Caropop

Steve Albini raised his profile while recording Nirvana, the Pixies, the Breeders, P.J. Harvey and more, but he never became part of the rock machine. He works only on analog equipment, refuses to accept producer royalties and takes pride in remaining accessible to a wide variety of artists. Part 1 of this Caropop conversation takes place at his Chicago recording studio, Electrical Audio, as he di...

When Dave Gregory joined XTC in 1979, he transformed the band through his muscular, melodic guitar playing, occasional keyboards and, on "1000 Umbrellas," a string arrangement. Gregory always found ways to elevate singer-guitarist Andy Partridge’s and bassist Colin Moulding’s tuneful songs, such as “Generals and Majors” and “Senses Working Overtime.” But Gregory, frustrated by Partridge’s controll...

He photographed the Beatles during the Get Back project and in their final photo session. He shot the Rolling Stones during their peak years and was airlifted out of Altamont Speedway with them. He provided the indelible images for Who’s Next and other album covers. Ethan Russell was a young man from San Francisco who moved to London and became a rock ‘n’ roll photographer before that was consider...

Chicago-born producer Shel Talmy and the Kinks revolutionized rock with the distorted-guitar attack of “You Really Got Me,” so impressing Pete Townshend that the Who leader wrote “I Can’t Explain” as a Kinks-like song to lure Talmy to produce them too. Talmy did, starting with “My Generation,” and also produced the Easybeats (“Friday on My Mind”), the Creation (“Making Time”) and a young David Bow...

Mekons concerts are dancing-in-the-face-of-the-apocalypse parties, and at their center is Sally Timms. Her beautiful, pure voice is way better than what you’d expect from a post-punk, country-tinged, what-have-you band, and, as she explains here, she feels duty-bound to spread joy from the stage, especially when times are dark. Typically quick-witted and thoughtful, she discusses the Mekons’ early...

Carrie Nahabedian is a trailblazing, Michelin-starred chef, a mentor to many and a great talker. She offers an unvarnished look into what it’s like to run a high-end restaurant (Brindille) during a pandemic. Which has hit harder, staffing or supply-chain issues? Why are women leaving the hospitality industry? Why won’t she charge extra on New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day? Why does she hate tented...

Not only does Steve Dawson continue to be one of Chicago’s most talented and well-liked singers and songwriters—whether solo or with Funeral Bonsai Wedding or Dolly Varden—but he also has inspired countless other musicians through his innovative songwriting classes at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music. His new album At the Bottom of a Canyon in the Branches of a Tree is one of his best. In o...

Bernie Grundman is a legendary mastering engineer, but what is mastering, and why do people look for “BG” in the dead wax of vinyl albums? He has mastered some of the greatest, and greatest sounding, recordings of all time, including Joni Mitchell's Blue , Steely Dan’s Aja , Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Thriller , Prince’s classic run and OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below . He’s an enthu...

Drummer Chris Frantz, who formed one of rock’s funkiest rhythm sections with bassist Tina Weymouth, helped drive Talking Heads to heights perhaps unreached by any other American band. Frantz’s memoir, Remain in Love , could be read as a love letter to Tina, his wife, but not to Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, whom Frantz thinks hogged credit. How did the band create “Psycho Killer” and other s...

Part 2 of our conversation with Mitch Easter jumps right into the making of those classic first R.E.M. records: Chronic Town , Murmur and Reckoning . What is that weird pulsating sound that opens “Radio Free Europe”? Why are pool balls colliding in slow motion on “We Walk”? Easter also discusses the ups and downs of his band Let’s Active and his work with the late Scott Miller’s bands Game Theory...

Mitch Easter could be considered the Godfather of Jangle except he dislikes the term. His production work on the first R.E.M. records and bands such as Game Theory and the Windbreakers helped define the cool sounds of the ’80s. He offered his own indelible songs, including “Every Word Means No,” in his band Let’s Active. A great talker and music-history appreciator, he flashes back to his days as...

Riccardo Muti is music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and one of the world's great conductors. He's a fierce advocate for culture (as opposed to entertainment) and a passionate artist who knows what he wants. Sitting in his Symphony Center quarters, he was eloquent and good-humored while discussing the pandemic's impact on culture, why he won't listen to his old recordings, whether he’...

"Spill the Wine," “All Day Music,” “Slippin’ into Darkness,” “The Cisco Kid,” “The World Is a Ghetto,” “Me and Baby Brother,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” “Low Rider,” "Summer"--you know the songs, but how much do you know about War and its talented musicians? Founding keyboardist/singer/songwriter Lonnie Jordan has stories to tell about how this multiracial L.A. band came up with such an intoxicati...

Kathy Valentine is a smart, resilient rock ‘n’ roller with much to say. Propelling the Go-Go’s with her innovative bass playing, writing and singing, she experienced the thrills of performing great songs to massive audiences while learning how much the deck remains stacked against female musicians. Speaking from her Texas home, she discusses the creation of those wonderful songs, the band’s overdu...

Bruce Thomas was the stupendous bassist for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, creating the indelible bass lines that drove such songs as “Pump It Up,” “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea” and “Everyday I Write the Book.” He and Costello had a falling out years ago...but is a thaw in the air at last? What was it like to play in such a hot band? How did they arrange the songs? Which legendary British...

Has anyone in the rock world maintained a longer, more sustained level of excellence than Richard Thompson? From his 1960s recordings with Fairport Convention through his most recent work, this British musician has been setting a ridiculously high standard with his razor-sharp songwriting and incendiary guitar playing. He’s a great storyteller in conversation as well; listen as he discusses master...