Greg Kot

I reconnected with Alejandro Escovedo last month when he played a Chicago festival. He's persevered through trying times and lived to sing about it, and his performance brought me back to a song he recorded 25 years ago about holding onto your vision no matter what gets in the way: bit.ly/3Utrn7v

What's not to love about Swamp Dogg ? His wild origin tale (yes, acid was involved), his laugh-out-loud story-telling, his no-genre-can-contain-him ambition? I spiel about the subject of one of our all-time favorite @soundopinions.bsky.social interviews: bit.ly/3IX1A4S

46 reactions · 6 comments | “Thanks to Chicago for putting a band of three people on a stage meant for 300.” The three members of Horsegirl were indeed dwarfed by the cavernous stage Monday at the Pri... “Thanks to Chicago for putting a band of three people on a stage meant for 300.” The three members of Horsegirl were indeed dwarfed by the cavernous stage Monday at the Pritzker Pavilion in...

Horsegirl "on a stage meant for 300": The three musicians understand the value of space, what it means to let an arrangement breathe. As a result, what they do actually play sounds bigger, more intense. The review + video:
shorturl.at/3otTs

Latest round of "Buried Treasures" on @soundopinions.bsky.social. Dero's picks are 1-5, mine are 6-10. Check 'em out, and give a listen: bit.ly/40AjAIo

Jim and Greg return mid-summer with a fresh batch of "Buried Treasures." From indie rock and doom metal to funk and chamber music, these are hidden gems worth your ears. Discover your next favorite track: bit.ly/40AjAIo

Public Enemy know what's up.

Thanks for the (accurate) rave. This LP is something else.

Whenever the five members of Eleventh Dream Day get together to play, it’s like they’re picking up the conversation where it left off last time, no matter how long ago that might have been. It’s a rare thing to witness. And it happened again last night. The review+video+pix:
shorturl.at/eqcv6

An appreciation of the mighty Oz on @soundopinions.bsky.social: shorturl.at/zC7V6

It's the 100th anniversary year for the King of Zydeco. We clear some room on the dancefloor to pay tribute on
@soundopinions.bsky.social
: bit.ly/40whhpJ

Ozzy Osbourne is gone. That he made it to his 76th birthday likely surprised even him, because he always knew he was living on borrowed time. He and his Black Sabbath bandmates came from nothing, and become the most celebrated metal band ever. Some words about the wizardry of Oz:

shorturl.at/0DqM4

It was a gorgeous summer night Monday that brought Joe Bataan, the voice of Nuyorican soul, and Novos Baianos, the avatars of Brazilian Tropicalia, to the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. A few words about a historic show in Chicago:
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Donny Hathaway is the soul giant who got away, a supremely gifted artist whose short career was racked by mental illness yet produced transcendent music. A new iteration of the play "Twisted Melodies" is a one-man tour de force that reminds us of Hathaway's triumph and tragedy.
tinyurl.com/2s5acr3a

Music memoirs usually ain't all that, a series of VH1 "Behind the Music" cliches. A rare recent exception is “The Upcycled Self" by Tariq Trotter, aka Roots MC Black Thought. We interviewed him on @soundopinions.bsky.social + a few more thoughts on one of my fave hip-hop artists: bit.ly/498B0gL

59 reactions · 10 comments | A few hundred feet from the stage, Alejandro Escovedo looked like a sharp-dressed caballero you wouldn’t want to mess with, his wide-brimmed hat shading his eyes. I moved ... A few hundred feet from the stage, Alejandro Escovedo looked like a sharp-dressed caballero you wouldn’t want to mess with, his wide-brimmed hat shading his eyes. I moved in and saw a guy who is...

He was 74 going on 44 and played like it Sunday at the Square Roots Festival across the street from the Old Town School of a Folk Music. My review + video of the mighty Alejandro Escovedo:
shorturl.at/OgVlJ

32 reactions · 11 comments | The Mekons are all over Chicago this weekend. Three shows in two days. It’s a rare opportunity to see one of the longest-running bands from the punk era. And not just any ... The Mekons are all over Chicago this weekend. Three shows in two days. It’s a rare opportunity to see one of the longest-running bands from the punk era. And not just any band, but one that reframes.....

The Mekons are all over Chicago this weekend. Three shows in two days. It’s a rare opportunity to see one of the longest-running bands from the punk era. And not just any band, but one that reframes protest music as a kind of joyful screw-you to the powers that be. Review + video:
shorturl.at/LDPIp

Lifers, indeed. Local H has been bringing it for decades. With Scott Lucas at the helm from the start, the band's always been about two human beings making a big noise, with a measure of poignance and a dash of innovation. We tip our hat on
@soundopinions.bsky.social:

soundopinions.org/show/1023

Big news! Our album Mourners has made it to the podium. A huge thank you to @gregkot.bsky.social and Sound Opinions for naming it one of the best three albums of the year (so far). What can we say? Hooray!

‘I have to be the history’: The work still isn’t done for Mavis Staples – Matter News The music legend and civil rights icon, who performs at the Columbus Jazz & Ribs Fest on Sunday, July 20, continues to remind us both how far we’ve come and how far we have still to go.

matternews.org/culture/musi...

New piece from me on Mavis Staples for the fab Columbus, Ohio, news weekly @matternews.bsky.social, edited by @andydowning33.bsky.social. Mavis turns 86 on Thursday. shorturl.at/dzQST

Big thanks to @gregkot.bsky.social at @soundopinions.bsky.social of Chicago for including Bowerbirds and Blue Things in his top 5 albums of 2025 so far! @shelfliferecords.bandcamp.com @spinoutnuggets.bsky.social

www.soundopinions.org/show/1022?fb...

‘I have to be the history’: The work still isn’t done for Mavis Staples – Matter News The music legend and civil rights icon, who performs at the Columbus Jazz & Ribs Fest on Sunday, July 20, continues to remind us both how far we’ve come and how far we have still to go.

When I once suggested to Mavis Staples that new generations of her listeners might be unaware of her history as a civil-rights activist, she nodded. “People forget the history or some don’t know it at all,” she said. “That’s why I have to be the history.”

New from @gregkot.bsky.social now at Matter

YouTube video by Wil Bob Dylan & Joan Baez | Deportee | Woody Guthrie Cover | 1976

You won't have your names when you ride the big airplane/ All they will call you will be "deportees" -- "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos"
Woody Guthrie wrote this song in 1948. Dylan & Baez performed it during the 1976 Rolling Thunder Revue. More relevant than ever in 2025.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBE-...

My favorite LPs of the year so far. My list, Dero's list, etc: @soundopinions.bsky.social
soundopinions.org/show/1022

YouTube video by Brian Eno Lou Reed - Strawman - New York Album

A song for today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=siiN...

Some words about young Sylvester Stewart the student and young Sly Stone the visionary who walked it like he talked it about racial harmony: bit.ly/45KEeZR

What’s the worst band name you’ve ever heard?

Jim and Greg talk with writer Kyle Ryan about "Band Name Bureau", a collection of hilariously bad, weird, and regrettable band names. Starting as a fun project at "The A.V. Club," it’s now a beloved newsletter and social media archive: bit.ly/3G0AaKf

Sly and the Family Stone sounded fresh in 1973, and they still do. Sly is gone, but the music will outlive us all. We pay tribute to a great one on @soundopinions.bsky.social this week.
Listen now: bit.ly/43HBIC1

Spent Saturday afternoon visiting our old 'hood for the 75th annual Old Town Art Fair. Picked up a print of this beautiful James Baldwin portrait by Kentucky artist Kenneth Lewis. Seemed fitting. Kenneth's at the art fair again today or you can contact him here: shorturl.at/I2fd4

I’ve been on a Tropicalia bender lately after viewing "I’m Still Here," a 2024 movie about the fascist oppression of Brazil in the '60s & ‘70s. Tropicalia was protest music that arose in opposition, and it fills the soundtrack, including a track by the great Tom Zé. More here:
tinyurl.com/cn5xdc4t