Nicole Oppenheim writes
Throughout December CHIRP Radio presents its members’ top albums of 2010. The next list is from CHIRP Radio DJ Nicole Oppenheim.
(Click here to get the complete list of CHIRP Radio members’ picks.)
- Sleigh Bells – Treats (Mom & Pop Music)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Not only was this album the soundtrack to virtually every summer party I attended, but songs from it were also featured prominently on every road trip mix I heard this year. For good reason: the songs are chock full o’ infectious grooves, thunderous guitar riffs, and sugary-sweet vocals. What more could you want from a pop record? I’ll admit I was disappointed by Sleigh Bells’ live performance at Pitchfork, but I dare you to play “Crown on the Ground”, “A/B Machines”, or “Kids” without wanting to dance around your living room. I’m reasonably sure it’s impossible.
- Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be (Hozac/Sub Pop)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Whispery female vocals, Shoegaze throwback melodies, poignant lyrics? Sign me up! That’s pretty much all that needs to be said about this record. Oh, and if you didn’t like it for some reason, don’t try to friend me on Facebook. It’s not going to work out for us.
- The Vaselines – Sex With an X (Sub Pop)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Like many people my age, I first heard of The Vaselines thanks to Nirvana, who covered their songs on MTV Unplugged. I listened to them. I liked them. I (regrettably) forgot about them. Thankfully, I rediscovered The Vaselines when this album was released this fall. Again, it’s a near-perfect pop record (do you sense a theme to this list?) with a really great sense of humor. Does it get better than the title track, “I Hate the 80s”, or “Mouth to Mouth”? So many standout singles on this one, it’s hard to believe they all fit on one album.
- The National – High Violet (4AD)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
As much as I love clever pop music, there’s also a significant place in my heart for songs about heartache, depression, and general world-weariness. Enter The National. On a personal level, 2010 is not remotely in contention for Best Year Ever status. Not that 2010 was horrible, but it wasn’t earth-shatteringly great, either. For all the bumps in the road, it was nice to have an album like this to listen to. The songs didn’t magically make everything better, but the music was there for commiseration. It was like having a messy heart-to-heart over a beer with your best friend. It hurts so good.
- Robyn – Body Talk (Konichiwa)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Before Pitchfork this summer, I liked Robyn. After Pitchfork this summer, I LOVED her. It was something like 4000 degrees the day of her performance and there’s this pale little pixie decked out in a leather and knit dress, dancing and singing her heart out. She never missed a beat and kept the crowd on its feet the whole time. She even swore in two languages when talking about how hot it was. Oh, Robyn. You made my bitter, shriveled heart grow at least three sizes that day. Finally! An intelligent woman who calls her own shots on her own label, no less, and plays awesome pop music you don’t feel guilty for loving. This is pop perfection. Thank you, Robyn!!
- Wolf Parade – Expo 86 (Sub Pop)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Anyone who knows me well won’t be shocked to see this record on my top ten of the year. I loves me some Wolf Parade. I’ll admit it. WP’s sound changes with each album, which is one of the things I like most about them. They aren’t afraid to experiment and grow as artists. And unlike many bands, Wolf Parade is at their best when they are growing and changing. Expo 86 is not just another Apologies to the Queen Mary. It’s a record that can stand on its own with tracks like “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)”, “Little Golden Age”, and “Two Men in New Tuxedos”. It’s also great to see and hear a band come into its own. On previous albums, it was obvious who penned each track. Not so on this one. The magic is in the mystery.
- The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack (Kemado)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Garage rock + Surf rock = you know this band’s from the West Coast. And if their debut album is anything like what we can expect from them in the future, I’m one happy, happy camper. Each song on this album is simple and poppy. You’ll find yourself humming snippets from various tracks for days after listening to them. Their sound is nothing trail-blazing; it’s three-chord garage rock with some surf thrown in for good measure. But it is TIGHT. It’s not about re-inventing the wheel. It’s about making the best wheel possible.
- Deloran – Subiza (True Panther Sounds)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Just another reason to love Barcelona. Delorean hails from the Spanish city and already has quite the following in Europe. It’s about time we Yanks started taking notice—this is Delorean’s fourth album, after all. What is so great about Delorean’s music is that it’s so clean. There are the odd thumps and yelps here and there, but generally, it’s just a smooth beat with vocals that meld perfectly into the song. Each track offers something different—kind of like that box of chocolates Forrest Gump was always talking about. You never know what you’re going to get, but you know it will be tasty.
- The Depreciation Guild – Spirit Youth (Kanine)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
If my emotions had a sound, it would be this. Shoegaze-y melodies, fuzzy vocals, classic dream pop-ery. It’s all sorts of pastel colored cotton candy in your head. And it’s awesome. Again, no shocker that some of the members of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (who made my favorite record of 2009) are also in The Depreciation Guild. Every track deserves a listen, but standouts are: “Trace”, “Blue Lily”, “Spirit Youth” and “Through the Snow”. If loving electro-dream pop is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.
- Hot Chip – One Life Stand (Astralwerks)
BUY: Amazon / Insound / iTunes
Another true confession: I heart the Pet Shop Boys. I don’t think you could have grown up in the ’80s and NOT loved them, but I digress. Hot Chip is a pop band with some seriously dance-tastic grooves, not unlike the Pet Shop Boys. There’s the synth sound, the falsetto vocals, the posh accents. But there are also some risks taken here that secured Hot Chip a place in my Top Ten. While every song on this album could certainly be described as a “dance track”, there is still a wide variety. You get ballads, hard-and-fast club mixes, melodic mid-tempo beats, and classic pop songs. If it’s worth dancing to, these guys can make it happen. So, do yourself a favor. Put away all the neon spandex and Aqua-Net and put on a new pop record like this one. The ’80s were fun, but the future of pop is better. Trust this.
Nicole Oppenheim writes
Ever dream of leaving the workaday world behind and liberating yourself from corporate control? Or have you ever wanted to put some of your life experiences to music, but it didn’t quite work out the way you’d envisioned? How about experiencing two full weeks of eating nothing but the best BBQ in the world? I sat down with Dave Smith to talk about these and other issues.
Mr. Smith is the author of “King Pignacious: A Swine’s Rise to Power,” a not-quite-rock-opera, decidedly multimedia entertainment extravaganza which chronicles a war between humans and pigs where pigs try to expose the hypocrisy of the for-profit health system and show average humans how their lives are being ruined by healthcare conglomerates and big business.
“King Pignacious: A Swine’s Rise to Power” has its third and final show at the Viaduct Theater this Saturday, September 11. The show starts at 9:30pm and the opening act is Fluid Minds. A portion of the sales will go to benefit CHIRP.
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Nicole Oppenheim writes
There used to be this commercial on TV from Staples, the office supply store. You know the one: a white, overweight, balding stereotypical “dad” guy dances while pushing a cart full of school supplies. Two tweens, presumably his children, sulk behind him, dragging their feet and looking forlornly from one another to their uber-embarrassing father doing arabesques through the aisles to the tune of Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Then they look at the floor and follow their dad slowly off screen as the week’s sale items are displayed for our viewing pleasure.
As a kid, I hated this commercial. I thought it was lame and overblown. Parents don’t really feel that way. They’re so trapped by their crap jobs and stultifying worldviews, having the kids home would have to be great, right? Everyone knows parents have no desires of their own, because as we all learned from John Hughes movies and Peter Pan, when you grow up, your heart dies. The fun part of your parents’ lives is over! Stupid Staples. Parents don’t dream of their kids going back to school, much less dance through the aisles of a store (in public!) at the mere thought of it. Yes, I actually thought this. Now that I have children, I realize how foolish I was.
My kids were enrolled in camp 5 mornings a week for 7 weeks this summer. Since the kids were born 3.5 years ago, these 7 weeks have been the best part of my life. I had my mornings free! Tuesdays and Thursdays I was free until 1 o’clock! Oh, joy of joys! Free time! I could do whatever I wanted to do! I could even practice ballet moves behind a cart at an office supply store! I didn’t, but I could’ve.
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Nicole Oppenheim writes
As many of you already know, I could definitely be described as an unconventional parent. I don’t really care if my kids swear (colorful verbiage is an important part of everyone’s lexicon), I let them eat way too much candy (they both have a sweet tooth the size of Jupiter), and I don’t bathe them every single day like all the parenting books recommend (dirt builds the immune system and prevents allergies, right?). So when my husband asked me what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day this year and my response was, “Get the hell away from all of you crazy people,” his laughter and eye-roll to the ceiling could have been predicted.
I know Mother’s Day was started as a day to honor the woman who changed your diapers, made sure you had clean clothes to wear, carted you around town until you or one of your friends could drive, and then sent you to college and paid for it, but it’s still just as much of a faux holiday as Valentine’s Day. Just as you should celebrate the love you share with your special someone more than one chilly day in mid-February, so too should you remember to show your mom (or grandma, or aunt, or godmother) some gratitude most days of the year for all the things she does for you. And let me tell you a little secret: A mediocre brunch, some flowers, and a mawkish card once a year is not even close to enough. In fact, it so misses the mark that it’s kind of insulting.
Allow me to describe what would be a perfect Mother’s Day for your truly: I wake up to the sound of a silent house. No toddlers screaming. No dog whining to be let out. No husband next to me snoring loud enough to wake the dead. No cat meowing plaintively, waiting for food. Just me, the subtle sounds of a spring morning and muted sunlight coming in through the drawn curtains. sigh Oh, and the all-important smell of freshly-brewed coffee (that was made by someone other than me) is wafting up from the kitchen.
There’s More…
Nicole Oppenheim writes
I take my camera with me wherever I go. You never know when something noteworthy will reveal itself and I like to be prepared. (Oh, and before you ask, no, I was not a Girl Scout.) For instance, yesterday while running some errands, I noticed an excellent juxtaposition of storefronts. In a strip mall up here in Rogers Park, there’s a very large candy store right next to a dentist’s office. Cause and effect? That’s probably overstating it, but there has to be some kind of cosmic symbiosis at play here. And, like every Gen Xer, I appreciate irony above all else, so I snapped a quick photo.
Generally, this photo-snapping habit is enough to quench my thirst for irony and humor in everyday life, but there have been a few times when I’ve wished for a video camera to record entire events in real time. This past Saturday was one of those rare times when I wished to all that’s holy I’d had a video camera on me. The resulting film would have been an instant classic (a term that is not thrown around lightly here at CHIRP). There was drama. There was action. There was comedy. There was even real vomit! It was a three-year-old’s birthday party and it was fantastic. Never before have I been so happy not to have been involved in any way with the success or failure of an event. I was a guest, as were my three-year-old twins and my husband; but truthfully, we were peripheral actors in a carnivalesque scene of absolute mayhem.
First, a little background: My kids attend preschool in the Gold Coast. Ironically, my husband and I chose this particular preschool for our kids not because it was posh and all the moms/nannies dropped their kids off in Lexus SUVs; no, we chose it because it was the cheapest we could find. (And for the record, I drop my kids off in a hand-me-down Ford with a huge dent in the front, a peeling bumper, and a semi-functional defrost system). Posh Preschool is even cheaper than the preschool classes offered by our neighborhood Chicago Public school—no joke! Oh, and the quality of education my kids receive at Posh is amazing. For what we pay, comparatively speaking, it kind of feels like stealing. (Win!)
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