Re:sound #130: The Chicago Show
This hour: Chicago. Hogbutcher to the world, jewel of the Midwest, and everything inbetween.
2010 / TCF / WBEZ 91.5, USA
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.
This episode of Re:sound was produced by Delaney Hall.
produced by
Gwen Macsai is an award-winning radio producer, writer, and host.
Sean Cole (He/Him) is a supervising producer and occasional guest host at This American Life.
Alan Hall is the founder of Falling Tree Productions in London.
Katie Mingle (@katiemingle) is the senior editor and a producer for 99% Invisible.
Aaron Ximm is a San Francisco-based field recordist and sound artist.
Heather Radke was a first-round judge for the 2012 TC/RHDF Competition: Best Documentary Award.
Chris Sewell is a writer and producer who used to live in Chicago, but now calls Seattle home. He's good for about one audio piece a year. Maybe two.
Sean Hurley lives in Thornton, NH with his wife Lois and his son Sam. An award-winning playwright and radio journalist, Sean is currently on the writing staff of the Amazon TV show “Patriot.” His fictional “Atoms, Motion & the Void” podcast has aired nationally on NPR and Sirius & XM Satellite radio. He likes to run in the woods.
Jonathan Mitchell (@TheTruthFiction) is the creator and producer of The Truth, a Radiotopia podcast that makes short films without pictures.
Delaney Hall (@daphall) is a producer and editor with 99% Invisible .
Jacob Anderson is a reporter for WFUV in New York.
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.