Links of Goodness

You may wonder why The Alley, Quimby’s, Chicago Comics, Shake-Rattle-and-Read and many other cool places are on the Curls and Company website...answer is I love these places with almost a mythical affection.

Growing up you want to be cool. I was not. It was ok because I knew someday I would rock the world and be a famous author, singer and person of interest...flash forward to modern day...I can enjoy the glitter, rock, seedy-cool-ness and pulp fiction of these stores and their lairs of underground comics, rock and roll memorabilia, keeper of all things interesting and thought provoking.

It’s not just about buying stuff its about spending some quality time surrounded by interesting folks who know neat stuff. The guy in shoes at The Alley with the deep voice (kinda rockabilly) what a charmer, Quimby/Chicago Comics staff=smart and fun, Rick Addy ala Shake, Rattle and Read...people flock to this guy for great stories, musical questions and a chuckle...his other co-worker attends a lot of underground performances and can give you the low down.

Bottom line...I don’t want to be famous anymore because I found all the cool interesting people and they are not in Hollywood, they are right here on the Northside of Chicago!!! Check ‘em out;)

Saxy Music

Does anyone else miss the saxophone in popular music? I recently attended a Psychedelic Furs concert and was reminded of how much I miss the sound of a sax!

Whether it was Men At Work or Quarterflash and so many other groups (feel free to email me other groups that rocked this instrument) the sax really lent itself to a powerful, complex and passionate sound. It is an elegant addition to pop music that I sorely miss.

Side note...Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson is a jazz man who definitely knows how to blow that horn. He's also pretty witty, check him out on itunes!

Email me your Saxy picks...

I need new jams, people!

Music Lovin' -- Cally

A Comic So Funny I Cried

Good luck with finding this gem of comical brilliance!

“Prize,” by Hawk Krall (HawkKrall.net) is the funniest comic mag I’ve read since Peter Bagge’s “Hate.”

Why is this funny, you may ask? Why the hell should you even care?

With topics such “My Summer of 7-11” (working the graveyard shift and the special folks you meet), “Living In Filth” (3 psudo-employed 20 somethings find a fat stack of dubious cash and hilarity ensues) and how can I ever forget “Dirty Dishes,” a tome to the glamourous and sleezy life of a sous chef/art school drop out. I learned about the “Sancho” and the french word “good-for-nothing”...you can too if you hurry up to Quimby’s or go on line and get yourself the “Prize” by Hawk Krall unless your Dick Cheney you’ll be laughing your butt off.

BEWARE! Don’t read this periodical in the IRS office, BMV or on the bus unless you want people to think you are crazy with laughter!

Your Diabolical Friend,

--Cally

Vinyl

There's a reason vinyl albums went out of style. They are not portable, they get scratched easily, and they are big. On the flip side of this argument they sound warm, their cracks and pops remind me of something tangible made via a group of people getting together and sharing ideas that become some kind of infectious musical poetry....at best, at worst you have a big square albums cover you can hang on your wall that looks really cool.

Ipods and the like are portable gold, taking your music collection everywhere and anywhere you need to go...but that’s the head scratcher. In a world so busy, desperately on the move, one can long for the thing that grounds them...the vehicle that can transport a listener to another time and place in your mind, in your heart or in a lifetime that lends itself best to sitting down, and just opening your ears to a sound that roots you to a moment. lately, I feel I am in need of this vinyl snapshot that helps me to walk down a road traveled very infrequently in 2010.

So after I write this piece, I’m going drive to Shake, Rattle, and Read on Lawrence and Broadway (Northside of Chicago) and check out the dollar album bin. By the way, they sell records at Target...just in case you get the vinyl itch.

--Cally, your humble proprietor