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Song 98: Changes

“A Song from Under the Floorboard” – Magazine (1980) The Welders survived several personnel changes and our new members Colleen and Lyla helped us to grow musically. We played shows sporadically and also recorded a few times. I got tired of playing drums and wanted to be more creative so I moved to keyboards. I…

Song 97: One night at the Bluberry Jam

“Kimberly” by Patti Smith (1975) Of course, it was the advent of punk rock that really enabled The Welders to come to life. Raw, defiant and rockin’ – the punk movement railed against corporate rock, endless noodling guitar solos and hippies. This was right up our alley. With just-acquired second hand instruments that we were…

Song 96: Learning drum tricks by ear

“All the Way from Memphis” by Mott the Hoople (1973) In the early 1970s as a music-obsessed young teenager, my preferences began to radically diverge from the music that my peer group was listening to. In fact I remember in 8th grade, this seemingly cool girl told me her favorite band was Three Dog Night…

Song 95: Fictional TV band

“She” The Monkees (1967) To be perfectly honest, when I pictured myself in a rock band, it was entirely based on the tv show about a fictional band called “The Monkees”. Like the Monkees, my band would all live in a big house, we’d play music and have wacky adventures together. The Monkees were great…

Song 94: The top 1000 songs, a challenge

“You’re Going to Lose That Girl” by the Beatles When I was 9-years old, I became a super-fan of Rock’n’Roll. I was living in Fort Worth, Texas and I had this poster from radio station KFJZ of the top 1000 songs of the rock era. I made it my business to hear and know each…

Assignment 21: The songs that made me want to play in a rock n’ roll band

Name: Jane Fujimoto Location: Los Angeles Relationship to music: Musical hobbyist/former punk rocker Industry: Working in the field of digital asset management I met Jane at a former place of employment and we used to carpool together. Sometimes your co-workers have really interesting back stories. Stories I never would have learned if it weren’t for…

Song 93: Let me be your dog/let me be adored

“Let Me Be Yer Dog” by bunny Elaina: I just discovered this band recently and have been trying to catch a show ever since. Their sound reminds me of a cross between Cherry Glazzer and Mitski without so much rocking. They play often at the Hideout, which is an old bar that feels kind of…

Song 92: A city personified in song

[Still of Kanye West in the video for “Homecoming” directed by Hype Williams] “Homecoming” by Kanye West Elaina: Say what you will about Kanye West, but this song is a jam. I love the idea of Chicago personified as “Windy,” a tough yet nurturing motherly figure, and how even an upbeat, catchy song of Kanye’s…

Song 91: Local powerhouse

“Time of Death” by Jennifer Hall Elaina: Jenn is an extremely talented singer/songwriter native to Chicago and a good friend of mine. We met a few years ago (she had rescued a dog that then became mine!) and after seeing her album release show at SubT I was HOOKED. I included a link to her…

Song 90: Buried tracks

[Photo by Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune] “Pusha Man/Paranoia” by Chance the Rapper Elaina: Chance the Rapper has gone from young rapper hopeful to full blown Grammy winner, Chicago star and role model in a few short years. Hanif Abdurraqib wrote an essay “Chance the Rapper’s Golden Year” in his collection of essays “They Can’t Kill…

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