This hour: Chicago. Hogbutcher to the world, jewel of the Midwest, and everything inbetween.

Wild Onion
by Gwen Macsai (Re:sound, 2010)
Chicago, as all Chicagoans know, means wild onion. Wild, as in feral, unpredictable, fierce, blustery, lunatic. Onion, as in layered, spicy, sometimes stinky, sometimes sweet, and always tear-inducing. At its best, it’s beautiful, humming with life. At its worst, it’s freezing, boiling, congested, dirty, and corrupt.

The Chicago Sound Drops:

Couple Two Tree
by Sean Cole, USA

Studs and Jimmy
by Alan Hall, UK

Riding Through the Summer
by Katie Mingle, USA

Elevated (Grand Chicago)
by Aaron Ximm

Chicago's Gangster
by Heather Radke

Beat Street
by Chris Sewell

The Big City
by Sean Hurley

I've Never Lived in Chicago
by Jonathan Mitchell

Tripping the Light Fantastic with Abraham Levitan
by Delaney Hall and Jacob Anderson (Re:sound, 2010)
Chicago musician Abraham Levitan has a musical superpower: he can write and perform songs on the spot, with just a few minutes of preparation time. We visited Abraham in his apartment, at his piano, and he explained the process he goes through to keep the heart-stopping terror at a minimum and the creative energy at a maximum: a little meditation, a lot of talent, and low expectations, which keeps the dreaded writer’s block at bay.

Deliverance Day
by Abraham Levitan (Re:sound, 2010)
We like Abraham's work so much that we've invited him to be an occasional Re:sound contributor. Every once in a while, he'll listen to all the songs on the show and write a short song inspired by them. Deliverance Day is Abraham's first wrap-up masterpiece, inspired by the Chicago Sound Drops.

Abraham Levitan is a Chicago-based musician who tries to write the simplest possible songs. “Just throw strikes,” he’ll often tell himself.  Happily, he is unsuccessful at this task, and as a result, his creative energies spill out in all directions. 

His live, spontaneously-composed “response songs” tunefully summarize material he’s just heard for the first time, making fans of Ira Glass and Joe Meno, and leading to his current role as a contributor of “wrap-up songs” for Re:sound on Chicago Public Radio.  He also co-hosts Shame That Tune, a monthly live comedy game show at the Hideout in Chicago. Abraham writes, sings, and plays keyboards for Baby Teeth, a Chicago three-piece pop/rock band specializing in retro sounds and thick vocal harmonies. Last but not least, he heads up Piano Power, a music-teaching group offering at-home piano, guitar, voice, and drum lessons to more than 125 students in Chicago and the northern suburbs.

Keep up with Abraham at his blog, 52 Teeth, where he posts a new song each week, and at his new website, the sheepishly-titled World of Abraham.