have a nice "song" list that is purely writers blurbing about some of our favorite songs of the year. Once again, take a wild guess what I added to the list.

My work X-Mas party antics and calling-in sick message at 3 AM continued to follow me today back at work, where I was called in for an "impromptu meeting" and presented with the sounds of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," as well as my phone message and one that came before it that I'd completely forgotten about that was made from the bar (both of which had apparently been played mercilessly on Friday). I find it hard to believe that NO ONE did anything crazier than I did, but apparently, that is not the case (although one man's wife went into labor the next morning when he was quite possibly still drunk).

DJ LAZER!!!

Sigh . . . if only DJ Lazer were coming home for New Year's Eve again . . .

Meanwhile, while I thankfully didn't make out with anyone or trash the CEO's car, I did start drinking at 4 PM, get soaked in white wine, call someone I'd just met by the entirely wrong name several times, and end up on the bathroom floor calling in sick at 2 am (a message that certainly must have made it around the office Friday morning). At least I was instructed by my boss that I could only call in sick if it was from the bathroom floor, so no harm done. I requested Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" from the DJ, but he ignored my plea :( .

For better or for worse, former PFFR co-host Rockey aka DJ Lazer aka Flying Squirrel is back on the airwaves: http://radio.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/

My plans for tonight. If no one makes out in front of everyone or gets fired tomorrow for jumping on the CEO's Jaguar, it won't be a real party.

I've been assigned to write a 200 word blurb about Sufjan's Illinois for Tinymixtapes top 25 albums of the year (though I wasn't told where the album ranked on the list). I want to relate it somehow to the fact that I live in Illinois. How to do that, I'm not sure yet . . .

Wasn't it supposed to, like, snow today or something?

I think I'm in dire need of a $215 Louis Vuitton IPod carrying case.

Here's a question: what type of music do you think is on an iPod that's carried in a $215 Louis Vuitton IPod carrying case?

Having a radio show is so much more fun when you have a theme, and best of the year is always a popular one. It's nice coming in every week and playing new music I've never heard before, but sometimes it's also nice to come in and play almost entirely songs I know and love, love, love. Let's hope recording of the show went well, well, well. I think I squeezed in music from at least my top 12 bands.

I think Valentine's Day this year falls on a Tuesday, so you can expect a killer anti-Valentine's Day theme show that morning!

Forgot to mention, since tomorrow is my last show of 2005, I'm going to celebrate with a focus on my favorite songs and albums of the year. Preview some of my top 25 before I post it next week, and hear my favorite song from my favorite album of aught-05 (gee, what could it be?)

Actually, it'll be from one of my favorite albums, since this year I've got a tie for first. I just couldn't decide!

Last night I saw Calexico and Iron and Wine at the Congress. Sadly, no pics since we were too far away in the balcony to get anything good- hopefully after the new year when the shows start up again, I'll get back on board with the photoblog. The show should more aptly be called "Calexico, Iron and Wine, and Friends," as short sets by Langtry (Paddy from Iron and Wine), Salvador Duran (the operatic voice on "In the Reins,"), and an out-of-nowhere reunion of sorts by Red Red Meat (old band of several Califone members) peppered the show. Meanwhile, during Calexico and Iron and Wine's sets, anywhere from two to 15 or so musicians would come on stage to join in the fun. Calexico highlights included a totally new version of my favorite song, "Not Even Stevie Nicks," that picked up the pace and added a long instrumental interlude, and "Alone Again Or," a Love cover (probably best known from Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket). Iron and Wine's show was considerably different from the last time I saw him play solo at the Abbey Pub with the fuller-than-full band on hand. As usual Sam Beam played none of my favorite songs, but he definitely refasioned the ones he did play, slowing down the faster ones ("Woman King") and speeding up the slower ones. The show wrapped up with the big "finale," if you will, where Calexico joined Sam on stage to touch on songs from their recent joint E.P., In the Reins. Salvador made his way on stage for the 5 seconds of singing he does in the title track, and my favorite song from that EP, "Sixteen, Maybe Less," got some lovin.

Craziness ensues this week as I try to get through work, studying, editing end-of-the-year tinymixtapes articles for our big year-end issue, and X-Mas shopping I still have yet to do. I think a sick day may be in order . . .

Corporate's the new indie!

My year-end list is in, but apparently I forgot to follow the rules of making hip year-end lists.

ABCNews states the obvious.

A somewhat cryptic message from the Andrew Bird newsletter:

TOP SECRET:

Also, ahem, Andrew’s last show of the year is actually NOT on December 17th, it is on December 18th.

However, I am not at liberty to announce the location of this show until December 17th. SO you must check the website on the 17th for more info, OK?

Nerve.com's Scanner blog has this hilariously pathetic attempt to talk to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's lead singer Alec Ounsworth about sex. Really, what sort of questions was he expecting to get from a website about sex and relationships?

Scroll down farther to see the sexy priest calendar, which is "available now (unlike the models)". HA!

CBGB update: It's staying where it is for another year, giving the owner more time to find a new location.

Anonymous sources tell me: Pitchfork and Intonation have "split ways" and realized they are both trying to run their own summer festivals for 2006 when they both attempted to book Feist. Where's the indie rock love?

What's this? Out of nowhere, it appears Chicago has passed a smoking ban!

The big end-of-the-year Tiny Mix Tapes extravaganza is tentatively scheduled to come out Wednesday, December 21, which means it's time for me to put together my top 25 albums of the year. I've got a rough draft 25, but as usual, I feel like I may be missing an album that deserves to be in the 20-25 range more than what I've got now. Hmmmmmmm . . .

Either way, I'll post my top 25 sometime next week.

Let's all hope when I get home this morning that the show recorded successfully, because it's a good one! I've never gotten so many calls inquiring about a song as I did when I played Solvent's "My Radio" from Apples and Synthesizers. Also, Gravenhurst's new album has a song named "Nicole." It's got some strange ship/captain theme to it.

CBGB might be moving to Vegas? Does that seem wrong?

Here's an interesting article from the LA Weekly about blog buzz and bands, with references to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the Aracde Fire. Soon these articles will be referencing the Perfect Face for Radio as a major tastemaker, right? Haha.

An interesting little interview up on P4k with Wolf Parade, though not with my favorite member, singer Spencer Krug. They reference the Illinois tollway system and iPass and answer to Modest Mouse and Arcade Fire comparisons, saying what I've always thought, that they come much closer musically to Frog Eyes than to the Arcade Fire.

I think my iPod is making me go deaf. I listen to it every day at work at a very low volume, but still, I'm concerned. I started wearing earplugs to shows to try to prevent deafness from loud speakers, but I'm pretty sure the only way to prevent my iPod from making me deaf is to stop listening to it. But listening to music at work makes the day go by so much better. What to do?