Chicago four-piece Melkbelly are best known for playing what you might call noise pop. Though they employ guitarists with a knack for wiry, minor-key interplay, a drummer who pays homage to Brian Chippendale, and a singer who can flip the switch in an instant from sweet Kim Deal croons to blood-curdling screams, they also inject their songs with as much undeniable melody as harsh dissonance. On the brand-new Pith (Wax Nine), Melkbelly continue their growth in both directions. Their pop side shines brighter than ever thanks to the majestic vocal hooks of guitarist-singer Miranda Winters, so that a casual, surface-level play-through of Pith could persuade you that it’s simply a great indie-pop record. On further listens, though, you can hear the band’s ongoing weirdness–that aspect of their sound has become more sophisticated and subtle, but it’s also more complex and intricate. “Sickeningly Teeth” creates a dizzying juxtaposition by colliding a sad, beautifully sung verse with a rhythm that constantly changes speeds. “LCR” climaxes with a catchy chorus anchored by explosive Lightning Bolt drums. And album centerpiece “Kissing Under Some Bats” starts as an upbeat, danceable number, then gives way to nearly ten minutes of dark, spacey, psychedelic drones. It’s always been exciting to try to make sense of Melkbelly, and with Pith they’ve become even more perplexing. v
Thom Yorke may be best known as front man of legendary British art-rock group Radiohead, but he’s also amassed an impressive discography on his own, putting out several solo releases, a 2013 album with his side group Atoms for Peace, and the score for 2018’s Suspiria remake. His third album under his own name, last year’s Anima, is the best expression of his musical philosophy yet. While Radiohead has long incorporated dance music, Yorke fully commits to electronica in his outside work. Anima consists of instrumental sketches edited down to nine tracks by producer Nigel Godrich. The resulting tight mix of dubby bass lines and beat machines is reminiscent of the self-titled 2011 album by Yorke collaborator Sbtrkt. Anima is best heard from start to finish; the way its rhythms and synths bleed into each other makes it feel like a masterful DJ set. Even when the percussion is stripped away, Yorke still has his sharp pen and otherworldly voice. On “Dawn Chorus,” a lyrical collage of trite everyday phrases (“If you could do it all again,” “Back up the cul-de-sac”) is imbued with pathos by yearning keyboards. With its complex mood, this anxious hymn recalls Radiohead’s best work–it feels like suppressing grief and fear in order to find enough peace to get through another day. Yorke’s character in the three-song short film for Anima (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and streaming on Netflix), begins and ends the production in the London Underground, which when it debuted last summer still unambiguously symbolized the claustrophobia of modernity’s grind. Given that London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that Tube travel will lead to more COVID-19 infections, the sight of commuters on a packed train car may soon be enough to inspire nostalgia–an irony befitting one of Yorke’s songs. v
For many Chicagoans, going to shows at small clubs and DIY venues is a way of life. So during our shelter-in-place order, we’re not only missing close friends and loved ones, we’re also missing the sights, sounds, and camaraderie of our local music community.
But pandemic or no pandemic, the concert previews in our April 2 issue (assigned weeks ago, before all the shows were canceled) were going to be something special. The Reader typically covers a mix of local and touring artists, and when we’d publish our usual 11 show previews each week, a handful might be about Chicagoans. This time around, though, we’d lined up seven record-release shows by some of the city’s most exciting underground artists, including postpunk bands, rappers, an R&B group, an avant-garde cellist, and more.
We can’t celebrate with these artists in a live setting, but we can sure as hell celebrate their musicianship and accomplishments. We’re still running the show previews that we could repurpose as record reviews–and that means nine this week. When you stream the new albums listed below, try closing your eyes and picturing yourself at one of Chicago’s beloved neighborhood venues with your best concert buddies. You just might come out of quarantine with a new favorite local band.
Chicago foreclosure activity in February was down only slightly from last year
ATTOM Data Solutions updated their RealtyTrac data earlier this month without issuing a foreclosure market report so I went ahead and updated my Chicago foreclosure activity charts below. I’ve been informed that the January numbers previously reported had a problem with bank repossessions which were overstated. In reality neither total foreclosure activity nor bank repossessions hit a 15 month high. After posting this I was provided the correct data and the graph below will be fixed going forward.
Total February foreclosure activity in Chicago was 6.4% below last February. Auctions actually hit a new low since I’ve been tracking the data.
Keep in mind that, going forward, this data is going to get all weird on us because some banks, HUD, Fannie, and Freddie are all halting foreclosures during the Coronavirus crisis. So I don’t know what this data is going to look like in a couple of months.
Chicago foreclosure activity has declined dramatically since the housing crisis.
Chicago Shadow Inventory
In terms of the backlog of Chicago homes that are in some stage of the foreclosure process we may have hit another one of those plateaus after the nice drop in January. The February numbers actually rose slightly – by 21 units – from January. You can get a pretty good sense of the pattern from the graph below. At least we remain below 5000 units for the time being.
Chicago’s shadow inventory of homes in foreclosure is about 1/5 of what it once was.
#Foreclosures #ChicagoForeclosures
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.
After 20 years in the corporate world and running an Internet company, Gary started Lucid Realty with his partner, Sari. The company provides full service, while discounting commissions for sellers and giving buyers rebates.
The United States Senate, by a vote of 96-0, approved a $2.2 trillion dollar coronavirus pandemic aid initiative on Wednesday, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi planning to push the bill through the House of Representatives on Friday. From there it will be sent to President Trump for his signature, and then the economic relief package will become law.
It’s by far the largest economic relief bill in American history, but that was to be expected, especially when you factor in the time value of money. A majority of the funds will be geared towards financial stimulus, with $500 billion set aside for sending direct payments of $1,200 to every American that earns less than $75,000 per year. It is expected that these checks will take three weeks to reach these Americans in need, so billionaire businessman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban is trying as hard as he can to get this money to the people who need it faster.
Another $500 billion of the package will go to the Federal government, $150 billion for state and local governments and $100 billion for hospitals. The bill also includes a lot of added expenditures for items not at all related to the COVID-19 pandemic including: $25 million to the Kennedy Center for the performing arts, $20 million to two D.C. area colleges, $75 million for the arts and humanities and $350 million in migrant and refugee assistance.
There were a lot of losers in this bill, including the U.S. Post Office, which got about half of what they were asking, and the oil and cruise industries, which didn’t receive much help at all.
The New York Times has a comprehensive Q&A on the relief package bill, which has of course, received a lot of criticism from both sides of the aisle. The left points out the lack of oversight on Trump, and what resources could be allocated to his family. Given his notorious history of nepotism, at a level on par with a banana republic autocrat, this is understandably concerning.
So will it be enough to save us from an economic depression or a really severe recession? No one really knows for sure, but on Thursday the U.S. jobless claims numbers came out and they surged to an all-time high.
This past week saw 3.82 million Americans filing for unemployment insurance, with just 282,000 workers filing a claim the week before. Meanwhile we learned on Thursday night that the U.S. surpassed both Italy and China for the most COVID-19 cases in a single country.
No matter what happens we can certainly expect another three to four months of extreme economic disruption. Over the next 6-8 weeks things will get very uncertain as we see the macro impact and how that all plays out. More numbers from key indicators will be coming out over the weekend, and hopefully we don’t see another negative surge.
Right now, almost everybody is feeling the pain, whether it be in their investment portfolio, their 401k, their bank account balance, everywhere.
However, it’s imperative we solve the health emergency first, and then worry about the economic fallout later.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and ChicagoNow.
He’s been a featured guest in dozens of media outlets including The History Channel. His work has been cited in hundreds of publications including the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
1250 Westview Rd. in Glenview: $1,449,900 | Listed on Feb. 14, 2020
This 3,700-square-foot Glenview home has five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms and was recently expanded in 2013. Vaulted ceilings and barn wood can be found on the first floor, along with a wall of windows overlooking the back yard. The formal dining room connects the family room and kitchen. Custom white cabinetry, an island, granite counters, a breakfast nook and appliances from Wolf and Subzero complete the kitchen. The master bathroom has dual floating vanities and a walk-in shower. The home features hardwood floors throughout and a finished basement. The outside of the home includes a stone patio, irrigation system and a shed.
Agent: Leslie Raugstad-Brown & Aaron Share of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, 847-401-4906
Dino is a seven-week-old, wiggly, very handleable and fun golden male golden Syrian hamster baby looking for a loving guardian.
Born February 1st, Dino is learning to appreciate attention from his people, lots of different foods and treats including unsalted peanuts, broccoli and tofu, spinning on his wheel and exploring his surroundings.
Golden Syrian hamsters live alone in their habitats so it’s important to give daily attention and love.
In captivity, these golden hamsters can run two to five miles in a 24-hour period, and they can store up to one ton of food in their cheeks in a lifetime. It’s fun to watch them hoard food.
Since this is a baby, he will need patient daily handling and socialization so he is not afraid of humans.
His adoption fee of $15 benefits the Friends of Petraits Rescue. If you need an entire hamster habitat, 20-gallon long aquarium with lid, paper bedding, hamster food, exercise wheel, hidey castle and water bottle – everything you need including the hamster – the whole package is available for $75.
Chauncey, played by Peter Sellers, hardly knows where he is, so when the rich owner of the garden suddenly dies, Chance is a total loss without guidance. He dresses in the owner’s elegant clothes and starts wandering through the capital city.
Peter Sellers as Joe Biden?
The short of it: his off-handed remarks apropos of nothing are taken as great wisdom (where else but in Washington?) and soon, as a great sage, he is advising the United State president. When there’s nothing going on in his head.
Maybe it’s not fair to compare Biden to Chance, but the reality finally is settling in among Democrat Party overseers that the former vice president isn’t up to it, not when it comes to dealing with such national emergencies as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maybe a better comparison is Bernie Novaks, the dead-guy-walking in Weekend at Bernies who is propped up by a couple of goofs trying to fool everyone into thinking that Bernie is really alive.
Neighborhoods are also a hotbed for public art such as this mural in the Pilsen neighborhood.
If you live in Chicago, you probably know about “Cloud Gate” (aka, The Bean), “The Picasso” and the twin Lions that stand guard in front of the Art Institute of Chicago but you may have missed some of the city’s other wonderful public art installations.
Since most stores and cultural institutions are currently closed and we are reminded to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis, a walk through Chicago’s outdoor public art landscape is a good way to get some exercise, fresh air and a bit of culture.
Our tour starts in front of Chicago’s Cultural Center on the corner of Washington St. and Michigan Ave with a Bronze Cow that we affectionally refer to as:
Not Now Bronze Cow
78 E. Washington
Bronze Cow.
Back in 1999, Cows on Parade captured the imagination and affection of Chicagoans and visitors alike. Dozens of creative cows were spotted (pun intended) everywhere from the Museum of Science and Industry to the Mag Mile and some neighborhoods.
Although some survive in private collections and indoors, our “Bronze Cow” is the only utter one on public view in an outdoor location.
Stop two: Monument with Standing Beast 100 W. Randolph
From Bronze Cow, head west to Clark, turn right (north) for one block to Randolph where you’ll find the Beast on the northeast corner of Clark and Randolph in front of the Thompson Center
“Monument with Standing Beast” is a 29-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture that weighs more than 10 tons.
This fiberglass beast is made up of four elements that are said to represent an animal, a portal, a tree and an architectural form. It was unveiled in 1984, and according to the artist, Dubuffet, it is a “drawing that extends into space.” Chicagoans have nicknamed the piece “Snoopy in a blender.”
Stop three: The Muddy Waters Mural
17 N. State
From “The Beast” head back east on Randolph to State (two blocks). Turn south on State to Washington (one block). Stand on the SW corner and look up and across the street to get the best view of the mural.
Muddy Waters mural. Photo: Carole Kuhrt-Brewer
Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters is honored in this colorful nine-story tall mural. The mural was completed in 2016 by Eduardo Kobra, an internationally acclaimed Brazilian street artist.
Muddy Waters known as the “father of modern Chicago blues” came to Chicago from Mississippi in 1943, as a part of the “great migration” of African Americans from the southern United States.
“I Can’t Be Satisfied” and “I Feel Like Going Home” were some of Waters earliest hits recorded in the late 1940s on the Aristocrat label (later Chess Records).
Stop four: Marc Chagall’s The Four Seasons
10 S. Dearborn
Four Seasons. Photo: Chicago Tribune
After viewing the Muddy Waters mural, continue south on State St. (one block) to Madison St. Turn right (west) on Madison to Dearborn (one block) to Chase Tower Plaza SE corner of Madison and Dearborn.
Composed of thousands of inlaid chips in more than 250 colors, Marc Chagall’s mosaic artwork “The Four Seasons” portrays six vivid scenes of Chicago. The mosaic was dedicated on September 27, 1974, as a gift to the City of Chicago from Frederick A. Prince, an American investor.
Stop five: Flamingo by Alexander Calder
50 E. Adams
From the Chagall, go south on Dearborn to Adams, turn left (east) on Adams to 50 E. Adams home of the Flamingo that sits on Federal Plaza in front of the Kluczynski Federal Building
Calder’s Flamingo. Photo: Chicago Tribune
Alexander Calder’s Flamingo is an iconic, towering piece of bright red public art that anchors the large rectangular plaza.
It is bordered by three Bauhaus style federal buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe.
The sculpture’s vivid color and curvilinear form contrast dramatically with the angular steel and glass surroundings.
Despite its monumental proportions, the open design allows the viewer to walk under and through the sculpture, leading one to perceive it in relation to human scale.
Bonus installation: Agora
If you like to walk you may want to include Agora at 1135 S. Michigan Ave. on your tour.
The installation is about a mile walk from Calder’s Flamingo.
Go east on Madison to Michigan Ave. (three blocks). Turn right (south) on Michigan to E. Van Buren. Agora is on the east side of Michigan Ave. on the Southwest edge of Grant Park.
Agora by artist Magdalena Abakanowicz is inspired by World War II and the 45 years of Soviet domination that followed. The large installation is comprised of 106 nine-foot tall headless torsos made of cast iron, the artwork derives it name from the Greek word for meeting place. The figures are posed walking in groups in various directions or standing still.
Subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email
If you would like to keep in touch with what’s happening in Chicago, like us on Facebook or subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email. To subscribe, type your email address in the box below and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.
A usually bustling city has turned quiet as many residents, workers and visitors have stayed indoors because of the coronavirus pandemic. Chicago’s storied streets and attractions can be seen mostly empty, as viewed from the skies. Using a drone, Tribune photojournalist Zbigniew Bzdak captured scenes of an empty Chicago. More can be viewed in this video.
3 comments