One of life’s biggest tragedies is how the world changes as time passes. Growing older is never fun, but to lose the bastions of your youth as that happens, to have things you loved as a kid go away and disappear, is really sad. That local ice cream parlor you used to frequent in high school, you assumed it’d be around forever for you to visit when you could. Now it’s shuttered and you’ll never get to experience it again. I bring this up because one of my favorite Chicago things, something that has been going strong ever since grade school, is now dying a painful death. As much as people “don’t listen to the radio” anymore, doing so is actually something I enjoy quite a bit. There’s a certain thrill about not knowing what song is coming next, and having a great mixture of old and new stuff. Putting my iPod on shuffle only does so much for me, particularly due to my love of full albums, and I then get stuck in a loop of deep cuts that just don’t fully satisfy out of context. So to put it all together, one of my favorite Chicago radio stations, Q101, is on its way out. In the next couple months it is set to become an all-news 24/7 FM station, giving up the alternative rock that has kept Chicago stable these last couple decades. I love that station, I interned there for 2 years, got to know a lot of the people there and have tried to remain friends with a few of them. To hear both their jobs and the format might be eliminated bothers me quite a bit. I can only hope somebody changes their mind or things turn out well for everyone involved. Pick Your Poison today is more upbeat, and as far as I’m concerned will not be replaced with anything else anytime soon. Highlights include tracks from Apparat, Dustin O’Halloran, Sundress, Washed Out and Widowspeak. In the Soundcloud section you’ll also find a pretty great track from Chicago’s own The Cool Kids and featuring Mayer Hawthorne.
Daniel Amedee – Clown (Too Black)
Get People – Rain Tears (Crystal Fighters Remix)
Jim Guthrie – Dark Flute
Jim Guthrie – Little Furnace
Jóhann Jóhannsson – There Is No Safe Side But the Side of Truth
Midnight Lion – All Greatness Stands Firm (JD Twitch Optimo Remix)
The Pioneers of Seduction – I Want to Wake Up Beautiful
The Pioneers of Seduction – Kurash
Prower – We’re Grown-Ups, Motherfucker
The Atolls – Something I’m Not Supposed to Do
Cee Lo Green – Fuck You (Nite Brite Remix)
