Thank goodness for iTunes playlists—we all knew they had more uses than forging mixes you never listen to anyway (“Best acid-jazz from 1992”). Now it can be used to take on the ultimate in artistic DIY challenges: solving musical dilemmas! The back-story to this adventure: Indianapolis indie-rockers Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s have released one killer album; unfortunately, it exists in the form of two “just decent” albums, the major-label approved “Not Animal,” and the record the band prefers, “Animal!,” simultaneously released as a compromise to a difference of opinion. Continuing from its 2006 debut, “The Dust of Retreat,” Richard Edwards and his seven bandmates compose tight and often grandiose tunes with predictable but effective climaxes and likable melodies. But the most enjoyable aspect of this double release (admittedly more enjoyable than a few of the songs that have “standing still at shows” written all over them) may be experimenting with song selection and track placement. Between the morose-laden “Animal!” and the art-pop of “Not Animal,” one could cut songs, move around tracks, and stumble upon an indie-rock triumph. (Andy Seifert)
November 22 at Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake, (312)929-2022
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
