I run a radio show called the chrysanthemum sound system. It airs @ 10p-12a on Thursdays on KRUI and features anything and everything. I write On The Beat in Little Village Magazine. I won on The Smartest Iowan. You can find me either in your basement, on the street, @acethoughts (Twitter) or gplus.to/achawleyisdead (Google+)

So, we’ve been leaking hits from the coming 2012 Festival over the past few weeks. This hasn’t been strictly promotional. If you could come to our secret team meetings–they always start with a ritual sacrifice–you would see how psyched all of us actually are for this year’s festival. We’ve got heavy hitters coming in that [...]

In a new sort-of continual/long-term/occasional project that doesn’t consist of me just inundating you with albums that I think are cool, I’m going to start a learning project. When I was in high school, I used to listen to nothing but techno and shoegaze. While there may have been a random PJ Harvey or Chris [...]

Originally hailing from the state of Iowa, Laura Sprengelmeyer has been a long-time staple of the Montreal indie rock scene, a scene that has brought the world–either for its benefit or utter detriment, you decide–The Arcade Fire. Unlike that band, the music Sprengelmeyer releases under her stage name Little Scream is far less bombastic. Although [...]

NB: While this column is about shows still being produced, part of my year in television has been watching Cybill. I implore everyone reading this to watch Cybill. It’s a sitcom that a) has really smart dialogue and b) is set up so you don’t see the jokes coming from a mile away. The comedic [...]

For all those hoping for a list, you’re at the wrong place. I’m not going to actually tell you what the best albums of the year are. For those that insist, the best album to come out this year was PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake. You are, certainly, free to disagree with that and say [...]

Right below this post is another one from MC contributor Bernardo. In it, he talks about the fear that music has for turning the corner and moving into a new frontier. One of the main things that he notes is the music of now is a replay of the past because of future anxiety, or [...]

I don’t have a prolonged review of anything right now. I have albums for review, but I’ve got very little interest in listening to them. They are these rather generic rock albums. While I’m sure they are competent, they aren’t really grabbing my attention in any meaningful way right now. Although from first synth strike [...]

NB: Continuing the cavalcade of album reviews today, I post a new piece from a new contributor here at the blog, Steve Crowley. You may know who he is. You might not on the other hand. That being said, I’m sure that he can tell you who he is as soon as he gets blog [...]

Warm Ghost is a duo hailing from the indie music hotbed that is Brooklyn, NY. Their music connects two very different worlds. The first is that of standard electronic pop like Au Revoir Simone, The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. In the other world are innovative abstract electronic artists like Christian Fennesz, [...]

I’ve been trying to cut down on the chattiness in my record reviews, as it doesn’t really take 700 words to describe an album thoroughly. To prove so, I will tell you about Midnight Remember, the first stateside release for Australians Little Red. There is nothing particularly fresh with regards to this record. I mean [...]