By Steve Rhodes
“Knowing the sadness that would surely accompany me on my trip, I expected to comfort myself with a 2,000-mile musical journey, led by Radiohead, Shawn Phillips, Pink Floyd, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, and Wilco. Maybe a sprinkle of Neutral Milk Hotel around Montana,” writes our very own Leigh Novak, in the first of her Westward Ho! dispatches that will chronicle her transition from Chicago to Seattle.
“When my journey was said and done, though, I had spent about 25 of the 30 hours meditating solely on Wilco. Specifically, Wilco’s latest album, Sky Blue Sky. Sometimes albums just feel undeniable.
“The treetops nod, the rain applauds . . . “
Moral Dilemma
“So here’s where Illinois stands now,” our very own Jim Coffman writes in SportsMonday. “Potential star shooting guard Jamar Smith, who in February of last year drove drunk through an ice storm despite a specific warning from his coach, trashed his vehicle and Carlwell and then left his teammate in the car to die alone not once but twice before someone else finally called 911 and saved him, will play for the Illini next season. Carlwell will not.”
Altercation
“I don’t think the world needs another book-length recounting of the misdeeds of Limbaugh and Coulter; liberals don’t seem to understand that the key to their success – as well as Bill O’Reilly’s – is their supreme talent as entertainers. Eric Alterman has no such appeal, and shouldn’t try to play on their field,” I write in Reviewing the Reviews.
Tony’s Tiger
“Barack Obama acknowledged in meetings with the city’s two editorial boards that he had not been truthful in describing his knowledge of Tony Rezko’s legal problems when he became entangled in a real estate deal with the political fixer involving Obama’s South Side mansion.”
And other revelations buried over the weekend amidst joy that Obama finally spoke to the local press about Rezko.
UPDATE 4:47 P.M.
From Chicago Tonight: “Presidential candidate Barack Obama met with the editorial boards of both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times last Friday. He addressed, among other issues, his association with jailed political fundraiser Tony Rezko. But why did he chose to do that now? Carol Marin and her panel take a closer look.”
Chicago By Southwest
* DeRogatis: “As I continued mulling over what really bothered me most about Friday’s interview with Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty, it finally struck me: the slight of hand comparing Ticketmaster fees to cable TV and ATM fees, which hits at the heart of the lie behind the company’s PR efforts.”
* Kot: “One of Peter Jenner’s favorite phrases is ‘monetize the chaos,’ and it was heard several times over the last few days at the 22nd annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, which concluded Sunday.
“Jenner was Pink Floyd’s first manager, and Billy Bragg’s current one, and he’s figured out how to make a steady living in an industry not known for its steadiness. In a sense, Jenner’s long and illustrious 40-year career is what most of the estimated 12,500 registrants at the conference covet.”
Flaky State
“A corn flake shaped like the state of Illinois is being offered for sale on eBay,” AP reports.
Last I looked, bidding had topped $20 $1,000 and was still on the rise.
Whaddya say, Beachwood readers, should we go for it? This idea is no longer operational.
Spit Take
“These guys that pay $4,300 for a hooker are the same guys that pay $9 for an espresso. They’re ruining it for everyone else.”
– Bob Beleson, independent beverage marketer, quoted in the New York Times’s “I Agree Dear, It Was Awful”
And the same guys who pay a grand for a frosted flake that looks like a state.
Music City U.S.A.
“Ask any touring musician, artist’s manager or booking agent about their favorite cities to play, and Chicago is certain to rank near the top of the list, thanks to enthusiastic, adventurous and loyal audiences and some of the most renowned venues anywhere in the world,” Jim DeRogatis wrote on Sunday.
“Now, after several trying years when live music seemed to be under constant assault, the Windy City is welcoming two new clubs that could change business as usual on the local scene.”
Click here to find out what they are!
The Pentagon Papers
Of this generation. But we so already knew this it barely made news.
The Other Dead
“For me, one of the most striking indicators of the suffering Baghdad has endured is to be found in our own office, in the number of people known just to the Iraqis working in the Chicago Tribune’s bureau who have been killed,” Liz Sly wrote on Sunday.
“For security reasons, I’d rather not disclose how many people we employ; suffice it to say that our news operation is small compared with most. But if we were to open a Facebook account for our little bureau’s social network of relatives and friends, it would be littered with the faces of the dead.”
Cubs Flubs
“Just so I have it all straight, Aramis Ramirez trains roosters for cockfighting, Felix Pie has a twisted testicle and the Cubs are promoting the arrival of Kosuke Fukudome with an ad picturing an offensive rising-sun flag,” writes ace Cubs dissector Greg Couch. “Has anyone noticed that this Cubs season is already a circus?”
*
“The Cubs are for sale. Wrigley Field’s name is for sale. The state might buy the park. The team might play at Sox park for a season . . . Oh, I almost forgot Mark DeRosa’s irregular heartbeat. Happy anniversary, Cubs.”
The Beachwood Tip Line: Rising.
Posted on March 17, 2008