Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

A crisp fall evening seems all too perfect for a warm audience, and a scorching lineup of hip-hop’s best and brightest.

Rhymesayers’ “Paint the Nation” tour hit the Canopy Wednesday evening, in a smattering of off-kilter, boom-bap shades, complete with handshakes, laughs, and infectious head nods. Three of the label’s best, Abstract Rude, Blueprint, and Atmosphere, played out the true meaning of crowd motivators, playing from the old and new ends of their personal histories in hip-hop.

Click the jump to read more and hear the interview

Can you believe the spookiest night of the year is here? Halloween is truly a great holiday and when it lands on a Friday night it only gets better. There is some great live music going on in Champaign-Urbana this haunted evening. Smile Politely has put together a little list of some of the shows going on in the area so you can spend less time figuring out what to do and more time working on your Joe the Plumber or Tito the Builder costumes.

The Brothers Whys- Café Paradiso, 8 p.m., Free

The student sextet, The Brothers Whys, is putting on an “unplugged spooky story time” set at the Urbana coffee shop. This would be a good place to hit up before you put on your heavy face makeup for that David Bowie costume to enjoy some hot cider and deliciously poppy tunes complete with boy-girl harmonies. The group will have free copies of their CD, I Wrote This with Our Bare Hands, as well. But please, just take one and leave the rest for other trick or treaters.

I like to think I've led a bit of a charmed life. I believe that we all think that to a certain degree; one can't look ahead to each day without holding on to a few nuggets from the past that brought smiles to our faces. For me, it was stuff like winning a Little League Championship, catching a home run ball at Wrigley, opening for bands like Swervedriver and then, ten years later, booking tours for Adam Franklin (their frontman) as well.

When I was a teen, however, it was the fact that my cousin had started dating Ward Gollings. He was always on tour with HUM, the promoter at the "old" Blind Pig and was constantly bringing me new music to digest. He let me and my 16-year old friends into shows pretty regularly too, letting us hang back with the bands and watch from afar. We didn't take advantage and drink alcohol, though. We got blazed beforehand.

One of the artists that he introduced us to was The Afghan Whigs. Since he grew up near Cincinnati, and the band hailed from there as well, he was friendly enough with them, to the point I suppose where the lead singer trusted his opinions enough to send him advance copies of albums and autographed photos for his girlfriend's cousins.

This cut, "Miles Iz Ded" from their 1992 long player Congregation, caps off an album that took the Seattle grunge movement and placed it squarely inside a black gospel church, whitewashed it and threw it back together again. There is no secret to what ails Greg Dulli: love, women, alcohol, fear, religion, sex. He sings about it over and over and over again, but perhaps never as poignantly as he does here.

For some, music is simply a way to pass the time – a few sound waves slipping through the headphones to entertain their ears. For Jake Fleischli, music is audio nicotine, filling a craving for the hard stuff (Bob Dylan) he’s had since childhood. Music is both therapeutic, addictive and the reason he started the band Tractor Kings in 1998.

Tractor Kings has seen a complicated web of local musicians in its 10-year history. It all began with a two piece. Rebecca Rury played drums and Fleischli was on the 12 string. Their first album Sunday Night was released on Mud Records, a subsidiary of Parasol. The two parted ways, and the band’s second album Gone to Heaven was recorded at Matt Talbott’s infamous Great Western Record Recorders in Tolono and released in 2003.

I was walking back to my apartment after class today and I realized it was suddenly fall. In my mind, that is. It may have been fall for weeks now; I just haven’t really been looking around lately. It struck me when a large acorn-like projectile actually struck me in the head. I instinctively looked up, saw a scurrying squirrel and noticed that the few leaves still hanging above me were bright orange. I then realized I was really cold only wearing a t-shirt and that my neighbors weren’t the weirdos I thought they were for putting out carved pumpkins on their porch.

My favorite part about the changing of the seasons is the iPod song rotation that follows. Today I made my mp3 player seasonally appropriate. I stocked it with songs from Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Neil Young and some Being There tracks; nothing too surprising. I’d like to share, though, some of the more questionable, but still fantastic, songs that made it on this year’s fall playlist.

Atmosphere hails from Minneapolis, Min., and has been rapping about fucking Lucy since I was working on staying inside the lines in kindergarten (circa 1993). They don’t hit the stage to be entertainers – they come to spit something controversial and let it sink in. Hip-hop has gotten a bad rap as being mindless and misogynistic, but Atmosphere’s lyrics are heated and thought-provoking. Their music is a deeply personal compilation of stories spun into rhymes – parables for the musically inclined.

Check out "Why Do These Parties All End the Same Way." I found it free online and soon enough was buying his other songs. If he is instantaneously charming, his music is instantaneously catchy too:

Benji Hughes Why Do These Parties All End the Same Way

William: Before the show, sitting among the smallest crowd I've ever seen in the Highdive, I wonder how Jonathan Richman would feel about fans like us. We know him as the former bandleader of the original Modern Lovers, a Boston group whose fantastic 1972 demos were released as an album in 1976, by which point the band had split up and Richman had become a California folk singer, considered something of a novelty act. I can't help but wonder if he would resent us. No artist I know of enjoys the implication that their best work is behind them.

As it turns out, while there is no trace of resentment in Richman's heart, he is not interested in living in the past.

After the jump, the fine folks from Noiz Assembly share the history of their group and other insights, as well as a generous helping of nonsense.

A few choice regulars braved the storm Thursday night to see New Ruins, The Championship and Tractor Kings play an intimate show at Mike ‘n Molly’s.

I was branded on the way in as an underage infidel and headed up the treacherous stairs to Mike ‘n Molly’s dimly-lit attic. Caleb Means of New Ruins thanked everyone for braving the elements, and the band began playing their energizing set. Roy Ewing’s lanky arms slammed into the drums, and they played so hard a glass fell off the table. New Ruins played a wide mix of old and new material including a personal favorite “I’ll Sleep in Your House”. Means and Elzie Sexton’s gruff vocals rang through the steamy attic, and they played an extra song at a friend’s request.

With work, family and High School Musical 3, who has the time to find out about the best shows happening in Champaign-Urbana? No need to fear, because the editors here at Smile Politely have taken care of it. Here are the must-see shows of the week:

Tuesday October 28: Amy Ray, Highdive, 8 p.m., $15

Amy Ray, one half of the folk duo Indigo Girls, will be performing her solo work at the Highdive. Don't be fooled by the term "solo," her musical musings are nothing like the stripped down, low key music that the word may bring to mind. Where the Indigo Girls were folk and country-oriented, Ray's solo music is rooted in high energy rock and punk music. Accompanied by a full band, Ray lays her polished vocals over some distorted guitar riffs. This Tuesday night performance is a great chance to get a new perspective of an iconic female singer-songwriter.

The opening band, Post Historic, was okay. They had some very strong points, but it only came every other song. I thought they exhibited talented musicianship and I loved the viola and harmonica in the songs that gave a folksy feel. But, they also had this emo edge that just didn't capture my interest. I thought the lead vocalist had a good voice, but I don't think he sang well with the music. I suppose what I'm trying to get at is they sometimes have two different genres going on that just don't match. In all, they did have songs I genuinely enjoyed, but most I think were, as I said before, just okay.

Like most children, I gravitated to the things I was not allowed to pursue. For music, that meant at least two of every five songs that we heard on MTV. My folks, bless their hearts, simply didn't want my young mind corrupted by the likes of artists like Twisted Sister, Dead or Alive, Duran Duran (their early stuff was basically softcore porn in a song) and the like.

One such artist that my father freaked out about was XTC. Unfamiliar with the body of their work, his only understanding of their craft came in the form of the unlikely hit single, "Dear God" off the Todd Rundgren-produced album, Skylarking. In the video, we see a young child standing next to a huge old tree, questioning God's existence through song. Andy Partridge does him one better near the end, when he proclaims, without question, that he simply does not believe in "Him."

As a young leftist evangelical Christian, I don't think my father could, in good conscience, allow his heady and rebellious seven-year old middle child the opportunity to invest much time into the band. I don't resent him for it, either. In fact, I am grateful. My repression led to an obsession: XTC is easily my favorite band of all time, and you'll forgive me if I share song after song of theirs, now and in the future.

On this cut from the 1984 album The Big Express, Partridge is quick to get to the point in this pop gem condemning the United States of being those to blame for the Cold War and the worldwide repression that was happening because of Reagan's rule. I was never a huge fan of harmonica, but for some reason, set against the fuzzy vocals and a dominant synth at 2:35 mark, I would argue that this particular moment helped to define fusion in pop music.

In the end, my father apologized for trying to take them away from me. He recognized their scope as being much more than a champion for an atheist movement in the western world; they are also some of the most brilliant lyricists regarding the political woes we face each day. God knows we could use them now.

From Joe Six-pack to Joe the Plumber to Joe Rock-oriented-music-enthusiast, when the term “Jazz” is brought up images are conjured of either 15 minute, unintelligible free form jams or of smooth but insufferably boring elevator music.

The everyday man is content to “not get” Jazz or see it as something from another era. I admit, I more often look back than forward when listening to the genre, but that can only be seen as a fault.

Case in point: local musician and University of Illinois student, Charles Lane’s new album The Price of Air. Released October 9 at Zorba’s on Green Street, Lane’s 50 minute disc retells some tales, featuring three covers, but catches the listener’s attention with his original compositions. Though the seven-track album is a tad longer than the 30-40 minute pop/rock record, it doesn’t suffer by its length and allows for some rewarding moments to burst out of the mix.

Blue’s Clues was one of those children’s shows that was watched by a lot of people who did not fit into its targeted demographic. Though specifically designed around child development research to be the ideal television show for preschoolers, Blue’s Clues reached other, older audiences too.

Having a younger sister who fit perfectly in the intended age group, I used her as an excuse to watch the brightly colored, pseudo-animated daytime program. I didn't realize that a lot of teenagers without preschool aged siblings, and even a lot of adults too, also watched the show until much later. Maybe it was ridiculously catchy theme song or the hilarious French-accented salt shaker – whatever it was, that show was tremendously successful for young and old.

The group has just recently released their self-titled full-length CD, an album with 9 songs full of optimism, reverb and layers. The songs are primarily fueled by the unavoidable melodies created by either guitar parts or vocal harmonies, many times intertwining different melodic phrases to achieve a rich and full-bodied wall of sound.

Before GWAR was one of the most outrageous metal bands known to Mankind, there was nothing. The supreme being of the universe was bored and therefore created the members of GWAR to wreck havoc on the universe. The five godlike warriors went planet to planet destroying all they could, until they even tried to destroy their creator and in effect the entire universe.

After failing, they were banished to "worst planet in the universe," Earth, where they proceeded to impregnate the native animals, thus creating humans. Yes, the historical outline of the cult-metal band outlined on their website is the most absurd and amazing band bio ever written, and comes second only to Scientology's core beliefs as the most outrageous thing I've ever read.

A great recent album I've discovered is titled The Greatest Hits So Far by Learning Music – a band whom I had never heard of.

What I learned is that Learning Music is a group of four to 20 musicians at any given time who began as a collaborative music-making project to create an album a month for a year (November 2006 to November 2007), which they recorded on a hand-held recorder thus being qualified to create a "greatest hits" album.

You can listen to their 12 albums in their entirety on the original band website, but I have picked out two songs off of The Greatest Hits that I particularly like. The first one is "Contagious"

Learning Music- Contagious

Listen to their other great track "CGGF" after the jump:

From track one, the power poppy, punchy, punky songcraft will get your attention. Snotty, bratty vocals, taut harmonies, and well-oiled guitar parts fit together seamlessly. While the CD doesn’t stray far from straight-ahead rock, there are enough acoustic surprises to keep things interesting.

WFFM are: Ben Campbell (guitar, vocals), Chris Howaniec (noise guitar, backup vocals), Laura Lynch (violin, backup vocals), Zane Ranney (drums), Brian McGovern (ukulele, mandolin, glockenspiel) and Kurt Werner (ukulele, glockenspiel, bass). After the jump, go behind the scenes — well, right out in the open, actually; the interview happened on the sidewalk outside the club — for a conversation with WFFM that took place last Thursday before their gig at Cowboy Monkey.

(Full disclosure: Brian McGovern is an editor of Smile Politely, and also a member of World's First Flying Machine. Since we interview the WEFT Sessions artists every week, we thought it would be weirder if we didn't cover WFFM's appearance. Hope you think that's reasonable.)

With work, family and judging your neighbors based on yard sign political endorsements, who has the time to find out about the best shows happening in Champaign-Urbana? No need to fear, because the editors here at Smile Politely have taken care of it. Here are the must-see shows of the week:

Wednesday October 22: GWAR – Canopy Club, 8 p.m., $18

GWAR, as founding member Dave Brockie (also known as Oderus Urungus), doesn’t stand for “Great White Aryan Race” or “God What an Awful Racket,” it simply means GWAR, which stands for an absolutely unforgettable concert. In full costume, GWAR takes the stage as demonic warriors bent on melting your face with some good, old fashioned thrash metal. Oh, and after they melt your face, they’ll probably spray it if with large amounts of fake blood and semen. Check out this legendary band on Wednesday and be sure to bring a poncho.

Uglysuit, on the other hand, is an upstart Oklahoma City collective which trends more toward the slowly psychedelic. Sunset Stallion is a local band who's been interviewed on Smile Politely before.

On Sunday, doors open at 8 p.m., Sunset Stallion goes on at 8:30, Uglysuit follows at 9:30 and The New Year finishes things off at 10:30. Tickets are $12 in advance, and probably a few bucks more at the door.

There are two excellent reasons for you to click that tantalizing "Continue Reading" button below: the first is that you can find out how to win a pair of tickets to the show, and the second is that there's an interview with The New Year's Matt Kadane.

Smile Politely: So, you guys are coming here in a couple weeks. How do you feel about Champaign-Urbana?

Canning: To be honest I really don’t know. Last time we were there it was a rainy night, and we only saw about two blocks of the town. The band the Poster Children in the ‘90s were from Champaign.

SP: So was REO Speedwagon…

Canning: Yeah, I like those guys too. I could probably sing you an REO Speedwagon song before I could sing you a Poster Children song.

Hancock will be in town Sunday night at the Rose Bowl Tavern. Show time is 8 p.m. and advance tickets are $15. Hancock promised that each attendee would get at least twice their money's worth, so check it out.

Hancock was kind enough to expound on such topics as his military service and life on the road, and the interview is after the jump.

With summer waning, there are few things left to keep the warm sun firmly in place. For me, one of them is to keep listening to The Lassie Foundation's split CD with Duraluxe, I Duel Sioux and the Ale of Saturn.

I'd argue that the first five songs on this album qualify as the most depthful pop music to come out of the west coast in this decade. Those who had the pleasure to watch the band perform can attest to frontman Wayne Everett's enthusiasm on stage, lifting is index finger to the air every time he felt it was reasonable for him to do so. That was often, as his lyrics shimmer with optimism and hope while singing of endless California summer days.

This track, "All Together Now," brings the best of these notions into one perfect pop gem. Perhaps the finest moment of the tune is at the 2:45 mark when guitarist Jeff Schroeder (who went on to fill James Iha's shoes in Smashing Pumpkins) capitalizes the finish with an octave shift to a consistent one stoke riff on his telecaster, highlighted by three part vocals. As Everett details his life as a struggling musician for us as the only solution to his worries, he sings "It's time for singing/The greatest gift is a sound/Cuz music's the only way out."

You believe him; and you want to raise your finger, too — point to the sky — and hold on to that moment.

A law school student and a maker of dental bridges seems like an unlikely pairing for an ethereally hypnotic band. Then again, Common Loon isn’t your run-of-the-mill pair. Their band is only one piece of a cryptic life puzzle for two of Champaign-Urbana’s most reserved men.

Matthew Campbell and Robert Hirschfeld are the guarded duo behind the band Common Loon. The two have spent years together and apart, and worked odd jobs in odd places along the way. They balance life, school, work, significant others and are working on their first full-length album. And you thought econ was hard.

Campbell and Hirschfeld met at the ripe age of 5 in kindergarten. The two can’t remember the exact moment destiny brought them together, but I bet they shared a blue crayon or bonded over bologna sandwiches. They spent summers together in Champaign-Urbana, Sandlot style. Campbell attended Centennial High in Champaign while Hirschfeld was shipped away to Marmion Academy, an all boys Catholic-Benedictine college prep school in Aurora.

Earle rolls into town Saturday night for an early show at the Highdive, part of The Whip's concert series. Doors open at 7 p.m., the show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $12 in advance.

After the jump, a conversation with Justin Townes Earle on having a famous dad, his thrash-metal fans and how he feels about his Nashville hometown and the mainstream country music it's famous for.

It’s not a controversial statement to say that the end of the CD is near. It may be only a couple years until they completely disappear – one could even argue it's already happening. Our lives are run on hard drives and music is heard blasting out of white ear buds connected to cellular phones; with everything becoming purely digital there seems to be no real reason to have CDs anymore.

The prospect, however, of not having an easily produced and transported hard copy version of music is frightening. Sure Ipods are great but mix CDs are better. Rhapsody is convenient but it can’t compare to the feeling of ripping off the shrink wrap of a new CD and blasting it out of your car stereo. Music cannot exist purely in the metaphysical plane of cyberspace. There has to be something to come along, other than vinyl, to represent the hard-copy aspect of music. CDs create a sense of ownership, of loyalty and of respect. As a culture that loves music, we can’t lose that. How then, will the industry find a way to continue to get us to go to stores instead of our computers to purchase music? Cassette tapes killed the eight-track and CD’s killed the cassette. What will, when the time comes, replace the CD?

Trio X is performing at the Krannert Art Museum on Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. The Krannert Art Museum is located at 500 East Peabody in Champaign. The show is FREE.

Three years ago I fell in love with Emiliana Torrini’s Fisherman’s Woman. Her lyrics were soft, mournful and pretty. The album, however, never got much press and its most famous song, “Sunny Road,” was the only one most people would recognize.

Her release last month, Me and Armini, has caused more of a stir. This album is more playful and experimental – hell, there’s even an electric guitar in this album, which is not something I’d ever imagine her diverting to after Fisherman’s Woman.

The song, “Jungle Drum,” is in my opinion, the opposite end of the spectrum than those tracks featured on Fisherman’s Woman. It’s the key song on the album that shows Torrini’s new found playfulness.

Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum

Tomorrow night, the Minneapolis-based Jennings will play at the Canopy Club, and I think you'd have a hard time finding something better to do on a Wednesday. The show starts at 9 p.m., tickets are $15 in advance and Zach Gill opens.

Jennings took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk to us last Friday, so if that kind of thing interests you, click the handy "Continue Reading" button below.

Sometimes proper rock leads to improper spelling, according to Dan Hubbard (he of the Humadors noted above). "A couple years ago I was on a drinking bender most of the time with my best friend Dan Hundman," said Hubbard. "He called us the Humadors cause our last names both started with Hu. I know, pretty lame, we were drunk. I thought it was a made-up word, had never heard of a humidor. Anyway, it looked good next to my name, and since the spelling is a bit different it is a word that doesn't exist, and we get to decide what a Humador is. Still trying to figure that out howe