I am not equipped to analyze last week’s events, but I did almost call the MAGA coup attempt “fucking shenanigans” instead of “events.” You can’t hear the angry Chicago accent that comes out when I say “shenanigans,” which might convey the mix of frustrated annoyance, disbelief, fear, and rage I feel—and under those circumstances, I’d rather not use a word that might make you think of fun times. At any rate, here at the Listener the goal is for us Reader staff to tell you about the music we’ve been listening to lately, and since Wednesday night it hasn’t been easy to shut off the news and retreat into my record collection—something I usually recommend as a way to begin the important process of self-care....

I purchased How to Be Alone sometime last year when my partner and I were taking a break. I remember sitting in the bathtub tearing up, sinking in my bubbles, and tweeting to Lane Moore, the author of the book, that she was getting me through a rough time. I’ve never known how to be alone. I still don’t. I’m a serial monogamist, and even now, my partner (we reconciled six months later) is isolated here with me (like, right next to me)....

Given its blockbuster history, it may be hard to remember that, despite packed houses, Les Misérables got terrible reviews on its 1985 London opening (though American critics adored it on Broadway in 1987). Song for memorable song, Claude-Michel Schönberg’s music and Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel’s lyrics (translated into English by Herbert Kretzmer) still inspire more than 30 years later, in part due to evergreen themes of love, duty, and redemption....

ARTIST: Stavros GiannopoulosSHOW: The Atlas Moth, Northless, and Rollo Tomasi at Cobra Lounge on Fri 4/24MORE INFO: getinthepink.blogspot.com

We begged and pleaded for you to embrace a little democracy, and on Tuesday you came through. For the first time in decades, more than half of Chicago voters decided that they weren’t quite ready to coronate their mayor for another four years. Beneath the hype and the hullabaloo, both candidates need to answer more questions about what they’ve done and what they’re planning to do. Here are a few issues they should start with....

The phrase “permanent food installation” sounds like the result of an unpleasant medical procedure. But in Avondale at a new cocktail bar called Ludlow Liquors, it’s what’s used to describe the activity in the kitchen, its food, and its chefs—Nick Jirasek and his sous chef and collaborator Eric Valdivia, who go about their business under the rubric of Old Habits. I haven’t heard many laments for the Orbit Room, but I sorely begrudged the loss of that creation....

Ex-mayor Rahm Emanuel has his share of detractors for what he did—and didn’t do—for the city, but I’d argue that the silver lining of his tenure, perhaps the one thing that many Chicagoans can agree he did a decent job with, was transportation. The administration racked up a number of transportation wins, generally, if not always, with an eye on equity, including: constructing several new CTA stations, overhauling the south Red Line tracks, building safer streets for walking, opening dozens of miles of new bikeways, and launching the Divvy system....

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, November 10, 2016. As protests continue in Mount Greenwood, the brother of shooting victim Joshua Beal is charged The brother of police shooting victim Joshua Beal, 25, has been charged for his alleged actions after his brother’s fatal shooting Saturday. Michael Beal, 28, was charged with “felony aggravated battery to a police officer and attempting to disarm a police officer” Tuesday, according to the Associated Press....

Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Tuesday, September 26, 2017. Sharon Fairley resigns from police oversight agency to run for attorney general The chief of the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Sharon Fairley, is resigning from the new agency to run for Illinois attorney general, according to the Tribune. Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Fairley chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority in 2015, and she helped transform the controversial agency into COPA, which just opened its doors September 15....

One of the jazz world’s less fortunate elements is the antipathy that often arises between its mainstream and progressive wings. The straight-ahead crowd decries radicals for going too far and losing the essentials of the music; avant-gardists disparage the stodginess of orthodox practitioners—and neither acknowledges the commonalities between the camps. This residency is an antidote. Alto, tenor, and baritone saxophonist Dave Rempis has been at the cutting edge of Chicago jazz since the mid-90s, when he sought out Ken Vandermark for lessons and ended up joining his band....

Seeking: women Occupation: Lawyerly things What do you do when you’re not working? His friend says: “The perfect mix of left and right brain.” (She even made the infographic at the bottom of the page to prove it!) Playing ice hockey, playing music, making art, photographing, and going to lots o’ concerts. Smoker? No, thank you. Pets? I have none, but animals seem to like me, and I like them....

In Andrew Haigh’s moving indie drama Lean on Pete, a motherless 15-year-old boy in Portland, Oregon, gets a part-time job caring for horses at the local racetrack and bonds with a five-year-old quarter horse named Pete; when the stallion begins losing and faces a trip to the glue factory, young Charley (Charlie Plummer) makes off with Pete and the two set out on a treacherous cross-country journey together. A quietly observant filmmaker, Haigh understands the need for connection: his breakthrough feature, Weekend (2011), traced a gay romance through its heady first days, and his acclaimed 45 Years (2015) gave Charlotte Rampling one of her best roles as a wife suddenly alienated from her longtime husband....

Q: I’m a gay guy living in New York in his late 20s. My boyfriend has really been emotionally impacted by the pandemic having been a frontline worker. I think he is suffering from some mild depression or at the very least some intense anxiety so I just want to preface this by saying I completely sympathize with what he’s going through. Before the pandemic we had a really good sex life, but lately he hasn’t been interested in sex at all besides a few assisted masturbation sessions....

The Reader’s archive is vast and varied, going back to 1971. Every day in Archive Dive, we’ll dig through and bring up some finds. Last week the music section published a meaty feature on the Atlas Moth. As much as I welcomed a thoughtful, engaging story on one of this city’s great metal bands, I was even more happy to see the story’s byline: Monica Kendrick. The feature is her first for the Reader in about a decade....

Few potential legends have been more grievously overlooked than singer-songwriter Jay Bolotin. You don’t have to take my word for it: the Kentucky-raised artist has written songs for Porter Wagoner (Dolly Parton’s ex), Dan Fogelberg, and David Allan Coe, among many others, and has earned praise from Americana greats such as Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, and Merle Haggard. Luckily for us, Bolotin’s visibility has been boosted by a few recent releases, including a track on the Numero Group’s 2009 compilation Wayfaring Strangers: Lonesome Heroes....

One of the most important lessons of the annus horribilis that is 2020 is the dangers of truly unchecked power and privilege, even when they are wielded by a big city’s first openly gay mayor, or an openly gay presidential candidate. But many queer people of color speaking out against the event, like Chicago-based author, artist, and educator Benji Hart, say that the pair, in particular, have done much to sow the distrust they will be discussing, and that their historic political victories do not absolve them of that....

Thinkstock If we don’t talk about climate change maybe it will just go away? Apparently the Republican Party is turning global warming into a man thing. Some would call it denial. Some would invoke the contemporary catchphrase “avoidance coping,” which means dealing with a problem by pretending it doesn’t exist. I see something much more noble going on. When our troubles are real and immense, authentic American heroes like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne bear them in stoic silence....

Since the release of the Laquan McDonald video, the Black Lives Matter movement has demonstrated its ability to reform local government: the group’s public protests indisputably contributed to the firing of CPD superintendent Garry McCarthy and the defeat of Anita Alvarez in the state’s attorney race this spring. But those who attend “Our Duty to Fight,” a new exhibit at Gallery 400, may be surprised to learn just how far-reaching the influence of BLM has become....

Much ink has been spilled about SoulCycle, the boutique indoor cycling chain with quasi-spiritual elements that enjoys a devout following at 60 studios in ten states. Founded on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 2006, the company is best known for its 45-minute spin classes, which have a meditative but partylike atmosphere. Think candles and EDM. Despite being billed as a party, my first SoulCycle class was ridiculously difficult. The dim room, aglow with candles, felt less like a fitness studio and more like the set of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” video....