Our @soundopinions.bsky.social conversation with Barry Walters, a pioneering music journalist and author of "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000." www.soundopinions.org/show/1072 And I spiel about Walters' impact as a writer/critic and social-justice advocate: bit.ly/4w3VTW5

Got this from one of my daughters today. My work here is done.

Spent Juneteenth eve w/ Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in Millennium Park. A good day for the South Side, for the world, with the words of Barack & Michelle Obama at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, & then the exhortations – musical & verbal – of El’Zabar, one of the (1/3)

James "Blood" Ulmer (RIP) was at the center of a guitar revolution in the late '70s & beyond. His crucial roles with Ornette Coleman & Arthur Blythe brought blues, free jazz and No Wave into a free-flowing conversation. Saw him do it real time at Tut's in January 1982. His boldness will be missed.

When an artist or band releases a stellar debut LP, the toughest task ahead of them is how to at least equal if not top it on the second go-round. On @soundopinions.bsky.social, we select some of our favorite follow-up albums: bit.ly/4wUQCkL

We all have to start somewhere, and with jazz, & Sonny Rollins (RIP), it was the 1959 LP "Newk's Time." I was drawn to it because it included a cover of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Surrey with the Fringe on Top," familiar to me because my parents loved Broadway soundtracks. Sonny's version ... (1/2)

“Life isn’t about finding yourself or finding anything. Life is about creating yourself & creating things.” A few words on Bob Dylan at 85: shorturl.at/tClKP

A @soundopinions.bsky.social classic album dissection of the Violent Femmes' 1983 debut LP: bit.ly/4dFaik7 And a few words from me about how the Femmes broke out of one of the Midwest's coolest scenes (Milwaukee!): bit.ly/4fk0BtV

Chicago's answer to Big Star and Alex Chilton was/is Green and Jeff Lescher. I explain why here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

Farewell, Sam Sianis, the Greek immigrant whose Billy Goat tavern was a second home for legions of Chicago journos. When I was hired by the Trib, I felt like I'd arrived when I'd walk down the steps, made a right and was greeted by a cold PBR sliding my way from the end of the bar. Cheers, Sam.

Lou Reed had high hopes for his music: "that 10 years from now you could still listen to one of my albums because it wasn’t just a party record, but something that would engage you emotionally, intellectually, if not spiritually, on the level that a novel can." Read on: tinyurl.com/42thk3u6

Ratboys continue their decade-long roll with new album "Singin’ to an Empty Chair." Singer-songwriter Julie Steiner lays out the band's story in the @soundopinions.bsky.social interview (linked in comments).

We won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting @chicagotribune.com! Our entire newsroom covered Midway Blitz with everything we had. I’ve never been prouder of the Tribune or its commitment to the truth. It’s an honor to be part of this team.

Our @soundopinions.bsky.social interview with the prolific billy woods: bit.ly/48rvyIg And a few words about what makes him an era-defining MC: shorturl.at/yKyi7

James Gadson (RIP) made countless records groove, starting with his classic drum breaks for Charles Wright & the 103rd Street Rhythm Band. He also was an ace songwriter & singer. Kelly Hogan's brilliant "I Like to Keep Myself in Pain" LP has Gadson all over it. I spiel about JG here: bit.ly/4tX07hc

Long overdue.... "The judge will determine remedies in a separate proceeding. That could include significant divestments by Live Nation, or even a breakup of Live Nation & Ticketmaster — an outcome that the federal govt. had called for when filing its case almost two years ago." shorturl.at/LhvSe

New-ish songs that are living inside our heads at @soundopinions.bsky.social. Here's where to listen: bit.ly/4tA8BKS

In celebration of Neil Young's 80-plus years on the planet, our journey through the past in 12 tracks we've chosen from his massive songbook. Link in comments. @soundopinions.bsky.social

The reception from critics & public to this LP so discouraged Miles Davis that he didn't record another studio album for a decade. But "On the Corner" mapped the future by fusing the innovations of Sly and Hendrix with jazz and avant-garde arrangements and production. I rave on: shorturl.at/Xqqpr

Rob Miller found a community in a Chicago, and helped build a label that defined a time and a place for more than two decades. The @soundopinions.bsky.social interview with the Bloodshot cofounder: bit.ly/4spE8OW And a few words from me about that era: shorturl.at/zmCoW

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance was built on decades of innovation in Puerto Rican music, all roads leading from the great Willie Colon (RIP). A few words about the late salsa legend in this @soundopinions.bsky.social bonus podcast: tinyurl.com/fuawa3me

RADIO ALERT NEWS! Just got word my interview with @jimderogatis.bsky.social & @gregkot.bsky.social on the fab @soundopinions.bsky.social show will be airing TONIGHT in Chicago (and who knows where else) on @wbez.org @8pm We'll talk about my @illinoispress.bsky.social book (link in bio) & much more.

I picked up this LP when I was in college, and it remains relevant. Loaded with political commentary/satire that still sounds outrageously of the moment. My minor at Marquette was political science, and I once wrote a term paper based on one of its tunes, which I spiel about here: shorturl.at/St2VI

Giants still walk among us. AACM cofounder/composer/multi-instrumentalist Roscoe Mitchell, 85 years young, kicked out the jams with his dog Shuggie and the great Mike Reed (drums) and Jason Adasiewicz (vibes) in a 70-minute piece of extended ebb and flow interaction last night at Constellation.

See you there.

Some spiel about Al Green and his garage-gospel masterpiece, "The Belle Album": bit.ly/4rRdr5g And our @soundopinions.bsky.social conversation with Green's biographer, Jimmy McDonough, about the album: bit.ly/4lL6LEf

Tim & Katie Tuten + Mike & Jim Hinchsliff are moving on. The Hideout will remain, but the club's ownership, and its identity as a DIY Chicago institution will change hands. The little club that could. Mark Guarino has more: shorturl.at/C5N5r.

Oscars post-mortem: The final scene of "Sinners" with Buddy Guy is the moment when a very good film becomes a great one, a moving coda that illuminates and broadens the impact of what came before. I found the entire film worth watching again, as the Guy cameo put it all in context. (1/2)

How many artists/bands can say they did great work in their 3rd decade & beyond that equaled or surpassed the music they created in their 1st decade? The list is mighty small. We talk about a few that defied the odds on @soundopinions.bsky.social: bit.ly/4rBTe37 What are your late-career faves?

Where have all the protest songs gone? They've never gone away, and have been arriving like news bulletins in recent months. Sound Opinions returns to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library to dig into the latest wave of resistance anthems. 7 p..m. Wednesday. It's free. Info here: shorturl.at/80ugE

"Ticketing employees at Live Nation joked about trying to 'gouge' people for parking and V.I.P. upgrades at concerts, calling fans 'so stupid' for paying the inflated charges and boasting that they were 'robbing them blind baby...'" shorturl.at/shZPW

The ever-expanding resist playlist, linked below, is just a small sampling of the outpouring of new protest songs, most released in the last few weeks. open.spotify.com/playlist/1DL...

Danny Brown and Peaches, two entertainingly offbeat, thought-provoking button-pushers with new albums. Some spiel from me on past interviews with both: bit.ly/3OVQNek And reviews of the new LPs from Jim and I on @soundopinions.bsky.social: www.soundopinions.org/show/1058

I became familiar with British street artist Banksy through his work with Blur 25 years ago. We caught a retrospective exhibit while visiting California (Del Mar). Subversive, humorous and above all, humane, Banksy's art has all the immediacy of a protest song. More pix from the exhibit in comments.

I'll be teaching "Rockin' in the Free World: Democracy and Music in America, an Unruly History" at U of Chicago's Graham School for "lifelong learners" starting March 25. The topic just keeps getting more timely by the day. Free Zoom preview of the class Thursday. Registration in comments below:

Salsa mastermind Willie Colon, RIP. Link in comments to the Bronx-born trombonist-composer's first masterpiece, "Che Che Cole" (1969), an invitation to dance at the rhythmic intersection of Puerto Rico, Africa and Cuba.

We look at the wave of protest songs in recent months on @soundopinions.bsky.social. Link to the show: bit.ly/4kFPyLY And if you've got recent ones that resonate with you, please drop 'em in the comments. I'm compiling a Resist playlist that I'll be sharing soon with more than 40 songs and counting.

The MC at the 1972 Wattstax concert seized the day at the 1988 DNC: "You must not surrender ... keep hope alive" news.sky.com/video/watch-...

This week on @soundopinions.bsky.social we review Lucinda Williams' new album, "World’s Gone Wrong," which meets the moment: bit.ly/3ZnvvrV And I spiel about how Lucinda discovered songs could inform and uplift in times of trouble: bit.ly/45ULLV7

Some bands/artists/tunes we've been obsessed with lately on @soundopinions.bsky.social. Have a listen: bit.ly/4aBNn8M

For aspiring music writers, the then-new magazine Musician was an inspiration with its insights about a broad range of sounds -- reggae, free jazz. punk, prog -- & Vic Garbarini's work was a terrific navigator. A must-read and in later years a voice of wise counsel. RIP, Vic. you showed us the way.

Bad Bunny for the win.

You want protest songs? They've been arriving like news bulletins. Springsteen weighed in with "Streets of Minneapolis" and named names -- like "Ohio" for a new era of WTF government-sanctioned violence. But new takes on what's goin' on are arriving every day. Two new favorites are in comments.

Time to give the drummer some. Oh, and by the way, Jack DeJohnette was also an accomplished composer and pianist. In this @soundopinions.bsky.social bonus episode I pay tribute to the late, great DeJohnette and an LP he helmed in 1980 amid a stellar year for new-jazz must-owns. bit.ly/4bN2Dkg

51st anniversary this week of the album that was for many the gateway into Bob Dylan's music. Some spiel and a link to our in-depth @soundopinions.bsky.social interview with the unsung Minneapolis musicians who helped make "Blood on the Tracks" a masterpiece here: www.facebook.com/share/p/1AT6...

Not just a great mockumentary, but a film so spot-on about the ridiculous/poignant/unintentionally hilarious side of rock 'n' roll that a number of bands I interiewed suspected it was about them. @soundopinions.bsky.social interview with Rob Reiner (RIP) on "This is Spinal Tap": shorturl.at/GtwDx

The day the Staple Singers met MLK: "Pops returned from his meeting with King at Dexter Avenue Church and gathered his family at the hotel in Montgomery. “If he can preach it, we can sing it,” he said, and essentially set the group’s course for the next 10 years. www.facebook.com/share/p/1Dba...

Thanks to Dan the Automator decades ago, I rediscovered this classic groover from Willie Bobo. Latin soul at its finest: "Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries." Here's a taste on @soundopinions.bsky.social: bit.ly/49J40hp

Spieling on Bob Weir in this @soundopinions.bsky.social bonus podcast. A HT to BW and the world he helped create, where "the music plays the band." Here 'tis: shorturl.at/5AgNk

One year in 35 songs. My 2025 mixtape: open.spotify.com/playlist/3ri... And a few words about why these songs and why now: bit.ly/49MZfEy