As Duke Ellington might have said, Arthur Russell was a musician and composer "beyond category." In his short life (he died of complications from AIDS at the age of 40) he composed and recorded music that could be classified as folk, disco, ambient, classical, pop and even country. He was born in Iowa and followed in his mother's footsteps by taking up the cello as a child. Later he moved to San Francisco (befriending......

We admit we're still having a hard time forming a singular opinion about Jamie Lidell's show last night at Metro. We're justifiably cautious when it comes to British neo-soul singers -- hello Jamiroquai -- and what we say of Lidell's Lollapalooza set didn't exactly bowl us over. The advice of a trusted friend urging us to give him another chance in a smaller room led us to last night's show despite our reservations.......

Just when you thought the outdoor drinking season was over, the Chicago Country Music Festival makes a late entry. Once part of the Taste of Chicago, the fest declares its independence with a new date and location this weekend at the Soldier Field "parkland." (Which is pretty much a fancy way to say parking lot.) We're not gonna lie, we don't know a ton about the opening acts, but we can tell you they look......

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James took a tumble at a show last night, forcing him to cancel both his Obama benefit at Schubas tonight and the planned My Morning Jacket shows at the Chicago Theatre this week. Hacky sacks will be flown at half mast for the remainder of the day in light of this development.......

Take On Me. Literally.......

We heard that last Thursday's Beck show at Aragon was the pits, so we went into Friday's appearance in the same room with great trepidation. Well, whatever went wrong Thursday went incredibly right Friday since it was by far the strongest set we've ever seen the blonde lanky folkie / hip-hop / troubadour / experimentalist / punk / musical dumpster diver turn in. Yes, it was even better than that time we saw him backed......

MSTRKRFT at Double Door. We're so happy they moved this banger of a show from Metro since it means a) no little kids and b) the fucking monstrous beats of MSTRKRFT will be demolishing a room as small as Double Door! Wahoo! It's bound to be absolutely insane. If you like either dance music or rock music, you do not want to miss this. Getcher tickets now, because it will sell out.......

Word has it that the Pontiac Cafe -- Wicker Park mainstay and the first big patio in the area where it was possible to witness firsthand the ebbing of the artist residents and the rise of corner banking and hip chain store patrons -- will be closing its doors for the last time October 17. Let's see, all we have left now is Double Door and Subterranean to keep us coming back to the Six......

Get your rock in early with free shows this week, kids... Monday, Oct. 6 Brilliant Pebbles @ Empty Bottle w/ The Chinese Stars, Dead Gods, and Awesome Brothers, 9:00 p.m., FREE - With roots in psych punk, electronica, and the calculated sonic freakouts of a band on the brink of forging a new path, Brilliant Pebbles are an assault on the bland predictability of today's "indie" music that wouldn't have been out of place on......

Over the past few months we've seen OFFICE undergo some surprising changes that included personnel overhauls and a more adventurous sonic direction. They've played a handful of local shows over the past few months -- including another appearance at Lollapalooza -- but this month they are reemerging in force with a monthly residency at Schubas on Monday nights through the entire month of October. (O.K., we'll say it, Rocktober!) In following with the bands......

Starting Monday, Lyric’s 13th annual Opera in the Neighborhoods program will kick off once again, bringing kiddie-friendly opera directly to young students throughout the Chicagoland area. This year’s program will present a version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, staging approximately 30 performances at different local schools and auditoriums through the beginning of November. We were glad to learn that Lyric’s education department doesn’t think that squirmy schoolchildren can be expected to sit through a long,......

Rachael Yamagata returned home last night to perform two shows to two packed house at Lakeshore Theatre last night. She played a bunch of old faves, some new stuff off her forthcoming disc, and she charmed every soul in the room. She may not have sold a million albums yet (yet), but we already consider her one of Chicago's superstars. View full Flickr set......

Cut Copy’s September 17 appearance at The Metro was one of those shows attendees entered with almost impossibly high expectations. After the Australians’ giddy but truncated performance at this summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival, it was going to be a real challenge for the band to surpass that appearance, at least as far as outperforming the mythic proportions that set had grown into. The band took the stage and performed that rarest of miracles by turning......

We've just learned there are still tickets to tonight's Hot Chip show at Metro, even though some other sites have mistakenly billed the show as being sold out. The best part about this miscommunication? You can score tickets for $5 off if you purchase them through the Metro store and enter "madeinthedark" into the section asking for a discount code OR if you print out this blog entry and bring it to the door. Sweet......

Oh damn, we're back with Local Options, the weekly Chicagoist roundup of of our proud city's best live music output. Remember, this is just a sampling - if you've got an ear to the ground and can make a suggestion of a great Chicago-based band playing somewhere this week, leave it in the comments. Here we go... Tuesday, Sept. 30 Parks and Gardens @ Sonoteque w/ Shea Ako, John McEntire, DJs Damon Locks and Wayne......

We're big fans of pretty much whatever Damon Albarn touches, even that wacky opera he just composed. While we're waiting for him to finally get to work on the next Gorillaz disc -- or God forbid actually getting Blur back together (hope hope!) -- we'll have to content ourselves with any one-off collaborations he seems fit to send our way. Lately his tune with The Black Ghosts, "Repetition Kills You," has been in high rotation......

Say what you will about Kanye West, but dude knows how to keep himself on top of the news cycle in order to draw attention to a new album. In an effort to out-Radiohead Radiohead, he wants fans to remix his lead single "Love Lockdown" and -- unlike a certain British band who charges for their stems on iTunes -- is offering all of the essential elements of the song for free to do with......

Tom Schraeder's new EP, Lying Through Dinner, displays a remarkable step forward for the young singer-songwriter. Previously we've compared Schraeder's gritty country tinged rock to a one man version of The Band, but here he takes our previous perception of his music and turns it on his head. On the new EP Schraeder often mixes Americana with the feel of a humid New Orleans bordello. Boozy, swinging strains spill out of darkened nightclubs into puddle-splashed......

We here at Kanyeist are delighted to hear today's news from the man himself that his new record will be out sooner then we thought. Look for 808 & Heartbreak sometime in November. I CHANGED MY ALBUM TO NOVEMBER SOMETHING CAUSE I FINISHED THE ALBUM AND I FELT LIKE IT.. I WANT YALL TO HEAR IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE......

Since The Smashing Pumkins have finally announced four Chicago dates -- November 18 and 19 at the Chicago Theatre and November 21 and 22 at the Auditorium Theatre -- on their Gish 20th anniversary tour, we asked our resident music critic to debate the merits of said tour with ... our resident music critic. CYNICAL TANKBOY: Oh great, Billy's back. As if it weren't insult enough that he pulled the Pumpkins' name out of the......

This year’s Hideout Block Party had it all: blues, world music, stoner rock, deep country blues, puppet shows, political dissidents, robo-rock, the return of Neko Case in two guises, and a punk rock marching band. In-between all of this the organizers managed to mix in voter registration, political discussion, and a drunken spelling bee. The amazing thing about this whole package? Its whole purpose was to raise money for various community centers, primarily in the......

We just couldn’t possibly do justice to Monotonix’s set with a mere couple of photos, so here’s a full photo set from their appearance last Saturday at The Hideout Block Party. This explosive trio from Tel Aviv – and explosive doesn’t even do their set a lick of justice – turned in a chaotic show that redefined the concept of crowd participation. Words just can’t do them justice, so take a look at the mayhem......

This weekend's Hideout Block Party had quite a few arresting images -- Monotonix anyone? -- but the unholy meeting of Michael Jackson songs, Robbie Fulks, Rhymefest, and a whole mess o' zombies threatens to be one of the weirdest and most enduring mixture of sound and images of the whole weekend. The choreographed dancing to "Thriller" was pretty durn impressive, and the make-up and costuming was absolutely terrific. Where DO they come up with these......

In today's trouble economic climate, there's no better concept than that of free booze. Throw in some kick-ass DJs and you have the makings of a pretty great Friday.......

This is your last reminder that Hideout's annual block party kicks off tomorrow. The line-up is the best we've seen the venue book and everyone we've spoken to is super excited about it. Tickets are still available, but both days are expected to sell out. look for us in the front row throwing our undies at Dark Meat and Neko Case.......

I am no sports fan but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Cubs. Apparently Eddie Vedder does to, as evidenced by the tune "All The Way (Cubs Song)" we saw him perform last August. You can snag an MP3 of this burgeoning anthem here.......

It's been a season of milestones for the city-sponsored music festivals. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the World Music Festival. What started out as a small festival centered in Chicago's notable places for international music has evolved into a city-wide event, with artists performing throughout the city limits. WMF highlights Chicago's reputation as a city of neighborhoods. In incorporating most of the major club venues, WMF also does more to shine a positive spotlight......

The mesmerizing new Ting Ting's video was shot mostly in the alley/street in front of the Hideout. I was (coincidentally) there the night they were were making this, and the production staff bought everyone at the bar a round so we'd stay inside while they finished filming. Cheers! [via]......

Cut Copy stole the show from Spoon at Pitchfork this year so we're stoked to see them play Metro tonight. We hope you already bought tickets to the show because it's sold out, but if you didn't and are jonesing for some Cut Copy you can catch them DJ at Smart Bar after the show. Get yer dancin' shoes out!......

Homegirl Rachael Yamagata finally has a new album, Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, coming out next month and here's the first video off the album. After this moody initial taste we're eager to hear the rest of the disc.......