Caropop

Spoon's Jim Eno doesn’t appear to be doing anything fancy when he drums, yet his deceptively groovy playing makes you want to move. He and frontman Britt Daniel, the two remaining original members, k…

In audiophile communities it’s common to read raves about “the Bellman Cut” of an album because if Chris Bellman mastered it, it probably sounds great. One 2021 Record Store Day release even came wit…

The continuation of our conversation with the Devo co-leader goes deeper and darker into the band's history and our ominous cultural landscape. What caused Devo to split the first time, and why does …

Devo’s Gerald Casale helped conceive the concept of “de-evolution,” but even he didn’t think things would get so bad. He’s also not happy about that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snub, and he has frustr…

Filmmaker Judd Apatow listens to other people as much as he projects his own voice. His new documentary, George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO, HBO Max), is a complex, intimate portrait of one of the m…

Delvon Lamarr can play almost every instrument but one, but he’s happiest behind his Hammond organ powering soul-jazz instrumentals that suggest what might happen if Booker T. and the MG’s met the Me…

Chef Sarah Stegner is not only one of the most talented chefs in the Chicago area but also among the most impactful. A two-time James Beard Award-winner, she scaled fine dining’s heights at the Dinin…

Jeff Murphy makes brilliant power pop with his brother John and their friend Gary Klebe in the band Shoes. They began by recording at home in Zion, Ill., released indelible songs (“Tomorrow Night,” "…

Chris Stamey played with Mitch Easter and Alex Chilton before forming the dB’s and producing Pylon and other bands, but he has created a formidable body of his own work. His songwriting and arranging…

Justin Roberts is a first-rate songwriter who happens to make music for kids. His songs are intuitive, funny and catchy, and four of his albums are Grammy nominated, including 2020’s Wild Life, the f…

Nashville-based mastering engineer Ryan Smith works on high-profile vinyl releases such as recent albums by Adele and Taylor Swift, but he’s become renowned for the fantastic-sounding reissues he has…

Drummer Terry Chambers was the motor that powered XTC through its first five albums before frontman Andy Partridge broke down and abruptly ended the band’s touring days. Chambers left soon afterward,…

Whether you consider him country, bluegrass, folk or rock, Robbie Fulks is one of our greatest songwriters and an awfully talented guitarist and singer as well. He can be satirical and biting but als…

Some songs you enjoy in the background while others take up residence in your bones. Sam Phillips’ music is in the latter category. She was Christian pop artist Leslie Phillips until she outgrew thos…

Colin Blunstone has one of the sweetest, most distinct voices in rock, yet his band, the Zombies, has a bizarre history. It broke through with “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No,” then went three yea…

He’s been known as Miami Steve, Little Steven and Steve/Steven/Stevie Van Zandt. He’s been Bruce Springsteen’s and Tony Soprano’s No. 2 guy, the artistic force behind Southside Johnny and the Asbury …

The Mekons, the Waco Brothers, Four Lost Souls, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts—those are just some of Jon Langford’s bands, and he’s an accomplished visual artist to boot. Since moving to Chicago from En…

When singer-songwriter Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens played their first Big Star concert in almost 20 years in 1993, Stephens said it was the first time the band had performed before a payin…

If you pay close attention to the vinyl world, you know the name of Kevin Gray. He’s been mastering recordings since the early 1970s, and his name is on some of the best-sounding reissues being relea…

Camper Van Beethoven bassist Victor Krummenacher is a standout player in a standout band that was peaking when it imploded. This former Wired art director has a journalist’s eye for detail as he reca…