Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year, everybody! 2007 is just hours away from being over. For those of you looking for some rockin' New Years music for your party, I'm offering 3 samples for you. All are versions of the famous NYE song, Auld Lang Syne, but these are not the sleepy Guy Lombardo version. These rock. (Note: Windows Media Player needed to hear these.)

First, up is a version by New Jersey garage rockers, The Smithereens. This upbeat British Invasion-sounding version can be found on Christmas With The Smithereens (Koch Records - 2007).
The Smithereens - Auld Lang Syne

Second is a version of the song that combines Booker T classic, "Green Onions" with the NYE classic. It is by Husky Team and can be found on Hi-Fi Christmas Party - Volume 2 (Vandalay Records - 2006).
Husky Team - Auld Lang Syne

Lastly, here is a harder version from northern Illinois rockers, Cheap Trick. It is an unreleased live version from a NYE concert from many years ago. It is available on a bootleg called Undercover Trick, but it generally unavailable commercially.
Cheap Trick - Auld Lang Syne

Have a happy and safe New Years Eve!
I hope everything will be great in 2008 for each of you!

Larzie Awards 2007 - Local Print Media

Newspaper of the Year

- Chicago Sun-Times.
Despite the Conrad Black scandal, this paper has constantly turned out quality. It has the best columnists, the best sports section in town (even with the controversial Jay Mariotti on staff), a sense of humor and thanks in part to its many suburban papers that the Sun-Times News Group owns, a great presence with both urban & suburban news. The tabloid style makes reading the paper quicker & easier. The Tribune may excel in a few select areas, but overall, The Sun-Times was the best paper in Chicago in 2007.

Columnist of the Year

- Robert Feder.
(Really. Who else was I going say?) Nationally respected and quoted daily, there is no other journalist in America that has more insight over local media business goings on than Mr. Feder. You may occasionally disagree with his opinions, but nobody gets the news or the scoops as fast or as accurately as Rob Feder. A class act and a world-class journalist.

Biggest Local Print News News Story of the Year

- Tribune Sold to Sam Zell.
By far the biggest local print news story. This story received huge national attention as well, with the possible sale of the Chicago Cubs, WGN-TV and WGN-AM, followed up by the important decision by the FCC allowing the Trib to keep its radio & TV outlets. This story is just the tip of the iceberg. 2008 will be filled with stories of changes at the Chicago Tribune, WGN radio & WGN-TV, not to mention the probable sale of the Chicago Cubs in the very near future.

Runners-up:
- Conrad Black convicted & sentenced.
The former Sun-Times boss was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He'll be spending some time behind bars to think about his cookies.

- The Reader sold & altered.
Locally owned forever it seems, The Reader was sold to a Florida-based company who quickly made numerous changes, from the paper's appearance to the amount of staffers (less, of course).

Local Publication of the Year

- The Reader.
Even with its recent ownership and appearance changes, The Reader is a must-read weekly publication that has firm roots in Chicago. The most complete weekly music guide, club guide, movie guide and event guide, along with deep, well-written articles and the most bizarre classified section anywhere. One of the best ways to turn your fingertips black is by reading this Chicago classic every Friday. Best of all, the paper is still free, thanks to the many advertisers willing to be in the paper week after week.

Runners up:
- Crain's Chicago Business.
This oversized publication is the best info source for local Chicago area businesses and business people. Pricey, but usually worth it for the information & insights contained within.

- Chicago Magazine.
Slick, glossy and professional, this is the crème de la crème of local magazines. It still tends to be rather "exclusive" and lean toward a more upper-end base instead of being all-inclusive, but still a top notch publication, not just on a local scale, but national as well.

Local Music Publication of the Year

- Illinois Entertainer.
This large tabloid monthly magazine, printed entirely on old newsprint stock paper is the best source for what is happening musically in Chicagoland. Coming out around the last day of each month, it gives a great music guide as to who is playing where for the coming month. It also contains one or two well-done articles and/or interviews with local rockers per month. The "news" tends to be rather outdated by the time the paper sees publication, unfortunately, but that is the only knock against it. The paper has been a training ground for some top notch journalists who have gone on to bigger, better things. You can't beat the price, either. You can get the paper free at pretty much every music store, music bar or cool establishment in and around Chicago.

Local Music Website of the Year

- The Chicago Music Guide.
The CMG has shifted its focus from the print version to the online version. Unlike the Illinois Entertainer website, which is rarely updated but once a month, The Chicago Music Guide website is continually updated. It has wonderful interviews and articles, both in print form and in podcast form, many of those are expertly done by former Looper and current Mix DJ, Cara Carriveau. It still needs to improve in a few areas, namely in informing which artist is playing where on a given weekend, but this is the best local guide around right now.

Book of the Year

- $everance.
I'll admit that I’m not a huge book reader. I'm a generally patient person, but waiting days or weeks to find out an outcome of a book has never appealed to me. $everance by Richard (Rick) Kaempfer grabbed me, though. Of course, it helps that the subject matter is something near & dear to me. The book deals with the consolidation of the media industry and how a very small few are in total control of all media coming our way (television, print, radio, and even Internet). However, it didn't do so in a doom-and-gloom, preachy way. It did so with great tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and a fun story. The author tackled a very serious & important subject, but did so with a sense of humor and a fast-paced storyline.

I must say that I devoured this book in just a couple of days. The short chapters (most with very funny names) made it easy to say "OK. Just one more chapter and then I’ll put it down." Of course, it's like eating chips or popcorn. Once you start, you just can't stop.

I loved every word of it and I enjoyed it on many levels, too. There's the basic "fiction" story, which I liked. (Note: I put the word fiction in quotes, because there's very little fiction truly on these pages.) I liked how each character had a distinct personality, where I could hear their distinct personalities & voices in my head as I read it. (One of the signs of a well written book, in my opinion: if, as I read it, I can see it as a movie in my brain.) Then there's the "guessing game" aspect of it, where as I read it, I'm figuring out who certain characters actually are (ie: Richard Lawrence/Stan Lawrence, Robert Walker/Ted Turner, Arthur Geschenk/Rob Reiner, Hoss Sampson/Dan Rather, Walter Wirtz/Matt Drudge, etc.). I also truly liked Zagorski, the story’s main character, who I'm assuming is based on an aspect of the author’s own personality, and also very much mirrors my own personality. There was a lot to like about it!

Some may dismiss $everance as just a cute fictional story; one of many thousands released each year. I see it as an important story that absolutely SHOULD be read & understood by the masses. I hope the book and maybe more importantly, the book's message, can reach the masses sooner than later.

Larzie Awards 2007 - Local TV

Best Newscast - Evenings

- WLS/ABC7.
The winner is also the big ratings winner in this category: ABC7. Even with the ABC network having had lackluster prime time ratings for the last few years, Chicago's ABC outlet, WLS-TV, has had the best overall newscast and is the benchmark all others aspire to be. Ron Magers is the anchorman's anchorman and Kathy Brock and Cheryl Burton are perfect co-hosts for Magers. Mark Giangreco is the best full-time sports anchor in town. Well edited, well produced and great looking, this is the by far the best newscast in Chicago. (And they recently added the Drive-Through news service, apparently! Can I get a milkshake with that story, please?)

Runner-up:
- WMAQ/NBC5.
Channel 5 is the close runner-up To Channel 7's newscasts. Classy and well done, night after-night. The addition of Bob Sirott is a welcome one.

Worst Newscast - Evenings

- WBBM/CBS2.
This one’s easy. Channel 2 has the worst newscast by far. The main reason is Diann Burns. She's way over-paid for being that under-talented. It takes more than just reading a teleprompter & smiling to connect with a Chicago audience. Any warmth she may have shown while working at WLS-TV is now gone. She's as unenjoyable as she is unfit in her role as lead anchor. Burns is not the only 10-ton anchor weighing that show down, though. They have not had a top sports anchor worth watching since Tim Weigel passed away. Their weather segments are average. Their set is average at best. The production vales are average. If they ever want to get into the league of WLS, WMAQ or WGN, they have a lot of work to do. Sleazy attack stories on competitors (the Amy Jacobsen exclusive) only made them look worse. They do have some very talented people on staff that are sadly under-used (Mary Ann Childers & Jay Levine come to mind), but continue to put the wrong people in the wrong spots, chasing away viewers day after day, night after night.

Best Newscast – Mornings

- WGN9.
This one is easy to pick. The WGN Morning News is so much more than just a "newscast," it is a morning party with good friends. Upbeat, fun, funny, informative, warm, connected and well produced. For years now, WGN is the morning newscast that all of the others in town want to be. Fox32 has tried to copy WGN's success, but has not been able to come close to it since Bob Sirott was pushed out and definitely not since Bruce Wolf's forced departure.

Best/Worst Local News Website

The differences between my "best" & "worst" local news websites is slim. All of the websites are similar, with some of the same positives and negatives about each of them. They now all offer easy access to video clips and plenty of flash. However, they each all tend to be too busy & crowded, with far too many ads in prominent positions. The best? WLS-TV's website wins out in this category thanks to their recent upgrade. It has the eye-pleasing shades of blue, a LARGE viewscreen for recent news clips, easy to find tabs and is not too over-run by ads. (There is no reason to have 3 out of the 15 available TV clips to be commercials, though.) WFLD-TV/Fox32 is a close second. WGN-TV's news site gets high marks for not having ads plastered everywhere. The only ads are for WGN TV shows or segments and they are located toward the bottom of the page. The site is till rather lo-tech in comparison to the others, though. WBBM-TV's is fine, but boring. WMAQ-TV's would have to be considered the worst, since it is cluttered beyond belief: 4 columns, confusing layout, ads all over, too much text, too much unnecessary filler. You'll be reaching for the headache remedy before you reach the bottom of the home page. Perhaps Advil should advertise there.

Most Missed/Worst Handled Local TV News Show

- Barely Today with Bruce Wolf.
The winner in this category is Chicago's loss. Bruce Wolf is the most talented & entertaining sportscaster in Chicago and the most underused. Barely Today, the early morning newscast & showcase for his comedic wit was put on at the ungodly hour of 4:30am. With little promotion and little viewership at that hour, the show was quickly scrapped. Bruce Wolf, WMAQ-TV & Chicagoans all deserved better. Wolf was used right, but not at the right time. This show should be redone, but at a better hour (lunchtime?). It will be missed.

Biggest Local TV News News Story of the Year

- Amy Jacobsen recorded secretly (and illegally?) by a CBS2 cameraman at a pool party of a missing person suspect.
CBS2 chose to leak the story and then show the recorded clips on the air in an attempt to gain ratings. It failed, but aided in costing Amy Jacobsen her job. Whether or not you like Amy Jacobsen or felt she belonged spending personal time with a murder suspect doesn't really matter here. What matters is that CBS2 acted in an unethical, sleazy manner, trying to make-up a story that wasn't there, in a cheap grab for headlines & glory. They instead ended up looking like disgusting paparazzi and failed to gain any long-term ratings from the incident. They did succeed in getting local (and national) tongues-a-wagging about this story for a very long time. That makes this the biggest local news news story of the year.

Larzie Awards 2007 - Local Radio

FM Station of the Year

- WXRT-FM

AM Station of the Year

- WGN-AM

Why did these two stations win this award? They both have some things huge in common: they both kept a strong local connection and they both maintained a deep connection to their listeners. WGN is Chicago. They are completely local, from ownership to staffers. They talk about Chicago and keep Chicago informed & entertained. WXRT, despite being owned by a mega-corporation, has stayed as close to the same station it has been for around 30 years. It still supports local charities and events, it still promotes the local music scene, it still plays local artists both big & small, and is still run by true Chicago people. With the exception of XRT's Jason Thomas, both stations have long-time local favorites as their on-air presence. Both stations go out of their way to connect to listeners and stay loyal to their fanbases. Both stations are rarities in radio today. If this town were to lose either station, it would be a loss to Chicago radio that it may never recover from.

Runners up:
WFMT & WBEZ for similar reasons to WGN & WXRT.

Radio Personality of the Year:

- Eric Ferguson of WTMX. Known as the male half of the Eric & Kathy Morning Show on The Mix, 101.9, Eric Ferguson has been the glue that has held that station to the great success it has seen. He is both the frontman and the behind the scenes Head Coach for that morning show. He has assembled a tight & talented team around him at WTMX. At the start of the year, many predicted the major ratings slide for the popular WTMX morning show. Despite heavy competition in 2007 from the likes of Jonathon Brandmeier, Spike O’Dell, Opie & Anthony, Whoopi Goldberg, Lin Brehmer, Lisa Dent & Ramblin’ Ray, Mike North, and others that appeal to a similar audience, the E&K show kept ratings incredibly strong. No morning show has the ability to raise more for charity and more for sponsors than the E&K show. No morning show was more valuable to its station than Eric & Kathy’s show was in 2007. By no means am I knocking the talented & enjoyable Kathy Hart or that of super-producer John Swanson, but Eric Ferguson is the MVP here. Without much bravado, fanfare or even due publicity, the man has built a quiet radio empire here in Chicago. He's been on the air here for many years, but he will continue to be on the air here for a great many years to come. It is safe to guess that they will be very successful years, too.

Runners up:
Garry Meier, Drex, Steve Dahl, Johnny B

Biggest Radio News Story of the Year

- WCKG blown-up, replaced with WCFS.
We all knew this was coming. Ever since Rover came to town, causing listeners to run for the hills, WCKG has been in trouble. Howard Stern was never a huge ratings getter, but losing him, chasing away Kevin Matthews earlier, letting the Hollander brothers put on the wrong syndicated shows for Chicago audiences and just making general poor decisions doomed the station. Ironically, the station was just starting to repair the damage done by the Hollanders, with Garry Meier starting to bring in great ratings & reviews, Stan & Terry finding an audience and the Chicago Bulls bringing in some cash. Had CBS been a little more patient, Chicago would still have its FM talker. It was not meant to be, though. The classic call letters left soon after the station, as it is now WCFS – Chicago's Fresh Station, with a less than "fresh" playlist, but a stronger chance at raising revenue & profits for the CBS shareholders. Sadly symbolic of radio today.

Runner up story:
WLUW taken back over by Loyola University.
A great independent station is about to under go an unwelcome change. Alternative radio programming just became a whole lot harder to finding on Chicago's free airwaves.

Best Website

- WXRT. com
Unfortunately, the trend with most radio websites is to see just how many ads they possible squeeze onto a home page. I'm fine with upper banner ads -- most websites, even CRM, has them now. Most other radio sites cram them everywhere they can -- on the sides, along the bottom, in the middle, next to the logo, etc. WXRT only has the banner ad. All CBS stations, including WXRT, now have the incredibly annoying, pop-over salesperson talking to you when you arrive at the home page. I will NEVER like those. Outside of that, the site is not over cluttered (WSCR: please take note) or just a basic corporate template (like Chicago’s Clear Channel stations). Information is easy to find and there are no eye-poking flashing colors. There may be room for improvement, but it is still the best site Chicago radio has.

Runner up:
WGNRadio.com
WGN revamped their website in 2007 and it was a most welcome upgrade. Clean, colorful (but not too much so), informative and fan friendly.

Worst Website

- WILV.fm
This one is a no-brainer. Love-FM's website may be the worst website for a major radio station in America. Want to know who the DJs are? Want to know what songs were played? Want to know anything about the station at all? You sure won't find it here. Plenty of flash advertising, a logo that does not truly represent the station and wasted white space. That's all you’ll see here. There are better websites for small market stations in the middle of rural Wisconsin. It's an embarrassment for radio market #3.

Best Internet Streaming

- WCKG
WCKG's website, which was the basic Free-FM template website, was a headache. However, the site's Internet streaming capabilities were the best around. When clicking the "Listen Now" link, the audio kicked in almost immediately and came through crystal clear. This, along with the station itself, will be missed.

Best Radio-related website

- Chicago Radio Spotlight
Rick Kaempfer's insightful interviews with Chicago radio insiders continues to entertain week after week.

Larzie Awards 2007 - Music: Biggest Disappointment, Secret Pleasure & Music News of the Year

Biggest Disappointment of the Year

The Eagles – Long Road Out Of Eden.
This was an easy choice for me. As a big Eagles fan from way back, I had high hopes for these new tunes by the biggest band of the 70's. Those hopes were crushed after a couple of listens to the new double-album. Sure... The amazing harmonies are still in tact. I have no problem with album vocally. However, the writing and lack of punch disturbed me.

The Eagles, as a band and in each of their solo careers, have proven that they can write some terrific music. The writing here was a major let down. Don Henley's writing skills have improved way beyond that of Glenn Frey's over the years, and his tracks were very good, but lacked hooks and meandered on for much too long. (More on that later.) As far as the rest of the songs went, the vast majority of the songs were basic relationship songs. ("I love you," "I want to get together with you," "I don’t love you anymore," etc.) At their age, they should be thinking with their minds about the world and not with their "little brains" about themselves. They are capable of so much more and the wasted potential is a shame.

The Eagles parted ways with guitarist Don Felder during the long recording process of this album. Felder used to challenge Henley & Frey to add some "balls" to the songs and make sure they still have a rock edge. Without Felder there to add some edgy guitar work, the new album is too sleepy. Guitarist Joe Walsh is still in the band, but his contributions here are minimal at best. Most of the guitar work was done by session musicians. Joe's contributions were mostly regulated to background vocals and two spotlight songs. One was a lame love song to his wife and one was a Steely Dan rip-off. Apparently, Walsh forgot just which classic rock band he was back with.

I think the biggest problem may have been the lack of a producer. While these are seasoned recording veterans and they don’t need any technical expertise from a producer, they did need an outside party's opinions. One of the most important roles of a record producer is to be the added member of a given band, adding advice on how a song will sound better and letting the band know what will & won't work. With no producer telling them they were making mistakes with the music, the mistakes were allowed to happen. Many of the songs, especially Don Henley's contributions, went on way too long. Songs that could have been fine 3 minute pieces, went on for 6, 7, 8, 10 minutes. Songs that could have been made better with a guitar solo of catchy guitar riff were instead left to synthetic orchestration. Songs that could have been better written with stronger, deeper lyrics were left unchallenged and allowed to be on the album.

"How Long" was a terrific single, but it was not indicative of the rest of the album. The song was a cover of an old JD Souther tune that the band used to play in their early days. If only Souther could have been more involved with this album... The talent this band has is incredible. To put out such a lackluster collection of songs is sad.

Runner up:
The Redwalls – The Wall To Wall Sessions.
This was a self-released 4 song EP by Chicago's Redwalls, a band I love. However, I did NOT love this collection of songs. Their first two albums were hook heavy offerings that were heavily influenced by 60's icons, The Beatles & Bob Dylan. The four songs offered here had no real hooks to them. Their first two albums were the audio equivalent of fine champagne bottles. This was four shots of tap water. (Note: The Redwalls have recently put out a new full-length self-titled album that is supposed to be excellent. I haven’t had the chance to hear it yet, but it doesn't change my opinion of this disc.)

Secret Pleasure of the Year

Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend.
Pure 60’s bubblegum pop, but with a modern edge and catchy as hell.

Runners up:
- Rhiana - Shut Up And Drive.
I liked this follow-up single way more than her lead-off single, "Umbrella." The hard rock guitar worked into the R&B vibe perfectly and made for a fun track.

- Poison - Poison'd CD.
As I mentioned in my Biggest Surprise Of The Year category, this CD was surprisingly fun by a band that's usually fun to dislike.

Music News Story of the Year

- Radiohead releases new album as a “Pay What You Want” download from own site.
Radiohead, one of the biggest musical acts in the world releases its new album, "In Rainbows," by itself, with no record label behind it, and charges whatever the fans wish to pay for it. This shook the entire recording industry to its knees. The slaves were becoming their own masters. Radiohead has since signed with a record label for distribution purposes and stopped the "pay what you want" experiment, but the implications from this event will be felt for years to come. What if the Beatles pulled their catalog away from Capitol? What if U2 decided to leave Universal? What if Bruce Springsteen left Columbia? Artists are finding that with the Internet now as powerful of a sales tool as it is, they really don't need to give the majority of the profits to 4 big labels. They can do their own thing and just get some assistance with the physical distribution of product. The major record labels have been shooting themselves in their own foot for too long. They are close to losing their legs now.

Runners up:
- Prince gives away his new album in the UK. Similar to the Radiohead story above, Prince is finding that there are new & better ways to get your music heard and drive fans to attend concerts & buy merchandise.

- Led Zep finally reunites. This was just a one-shot show, but there could be more Led Zepplin shows in late 2008. The reunion tour, if it happens, would be driven more by money than by art, but fans don't care, just as long as they get to see this band live once again.

Larzie Awards 2007 – Music: Local Release, Indie Release, Biggest Surprise & Most Overlooked of the Year

Local Release of the Year

- Johnny Monaco - Overrated
Johnny Monaco was the long-time lead guitarist for Chicago's Enuff Z'Nuff and, for most of this decade, has been the touring version of the band's lead vocalist. Having just left the band (which is in disarray anyway), he finally finished his long project of a full-length solo debut. And what an amazing debut it is! For the most part, Monaco played every instrument and sang every vocal part, as well as writing and producing the disc. This is no selfish, self-indulgent group of songs, though. This is about as good as a power-pop/rock CD can possibly get. Every song contains catchy hooks, clever & witty lines and great guitar parts. "The Wrong Crowd" is a great single and should have been played by Rock, Alt Rock & AAA stations all across Chicago and the country. The name of the CD (and the second track) is "Overrated." The funny thing is, there is no way to "overrate" this fabulous album. The most enjoyment I received from any CD this year! I cannot recommend this disc enough!

Runner-up:
Dot Dot Dot’s self titled EP. Another upbeat album with 8 great songs and tremendous production. Adam Blair, in addition to being a terrific frontman and enjoyable singer, has a brilliant future ahead of himself as a producer, if all else fails. If/when the songwriting improves to the point I’m sure it will, this will be the local band to watch.

(Note: I know that Dot Dot Dot has been appearing on the Fox reality show, "The Next Great American Band." Even though I have the shows recorded on my DVR, I've only seen the first couple of episodes so far. I don't know if they bombed, won the show, or did something in-between, yet. I picked up this CD of theirs long before the Fox show aired and their national exposure did not affect my opinion. By the way, DO NOT tell me how they did or how the show turns out. I'll get around to watching it all within the next few weeks and finding out for myself.)

Indie Release of the Year

- Johnny Monaco - Overrated
Johnny Monaco wins this award, too. The music, the CD package, the quality and everything about this independent release was top notch, on par with or SURPASSING any major label release. It should have been picked up by a large label and given a supportive push.

Biggest Surprise of the Year

- Johnny Monaco - Overrated
Johnny Monaco wins this award of mine, as well. Every year it seems, one CD surprises the hell out of me and becomes a favorite of mine, without me expecting to like much about it. Last year, it was the disc from Nashville's The Pink Spiders, "Teenage Graffiti," that blew me away. This year, it was Monaco's CD. I normally don't like surprises. This is one surprise I loved.

Runners-up:
- Poison - Poison'd
I was never a big Poison fan. Sure they had some catchy tunes back in the late 80's, but overall, they were too over the top and too derivative of others that did the genre better. This new CD works and works great. It is a bunch of cover songs of glam, new wave and country rock classics, all done Poison-style. The talented, veteran producer, Don Was, reeled in Poision's excesses. The result was a fun, but mature recording that was surprisingly enjoyable.

- Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight
I've always strongly disliked Linkin Park. However, the band is maturing & growing. The newest release had a lot of songs on it that grew on me. There were still a few songs (or screaming parts on them) that bugged me, but there was enough good on there to earn a mention here. A big surprise.

Most Overlooked Album of the Year

- Johnny Monaco - Overrated
One more time... It's Johnny Monaco. The album should have been named "Overlooked." While it did receive great reviews from Rolling Stone, Classic Rock Magazine, the Illinois Entertainer and others, it was not talked about much at all. It sure did not get any air time here in Chicago.

Larzie Awards 2007 – Music: Single & Album of the Year, Best New Artist

Single of the Year
This was difficult to do, only because there was a large amount of great singles released in 2007, even though there was not a lot of great albums released. Here are my top 5 singles of the year:

1. Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race
Big sound, big hooks. This song was inescapable in the first half of 2007. These Chicago boys won the hearts and ears of millions with this strong track and win my award for single of the year.

2. Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere
Loneliness never rocked so hard or sounded so good. A welcome return to form for Bruce. I’ve yet to get tired of hearing this song.

3. Silverchair - Straight Lines
This lush, haunting song proved that Silverchair is no longer a bunch of wannabes, but are now true talents to be reckoned with. Like a bastard lovechild of Coldplay, U2 & The Beach Boys, this song builds slowly and then sticks in your head for hours. An amazing work of audio art.

4. Amy Winehouse – Rehab
The most ironic song since Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" (which ironically had very little irony in it). If you can get past the human trainwreck and tabloid headline grabber that Amy Winehouse is, you can't help but enjoy this 2007 retro mega-hit.

5. Robert Randolph and the Family Band – Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That
This song will get your heart pumping better than any EMT defibrillator possibly could. Probably the best guitar riffs of the year, combined with a multi-tracked vocal "WOOF" that is like a kick in the chest, make this easily one of the most exciting songs of the year.

Other notable singles:
Velvet Revolver - She Builds Quick Machines, Foo Fighters - The Pretender, Finger Eleven – Paralyzer, Fountains of Wayne - Somebody To Love, Feist - 1 2 3 4, P!nk - U + Ur Hand, Paolo Nutini - New Shoes, Hollywood - Collective Soul, The Shins - Phantom Limb, Lyle Lovett - All Downhill, Christina Aguilera - Candyman, The Eagles - How Long, Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye, The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told), Linkin Park - What I've Done, Spoon - The Underdog, Green Day -Working Class Hero.

Album of the Year

This was the first year I've ever had so much difficulty picking a top album. For a year with so very many great singles, it did not produce many great albums. To be a GREAT album to me, every track or almost every track has to be stellar. No single album on any major label had that effect on me this year. The closest one that did is getting the award for album of the year almost by default.

My choice for album of the year? John Fogerty's "Revival". Fogerty has now returned to the record label he & CCR started with, Fantasy Records. Reinvigorated with the reconnection to his past work, he turned out a joyful piece of work that brings you back to the best of CCR's work. While not as strong, in my opinion, as "Blue Moon Swamp," his best solo work, it is still a great album that is as good of a late 60's flashback as you can get without chemicals. It has songs about peace, songs about love and even a couple of protest songs thrown in for good measure. There is even a nod to CCR fans & the song, "Green River" in the track "Creedence Song." This disc was overlooked by many because it was released on the same day as Bruce Springsteen's "Magic," but it deserves just as much notice as that album received. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for nostalgia.

Runners up:
- Bruce Springsteen - Magic. This will probably win album of the year by many people, but there were a few tracks on this CD that were let downs. Even with the powerful "Radio Nowhere," the catchy & clever "Living In The Future" and a few other incredibly strong tracks, there still a couple that could have been left off and that weakened the overall album for me just a little.

- Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High. FOB gets into the studio with Hip-Hop producers and the result is a fresh sounding alt-rock album. Pete Wentz's writing skills continue to improve (even though it is difficult at times to make out just what words Patrick Stump is singing) and the future looks very bright for this band.

- Amy Winehouse - Back To Black. A great album, but the retro feel to it doesn't bear repeated listening. It will very interesting to see if her follow-up album is ruined by her personal demons or will be an welcome treat to hear her talent grow. Time will tell.

- The Smithereens - Meet The Smithereens. I don't normally consider cover albums or tribute albums as contenders for best album, but this was just a joyous salute to an important album. "Meet The Beatles" was the US debut of the Fab Four. There were plenty of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly & Elvis Presley albums released before "Meet The Beatles," but they were just the fuse. It was "MTB" that was the explosion that propelled Rock & Roll into the mainstream. The Smithereens pay homage to that album by putting out a disc with every song from "MTB," in the same order. You can hear the smiles on their faces as they rock through these 12 tracks. The most fun CD of the year. (A welcome return of The Smithereens, too, as they put out not 1, but 2 new CDs this year!)

Best New Artist – Studio

- Amy Winehouse.

Best New Artist - Live
- Mute Math.

The 2007 Larzie Awards - An Introduction

Presenting the 1st Annual Larzie Awards for 2007!

I wanted to do this last year, but scrapped the idea at the last minute because it would have taken up too much space on the regular CRM board, but now with the Blog site up & running, I now have the room to do this. So... I'm happy to announce the start of a new tradition: the annual Larzie Awards! (Note: the lousy name could be changed by the time the second annual awards are presented…) At every year’s end, I will announce my picks for the best in Music, Radio, TV, Print Media and more!

Now, I would never be so pretentious to say that my picks are "the best" of any given subject. When/if I use words like "best" in my picks, what I'm really saying is "best -- according to my tastes" or simply what happened to rock my world in the past year. I listen to a lot of radio, a lot of music, see a lot of TV and read a lot of print media. I openly admit that I do not see or hear it all, though, nor would I want to at this point in my life. So, based on my experiences only, here on this blog site, over the course of the next few blog postings, are my picks for the Larzie Awards for 2007!

Larzie Awards outline:
(Seven posts in total)
1. Introduction
2. Music – Single & Album of the Year, Best New Artist
3. Music – Local Release, Indie Release, Biggest Surprise & Most Overlooked of the Year
4. Music – Biggest Disappointment, Secret Pleasure & Music News of the Year
5. Local Radio winners
6. Local TV winners
7. Local Print Media winners

The coveted "Larzie"

Terry Armour & Mark Sullivan

Maybe it's me, but I seem to have noticed over the course of the last few years, that we seem to lose a lot of people, especially those much to young to go, around the holidays. What should be a joyous time, seems to get tempered by sad realities. Last year at this time, it was Allan Stagg that left us. This week, it was Mark Sullivan and Terry Armour.

These two individuals were very different people, but they had a few things in common. Besides their obvious Chicago media connection, and the fact both men passed away while only in their 40's, they shared another trait: they both had very large hearts. The very same hearts that sadly let them down.

Terry Armour's smile would light up any room he was in, making it almost impossible to feel bad when he was around. Even with all of his past successes, his future looked even brighter. There were offers and conversations about upcoming projects with him in print, on TV and on the radio. He had nowhere to go but up and it couldn't have happened to a better man.

Mark Sullivan will be laid to rest Monday at a private funeral for friends and family. (Visitation will be Sunday -- also private.) It was told to me today that among Mark's final wishes are that we take time to become an organ & blood donor, so that we can each pass along the gift of life. Even in his passing, he showed his great heart.

You would be hard pressed to find anybody in this town that had a bad thing to say about either man. Both were loved and respected by peers. Another thing they have in common? Both gentlemen will be missed more than they'd ever know.

What’s Wrong With Chicago Radio? Nothing Really.

What’s Wrong With Chicago Radio? Nothing Really.

One of the comments that seems to come up often on the CRM message board is about how bad Chicago radio is. Not just a specific complaint, but a general blanket statement about the state of radio in the Chicago market. I spent the last year taking a closer look at that comment to see if it was indeed true. What I found is the exact opposite. Chicago radio is some of the best radio in America, if not THE best.

This past year, I spent a great deal of time traveling across the middle of our country. I spent time in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and downstate IL (which is like it’s own separate state -- and some may say, world). Since I’m not yet willing to plunk down the money for XM or Sirius, I will listen to a lot of local radio while traveling. Additionally this year, I have listened online to stations from LA, NY, Philadelphia, Seattle, Las Vegas, some Florida stations and beyond. What I’ve found is that the old adage, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Try spending a few weeks away from Chicago radio and you will find yourself missing it terribly.

Let’s look at all that Chicago has to offer (in no particular order): a AAA station with a wide-ranging playlist (a rarity in the US, it seems), a full-time AM news station (another rarity – many “news” stations flip to talk after the morning drive), a few locally-owned AM talk stations, numerous AM talk stations, an FM talk station (until very recently, that is), classic rockers split into two tastes – hard classic & softer/deeper cuts, 2 contemporary top hits stations, the most successful Smooth Jazz station in the US, 2 right-leaning and 1 left-leaning political talk stations, 2 full-time sports talkers -- both of which feature mostly local talent (Having ONE full-time sports talker that doesn’t flip to another format at night is rare. Having it be mostly local with limited syndicated programming is rare. Having TWO such stations in one market is almost unheard of.), a popular Country station in an urban market (yet another rarity), one of the most highly regarded public radio stations in the country, a classical station with extremely strong fan support, numerous rock stations of varying styles, numerous Urban stations of varying styles, numerous Latin/Hispanic stations of varying styles and top ratings, numerous lighter rock/pop stations, numerous college stations with wide formats, numerous religious-themed stations on both the AM & FM band, numerous suburban stations filling in voids left by the downtown stations, numerous ethnic programming stations, a plethora of quality morning shows for all tastes, some long-time Chicago radio veterans who are still working in the market that loves them (sadly, this is becoming rare everywhere), minimal syndication and voice-tracking, high professional quality output (for the most part) and strong, clear signals (again, for the most part). Both the AM & FM bands are quite filled with stations. Many markets have more dead air & static that they do stations. Not Chicago. The bands are jam-packed with frequencies broadcasting some sort of audio entertainment. There are also many varied station owners. Many markets have just a couple of corporations owning the lion’s share of stations. Yes, there is a LOT to be excited about and proud of in Chicago radio.

Just last month, Sean Ross from Edison Media Research and The Infinite Dial named Chicago as the #1 Radio Market in the United States. (See story at this link: Chicago Radio #1)

I think they nailed it correctly. There is no better place to be for radio. There is no better place to be as a fan of radio. There is no better place to be as a casual listener of radio.

By no means am I saying that this market is perfect. There are problems that should be fixed and omissions that should be addressed. There are beloved personalities that are “on the beach” as they say. John Records Landecker, Fred Winston, Garry Meier, Crazy Howard McGee, Doug Banks, are among the missing from our airwaves. There are very talented part-timers that should be doing full-time work, while there are low-level full-timers that should not be in the shifts they are in. Corporations like Clear Channel (especially), Emmis & CBS Radio are budget-cutting the life out of many of the stations. Even great stations here are pale comparisons to their former glory days of 10-20 years ago. Many of these problems are not Chicago problems, though. They are industry-wide problems with no clear solution or resolution in sight.

It’s easy to complain about this or that, but if you look (and listen) to the big picture, you can’t help but be thrilled with the overall quality the airwaves of Chicago have to offer. If you are a fan of radio, there is no better town to be located in.

Tune in and turn on, Windy City!

So... Why A Blogsite??

So... Why A Blogsite??

Hello folks! This is a new addition and extension to the CRM family. You may be wondering why this "sister" site to the regular message board ChicagolandRadioAndMedia.com is here. This site was created for more lengthy postings than what a message board normally has. It can allow me to be more self-indulgent, if I am so inclined, and let me ramble on longer about media subjects and more. On occasion, this site will also go a little beyond the regular boundaries of the message board, with postings and thoughts on music, current events, sports and personalities. As with the message board, anybody who chooses to do so may post comments below my postings. Also as with the message board, only respectful postings will be allowed. No negativity will be here. Additionally, as with the other board, I'm keeping this a political-free zone. I'm going to resist the urge to bash certain political figures, while bragging about others, so I'm going to expect the same in your responses.

I have no plans on doing daily postings or any particular postings on a regular basis. When the time is right and the urge grabs me, I'll post up here. Sometimes, I will post up links to a new blog here on the other board. Otherwise, the main focus will continue to be on the message board.

This site also allows me the opportunity to post up links to a great many websites & webpages that may be of interest to the readers of CRM. I can other things here that I cannot do with the site currently with Boardhost. This site is a slow work in progress and appearance changes will certainly happen in the weeks and months to come. (Some changes will be coming to the message board site, too.)

Let the experiment begin!