FAQ

When Chicago Tunes began in August 2010, I had intended it to be a space for me and, hopefully, many other individuals to discuss and cover Chicago’s music scene. It was, more or less, conceived to be a news source.

As time went on, it quietly expanded and began shaping itself into what I’d intended it to be. A few months after its launch, me and a handful of other writers were already posting once or more daily.

But as the site continued to evolve, I discovered that Chicago Tunes seemed like it was no longer personal to me. Yes, I was writing about music that I liked and yes, the same I believed to be true of the site’s other writers, but postings got uploaded so quickly that I wasn’t (because I felt like I couldn’t) afford any time to enjoy what I was listening to. Instead, it was: “Yes! I like this! I’m going to go write about it!” And after the piece got posted, I generally let that music go to tune my attention to something else. It wasn’t sustainable, and it also wasn’t fulfilling.

For the better part of 2011, Chicago Tunes has become way more personal. I include myself in my writing a whole lot more than I used to, and I upload my thoughts only when it feels right to do so. The site is less a news source anymore — if it ever really was — and more a space for me to reflect on what I’m listening to.

You’re here because you discovered me somehow, and I like that.

So, what is this?
Chicago Tunes is a blog for and about the city’s music scene. Most of what you see here will be reviews of music created by artists who live here. However, I like plenty of stuff outside of city limits and may write about those folks, too, when they come to town.

Who’s behind it?
Well, me. And only me. As I’ve said, I at one time had a circle of minds writing for this thing I’ve named Chicago Tunes. In time, however, I’ve found I’m more comfortable maintaining a staff of one.

What makes Chicago Tunes different?
Chicago Tunes aims to build the music community up, not break it down. That’s why almost everything here focuses on my likes, not my dislikes.

It’s not my nature, really, to rail on a piece of music; nor is it all that productive. What I do here instead is discuss what I’ve come across (or been emailed) and perhaps why it stuck out to me.

The only time I might get real cynical is when an artist I’ve reviewed here once or more in the past releases new tunes or plays a show that, for whatever reason, feels disappointing to me. By that point, and if I feel confident and strong enough in my opinions, I’ll go ahead and discuss — productively, hopefully — why the music at hand wasn’t engaging, or what it lacked. Make sense?

Why don’t you use star systems or grades in your reviews?
Because I find those little things lazy and meaningless. Were Chicago Tunes to engage in that sort of thing, it would totally contradict what I’ve set out to do here.

You see, everything you’ll read here, in my opinion, will be a thing of quality. My reviews and opinions will be thought out, honest and, probably, thorough.

For some, stars and grades eliminate any real need to read a review at all. These systems, when you really break it down, summarize a thought.

I oftentimes have to put a lot of time and energy into discovering who or what I want to write about — let alone the actual writing of the piece — so to then cap it all off with a cute display of characters and numbers really makes no sense to me. The artists put in their share, I put in mine and you, through reading, do the same.

Bah! But I don’t wanna read!
Oh.

What’s with the site design?
Boring, eh? The template is about as bare bones as it gets. The template I chose even came with some default image in the header, but then I removed it and didn’t replace it with anything.

I’m of a mind that thinks you came here for the content — not the flash.

How come you sometimes review albums that are a year old (or more)?
When I feel like I want to preview a show, I’ll do so with a review of the artist’s music. Often, this will be the band’s most recent album. Honestly, this doesn’t happen a whole lot, but enough that I felt like addressing it.

I’m in a band and I sent you an email. I never heard from you. What gives?
I put in an honest effort to read your words and listen to your stuff, but sometimes I’ll lack the time to do so thoroughly. Or, I might have gone to your Bandcamp or streamed your music elsewhere and didn’t find it suited my interests or what I like to discuss. Or, I figured rather quickly that I’d been blasted by a mass emailing and didn’t feel all that compelled to reply. There are many reasons, really, and the hope is that it isn’t taken personally.

When in doubt, contact me again!